Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday he is recommending that President Obama nominate Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis to be the next commander of US Central Command. Mattis—oftentimes outspoken and a critic of the Air Force-championed concept of effects-based operations—has led US Joint Forces Command since November 2007. If nominated and then confirmed by the Senate, Mattis would replace Army Gen. David Petraeus, who left CENTCOM in late June to lead US and NATO forces in Afghanistan after a leadership shake-up. Gates made the announcement during a Pentagon briefing. He said Mattis at the helm of CENTCOM would mean that there would be two Marines occupying the top leadership spots in the combatant command. The other is Lt. Gen. John Allen, CENTCOM’s deputy commander since July 2008 and its acting commander since June 30. Gates said he feels comfortable with that arrangement “for a period of time.” (Gates transcript)
The crash of a T-38 trainer jet this May—which caused a weekslong pause in flights across the fleet—was caused by an improperly installed pin for one of the jet’s horizontal stabilizers, according to a new accident report released Oct. 30. When the pin disengaged midflight, it created the slightest amount…