Maj. Gen. James? Martin is OK after collapsing at the podium during the Air Force budget brief Tuesday, officials said. Martin, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for budget, had been briefing for about 35 minutes Tuesday afternoon and was answering a question about the acquisition timeline for the F-35A when he pitched forward, resting his head on the podium while Carolyn Gleason held his arms to keep him upright. Officers in the room brought a chair for Martin, who sat in it briefly and said he was “OK.” “That’s what the F-35 will do to you,” joked Gleason, the deputy for budget in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management and Comptroller, before she finished the answer to the question. Martin left the room and was checked out by Arlington, Va., first responders, then was taken out of the green room area on a stretcher, presumably as a precautionary measure. Air Force officials Tuesday evening said Martin was “doing well.”
U.S. aircraft, drones, and attack helicopters have launched significant airstrikes in recent days against Islamic State militants in Syria as part of the renewed air campaign against remnants of the group, U.S. officials said.
