USAF Gen. John W. Handy, commander of US Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command, will retire Wednesday after 40 years of active military service. The ceremony, to be held at Scott AFB, Ill., also will mark the first separation of TRANSCOM and AMC command responsibilities. (The unified transportation command was created in 1987.) USAF Gen. Norton A. Schwartz will replace Handy as commander of TRANSCOM. Lt. Gen. Duncan McNabb was nominated July 14 to receive a fourth star and become the new head of AMC, the Senate Armed Services Committee did not take up his nomination before the August recess. As of Monday, the committee had not posted its confirmation hearing schedule.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.