The Senate on Jan. 20 confirmed retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki to head the Department of Veterans Affairs. < Brig. Gen. Eric Crabtree took command of 4th Air Force from Maj. Gen. Robert Duignan during a Jan. 25 ceremony at March ARB, Calif., presided over by Air Force Reserve Command boss Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner Jr.; Duignan retired. < The US Forest Service is taking comments about an Air Force request to continue using part of the Lewis and Clark National Forest to train helicopter search and rescue crews out of Malmstrom AFB, Mont., reports the Great Falls Tribune. < Eglin Air Force Base in Florida has a piece of beachfront property that would be ideal for a 17-acre military resort that could provide the Air Force a “steady income stream,” reports the Northwest Florida Daily News; known as the Emerald Breeze Resort, the proposed facility would cater to military but be open to the public.
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.