Based in Washington, Jen managed Aviation Week’s worldwide defense, space and security coverage from 2013 to January 2024.
Prior to taking on the Executive Editor role, Jen was Aviation Week's Congressional Editor. Jen came to Aviation Week in March 2011 from Politico, where she covered the intersection of defense and politics. She also worked as a reporter and editor for Defense Daily, Inside the Army, The Other Paper and The Columbus Dispatch.
Jen received a Master’s degree in journalism as a Kiplinger Fellow at the Ohio State University. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in history and journalism from the University of Michigan.
Initial reaction from Capitol Hill to details of how the Pentagon will abide by congressionally mandated spending restrictions is already taking on a partisan tone. Republicans were quick to pounce on initial details of $487 billion in reductions to the Pentagon’s spending plans over the next decade laid out Jan. 26 by the top uniformed and civilian leaders of the military — taking aim at some program decisions and a massive reduction to the size of the ground forces.
DEFICIT DOOM: Gordon Adams, an American University professor who had a hand in the Clinton administration’s defense build-down, argues that the Obama administration is merely scratching the surface with its newly unveiled defense cuts, because the nation’s debt is so high that the need to cut the federal deficit will continue. “Washington is going to have to find about $4 trillion in spending and revenue changes over the next 10 years if the nation’s debt is to stabilize at 60% of GDP,” Adams said during a Brookings Institution event Jan. 26.
Rep. Frank Wolf is arguing that recent unrest in Egypt, including raids on nongovernmental groups there, could threaten ample foreign aid to the North African country. The Virginia Republican is circulating with House colleagues a letter he wrote to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that denounces recent raids conducted by Egyptian security and military forces on U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
