Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) was among the Senators who did not endorse the just-passed conference report for the 2010 defense authorization bill because he said, per an Oct. 22 release, that it is “the beginning of a downward spiral in defense spending” that would inevitably “kick the modernization can down the road once more by mortgaging the future to pay for the present.” Inhofe said the bill only appears to increase defense spending, while instead it really “reflects the beginning of the Obama Administration’s long-term plan to cut our military.” Among investment cuts he criticized were the end of F-22 and C-17 production, but he would not have funded the alternate F-35 engine. (Inhofe floor remarks)
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
