The Senate on July 13 confirmed Pete Geren to become the next Secretary of the Army. President Bush nominated Geren, who has been serving as acting Army Secretary since Francis Harvey got the boot earlier this year over the wounded warrior problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Geren, a former Congressman from Texas, also served for about three months as acting Air Force Secretary, after which he returned to his former position as special assistant to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld before becoming Undersecretary of the Army.
Congress wants new engines in the F-35 fleet, with installs starting in 2027, according to language in the conference version of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. The Air Force is to use at least one of the engines developed under the Advanced Engine Transition Program, but the Navy and…