Early Bird Brief: Navy leaders explain decision to restore ratings titles..........MORE

Today's Top 5

1. Top Navy leaders explain decision to restore ratings titles (Military Times) The Navy on Wednesday announced that sailors’ ratings titles will be restored, effective immediately. To explain the decision, Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Steven Giordano held an all-hands meeting at the Pentagon Wednesday morning. Here’s what they had to say.

2. Boeing, Lockheed CEOs Meet with Trump Over F-35, Air Force One (Defense News) The CEOs for Lockheed Marin and Boeing met Wednesday with president-elect Donald Trump, with Boeing head Dennis Muilenburg offering Trump his personal promise that the Air Force One replacement program will not exceed $4 billion.

3. Air Force finds 19 bases have too-long PT tracks; promises remedy for wrongful failures (Air Force Times) An Air Force-wide review has found 19 bases with running or walking tracks that were too long, and the service is promising to make things right for airmen who wrongly failed their physical fitness tests as a result of the mismeasurements.

4. U.S. says it concluded its anti-ISIS campaign in Libya (Associated Press) The U.S. says it has concluded its campaign against the Islamic State group's affiliate in Libya after the downfall of the group in its only remaining foothold in the chaotic North African country.

5. Israel Claims Suggest Lebanese Violation of US Export Law (Defense News) A senior Israeli defense official on Wednesday confirmed what US experts had been questioning for more than a month: that US troop carriers provided by Washington to Beirut are being operated by Hizbollah in Syria in support of the Bashar Assad regime, which experts note as a violation of export controls.