Congress has gotten slightly more serious about attempting to safeguard social security numbers for military members. The issue surfaced earlier this year during the data theft debacle at Veterans Affairs. Buried in the just passed 2007 defense authorization bill is a demand for DOD to provide an “assessment” of the “feasibility” of using military ID cards without an individual’s social security number. The Pentagon must submit said assessment within 180 days of the defense bill becoming law.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
