Gen. Craig R. McKinley receives his fourth star from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and takes charge of the National Guard Bureau. He is the first four-star general to head the NGB and the first Air Force officer since 2002.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
