The commission established to study how the Air Force could improve its structure will unveil its recommendations to the President and Congress on Jan. 30. Commission members will distribute their study report to House lawmakers and take questions from them during an hour-long public meeting on Capitol Hill that morning, followed by a similar meeting with senators later in the day, according to a posting at the commission’s website. “The report will contain a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the commission, together with its recommendations for such legislation and administrative actions it may consider appropriate in light of the results of the study,” states a notice issued on Jan. 13 by Barry Willey, commission spokesman. Earlier this month, the commission held its final public hearing at which Deborah James, the new Air Force Secretary, testified. Congress established the eight-member commission in Fiscal 2013 defense legislation, tasking it to determine whether, and how, to modify the Air Force’s make-up to meet current and anticipated mission requirements with available resources.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.