Gen. Martin Dempsey on Monday became Army Chief of Staff, succeeding Gen. George Casey. “Whatever challenges confront us in the future, your Army will respond with the same courage and resolve with which it has responded over the past 235 years,” said Dempsey at his assumption-of-command ceremony at Fort Myer, Va. Defense Secretary Robert Gates praised Dempsey at the event for his “keen mind, strategic vision, quiet confidence, and the energy he brings to every assignment.” Dempsey comes to the Army Chief post from Army Training and Doctrine Command, which he led since December 2008. Prior to that, he was US Central Command’s deputy commander and then acting commander for six months after Navy Adm. William Fallon resigned in March 2008. Casey, who had been Army Chief since April 2007, is retiring after more than 40 years in uniform. (AFPS report by Jim Garamone)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.