Posted on 04/21/2008 7:19:57 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Pentagon chief says Air Force should do more
By ROBERT BURNS
16 minutes ago
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday the Air Force is not doing enough to help in the Iraq and Afghanistan war effort, complaining that some military leaders are "stuck in old ways of doing business."
Gates complained in a speech at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., that getting the Air Force to send more surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to Iraq and Afghanistan has been "like pulling teeth."
The Pentagon chief praised the Air Force for its overall contributions but made a point of urging it to do more and to undertake more creative ways of thinking about helping the war effort.
He said he has been trying for months to get the Air Force to send more surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, like the pilotless Predator drone that provides real-time surveillance video, to the battlefield.
"Because people were stuck in old ways of doing business, it's been like pulling teeth," Gates said. "While we've doubled this capability in recent months, it is still not good enough."
To push the issue harder, Gates said he established last week a Pentagon-wide task force "to work this problem in the weeks to come, to find more innovative and bold ways to help those whose lives are on the line."
Pilotless surveillance and attack aircraft are having a coming out party in this war. The military can’t get enough of them.
Right now I think they should be flying a big surveillance pattern between Afghanistan and Iraq that happens to cover most of Iran also.
Gates needs to remember that the air force works for him. Stop asking, start ordering.
We need the Air Force in theatre for their dining facilities.
Isn’t part of the reason that the AF brass (who are mostly pilots) want only qualified pilots who are officers to “fly” these birds..while the army uses enlisted men??
You know what the difference is between the Coast Guard and the Air Force? The Coast Guard becomes part of the military during war.
Thats gonna leave a mark
If Congress were to tell the Air Force that “maybe the Army needs their own recon airplanes ... and ground attack airplanes ... and or course they’ll need their own fighter cover for those”, the Air Force would have an metal overcast over Iraq to stop any more such talk.
Iraq is a dangerous place.
manned US Air Force planes should stay away
I’m not sure lack of pilots is an issue since they can fly those things from anywhere in the world and it’s my understanding some missions are actually flown from the US. I’m thinking it’s a boots on the ground type issue, they need the airframes in country to do the missions. As a retired AF pilot though, I will tell you that it’s a lousy time to be a pilot in the AF. You get your wings and your assignment is to fly a drone from a desk? Glad I’m not in anymore.
I guess you were asleep in 1990/91
A Navy SEAL team swims miles through cold, shark infested water and scream out “We love this crap!”
An Army SF A team plods up a mountain with no sleep for the last three days and sing out “We eat this crap up!!”
An AF pilot comes back to his BOQ after eating a steak at the O-Club, turns the AC down to 65 degrees and then discovers his cable is out. He moans “What kind of crap is this!?!”
If we'd end up at a firebase like Hill 55, we'd go through the messhall like army ants, cleaning out the ketchup, Tobasco sauce, jam & jelly, etc.
One trip to the Air Force messhall at DaNang we found it all locked up. We went around back and found a messman sitting on the loading dock.
“Why aren't you open?” we asked.
“Oh, the water is off” he replied. “But that's great, since we get to eat C-rats!” he said with genuine delight.
It was with great effort that we refrained from beating him to a pulp.
Questions:
Q: What does the USAF call the bubba who flys the model airplane? A:Major. After “flying”, he returns to his BOQ to nurse his grudge about not being in a cockpit by checking to make sure his flight pay is current.
Q: What does the USA call the bubba who flys the model airplane? A:Specialist. After “flying”, he reports to the 1SG for his shift on guard/ serving chow/ etc. etc.
Q: Which method serves the 11B10 kicking in doors and the American taxpayer best? A: You decide
I suspect that Bush has been wrestling with some of the top leaders in the Pentagon ever since he came into office. He fired a few of the worst clintonoids, but I’m sure many still remain in place. Rummy put the pressure on them, and there was nothing but whining and complaining to the MSM from many top officers, until he was finally made a scapegoat and dismissed.
