The confirmation hearing is set for March 26 on the nomination of Ashton Carter, Harvard physicist and former Clinton Administration assistant secretary of defense for international security policy, to become the new Pentagon weapons czar, replacing John Young. President Obama formally nominated Carter on March 18, having signaled his intent to nominate him late last month.
Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held meetings with defense leaders from the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea during a trip to the Indo-Pacific this week.