A key component of implementing the Obama Administration’s new defense strategic guidance, which places more emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region, is strengthening military-to-military ties with India, according to US Pacific Command officials. “We hope to partner with [India] to share the strategic landscape as it applies to how we apply security to the globe” in order to allow prosperity, peace, and freedom of movement, said PACOM boss Adm. Samuel Locklear in an Aug. 14 Pentagon release. While India has been a leader in the non-aligned movement for most of its post-independence history, the country has been increasingly willing to engage the United States as India rises on the world stage. It has conducted three strategic dialogues with the United States since 2010, states the release. Army Col. Michael Albaneze, director of PACOM’s India strategic focus group that advises Locklear, said the US-India relationship is undergoing a “maturing process,” with both sides interested in increasing the complexity of mil-to-mil exercises and engagements over time. (AFPS report by Donna Miles)
The Air Force is requesting about $141 million for initial enlistment bonuses in its fiscal 2026 budget, while Space Force wants $13 million.
