
Nestled within a block of relatively uncontroversial additions to the 2019 defense authorization bill is an amendment encouraging the Defense Department to invest in upgrading the battlefield effectiveness of infantry troops, recognizing they are as important a tactical capability as pilots or the aircraft they fly.Offered by Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), the amendment adds to the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) version of the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act a recognition of the outsize contribution close-combat troops provide relative…