Eleven Turkish soldiers were killed and 28 more were wounded in clashes with Kurdish militants inside the country as a fragile peace has held between Turkey and Kurdish fighters inside Syria. The clashes came in the southeastern province of Hakkari and eastern province of Van, and Turkish forces killed 33 Kurdish militants, according to the Associated Press. The clashes came as Turkish forces have continued their advance into Syria after taking the city of Jarablus from ISIS. At the same time, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces—which includes Kurdish fighters in the YPG, a group Turkey says is an extension of the PKK inside Turkey—have moved east across the Euphrates River after freeing the city of Manbij from ISIS. US officials, including Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Vice President Joe Biden have said the SDF must stay east of the river and not clash with Turkey in Syria to continue receiving US assistance, including airstrikes. Turkey said on Tuesday that two of its soldiers were killed in an ISIS attack, the AP reported.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…