The big news this week from Iraq is that there are now 4025 dead American troops since the start of the invasion and occupation in 2003. Some media sources are also reporting on civilian deaths (as opposed to dead insurgents whose affiliation is a matter of speculation) from what is described as "sectarian violence." What's almost never reported is the number of people killed by imaginative things like hellfire missiles or bombs dropped by drones. So, of course, it's unlikely that most people will make the connection between what our flyboys are up to and what's happening on the ground--that when the Secretary of the Air Force touts "more imaginative things," he's setting the stage for more of this:
That's Secretary Michael J. Wynne, btw, who was waxing enthusiastic last weekend over what the future holds for the Air Force.
"For all the advances we've made, I still believe there are more imaginative things to be done with electronics," Secretary Michael W. Wynne said.
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Secretary Wynne said ESC and Hanscom AFB still provide a critical "nexus of all the advances of electronics for the benefit of the warfighter."
Going forward, it's increasingly important to be able to fuse the information and get it to the tactical warfighter, Secretary Wynne said. The center has worked hard to break down information-system stovepipes and is now offering "a much more collective approach to how we share data."
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"The acquisition and disposition of information for command and control purposes is going to be where the Air Force lives," he said. "Many in the Air Force would say that it's really our flying and fighting that is our hallmark, but many others would say that they're in the information distribution business.
"That's really why space and cyber occupy two-thirds of our mission space," Secretary Wynne said. "It's all about collection, and making sure we get the right information into the hands of the theater and combatant commanders who make the difference in synergizing the war."
The Air Force is looking toward new horizons. That might explain some of the following:
B-1B readiness drops 4 years in a row
By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Apr 9, 2008 7:28:29 EDT
Even before the B-1B Lancer caught fire Friday after landing in the Middle East, statistics were showing that the heavy bomber of choice for missions in Iraq and Afghanistan has experienced a steady decline in mission-capable and availability rates since 2003.
The Air Force has 67 B-1Bs, most assigned to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, and Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. One from Ellsworth was the one that caught fire Friday, while taxiing after landing at al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar and "was involved in a ground incident," according to the Air Force.
The fire was contained, but no other details were available. The incident was under investigation.
Well, it wasn't just a little fire.
B-1 Bomber Accident: 'Blaze Set Off the Munitions'
By David Axe EmailApril 08, 2008 | 8:30:00 AMCategories: Oops
First the Air Force said it was a "crash." Then a spokesperson downgraded the incident to a fire that "was contained." Now newspapers are reporting that last week’s accident involving a B-1 bomber at Al Udeid in Qatar was more serious:
A spokesman for the Al Udeid Air Base told the Gulf Times that the Ellsworth [S.D.-based] B-1, which was landing after a combat mission, caught fire and the blaze set off the munitions onboard, leading to a series of explosions.
The four crew members, all from Ellsworth, were able to evacuate the plane and escape injury, Air Force officials said Friday. ...
A series of loud explosions was heard in many parts of Doha on Friday night, and people living near the air base said the blasts shook the ground, causing them to flee their homes, assuming that an earthquake had struck, according to the story.Operations at Al Udeid were shut down for a time, and all the aircraft were diverted to other locations, an Ellsworth spokesman, Tech. Sgt. Steven Wilson, told the [Rapid City] Journal Friday.
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Since Al Udeid is south of Iraq, we can assume that the plane was participating in action similar those reported for April 7, 2008.
April 7 airpower summary: F-16s bomb enemy artillery
4/8/2008 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq
In Iraq, an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon dropped a GBU-38 onto enemy artillery in the vicinity of Baghdad. A JTAC confirmed the mission as successful.
An F-16 conducted a show of force over coalition forces in the vicinity of Basrah in order to deter enemy activities. The mission was reported as a success by a JTAC.
In total, coalition aircraft flew 44 close-air-support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom. These missions integrated and synchronized coalition ground forces, protected key infrastructure, provided overwatch for reconstruction activities and helped to deter and disrupt terrorist activities.
Twenty-eight Air Force, Navy and Royal Australian Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions as part of operations in Iraq. Additionally, four Air Force and RAF aircraft performed tactical reconnaissance.
Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft and C-17 Globemaster IIIs provided intra-theater heavy airlift, helping to sustain operations throughout Afghanistan, Iraq and the Horn of Africa.
That's over seventy aircraft up in the air in a twenty-four hour period. How many pounds of munitions they dispatched doesn't seem to be provided on a daily basis. They did off-load 2.7 million pounds of fuel. Which is probably why they're looking to buy new tankers, another topic addressed by Secretary Wynne.
If the Air Force doesn't stay on track, it will simply age out the fleet. "At some point in time, we simply have to recapitalize," Secretary Wynne said.
He also touched on the recent decision to award the KC-45 tanker contract to a consortium co-led by European-based EADS Corp. and U.S.-based Northrop Grumman.......
Opening competition to allied-nation corporations is neither new nor unusual, the secretary said, citing several examples of international participation in the U.S. defense industrial base.
"The presidential helicopter was won by an Italian design. The Navy helicopter was won by an international design. So this is not unique," he said.
Tradition seems to be an important criterion for making decisions.
Secretary Wynne also addressed the decision to treat cyber as a mission component on par with air and space, speaking of the national implications of cyber attacks and about the role the Homeland Security Department is playing. As for the Defense Department, Secretary Wynne said the need to protect and control cyberspace is clearly no less important.
"In defense, we call ourselves a net-centric fighting force," he said, stressing the criticality of cyber operations as enablers of all others.
"Cyber is clearly a warfighting domain," he said, emphasizing again that he's looking for ESC officials to provide many of the solutions that will allow the Air Force and DOD to enjoy the same dominance it now has in both air and space.
Even as planes are falling out of the air and exploding on the runway. That's some dominance!
But, it's reassuring that Secretary Wynne is concerned about attention to detail.
Recently the Department of Defense learned that four non-nuclear nose cones for a ballistic missile were mistakenly shipped to Taiwan in the fall of 2006. Regardless of the results of the ongoing investigation, this situation has identified important lessons for all of the DoD as we increasingly automate procedures and systems - lessons we Airmen must absorb as members of the Joint team. These lessons follow our core values, and they illuminate the critical nature of attention to detail and checking initial entries.
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From entering target coordinates on a GPS-guided weapon to filling out forms, they all entail putting precise and sometimes complex entries into a computer. Our data entry actions may have immediate effects, or others may rely on our entry at times well into the future. Often, many people rely on the pinpoint accuracy of just one person's work. Every action of this Air Force is critical for our Nation; as we automate more and more, any data errors become part of a larger error set.
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The investigation of the mistaken shipment is ongoing and will be thorough, but all should know that as Airmen we will take ownership where appropriate. On the Goals Card is a simple statement: "Knowledge Enabled Actions with an Accountable Airmen Ethic"- this summarizes our values well. I am proud to serve with you and know that every day you bring incredible value to our Air Force, and every day, I know you are working hard to enhance that value.
So, ownership has a new meaning. Airmen are to own up to their mistakes. Which, of course, makes up for having dropped off the bombs or missiles in the wrong place and leaves someone like McCain free to sing "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" with aplomb.