The 
new development and training flight of Air Force Reserve Command’s 507th Air Refueling Wing at Tinker AFB, Okla., earlier this month held its inaugural event to help Reserve enlisted accessions with their transition to life in the Air Force. Twenty-two enlistees, all of whom are awaiting basic military training, took part, according to a Dec. 13 wing release. “It was nice to see different recruits getting different things out of this first weekend,” said MSgt. Tom Lord of the 507th Medical Squadron. After arriving at Tinker and spending Friday night on base, the recruits experienced the next day as if they were at boot camp, with presentations, along with physical fitness and drills, according to the release. “I’m really glad I was able to see the mental side of this,” said Tanner Daugherty, who leaves for BMT in early January. AFRC introduced the DTF concept in 2011 and has been incrementally expanding the program to its units across the country. (Tinker report by SrA. Mark Hybers)
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…