: Maj. Gen. Darryl Roberson, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing commander at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, recently logged his 5,000th flying hour during a mission from the base in an F-15E. Roberson, who has commanded the wing since last April, has flown the F-4, F-15, F-16, and F-22 throughout his 29-year Air Force career. After hitting the historic milestone, he gave credit to the many airmen who make it possible for sorties to take off and recover every day across the Air Force. “Instructors, flight leads, wingmen, weapons systems officers, maintainers, specialists, flight surgeons and medical staff, admin specialists to track events and flying time . . . weathermen, sweepers, security forces protecting assets. . . . I could go on,” he said. “This is a testament to our Air Force and our nation.” (Bagram photo caption by A1C Ericka Engblom)
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…