The Air Force has to “think outside the box” about its role in warfare of the future, long-time defense analyst Jeremiah Gertler said at a Heritage Foundation seminar May 21. Gertler thinks USAF doesn’t have a “Day Two” plan for after it has established air dominance in any given theater. Gertler says the Air Force is in need of another Billy Mitchell type—a strong leader with a future-oriented mindset. We have heard this somewhere before (read “The Billy Mitchell Syndrome.”) Yesterday, we reported that Gertler also advocated that USAF must punch up its focus on mobility assets if it is to gain in the budget wars.
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Paparo Jr. assumed leadership of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, succeeding Navy Adm. John Aquilino at a change of command ceremony, urging action amid China's “increasing intrusive and expansionist claims,” on May 3