Congress has reached agreement on the Fiscal 2006 defense appropriations bill. There was no word yet on just what the final total would be, reports Congressional Quarterly. The Senate and House each cut the Administration’s defense request in their separate measures, $7 billion and $3 billion respectively. Rumsfeld has said he will urge President Bush to veto the spending bill if it comes in under the request. Of course, we are still waiting to see whether there will be a companion authorization bill. Apparently, the Senate has been too busy on other matters.
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.