Defense Secretary Robert Gates has nominated Navy Vice Adm. David Venlet to lead the much-talked-about F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program office, after months of speculation that the three-star would be tapped for the position. Venlet serves as the commander of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in Patuxent River, MD. He replaces Marine Corps Maj. Gen. David Heinz, who Gates fired in February, calling the program office's cost estimates "too optimistic." At the time, Gates said he would elevate the top...
