The Pentagon's No. 2 official has formally directed the Air Force to prepare to contribute one C-17 aircraft to a new initiative designed to give European nations and the NATO alliance an independent strategic airlift capability. Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England on Jan. 12 directed the Air Force to work with the office of the Pentagon's acquisition executive to hammer out the details of the U.S. portion of a 16-nation deal to establish a fleet of as many as four...