War on terror testing, reinforcing Air Force concepts
by Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
9/17/2004 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The war on terrorism is teaching Air Force leaders important lessons and validating others, said Air Force Secretary Dr. James G. Roche.
It is emphasizing the success of the air and space expeditionary force, the importance of joint operations and the critical contribution of the Guard and Reserve in the total force, he said.
Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan underscore the value of the air and space expeditionary force, a highly specialized force Secretary Roche said is "able to respond in an instant's notice to be able to go great distances.
"We used to think that the most important thing was our base back home in the United States," the secretary said. "But increasingly, it is our performance in an expeditionary setting that is the most important thing that we do. And what we do back in the United States is prepare to go and deploy."
Frequent operational deployments keep Airmen in AEFs trained for whatever missions come their way, Secretary Roche said. When the Air Force flew into Afghanistan during the first night of Operation Enduring Freedom, for example, he said, 70 to 75 percent of the Air Force pilots involved had already been combat tested. This was from 12 years of patrolling the northern and southern Iraqi sky during operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch using the AEF concept.
"We were able to raise the pond of competence across our whole Air Force," Secretary Roche said. "So when we were called on to go to war, we didn't have to train anybody."
Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom are also helping speed up what Secretary Roche called "a natural evolution" toward joint operations among the military services.
"We make a point that the Air Force will never fight alone. And the Army has the same position. They are never going to fight alone," the secretary said. "Therefore, it is natural that we do things in a joint way."
The war on terrorism has caused the services to focus closely on who was doing what and who could do it most efficiently, a process Secretary Roche said helped eliminate duplication.
"You differentiate by the competence of a particular service," he said. "We're continuing to work that through. We're learning from each other and working very well together."
Airmen are already playing key roles supporting land forces, Secretary Roche said, not only in terms of getting the troops to the battlefield, but also in supporting their combat missions.
Besides providing precise, close-air support for ground troops, Secretary Roche said the Air Force works through its air commandos to provide direct, on-the-ground support to Navy SEALS and Army special forces troops. Airmen are also providing combat support to the Army.
"We even had special-operations aircraft that, when they were not engaged in special operations, were then free for the air-component commander to assign to other missions," Secretary Roche said.
He said the Air Force has learned the value of working closely with ground troops.
"Our relationship to land forces is a key to our future," he said. "So we are not just space. ... We have to think and work closely with land forces, special operations forces, Marine Corps (and the) Army so that they recognize that we are there for them."
The war on terrorism is also proving the value of Air Force technology, including unmanned vehicles and remotely piloted aircraft, Secretary Roche said.
"These things bring something to the battle that manned aircraft cannot," he said.
They are able to operate at long ranges and demonstrate "digital acuity," which Secretary Roche said means they do not tire as a human would.
"They're as sharp in the last hour of the mission as they are in the first hour of the mission," he said. "You can send them (to) very, very long ranges and keep them there."
But one of the most valuable features of unmanned vehicles and remotely piloted aircraft, Secretary Roche said, is that they never come home draped in an American flag.
"You can send them into dicey areas where, if they are shot down, you don't have to write a letter to the mother of a computer chip," he said.
Secretary Roche said close-air support delivered by precision weapons from very high altitudes is another critical asset the Air Force is delivering to the war on terrorism.
"The integration of space as well as air-breathing assets and the information that they all combine to give to the air-component commander was just remarkably better than it had been before," Secretary Roche said. "The air-component commander, land-forces commander and maritime commander all benefited from that."
To keep up with the operational tempo, Secretary Roche said, the Air Force is relying heavily on Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Airmen.
"We have the advantage that over the years, this relationship called the total force has worked so well because we have trained to the same standards," Secretary Roche said. Once guardsmen and reservists come on active duty, he said they quickly integrate alongside their active-duty counterparts. |
|
|
|
|
|
Printable story
E-mail story
Advanced Search