According to a Pentagon release, former U.S. Representative from New York John McHugh was sworn in Sept. 21 as the 21st Secretary of the Army. President Obama nominated McHugh for the post in June, and the Senate confirmed him Sept. 16. He was the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. The Army also now has a new undersecretary, Joseph Westphal, who was assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Work from 1998 to 2001 and served briefly as acting Secretary.
The Pentagon’s new counter-drone task force will play a direct role in arming Airmen with new weapons to defend Air Force agile combat employment, or ACE, air bases in austere locations against enemy drone attacks, the director of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 said Oct. 14.
