More than 100 marines returning to the United States from a tour in Afghanistan spent several days at the Air Force’s Deployment Transition Center at Ramstein AB, Germany, before completing the journey home. These marines of the 1st Explosives Ordnance Disposal Company from Camp Pendleton, Calif., were the first members of another service to go through the center, which opened last July, to help prepare airmen returning from combat to reintegrate into their lives back home. The center’s staff uses methods like guided group discussions and local sightseeing to allow the service members to decompress and share their experiences. Marine Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jason Perry, who worked with the marines at Ramstein, said it “was absolutely phenomenal” to see them transform “from completely wired coming right out of theater to finally relaxing” before reaching home. (Ramstein report by Capt. John Ross)
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…