The confirmation hearing for US Strategic Command boss Gen. John Hyten’s promotion to become vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff veered between strategic military matters and questions about allegations of sexual misconduct levied against him by a former member of his staff. “I’m intensely aware of the allegations made against me concerning one of the most serious problems we have in the military: sexual assault,” Hyten told the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 30. “It has been a painful time for me and my family, but I want to state to you and to the American people, in the strongest possible terms, that these allegations are false. … Nothing happened, ever.” His accuser, Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser, told reporters after the hearing that Hyten had lied under oath. SASC Chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) intends to hold a vote July 31 to send Hyten’s nomination to the full chamber. Read the full story by Rachel S. Cohen.

The recent joint Russian-Chinese bomber patrol in the vicinity of Japan and South Korea is spurring concerns that the two countries may increase their military collaboration, creating a tougher situation for America’s deterrent posture in the region, Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. C.Q. Brown said July 30. Brown also noted that America’s push to put fifth-generation F-35s in the Pacific region will be eclipsed by international partners as they take on the bulk of Joint Strike Fighters in the area. The Arctic and Antarctic are growing areas of concern for PACAF as well, while US adversaries jockey for positions and power at the poles—even though the treaty keeping Antarctica free from ownership doesn’t expire for 30 years. Read the full report by John A. Tirpak.

The Air Force’s A-29 training program for the Afghan military has largely succeeded at producing capable pilots, according to a new watchdog report, even as the program plans to ditch its most effective feature: flying in the US. “US-based aviation training has resulted in a quantifiable improvement in [Afghan Air Force] capabilities and improved professionalization of Afghan personnel,” the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said in a July 29 report. That training at Moody AFB, Ga., will end next year. Read the full story by Brian Everstine.

Army Pfc. Brandon Jay Kreischer, 20, of Ohio, and Spc. Michael Isaiah Nance, 24, of Illinois, died July 29 after being wounded in a combat-related incident in Afghanistan’s Uruzgan Province, the Defense Department said July 30. The soldiers were assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. The circumstances surrounding their deaths are still under investigation. Twelve American service members have been killed in Afghanistan so far this year, after 13 were killed in all of 2018. —Rachel S. Cohen

Air Force F-15Es fighters, a Navy anti-submarine warfare patrol aircraft, and a destroyer practiced using USAF aircraft to defend and support US surface ships during a July 24 exercise in the Persian Gulf. The exercise comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the US and its allies in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Read the full story by Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory.