Army Secretary Francis Harvey told defense reporters in Washington Thursday morning that the services definitely need more cargo airplanes. He included in that assessment the new Army-Air Force Joint Cargo Aircraft program to produce “a son of a C-130,” but he emphasized the need for additional strategic airlift, specifically USAF’s C-17. “Remember that the C-17 is very key to the deployability of the Army’s [Future Combat System],” said Harvey, adding that “21st century conflicts require rapid deployability.”
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.