Amy sent me this article. I am sure you all now by now that our senior leaders were removed over this nuke incident. I shared with her some of my thoughts and now think they are worthy of sharing with you all.
I speculate that there is more at play here because Gates has been pushing hard on UAVs and Moseley has been trying to hold on to and protect the identity of the AF. This is certainly a good fight. The UAV is battle proven, comparatively cheap, and saves lives. Since the CIA began using them in the mid 90’s the AF has always opposed them. Perhaps the primary reason we finally agreed to take on the plane was to prevent further detriment to our identity as some other service (Army) took on the UAV mission. It was inevitable, these things are worth their weight in gold and this has been a shocking realization to the pilot community. The need for fighters has been plummeting and those guys are getting ripped from their cockpits to play “video games” in a trailer sitting in the deserts of Nevada. I’d be pissed too. Kids from pilot training are being sent to special operations and airlift assignments like never before. Gates’ message is pretty clear, the AF will change and we are best not to oppose it.
I also believe Gates and Moseley disagreed over the allocations of funds toward the unbelievably expensive and almost worthless F-22. This is a tightrope to be sure. Chances are the F-22 will never be used to the extent that justifies their expense, however we cannot afford to slack off when it comes to air superiority. We take it for granted that we have free reign of the skies and that is largely due to the deterrence of our offensive airpower, but the moment we give that up there will be some country to put us in a world of hurt. Still the F-22 program has stymied the budget for more immediate needs like airlift and the procurement of more C-17s (and I don’t say that because I fly the C-17).
The AF has always persevered and most recently has made great strides in transitioning into this “expeditionary force.” Deployments are frequent and often without notice, airmen are on the ground, rifle in hand, running security and convoys. Our troops deserve great credit for toughing it out while senior leaders stumble around for the right solutions to this “new” direction for the war on terror. The leadership have stretched and bent their servicemen backwards while working out these problems and I predict we are not even half way there yet. There will be more trying times as senior AF leadership struggle to meet the demands of our nation/defense department and redefine who we are. The new AF to emerge will certainly look like a less offensively “air” powered service with increases focused on airlift, intelligence, and cyber security.
I would also like to say that after personally meeting with Gates several times while he serves as president of Texas A&M, I fully support him and believe that he is perfectly suited for his job. He is an honest man who knows what America needs to do to protect herself, furthermore he appears to keep his hands clean of Washington politics. I hope that whoever is the next President will keep this man around.
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Here’s some comments form Gates when he met with the Armed Services Committee a few months ago."The reality is we are fighting two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the F-22 has not performed a single mission in either theater. So it is principally for use against a near peer in a conflict, and I think we all know who that is," Gates said. "And looking at what I regard as the level of risk of conflict with one of those near peers over the next four or five years until the Joint Strike Fighter comes along, I think that something along the lines of 183 is a reasonable buy.” Moseley had been pushing for about 350. Gates also told the panel,"My objective is to give the next administration an option. And what I've been told is that this will keep the line open that gives them that opportunity."
Take that for what it's worth. I think he defines a nice middle ground where we don't shut down production and put ourselves in a potential crisis and where we are also not wasting billions on excessive numbers of planes.
The decisions will get plenty tougher as the F-35 comes online soon and a new bomber is scheduled not too long after that. Also, don't forget the new air refueler that is still being hashed out.
Buy Block 60 Vipers! Yaaaaaah!
Don't you mean Hooah!
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