Bush sometimes also dealt with the problem by bypassing the chain of command. Tommy Franks was put in charge of the invasion, for instance, and the top brass were simply taken out of the loop, bitching and moaning and telling the MSM it would be a quagmire.
It’s not an easy problem, because civilians give the orders, but need to rely on military people to know how to carry them out. It’s not a good idea to second guess the advice of expert subordinates, the way LBJ sometimes did in Vietnam. I’m sure the top brass in the airforce have a million excuses why they need more time and more funding before they can do what Gates asks.
Gates must be really frustrated to come out openly like this, because he knows what happened to Rumsfeld.
Top shouldn't have to micromanage that way.
The spec 4's Squad Leader should have taken care of the detail assignment.
I think you are feeding us a bunch of crap.....AF retiree here, with 4 tours in SEA. The 67 tour, along side the Mekong River was no day at the beach...
You know the difference between being on welfare and being in the Air Force?
When you're on welfare, you have to go get your check.
damn skippy -
I was speaking a little figuratively.
Getting them to? WTF?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2002373/posts
The Air Force insists that UAV operators be rated officers, a complete waste of million dollar training.
It was fine when the Air Force was dropping flying billets and a bunch of rated officers were facing reassignment or separation, but that was peacetime.
The Air Force should allow either senior NCOs or at least non-rated officers to train to become UAV operators.
Yeah, you gotta wonder about Gates' mindset. Either that or he's still trying to be the anti-Rumsfeld.
One of my offspring in an Ensign in the Navy. When in ODS one of the tests they gave them was that there are 100 tons os supplies on the dock; you are responsible for getting it on the ship and stowed away. My kid was the only one out of 75 that passed the test. When asked my kid turned to the Master Chief and said "Master Chief load these supplies on the ship and stow them properly." It was a Master Chief that was grading the class. All of the others were drawing diagrams and plans and trying to figure out what to do. When I went to my kid's graduation the Master Chief took me aside and shook my hand and thanked my for making his job easier. He added that in two years of instructing ODS that this was the first time a candidate had ever done it exactly correctly. Point is giving orders is what is all about and the brass have become to political.
But you can't 'accept' those excuses in private, then turn around & publicly b*tch that your desires aren't being fulfilled. It just makes you look like a weak, ineffectual leader who can be rolled by his underlings.
Ooooah!
Thank you for your service ONEBYONE; looks like another day to mock the AF.
I don’t disagree with you. I’ve been saying since 2000 that Bush’s biggest failing is not to broom out his agencies. That goes especially for all the clintonoids in the FBI and the CIA, but also the State Department and the Pentagon.
It’s not easy to do, but clinton did it. It was Job #1 for clinton, to install loyal flunkies at all the levers of power. Bush never really confronted this inheritance, and as a result it has continually bit him in the *ss as well as undermined our country.
But Gates can’t do it without Bush’s total support. Rumsfeld tried to work on it, but I don’t think he had as much support as he needed, and in the end he was made a scapegoat—just like the guy assigned to broom out the CIA.
The clintonoids are still sitting at the levers of power.
Maybe they should learn and perform their primary mission as opposed to the great stories of the last 6 months:
Report Finds Air Force Officers Steered Contract:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041702248.html?hpid=moreheadlines
F-16 fires on SUV while training at Utah Test and Training Range:
http://www.f-16.net/news_article2825.html
US Mistakenly Ships Missile Parts to Taiwan:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-03-25-ustaiwan.cfm
Air Force Mistakenly Flies 6 Nuclear Warheads Over U.S.:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295797,00.html
As a towed Vulcan platoon leader 30 years ago, three of my four squad leaders were Spec 4s. I had a good (senior E-6) Platoon Sergeant, and had several Tac Evals under my belt as a Chaparral Plt Ldr.
It was a blast to watch these young men grow before my eyes ...young men, LOL, I was 24! My squad leaders were barely 21-22, but they were far more receptive to constructive criticism than the more experienced squad leaders in the other platoons. I let my PSG handle the day to day stuff, and he took care of it, as a professional NCO should.
