A section of the Berlin Wall stands prominently on the grounds of the library and museum dedicated to the legacy of Ronald Reagan and the role he played in the demise of the Soviet Union.
But this weekend, as the nation’s defense leaders gathered for the annual Reagan National Defense Forum, there was a palpable feeling that the bad old days are here again — and America and its European allies are still not fully up to the challenge.
China is still widely considered the biggest long-term threat, as military leaders, members of Congress and defense company CEOs told the bipartisan gathering at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum. Yet it was eclipsed by the need to kick into much higher gear to tackle a problem that many here didn’t imagine just a year ago: a hot proxy war with Russia in Ukraine that has sent the Pentagon and the defense industry scrambling.
“High-end conflict consumes a lot of munitions and a lot of weaponry,” Mike McCord, the Pentagon’s top budget official, said in an interview. “We are also looking at the supply chain limitations. We haven’t got this figured out just yet.”
The International Association of Fire Fighters called on Monday for the elimination of protective gear that...
