A team of “very senior retired military officers” recently completed an assessment of the entire Air Force Global Strike Command community to determine whether the wide-spread changes implemented over the last few years are working, AFGSC vice commander Maj. Gen. Michael Fortney said at an AFA Mitchell Institute event Friday. Fortney declined to name the officers or say how many there were, but he did say they were not just from the Air Force. The “small team” found that for the most part the changes that stemmed from the ad hoc Force Improvement Program were a success, he said, noting they found “tremendous improvement in morale and few surprises.” However, Fortney said there is still some work to be done. The team has verbally briefed Global Strike commander Gen. Robin Rand, who directed the independent review, but Fortney declined to say what recommendations were made.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III outlined Dec. 4 the vital importance of U.S. defense investment keeping pace with that of China before issuing a statement warning that such competition would suffer “irreparable” damage if Congress opts for a yearlong continuing resolution, a real possibility being discussed by lawmakers after…