During a background briefing Friday, a senior Air Force official revealed that the 2008 defense budget cuts the number of Combat Wing Equivalents—a 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review construct—from the 86 CWEs mandated in the QDR to 78 CWEs. It would seem that the lawmakers and defense analysts who decried the QDR as a cost-cutting exercise that used no strategic analysis to determine force structure requirements were right on the money.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III outlined Dec. 4 the vital importance of U.S. defense investment keeping pace with that of China before issuing a statement warning that such competition would suffer “irreparable” damage if Congress opts for a yearlong continuing resolution, a real possibility being discussed by lawmakers after…