It’s time to abolish the Air Force(Boston Globe Opinion piece)

Boston Globe ^ | 06 Jan 2014 | By James Carroll

[US Navy Vet]

Boston Globe must be excerped only(copyright)

[MrEdd]

Best post of the thread.

[puppypusher]

That’s about as stupid as saying we should eliminate the U.S. Marines.Afterall the Army can also make Amphibious landings onto the worlds beaches.

Each one of these services is there for a reason.The Air Force was once part of the Army and the reason the Air Corp became the Air Firce was that the congress believed that nation needed an Independent Air Force.

[WayneS]

...and yet you completely ignore the security of our subterranean borders. Your plan would leave us highly vulnerable to a Chinese invasion from BELOW!

You are obviously weak on national defense.

;-)

[PapaBear3625]

It is fair enough and it's worth a discussion. The intra-service rivalries are very costly.

We already are halfway there, with the concept of Unified Combatant Command. If an Air Force officer has his evaluation reports (and future career) being in the hands of his Theater Commander rather than in his Air Force seniors, and he's being judged primarily on how well he provides air support to the ground mission, then perhaps that will get his attention.

A next step would be to have the theater commanders have a bigger role in approving weapons systems. Perhaps, rather than having branch-connected generals and admirals, once we get past two-stars you are not associated with a branch.

[econjack]

Mr. Carroll, you're an idiot.

The "shameful" war record you refer to started with Viet Nam when politicians started thinking they could manage a war better than generals could. Politicians have no business running a war...they lack the stones to do what's necessary without considering the political implications on their next run for office. To every politician who thinks they can do a better job, get your outta-shape ass out of DC, strap on an 80 backpack, and move to the front lines and then, and only then, are you in a position to make a suggestion as to what is to be done next. Making our troops wait for some political hack in DC to decide whether or not to take out a position that is killing our troops is assine. Let the experts make the decisions, not some two-faced politician sitting in his multi-million dollar office in DC.

[Mr Rogers]

The problem is that ground pounders don’t understand how to use air assets. As an ALO at Ft Hood, and later during a tour in Afghanistan, I spent a lot of time trying to explain to brigade staff the implications of having aircraft that move at 500+ mph. I could set up the aircraft over a mountain range and support fights in 2 valleys 50 miles apart, with the local commanders in both valleys complaining that “their” air wasn’t sitting on top of them.

Most of the brigade commanders I worked with wanted air assets to be a ADDITIONAL force, hitting targets their own men could already hit. But to use air well, you need it to be a MULTIPLIER, shaping the battle beyond the range of the Army guns.

When air is hitting targets the Army can hit, you are doing a type of close air support - and that means you have already screwed up either your planning or execution, and are now trying to salvage a mess. That isn’t exactly wrong, because sometimes bad things happen and all there is left to do is a salvage operation with CAS. But most Army commanders want CAS as their first choice, which means they do not understand how to employ air effectively.

THAT is why the Air Force was split off from the Army in the first place.

[MCF]

It makes more sense to greatly down size the Marine Corps and transfer its duties to the Army. Maybe, just a thought, in the form of more airborne units.

[Lowell1775]

I have often thought, and western civ/history seems to confirm, that our liberty, republic and pocket books would all be better served with a peace time military establishment comprised of:

1. A large, modern, and widely deployed professional Federal Navy comprised of a submarine, surface, and air arm second to none. It would combine the current Navy and Coast Guard and strategic/tactical air forces. It would perform the full scope of force projection and continental air and coastal defense. There could be a cadre reserve component to rapidly expand its TOE in the event of war. They should be prohibited from police or law enforcement except for Coast Guard type activities.

2. A full time professional Federal Marine Corps/naval infantry as we have now to remain the point of the spear and rapid reaction force. They should also be prohibited from any activity in law enforcement or domestic security. Of course fully integrated armor, arty, and MAC/TAC would be in this force.

3. A very small cadre professional army (10%+/- of a fully mobilized force) backed up by a greatly expanded part time state controlled National Guard that also replaced the Reserves component of the Army/Marines. Think the Swiss system (and our own pre-1916 system) combined with an improved Heinlein’s Starship Troopers concept of natural rights for all, but voting rights only coming with “citizenship”. “Citizenship” which itself comes from life long reserve military service. States appoint and fund and train all NG troops and officers who have equal standing with the Federal cadre forces. The NG would also replace the federal FEMA role.

4. A small federal air force responsible for SAC missiles and missile defense combined with NASA for space exploration and defense.

Will never happen since money and power is involved. Just dreaming of a free and well armed society decentralized to the state and local level that would require widespread popular support for foreign adventures.

So douse me in kerosene and flame away.

[StraysDaddy]

1975 Thailand. Mayaguez Incident. Marines were flown in from Okinawa. The only helicopters were Air Force. When the attack came the Marine Captain told the Air Force Sargent where to land using Marine tactics.The AF Sargent told the marine to go F himself.

