The Pentagon said May 10 that President Bush will nominate Vice Adm. Eric T. Olson, for a fourth star and to head US Special Operations Command, replacing Army Gen. Bryan Brown, who plans to retire. Olson currently serves as SOCOM deputy commander. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the first naval officer to head the 20-year-old command. The Army has dominated leadership of the special ops combatant command, with one exception: Air Force Gen. Charles Holland commanded SOCOM from Oct. 27, 200 to Sept. 2, 2003.
The Air Force is moving forward with a new, algorithm-driven system to help U.S. Northern Command better detect airborne threats. NORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which are tasked with protecting the homeland from attack, depend on a slew of radars and other data systems to monitor U.S.…