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.
Lobbying efforts to push back on the Obama administration’s proposal to increase aviation taxes to reduce the U.S. deficit are in full swing, as evidenced by a pair of Nov. 2 letters to the congressional super committee and the White House. In one letter, the CEOs of leading airline and airfreight companies banded together to oppose the increases, particularly an administration proposal they say will triple security taxes by 2017.
To save money in the near term, the U.S. Air Force plans to phase in testing of its next-generation bomber’s nuclear capabilities. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told lawmakers Nov. 2 that the new bomber will be designed to perform both nuclear and conventional long-range strike missions. But the bomber won’t be certified for the nuclear missions at the start.
The size of potential budget reductions facing the Pentagon may put the U.S. Navy’s decision to move a nuclear aircraft carrier from Virginia to Florida back on the table, according to the chief of naval operations. In a letter to Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), Adm. Jonathan Greenert says moving the carrier from Norfolk, Va., to Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Fla., remains a “sound” strategic decision. But that may not be enough.
