President Obama has nominated Army Gen. Carter Ham to be the next commander of US Africa Command. If confirmed by the Senate, Ham would replace Army Gen. Kip Ward, who has led AFRICOM since its inception in October 2007. Ham is currently serving as the commanding general of US Army Europe and Seventh Army, both in Heidelberg, Germany. AFRICOM is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. The command is charged with providing US military support to US government policy in Africa, including military-to-military relationships with African partner nations. (DOD release)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.