So why should the Air Force have complete control over all assets that fly?
They shouldn't.
Having spent a year in country as a Bde FSO, y’all are 0 mils. The worst thing in the world is to turn anything over to the Air Force. Their O-6s are just scared that they will be put out of the ISR business forever by an Army / USMC E-4.
By the way, if you want to check out the Air Force’s worst nightmare, look up Guided MLRS and 155mm Excalibur. No 3 day ATO, no e-mailing the CAOC for permission, no “Bingo fuel, so sorry”. Just another good fire mission and dead Ts.
Having worked around USAF guys carrying guns around (and having been one myself), it MIGHT be a good idea. And in fact, USAF folks going into ground roles go to the US Army for training in using sidearms and M4s before deploying.
But I’ve watched BN/CCs bicker over who gets what air asset when in reality they were just about 20 miles apart - so the right (read that USAF answer) is that whoever had a need AT THE TIME should get the assets. Fortunately, both BDE & Division understood that...