During a stop at Manas Air Base, Rice spoke to airmen of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing and French and Spanish troops, thanking them for the way they “work together as a coalition—the way it should be.” Rice noted that the US has “strong allies in this fight,” which she said “is not an American fight but rather a fight of free peoples.” Her remarks struck home with SSgt. Sarah Byron-Smith, a 376th medic, who said, “I felt as though she, even at her level of power, had the right sight picture and knew what we were here to do.”
The Pentagon’s fiscal 2026 defense budget, submitted to Congress last week, accelerates the downsizing of the U.S. Air Force. It proposes divesting 340 aircraft, while only acquiring 76. These cuts risk the Air Force’s ability prevail. “Peace through strength” has...