Daily Report

May 4, 2016

Quality vs. Quantity

The armed services are all facing a quantity versus quality problem, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said Tuesday at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. “Quantity does have a quality all along in our business,”...

A Natural Evolution

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh on Tuesday pushed back against the term “unmanned” in reference to remotely piloted aircraft, noting that it is “a heavily manned” enterprise, even if the airmen involved are “not all sitting on...

Scaparrotti Takes Over EUCOM

Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti took over command of US European Command during a ceremony on Tuesday, replacing retiring Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove. Scaparrotti arrives in Brussels after serving as commander of US Forces Korea and as commander of ISAF...

SEAL Killed in Iraq

A US Navy SEAL was killed Tuesday morning when ISIS fighters infiltrated a Peshmerga position in Northern Iraq. The SEAL was advising Peshmerga fighters about three to five kilometers behind a forward line of troops when ISIS fighters attacked the...

Buying More F-35s

The Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin a $1.27 billion not-to-exceed undefinitized modification to a previously awarded F-35 low-rate initial production contract, according to a contract announcement. The modification will provide for the delivery of three F-35As for the Air Force, six...

Eagles Depart Iceland

Four F-15C Eagles from Barnes ANGB, Mass., have completed the Icelandic portion of the latest theater security package (TSP) sent to Europe. The aircraft, assigned to the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 131st Fighter Squadron, departed Iceland on April 30 after...

Heithold Nominated for Order of the Sword

Air Force Special Operations Command boss Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold was nominated to be inducted into the Order of the Sword—the highest honor awarded by the enlisted force—April 29. Heithold called the day the proudest of his career in a...

France Wants More Hellfires

France is seeking to almost double the amount of Hellfire missiles it is buying from the US government. The State Department has approved the possible $30 million sale of an additional 200 Hellfire Missiles, Hellfire Missile conversion kits, blast fragmentation...

Correction

An entry in the April 21 Daily Report cited incorrect information about Eugene Bullard. He was the world’s first black aviator and a member of the Lafayette Flying Corps. We have updated the original entry.