Gen. 
Robert Kehler last week assumed command of US Strategic Command at Offutt AFB, Neb. Defense Secretary Robert Gates presided over the change-of-command ceremony, during which Kehler took the reins of authority from Gen. Kevin Chilton, who led STRATCOM since October 2007 and is retiring from the Air Force after 34 years of uniformed service. “I pledge to you that the strategic challenges facing our nation will command all the energy and commitment I can muster,” Kehler told the approximately 1,000 ceremony attendees. He added, “The security challenges facing our nation are complex, unremitting and compelling. Addressing them requires our complete focus, effective partnerships, and synchronized efforts.” Kehler comes to Offutt from Peterson AFB, Colo., where he led Air Force Space Command since October 2007. Prior to that assignment, he was STRATCOM’s deputy commander. Chilton’s retirement takes effect on Feb. 1. (Offutt release) (Kehler’s updated biography)
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…