The announced organization will continue our customer focus, improve our ability to execute and position Boeing for sustainable, long-term growth and profitability in a changing market environment.

Programs come and go. Enduring needs are just that.

On the positive side, we learned how important mobility and precision strike and global situation awareness and integrated command and control were. On the negative side, I think we also understand that fratricide or friendly fire continues to be an issue.

People touching product and programs won't be affected much.

We're not going to continue to enjoy 10 percent compound [sales] growth. It's going to be down in the 2-4 percent range.

There is less work to be garnered out there and this is a way to do it.

Commercial information and communications are areas where we understand the customer, where we bring unique solutions no one else has the capabilities or resources to provide.

Howard brings to this position a wealth of experience managing large, complex programs. He has held a number of increasingly important leadership roles in the company and these experiences are vitally important to our government space customers and to our commercial business.

That's not going to change just because Secretary Rumsfeld might move on, any more than tomorrow we might decide we're going to throw away our computers and start writing letters again.