Air Force Materiel Command’s enlisted force nominated its boss, Gen. Donald Hoffman, to receive the highest honor that it can bestow: the Order of the Sword. “Only a limited few are selected and Gen. Hoffman has certainly proven himself to be the kind of leader that the order recognizes,” said CMSgt. Eric Jaren, AFMC command chief. “In this tough fiscal environment, he has continued to make a positive impact on our enlisted airmen by promoting education and training initiatives and by making investments in facilities that impact airmen,” added Jaren. Hoffman’s induction ceremony will take place at the National Museum of the US Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, on March 30. Hoffman has led AFMC since November 2008. He is stepping down and is expected to retire after a 38-year Air Force career. (Wright-Patterson report by Brian Brackens)
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…