Daily Report

The House Armed Services Committee's Republican majority staff issued a doom-and-gloom memo to Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) warning that potential cuts to the US military may make an all-volunteer force "unsustainable" and lead to the "return of the draft." The memo, dated Sept. 22, states that the Defense Department already is prepared to take a $465 billion hit to its budget over the next 10 years; further reductions would be "irresponsible," it asserts. "The Navy will likely mothball more than 60 ships . . . while we give up nearly a third of Army maneuver battalions and Air Force fighters, a quarter of our bombers, and jeopardize our ability to defend America against a nuclear attack," reads the attached executive statement. The staff members also warn that future cuts could lead to "longer and more frequent deployments," as well as "dramatically reduced" benefits for healthcare and retirement.

The Air Force will continue to offer voluntary officer-separation measures in Fiscal 2012 in order to help the service draw down to its Congressionally authorized end-strength level of 332,800 active duty airmen by the end of that fiscal year. Under...

A C-17 crew on a recent airdrop mission over Afghanistan diverted to escort a disabled B-1 Lancer to a safe landing back at the B-1’s operating base in Southwest Asia. “We were working a complex situation on the ground with...

The 50th Space Wing at Schriever AFB, Colo., accepted control authority for ORS-1, the Defense Department’s first Operationally Responsive Space satellite. Placed into orbit in June, ORS-1 will provide intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance support to troops in Southwest Asia, including Afghanistan and Iraq....

An E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System unit reached 70,000 flight hours in support of operations in US Central Command’s area of responsibility, including Afghanistan and Iraq, since 9/11. The 7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron, flying from...

The 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron earlier this month ended its T-6 advisory training mission with the Iraqi air force’s Squadron 203 at Tikrit Air Base. In just under two years, the unit graduated 11 Iraqi T-6 Texan II instructor...

The 363rd Training Squadron at Sheppard AFB, Tex., graduated the first class of senior noncommissioned officers from its new nine-level aircraft armament systems course. Fifteen master sergeants successfully completed the two-week course on Sept. 23. The Air Force established the...

The Defense Department remains committed to ironing out its differences with the Pakistani military, said Pentagon spokesman George Little. “We want to maintain a relationship with Pakistan that’s grounded in common interests, to include going after terrorists that threaten both...

The Defense Intelligence Agency, responsible for providing the US military with all-source intelligence, will celebrate its 50th birthday on Saturday. “We are more forward-deployed than ever, operating alongside our combat troops in harm’s way,” said DIA Director Army Lt. Gen....

American Forces Network Radio–Iraq, known as “Freedom Radio,” ended its eight-year-plus run of broadcasting in Baghdad. The station’s closure came as the US military’s pullout of Iraq entered its final 100 days before the end-of-year deadline. The station went off...