President Obama said he intends to nominate Navy Deputy Undersecretary Eric Fanning to be the next Air Force undersecretary. If the Senate confirms him, Fanning would fill the service’s No. 2 top leadership post that’s been vacant since June with the departure of Erin Conaton to be the Pentagon’s personnel and readiness chief. “I am honored by the President’s announcement, and look forward to working with the Congress and continuing to serve the Department of Defense during the confirmation process,” said Fanning in the White House’s Aug. 1 release. He is currently the sea service’s deputy undersecretary for business operations and transformation and its deputy chief management officer. In addition to representing the Air Force on behalf of the Secretary, the undersecretary is the Air Force’s chief management officer, its senior energy official, and the focal point for space issues within Air Force Headquarters. Jamie Morin has been the Air Force’s acting undersecretary for the past month. (See also Air Force headquarters release.)
Unmanned aerial vehicles are fair game for U.S. Special Operations Command’s armed overwatch platform competition, Air Force Special Operations Command boss Lt. James C. “Jim” Slife told reporters on Feb. 26. However, the MQ-9 Reaper drone might not be up to the challenge in its current form, he suggested during…