Defense Secretary Robert Gates has named the other members of the newly created Task Force on Nuclear Weapons Management, which last week he said would be led by James Schlesinger. The members are: retired Air Force Gen. Michael Carns, retired Adm. Edmund Giambastiani, John Hamre, Franklin Miller, Jacques Gansler, J.D. Crouch, and Christopher Williams, currently on the Defense Policy Board. Gates has given the task force a short deadline to review the classified Donald Report and the various reviews conducted by the Air Force, Navy, and Defense Logistics Agency, making its first initial assessment, focused on the Air Force, within 60 days. The Air Force already has begun implementing some changes following two internal and one external review conducted after the mistaken transfer of nuclear-equipped cruise missiles from North Dakota to Louisiana.
The Department of the Air Force wants to launch a construction boom with its fiscal 2027 budget, more than doubling its request over 2026, according to budget documents.