<html><body><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div><br></div><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"><div><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>To the Editor:</span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span><br></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>There are disturbing aspects to the new command at the United States Air Force. I'll explain.</span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span><br></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>*****</span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span><br></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>NEW USSTRATCOM COMMANDER -- GENERAL JOHN E. HYTEN -- A COMPUTER GEEK</span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;">General John E. Hyten just got confirmed by the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee as the next USSTRATCOM Commander. </div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>The USSTRATCOM Commander controls the entire U.S. nuclear arsenal -- the "trident" of land-based nukes, submarine-based nukes, and nukes carried by strategic bombers.</span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>That's 1,481 strategic nuclear warheads deployed on 741 ICBMs, SLBMs, and strategic bombers, and another 2,570 non-deployed strategic warheads, and roughly 500 deployed and non-deployed tactical warheads.</span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>Hyten is unusual insofar as he was never actually a launch officer. Instead, Hyten is a Harvard-trained engineer who came up through the ranks as a space forces, software development, automated systems, configuration management guy.</span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>Meaning what?</span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>Meaning General Hyten thinks of a nuclear holocaust in the abstract.</span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>I'm interested in knowing what General Hyten's qualifications are in the areas of nuclear disarmament negotiations, diplomacy, and conflict resolution.</span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span><br></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>*****</span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;">NEW AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF -- GENERAL DAVID L. GOLDFEIN -- A DRONE PILOT </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span><br></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>Meanwhile, on July 21, former Air Force Vice Chief of Staff, General David Goldfein, was sworn in to succeed General Mark Welsh as Chief of Staff, the Air Force's most senior uniformed leader. General Goldfein the first CSAF to have flown a drone.</span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>Meaning what?</span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>Meaning that the USAF's top two head honchos think of war in the abstract.</span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>The recent buildup of NATO forces, along with President Obama's $1 trillion to upgrade and "modernize" the U.S. nuclear arsenal and production facilities, and Obama's refusal to agree to a No-First Use (NFU) policy, can only be viewed as provocations, and they are counterproductive in the struggle to de escalate tensions. </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>For both Hyten and Goldfein, the prospect of a nuclear holocaust may be nothing more than a war games exercise, just another exercise in remote killing. What would be an acceptable use of nuclear force? Would they recommend a tactical nuclear strike to take out North Korea's or Iran's nuclear production facilities, for instance? </span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span><br></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>*****</span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>Thank you.</span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span><br></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>John at www.kmecradio.org </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span> </span></div></div><div style="color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="_1mf _1mj" style="position: relative; direction: ltr;"><span>https://www.c-span.org/video/?415550-1/senate-armed-services-committee-considers-us-strategic-command-nomination</span></div></div></div></div></div><br></div></div><br></div></div><div><br></div></div></body></html>