Senior Army leaders from Combined Joint Task Force-82 on Monday met with airmen of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, and thanked them for their contribution to the joint fight in that country. “Soldiers and marines on the ground know they can rely on airmen to bring them airpower when they need it,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, CJTF-82 boss. He added, “We know your families miss you, but it’s important for us to be here.” (Bagram photo caption by SSgt. J.G. Buzanowski)
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…