House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) on Thursday released the names of the GOP members whom he’s selected to oversee the HASC’s subcommittees in the 113th Congress that begins in January. Rep. Mac Thornberry (Tex.) will continue to lead the emerging threats and capabilities panel as he has during the 112th Congress. Similarly, Rep. Joe Wilson (S.C.) will repeat his role as chair of the military personnel subcommittee. Overseeing the readiness panel will be Rep. Rob Wittman (Va.), replacing Rep. Randy Forbes (Va.). Forbes is taking the helm of the seapower and projection forces subcommittee in place of Rep. Todd Akin (Mo.) who lost his bid in November to win a Missouri Senate seat. Rep. Mike Rogers (Ala.) will steer the strategic forces panel, succeeding Rep. Mike Turner (Ohio). Turner is taking charge of the tactical air and land forces subcommittee after long-serving Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (Md.) did not win re-election to the Congress. McKeon said he’d name the chair of the oversight and investigations panel at a later date. Wittman has led that subcommittee in the 112th Congress. (See also Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Again.)
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.