Engineers at the Arnold Engineering Development Center on the grounds of Arnold AFB, Tenn., last month successfully test fired the 100th rocket motor in the 15-year history of the center’s J-6 large rocket motor test facility. The Feb. 11 test was meant to validate the performance and structural integrity of a Minuteman III third-stage motor built in December 2000. “We want to make sure that these motors are performing the way they should,” said Randy Quinn, an AEDC project manager. The J-6 facility was built in the early 1990s and has been used since 1994 to test Minuteman, Peacekeeper, and other rocket motors. (March 6 Arnold report by Philip Lorenz III)
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.