The Pentagon still is not deviating from the promise to keep American boots off of Syrian soil. That includes joint terminal attack controllers, even though Army Lt. Gen. William Mayville, director of operations on the Joint Staff, acknowledged Tuesday that having JTACS on the ground is “obviously something that we prefer to do when collateral damage or concerns about precision in a closed environment” is a factor. “But, we don’t always have to strike with JTACS forward. We’ve been doing this very successfully thus far in places, not only the rural places like you saw in Mount Sinjar and as we moved to support the Pesh and Iraqi forces … [around the] Mosul Dam, but also in the Haditha area, which is a relatively built-up area.”
The Department of the Air Force has identified 50 programs that will make up the core of its contribution to the Pentagon’s joint all-domain command and control effort, branding them part of the “DAF Battle Network,” according to newly-released budget documents. The DAF Battle Network programs span multiple offices and agencies…