Donald Winter, resigned as Navy Secretary March 13, as he had planned. “As I relinquish my duties as Secretary of the Navy, I count myself blessed for having had the opportunity to serve as your Secretary,” he said in a release to sailors and marines. Winter assumed the post as 74th Navy Secretary in January 2006. He had agreed to remain in office until March 13 to ease the transition inside the Pentagon as the Obama Administration assembled its defense leadership team. B.J. Penn will serve as acting Navy Secretary until the Senate confirms a yet-to-be-announced nominee whom President Obama will select. Unlike Winter, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley agreed to stay on indefinitely in the new Administration. And, Pete Geren remains Army Secretary for the time being.
As the threat of Iranian-made drones grew, the Air Force rushed last year to equip F-15E Strike Eagles in the Middle East with a cheap, cost-effective way of defeating them. The service fielded the new capability in roughly a week.
