Air National Guardsmen from C-130 units in Alaska and New York dropped about 20,000 pounds of supplies to soldiers in an austere part of southern Afghanistan during their first formation airdrop. Operating with the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron from Bagram Airfield, they took two C-130s on back-to-back missions June 22, carrying food, fuel, ammunition, and water in support of forward operating bases in Oruzgan province. “These types of missions are typically flown at night,” said Lt. Col. Chris Thurn, a C-130 pilot and mission commander. “The second aircraft had to perform fluid travel maneuvers from the three [o’clock] to nine o’clock positions to mitigate threats and keep from becoming predictable.” Lt. Col. Rich Adams, 774th EAS commander, said: “Airdropping supplies keeps people out of harm’s way and keeps warfighters in the fight.” (Bagram release by MSgt. Mary Davis)
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…