The head of US Forces Korea, Army Gen. Burwell Bell, testified last week at a House Armed Services Committee hearing that it is time to switch the one-year tour to South Korea to a “normal, three-year accompanied tour.” Bell explained, “It’s time to end our one-year war zone rotational tours which needlessly add to our high worldwide operational tempo while handicapping our engagement opportunities with our longtime Korean ally.” Burwell said he is looking for Congressional fiscal support while he pursues the change within Pentagon channels. (Currently, the Air Force permits some personnel to serve 24 month accompanied tours.)
The U.S. could lose its ability to effectively operate in space without action to lower the number of objects in low Earth orbit, top U.S. generals said. Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. Thompson said his biggest concern was not debris from objects currently in orbit but the…