House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) believes military readiness is in jeopardy, as well (see above). Army and Marine Corps leaders appeared before his panel Tuesday, citing equipment shortfalls that have led to training deficiencies. Skelton targeted President Bush’s planned escalation of US ground forces in Iraq, when he declared that the increase would simply exacerbate readiness difficulties and “limit our ability to fight the war on terror.” He said, “I am convinced a 20,000 troop increase is too little far too late to make a difference in Iraq’s security, this is a trade-off I cannot support.”
After months of unexpected delays, the Air Force’s MH-139 Grey Wolf is set to enter military utility testing within the coming month, a service program officer said. The Air Force first announced flight testing of the Grey Wolf, intended to patrol the service’s sprawling intercontinental ballistic missile fields, in February…