The findings of the Pentagon’s internal review of the US military’s nuclear enterprise are due to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel by the end of April, according to a memorandum that Hagel issued last week. Further, Hagel asked the two retired general officers leading the independent review of nuclear forces to commence their work on March 3 and report their findings to Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey and him by June 2, according to a second memo. The Pentagon released both Hagel memos, dated Feb. 10, on Feb 14. Hagel ordered the two reviews after allegations of cheating on nuclear-related exams in the Air Force and Navy came to light earlier this year. Madelyn Creedon, assistant secretary of defense for global strategic affairs, and Rear Adm. Pete Fanta of the Joint Staff are overseeing the internal review, which is already underway. Retired Gen. Larry Welch, former Air Force Chief of Staff, and retired Adm. John Harvey, former head of Fleet Forces Command, are conducting the independent assessment.
The Pentagon’s new counter-drone task force will play a direct role in arming Airmen with new weapons to defend Air Force agile combat employment, or ACE, air bases in austere locations against enemy drone attacks, the director of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 said Oct. 14.
