Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Wednesday announced that President Obama has tapped Gen. Mark Milley to be the next Chief of Staff of the Army and Adm. John Richardson to be the next Chief of Naval Operations. Milley has served as commander of US Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., since August 2014. If confirmed by the Senate he will replace Gen. Ray Odierno. Richardson currently serves as the director of the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program, a position he has held since 2012. If confirmed he will replace Adm. Jonathan Greenert. Both Odierno and Greenert have served in their current positions since September 2011. Both “have been tremendous leaders for their respective services over these last four years,” which “have been critical for our military and for the country, marked by an ever-changing security environment and persistent budget turbulence.” Carter called Milley a “warrior and a statesman,” saying he “not only has plenty of operational and joint experience in Afghanistan and Iraq and on the Joint Staff, but he also has the intellect and vision to lead change throughout the Army. He said he had to “wrestle” Richardson away from the Department of Energy, noting he is a “bold thinker, and the go-to officer for many of the Navy’s tough decisions.”
The KC-Z4, a blended wing body tanker concept being developed by startup JetZero, could fuel larger groups of aircraft at longer range to hold more targets at risk, company officials say.