A specially configured C-130H from Air Force Reserve Command’s 910th Airlift Wing at Youngstown ARS, Ohio, deployed with 10 airmen to Barksdale AFB, La., to conduct aerial spray missions over that state to prevent the spread of mosquitoes and filth flies in the wake of Hurricane Ike. The insects are capable of causing outbreaks of disease such as West Nile Virus if not controlled. The unit’s remaining three modified C-130s were expected to depart Youngstown yesterday for Barksdale, the Air Force announced Wednesday. Each modified C-130 is capable of spraying about 80,000 acres per day. These missions are being coordinated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Center for Disease Control, and state public health officials. The Ohio wing is the only military unit tasked to maintain a full-time, fixed-wing aerial spray capability.
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…