Senate approves Daniel Driscoll as 26th Army secretary
Trump's nominee to take the Army's civilian reins was not viewed as a contentious pick and was approved on a 66-28 vote today.
Trump's nominee to take the Army's civilian reins was not viewed as a contentious pick and was approved on a 66-28 vote today.
"Well, I think there are going to be places where we're probably going to have to make choices that we're not thrilled about," Army Secretary Christine Wormuth says.
The nominee for Army Secretary also aims to end “friction” between civilian acquisition officials and Army Futures Command, she told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Some 22 of the Army’s 35 top programs are supposed to field some kind of capability in the next four years, even as budgets drop.
“What’s that going to mean from an operational perspective?” acting secretary John Whitley asks. “What’s that going to mean from a budgetary perspective?”
“She brings a wealth of experience in national security [that] will help her in the inevitable Pentagon brawls for funding,” retired Lt. Gen. Tom Spoehr told me.
While some prototype deliveries and field tests are being delayed, Army leaders said, there’s enough slack in the schedule that combat units will still get the new tech on time.
Israeli manufacturer Rafael says its anti-rocket system can now shoot down cruise missiles. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and acquisition chief Bruce Jette are saying, show us the data.
An elite team of researchers from Fort Detrick and Walter Reed briefed the Army Secretary and Chief of Staff last night. But are funding shortfalls, reorganization, and Pentagon politics getting in the way?
The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle is currently built by Oshkosh but the Army is seeking alternative manufacturers, who will get the government-owned Technical Data Package required to build it. The Army’s also reviewing how many JLTVs it really needs, Secretary Ryan McCarthy says.
"I believe we need the Space Force, in fact, in my opinion, a domain-specific service to organize, train, and equip space forces is overdue," Air Force Secretary nominee Barbara Barrett said.
Under Gen. Milley the Army went from two ready brigades to 25 and it finally -- after at least three false starts -- began to shed the heavy weight of the Cold War weapons known as the Big Five.
The Army can cope with regional dangers like Iran even as it refocuses on Russia and China, the secretary said. In fact, he said, the Army's controversial modernization program will help with both sets of threats.
“We need to have any sensor connect to any shooter at very rapid machine-to-machine speed,” Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said, “if we’re going to multi-domain operations.” But aye, there’s the rub: Are we?