WSJ EDITORIAL: Ukraine's drone attack is a 'wake-up call' to U.S. about potential vulnerability

Will an increase in defense spending enable the U.S. to close 
the gap in the drone market? (WSJ video snapshot)

Ukraine's recent drone strike battering of some 40 Russian aircraft, sitting unprotected deep inside that country's borders, serves as a warning to the U.S. about the vulnerability of American military bases and the homeland, writes The Wall Street Journal editorial board.

At least 77 U.S. military installations are strategically placed in rural towns and more are in cities with less than 40,000 residents. The editorial suggests that rural communities may want to pay particular attention to military discussions about international drone warfare, domestic missile protections and U.S. drone production problems.

"The details about Ukraine’s daring operation are few, but Kyiv managed to sneak cheap drones across the border and use them to destroy costly Russian military assets," the editorial states. "The bang for Ukraine’s buck was considerable. You don’t have to be a fan of thrillers to imagine a similar scenario in the United States."

In light Ukraine's drone attack success, President Trump’s Golden Dome missile-defense shield idea doesn't sound so outlandish, the WSJ board concluded. "The headlines are preoccupied with space-based interceptors. But the U.S. is exposed to many threats besides ballistic missiles — from drones and spy blimps to cruise missiles launched off submarines."

In 2023, the bipartisan Strategic Posture Commission "warned that the U.S. needs better integrated air and missile defenses against 'coercive attacks' from Russia and China, and such an attack could come from conventional weapons," writes the board. "In a crisis over the Taiwan Strait, Xi Jinping might threaten the Commander in Chief: Stay out of the Western Pacific or you never know what might happen to your pricey F-22s in Alaska."

The editorial cites a January report from Thomas Shugart and Timothy Walton at the Hudson Institute that criticized Air Force plans to protect new B-21 bombers with what they referred to as "sunshades." The report points out that a lack of structural protection "could leave aircraft 'exposed to threats, including lethal' unmanned aerial vehicles," the board adds.

Beyond the tragedy of Sept. 11, Americans are used to wars "fought far from home. . . but everyone in the U.S. will be on the front lines of the next conflict," the editorial states. "Political leaders could be doing much more to educate the country about this vulnerability, rather than boasting that the U.S. military is the best it has ever been. It isn’t."

Watch the entire WSJ video on China's drone dominance, here.

When it comes to thanking U.S. military veterans, Americans have many ways to show appreciation

Thanking military veterans can be in-person or through
advocacy. (Photo by Wesley Tingey, Unsplash)

The list of things most Americans can agree on might seem short sometimes. But surveys show it includes an affection for U.S. postal workers, pride in our National Park Service and a shared belief that our military veterans deserve good jobs and health care upon retirement. And while Veteran's Day is in November, the entire month can be a time for Americans to express their appreciation and care for military veterans.

One way civilians can support veterans is by getting to know their backgrounds and thanking them in person when possible. For instance, roughly 20% of the U.S. military hail from rural America and many experience homesickness. While serving in the U.S., most military personnel live on bases across the country. Here is a list of where you can find them. Thanking your serviceman or woman can begin with asking where home is or what branch they served in and where.

Another way to assist current veterans is to help them find viable employment as they re-enter civilian life. To that end, every November, Forbes magazine teams up with market research firm Statista to "survey more than 24,000 veterans (those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, the Reserves or the National Guard) working for companies with more than 1,000 employees in the U.S.," reports Rachel Rabkin Peachman of Forbes. Respondents are asked to rate and review their employers "on criteria ranging from work atmosphere and salary to health benefits, career development opportunities, and programs tailored to veterans." Forbes' full list of "Best Employers for Veterans" is here.

Providing medical and mental health care for veterans also needs civilian advocacy. Since 20% of the U.S. military call rural America home, it makes sense that around a quarter of all retired military live in rural places, which can be peaceful and scenic, but can also make getting to and from health care providers challenging. Supporting rural telehealth and broadband expansion can be another way to help veterans thrive.

For people looking for more hands-on ideas that make veterans know they are appreciated, the Wounded Warrior Project has more suggestions here.

Air Force spraying insecticide over 6 million acres in Texas to combat post-Harvey mosquitoes

Texas is using huge U.S. Air Force planes to spray 6 million acres for mosquitoes breeding in the standing water left by Hurricane Harvey.

Devika Krishna Kumar reports for Reuters, "C-130 cargo planes began spraying insecticides over three eastern Texas counties over the weekend and will expand to other areas over the next two weeks, officials from the Texas Department of State Health Services said. . . . Most mosquitoes that appear after floods are not the disease-carrying varieties but can hurt recovery operations by swarming residents and disaster workers during cleanup efforts."

The spraying is using naled, an insecticide banned in the European Union but commonly used in the U.S. and supported by American health officials. "Both the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stand behind naled, saying the small amount of the insecticide sprayed from planes doesn’t expose people enough to pose a health concern," Zoe Schlanger of Quartz writes for Route Fifty. "The chemical has caused controversy in recent years. In 2016, naled spraying inadvertently caused millions of honeybee deaths in South Carolina."

20% of U.S. movie houses, many in rural areas, may close because they can't afford digital transition

The film industry announced last year that it would no longer make film copies of its movies, and would only provide digital versions, forcing theaters across the U.S. to retire their 35mm projectors and go digital. That switch is not cheap, since digital projectors cost tens of thousands of dollars, and some small theaters would have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to make the conversion. Most big theaters have already made the switch, but experts estimate that 20 percent of all theaters in the U.S., most of them small, independently owned and in rural areas, will be forced to close because operators can't afford the changes, Emily Pace of WSPA-TV in North Carolina reports. Some communities, especially those with not-for-profit theaters, are raising money to help them switch. One of those is Capital Cinemas in Princeton, Ky., owned by Heidi Boyd, above. (Photo from The Times Leader, Princeton) UPDATE, 2/22/14: The drive was successful, and the theater has reopened as digital.

In Webster, S.D., The Webster Theatre "was closed for seven years" but Judy Galikowski reopened it "with generous support from the community," reports Heidi Marttila-Losure of Dakotafire Media, quoting her from the 2008 documentary “Small Town Silver Screen”: “Ever since we opened, I could be walking down the street and someone would stop and greet me and say, ‘We are so thankful that you opened the theater. It has made a big difference in our community. Keep it open. We want this.” Dakotafire concludes, in its report on similar theaters in the eastern Dakotas, "Whether that will be possible in the near future is still in question." (Read more)

Sixty movie theaters on military bases will close because the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which operates on-base movie theaters can't afford to convert. Sixty other military-base theaters will make the conversion, but it's not cost-effective to convert less-used theaters, The Associated Press reports. Spokesman Judd Anstey told AP that the 60 theaters slated for closure would be at bases where people went to off-base theaters more. Base theaters are limited to showing second-run movies. Their ticket prices are lower, and so is with attendance; Anstey said base theaters have been hurt by streaming services and DVD rental kiosks. (Read more)