That is bovine secretions...AF NCO's do not make decisions, the pilot does...and no AF NCO would dare tell a Marine Captain to F himself...just don't happen. Go tell your nonsense to someone who would believe it!

[Fresh Wind]

Keep Air Force One, and retire its occupants.

President Cruz will need it.

[Terry L Smith]

The article follows many that decry amy military power, at all.

For example:
1. Mourn the Battleship, many submissions, many Communists performing self-gratification (this is a nice public reading forum, so I comply.).
2. Mourn the Submarine;
3. Tear Down the Air Force, (using minor things as drones that seem to make major news items)
4. The Army needs to be de-populized in a peacetime economy (Jimmy Carter ran with this one).
5. Because of ICBM’s, we don’t need a surface Navy.
6. Since we do not have major police actions, we don’t need the Marines.

Do you get the train of thought here, folks?
All of these types of column submissions are always running rampant during Democratic administrations.

[Jim Noble]

So, I guess U.S. air defense would be left up to citizens on the ground shooting up with their hunting rifles?

And what about all those great golf courses?

[2CAVTrooper]

That's true about them going downhill.

The Air Force thinks of themselves more as civilians rather than warriors. Back a few years ago, I attended an airshow at an AFB and the enlisted were walking around with no covers (hats to civilians) on their heads, some were walking around without their ABU tops on, and not one stopped and rendered a salute during the National Anthem. And a lard assed Major who saw the EM's yucking it up instead of saluting did nothing.

Just last year I was working on a project on an Air Force base, and it is seriously like a freaking resort rather than a MILITARY base.

I remember seeing the Air Force weenies freak out over on Military.com when it was announced that they had to do PT in the morning.

This says it all:

[SZonian]

I’m a proud USAF retiree, don’t wear it on my sleeve much, if at all and could accept logical and rational criticism, but this guy, no.

Not much “food” there...more like a few kibbles.

The author benefits from having 20/20 hindsight and from ignoring the strategic ramifications of having beauracrats and politicians interfere in military planning and operations.

This, for example; “The Air Force created myths of “gaps” — first bomber, then missile — that existed only in the minds of wing-wearing planners...”

Sure, it’s easy to look back on it now, over 40-50 years later and say how deceptive the planners were...but were they really deceptive? Or were they responding to the advances in technology and intelligence to ensure the USA had the edge in any potential conflict with the Soviets?

“...even as Air Force strategic bombing has long since proved to be irrelevant in asymmetrical wars, whether against the Vietnamese, Iraqi insurgents, or Al Qaeda.”

ROE in each of those campaigns directly influenced the effectiveness of our airmen and aircraft.

IOW, IMO, the author is an idiot...

[2CAVTrooper]

“Let’s just get rid of Air Force One.”

I agree, force the Kenyan born commie to fly space available in the cargo hold of an old DC-6

[VideoDoctor]

It’s time to abolish old media newspapers like the Boston Globe.

[Busko]

Remember this, all branches have their problems. I worked with people from all the services there is screw offs in all of them. Also, when I was in the Air Force, I don’t remember any Army,Navy,or Marines that could beat the Ammo troups in sand lot football. Yes, we beat all of them.

[redcatcherb412]

When air is hitting targets the Army can hit, you are doing a type of close air support - and that means you have already screwed up
...........................................................
Not sure how to read this sentence. As an Army ‘grunt’ during TET 68 I was never so glad to see AF F100s circling to make bomb runs in ‘close’ air support when our 1 company of 199th Redcatchers encountered a battalion size NVA unit. I can only highly commend the pilots who dropped 500 pounders just a few hundred feet from our positions. The Army air support gunships tried to provide support but the heavy AA machine guns that an NVA battalion has with them made their support impossible. I surely wish the AF pilots after saving our asses were able to return to an air conditioned hooch and quaff a cold one.

[Still Thinking]

Let’s just get rid of Air Force One.

Keep AF1, get a new passenger.

[SZonian]

Sell your inter-sevice rivalry bullshit somewhere else...people like you bore me...your over generalizations and anecdotal evidence are just that...yours.

http://www2.hurlburt.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123240690

http://www.afsoc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123136751

http://sofrep.com/20300/pararescue-chief-master-sergeant-nicholas-mccaskill-kia-afghanistan-remembered-in-tucson/

http://www.920rqw.afrc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123346370&fb_action_ids=10151433373115292&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210151433373115292%22%3A195599113921753%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210151433373115292%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

http://www.sgtmacsbar.com/CCTPhotos/Gallery24/HarvellAndy/HarvellAndy.html

http://www.specialtactics.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/40469/PJ_KIA_CCT_PJ_WIA_in_Afghanist.html

http://usaftacp.org/our-fallen/

http://www.arrse.co.uk/us/149873-usaf-sf-kia-afghan.html

http://wethearmed.com/military-and-law-enforcement/usaf-kia-in-afghanistan/

Why don’t you go and tell the compatriots and family members of these folks that they’re “civilians rather than warriors”? Jerk.