Another reason Gen. Bruce Carlson isn’t a long shot to head US Pacific Command (see above) is that his immediate predecessor, Gen. Gregory Martin, originally was picked for the PACOM job. He withdrew when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) threatened to turn Martin’s confirmation process into a circus over USAF’s tanker lease program and the Darleen Druyun affair. Martin did nothing wrong, but wanted to spare the service a public rehash of the tanker soap opera. The Pentagon then tapped Adm. William Fallon to replace Martin as the PACOM nominee.
A Defense Department team is on the ground in Ukraine assessing what the country needs to protect itself from air, naval, electronic, and cyber warfare threats as Russian troops gather on multiple fronts, a senior Ukrainian defense official told Air Force Magazine, describing an emphasis on what assistance can be…