Air Force Reserve Command’s 916th Air Refueling Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., last week passed a no-notice nuclear operational readiness inspection. “Everyone performed superbly,” said Col. Randy Ogden, commander of the unit, which operates KC-135R tankers. The wing leadership received word on June 21 that four Air Mobility Command inspectors were on their way to the base. During the next two days, the inspectors reviewed the wing’s command post functions, tactics, intelligence, and a variety of other activities. Upon the inspectors’ departure on June 24 came the news that the wing had done so well, with the 916th intelligence shop earning a team recognition award. “We went above and beyond and the [inspection] team noticed,” said Ogden. According to wing officials, this is the second NORI that the unit has passed in an 18-month period. (Seymour Johnson report by Maj. Shannon Mann)
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…