Brig. Gen. William Binger assumed command of Air Force Reserve Command’s 10th Air Force from Maj. Gen. Frank Padilla during a ceremony at NAS JRB Fort Worth, Tex., last week. As an F-16 command pilot who has flown 40 combat missions over Iraq, Binger will oversee one of USAF’s most diverse numbered air forces, said Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, AFRC chief, during the ceremony, Nov. 5. Tenth Air Force responsibilities include AFRC’s fighter, bomber, special operations, rescue, airborne warning and control, flight training, combat air operations battle staff, remotely piloted aircraft, space and cyber units. “This is an exciting time to lead 10th AF, and I’m honored to be a part of the long blue line of professional airmen who have commanded the power and vigilance NAF,” said Binger. Padilla, who commanded 10th AF for two and a half years, will become the new deputy inspector general for the Air Force at the Pentagon. (Fort Worth release by MSgt. Julie Briden-Garcia)
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…