Chiefs from the NATO Military Committee have discussed efforts to address security and stability challenges in the southern part of Europe during a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, DoD News reported Wednesday.

Czech Army General Petr Pavel, chairman of the NATO military committee, said the chiefs and representatives from partner nations conversed about the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, operations against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria as well as the situations in Georgia and Ukraine.

“We discussed the strategic, operational and political context in and around Afghanistan, as well as our main effort to train, assist and advise the Afghan security forces and institutions,” said Pavel.

“We deliberated how NATO could adapt our current activity within our training and capacity-building initiative in Iraq, upon request by the Iraqi authorities and taking into consideration the importance of local ownership and buy-in.”

U.S. Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, NATO supreme allied commander for Europe, noted alliance members have responded to the situation in Georgia and Ukraine and performed activities such as the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force and Baltic Air Policing enhanced air policing and ongoing maritime operations.

Michael Griffin, the White House’s nominee for defense undersecretary for research and engineering, has expressed his support to the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental and the Pentagon’s strategic capabilities office during his Senate confirmation hearing, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

Griffin, former NASA administrator, told Senate Armed Services Committee members Thursday that DIUx and SCO work to facilitate the acquisition process, promote innovation and encourage companies to collaborate with DoD.

He said he intends to reform the Pentagon’s weapons procurement process and address the “valley of death” between technology development and production once confirmed.

“It’s very difficult to set aside and fence money specifically for transition, so one of the things I would like to do if I’m confirmed, is I would like to more formalize the role of transition offices,” he told lawmakers.

“If we think we have a problem with transition… I think the first step to solving it is to put someone in charge of it and give them that task,” he added.

Col. Heath Collins, formerly senior materiel leader and system program manager for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent Systems Program Office at the U.S. Air Force‘s Nuclear Weapons Center, has been assigned as program executive officer for fighters and bombers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, announced Collins’ new assignment in a Defense Department press release published Thursday.

Collins, who joined the service branch in 1993, managed the program office responsible for the procurement of GBSD intercontinental ballistic missile technology for nearly two years.

He previously served as deputy director for remote sensing systems at the Los Angeles-based Space and Missile Systems Center and helped procure the Air Force’s space-based missile warning, defense, battlespace, intelligence and weather monitoring systems.

He also led the Defense Department‘s airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, space and special programs during his stint at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence.

Collins earned master’s degrees from National Defense University, Air University and Florida State University.

Matthew Donovan, U.S. Air Force undersecretary, has said Congress’ failure to pass a full appropriations bill could potentially delay the B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber program, Military.com reported Thursday.

Donavan, who assumed his post in August 2017, said at an Air Force Association event Thursday in Washington that a long-term continuing resolution that funds programs at current spending levels could impact the B-21 program’s engineering, manufacturing and development phase.

“Our FY 2017 budget is $1.3 billion, but our FY18 request is $2 billion, so if we’re not able to ramp up on our schedule for the acquisition program baseline, then of course it’s going to have an impact on it,” he noted.

His statements came a day after House lawmakers proposed another stopgap measure in an effort to avert a government shutdown and fund federal agencies through Feb. 16.

Northrop Grumman was awarded a contract in October 2015 to develop the B-21 plane.

He said the Air Force expects the first bomber to meet initial operating capability by mid-2020s and cited the need for the service to carry out a “zero-based review” of budget lines, programs and manpower authorizations before it drafts the budget request for fiscal 2020.