Gen. Tom Hobbins, US Air Forces in Europe commander, recently traveled to Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Qatar to visit with airmen deployed from Ramstein AB, Germany. He said it was a “promise” he made. Hobbins also took time to pursue some NATO business, particularly to evaluate the airlift and refueling operations at Manas and the command and control organization in Kabul that supports NATO’s International Security Assistance Force.
As the Pentagon increasingly pivots its focus to strategic competition with China, the U.S. will look to expand its partnership with South Korea to increase security across the entire Indo-Pacific region, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said Dec. 2 during a visit to the northeastern Asian nation.