Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen has issued guidance with his priorities this year for achieving the strategic objectives articulated in the National Security Strategy. Defending “vital national interests” in the Middle East and Central Asia tops his list. This includes eroding Taliban influence in Afghanistan, working with the Pakistanis to deny al Qaeda safe haven in Pakistan, and assisting Iraqi security forces as they mature. As part of Mullen’s second priority, improving the “health” of US military forces, he said he intends to issue instructions for adoption of a “Total Force Fitness” to change how the Pentagon assesses service members’ well-being and effectiveness in the face of lingering emotional and physical strains of combat. His third focus area, balancing global strategic risk, calls for “maintaining a ready, forward presence and available forces to meet the full scope” of US security commitments. (Mullen guidance full text; caution, large-sized file) (See also AFPS report by Jim Garamone)
The F-47 fighter will be run differently than previous fighter programs and share the same mission systems architecture as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin told the Senate Armed Services Committee. That means advances in one will fuel advances in the other.