Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) suggested to Adm. Robert Willard, US Pacific Command boss, last week during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on potential Chinese security threats that the Pentagon should “put even more emphasis on the need for the next generation bomber” in light of Beijing’s new ballistic missile capability that threatens aircraft carriers. Willard said he couldn’t discuss details openly about new protection initiatives, but he noted that “we have to look broadly” at a range of capabilities. He added, “Certainly our bomber force and any recapitalization of our bomber force, extended range weapons, as well as our ability to penetrate with our surface ships and not give up access where we require it, are all parts of the defense strategy to accomplish that.” Fleming, by the way, is co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Long Range Strike.
The top Air Force commander on on the Japanese island of Okinawa has clamped down alcohol and issued a curfew for junior enlisted Airmen and Guardians at Kadena Air Base for the next month. The order came roughly two weeks after a U.S. Marine was arrested for allegedly robbing and…