The other platoons looked down on us, and I developed a real chip on the shoulder, and my guys took my lead. It was such a great feeling when ours was the only platoon to pass the Tac Eval that had the highest level of visibility in our command.
We Soldiers do appreciate your support.
People on rats were alloted a specific amount for each day. It didn’t matter which branch they were in. The USMC didn’t give a dam about plates..
Until you get your first friendly fire causality from a UAV. Treating this like a video arcade could end in failure.
Drones should not be treated as toys, but actual combat aircraft. I more or less agree with the AF.
“Crew Rest” is the AF cry. :>)
And have you ever noticed they do crew rest at places where they can load up on beer and wine, i.e. Germany and Sicily?
A letter from the SecAF and CSAF to troops:
Airmen
This past Monday, the Secretary of Defense delivered an address at Maxwell AFB to the students of our Air War College and Air Command and Staff College. Initial press coverage of his remarks misrepresented the tone and content of his address. Whereas some press reports characterized Secretary Gates as making a singular critique about one Service’s commitment to the Global War on Terror, his remarks were instead focused on the need for innovative thinking from all the Services.
As Secretary Gates himself explained: “. . . I think if you read the text of the speech, you’ll see that it’s not a dig at the Air Force at all. In fact, a significant part of the speech was full of praise at what the Air Force had done in the Middle East and Iraq and Afghanistan and the whole theater.” Secretary Gates challenged his entire Department and the leaders of every Service “to think out of the box” in continuous pursuit of better ways to deliver what is needed for the joint force in harm’s way. The Air Force is well suited for that innovative pursuit. Every Airman should take Secretary Gates’ comments to heart and strive to find more and better ways for the Air Force to contribute to the War on Terror.
It is important for all Airmen to know Secretary Gates applauded Airmen for their significant contributions to the Long War, just as he has praised America’s Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines. It is also important for Airmen to know Air Force contributions are making a difference, and that Airmen continue to do everything possible to support the Secretary of Defense’s priorities. He has asked all Services to accelerate transformational initiatives like those in the Quadrennial Defense Review, and the Air Force is doing just that.
In short, Airmen are “all in” to fight today’s war on global terrorism. From strategy to tactics, the Air Force has leaned far forward to deliver instruments of national power in a rapidly changing world. Every able-bodied Airman—Regular, Guard, and Reserve—is fully deployable. Indeed, Airmen have filled over 524,000 deployments since the war began. Today, 24,000 Airmen are delivering a full spectrum of air, space, and cyber power to the Joint Force Commanders conducting operations in USCENTCOM, every hour of every day.
Air Force engagement in CENTCOM’s AOR is only the tip of the iceberg. About 200,000-plus Airmen are in direct support of Combatant Commanders around the clock and around the globe to provide all with critical air, space, and cyber capabilities. Airmen are in the most dangerous places on the planet tonight to protect America. Airmen have been vital to the success of the Joint team in this critical Global War on Terror, while at the same time providing the global strength and deterrence that keep our enemies at bay and our friends assured.
The Air Force was born of an innovative spirit and a willingness to question the status quo. Airmen are applying that spirit daily to address America’s challenges. In sum, our Air Force is ‘in the fight’ to win, and is deterring any aggressor from doing us harm while we succeed in the Global War on Terror.
We are proud of the hard work that you ... America’s Airmen ... undertake every day. Secretary Gates has challenged us to continue to honor our heritage of innovation. The Airmen of the United States Air Force will succeed in meeting his charge.
Way to support the troops.
Check my home page next time, so you don't embarrass yourself.
That was a friendly interservice joke we told while I was stationed, as an Army officer, on Air Force bases during my four and 1/2 years in Germany.
There were plenty of jokes tossed our way by the Zoomies, as well.
Would you care to "revise and extend" your remarks?
No.
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