Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) will be the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee when the 112th Congress convenes in January, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), outgoing committee chairman, announced last week. Smith has overseen the HASC air and land forces subcommittee during the 111th Congress. He moves into the top minority spot since several of the longest-serving Democrat committee members, like Skelton, Rep. John Spratt (S.C.), and Rep. Gene Taylor (Miss.), aren’t returning after losing their re-lection bids. In related news, HASC Chairman-elect Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) announced the names of the new Republican committee members for the 112th: Rep. Mo Brooks (Ala.), Rep. Chris Gibson (N.Y.), Rep. Tim Griffin (Ark.), Rep. Vicky Hartzler (Mo.), Rep. Steve Palazzo (Miss.), Rep. Scott Rigell (Va.), Rep. Martha Roby (Ala.), Rep. Jon Runyan (N.J.), Rep. Bobby Schilling (Ill.), Rep. Austin Scott (Ga.), Allen West (Fla.), and Todd Young (Ind.).
The Air Force plans to have its new Integrated Capabilities Command stood up by the end of 2024, Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said May 2, offering new details of one of the signature reforms announced by the service earlier this year. Allvin said around 500-800 Airmen will…