Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm hopes to snag the new Joint Cargo Aircraft mission for the state’s Air National Guard unit at Battle Creek, the 110th Fighter Wing. She is joining a growing list of state governors who are trying to secure a new flying mission for Air Guard units that will lose their aircraft under BRAC 2005. (See this item from last week and below.) The 110th FW is slated to lose its A-10 attack jets to another Michigan ANG unit in Selfridge. Granholm touted the potential of Battle Creek during a visit to the facility by National Guard Bureau chief Lt. Gen. Steven Blum.
Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Defense Department needs to upgrade its electronic warfare capability and its EW training ranges; just as his predecessor said at his own confirmation hearing.