US Central Command Air Forces executed a close air support mission for coalition forces in contact with anti-Iraqi forces in the vicinity of Balad, Iraq. On Dec. 20, USAF F-16s strafed an enemy location and fired precision guided munitions, while US Navy F-14s strafed anti-Iraqi forces setting up an improvised explosive device.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall doesn’t see great value in trying to break the Sentinel ICBM program off as a separate budget item the way the Navy has with its ballistic-missile submarine program, saying such a move wouldn’t create any new money for the Air Force to spend on other…