The Navy’s top officer has announced that the fleet this year will shrink by a net of at least 10 warships, bringing the total below 280. The fleet hasn’t been that small since the 1930s, when the US was a regional power and the Navy did not have global duties. Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the Chief of Naval Operations, noted that the Navy will take delivery of three new destroyers, three bew amphibious transport docks, and one new attack submarine, but those additions are offset by retirements.
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.