Army SSgt. Robert J. Miller will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor Wednesday for his heroic actions in Afghanistan in 2008. President Obama will present the award to Miller’s parents during a White House ceremony. Operating in the Gowardesh Valley with a special forces detachment, Miller drew fire following an ambush by superior enemy forces on the night of Jan. 25, 2008. Continuing on despite receiving gunshot wounds that would prove fatal, he turned the tide of battle, displaying “immeasurable courage and uncommon valor,” according to a White House release. Miller is credited with saving the lives of seven detachment members and 15 Afghan soldiers. He was 24 years old when he died. The native of Harrisburg, Pa., is the third MOH recipient for actions in Afghanistan. He will be inducted into the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes on Thursday. (Official Army narrative)
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…