President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday met with a team of military leaders, including Air Force leaders and acquisition officials. The team included Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson, Air Mobility Command chief Gen. Carlton Everhart, F-35 program executive Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence Lt. Gen. Jack Weinstein, according to a pool report of the briefing released by Politico. Other military leaders included Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William Moran, Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. James Syring, Navy acquisition head Vice Adm. David Johnson, and Naval Sea Systems Command chief Vice Adm. Thomas Moore. Trump said after the meeting he was “trying to get costs down,” primarily of the F-35.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…