Joint Chiefs Chairman Army Gen. Martin Dempsey told Afghan and US reporters in Kabul on Monday that he would not recommend the “zero option” of pulling out all US troops from Afghanistan after the completion of NATO’s combat mission there at the end of 2014. Dempsey, in Afghanistan for meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and senior officials, said he had a “significant level of confidence” in the Afghan security forces, but the Afghans’ progress is “not irreversible,” should US and NATO advising and training support stop. “An interruption in that progress could be a setback for the country,” he said. A follow-on US-Afghan security agreement is critical to continuing the development of the country’s security forces, said Dempsey. The signing of that agreement might be possible by October, putting in place the framework for the post-2014 training, assisting, and advising mission, he said. (AFPS report by Jim Garamone)
Due to the prolonged delay in deliveries of the Tech Refresh 3 version of the F-35 fighter, Denmark is pulling six of its TR-2-configured F-35 jets stationed in the U.S. back to home base in order to consolidate aircraft and get better training for its pilots and maintainers, the Danish…