Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said on Tuesday he hopes the Quadrennial Defense Review turns into a Defense Department plan for 2023, much like one underway right now for the Air Force. It’s important for the individual services to have the debates, but then DOD needs to fund the priorities and get going, said Welsh at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference. Maj. Gen. Steven Kwast, the Air Force’s QDR director, echoed that sentiment later in the day. However, Kwast said long-time followers of the QDR might be a disappointed this year. “It’s going to be something a little unexpected,” said Kwast. “In the past, it was deep and it covered every subject and was extensive. Then, it was turned into a nice glossy that was usually ignored by Congress,” he said. This year, though, with so much fiscal uncertainty, the review will be more focused. “We will not take a full year. The deep work will happen over the next few months,” said Kwast, who said the plan is to deliver the QDR to Congress by February.
The U.S. continued to move a significant amount of airpower toward the Middle East in recent days as talks to forge a nuclear deal with Iran hung in the balance. Flight tracking data indicate there was unusually heavy movement of dozens of fighter jets and other assets that might be…
