What The Air Force Is Learning From The War On Terror
The Air Force is
learning important lessons and validating others as the service
prepares to celebrate its 57th birthday Sept. 18, according to Air
Force Secretary James G. Roche.
It's emphasizing the success of the Air 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 Expeditionary Force, a highly specialized force 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."
Roche said frequent operational deployments keep the Air
Expeditionary Force trained for whatever missions come their way.
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
— thanks to 12 years of patrolling northern and southern
Iraqi skies during operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch
using the Air Expeditionary Force concept.
"We were able to raise the pond of competence across our whole
Air Force," Roche (below, right) said. "So when we were called on
to go to war, we didn't have to train anybody up."
Operations Enduring
Freedom and Iraqi Freedom are also helping speed up what Roche
called "a natural evolution" toward joint operations between 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."
Roche said the war on terror has caused the services to focus
closely on who was doing what and who could do it most efficiently,
a process he 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 in support of land forces,
Roche said, not only in terms of getting the troops to the
battlefield, but also in supporting their combat missions.
In addition to providing precise, close-air support for ground
troops, 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," Roche said.
Roche 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, Army, so that they recognize that we are
there for them."
Roche said the war on terror is also proving out the value of
Air Force technology, including unmanned vehicles and remotely
piloted aircraft. "These things bring something to the battle that
manned aircraft cannot," he said. They're able to operate at long
ranges and demonstrate "digital acuity," which Roche said means
they don't 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 at very, very long ranges and keep them
there."
But one of the most valuable features of unmanned vehicles and
remotely piloted aircraft, 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.
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 terror. "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 done before," Roche said. "The air-component
commander, land-forces commander and maritime commander all
benefited from that."
To keep up with the
operational tempo, Roche said, the Air Force is relying heavily on
the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.
"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," Roche said. Once Guard and Reserve members
come on active duty, he said they quickly integrate alongside their
active-duty counterparts.
"They learn the call signs, that have one familiarity flight and
boom, they're off to war," he said. "They can do that."