Here let me save you some effort.
The Real Thing, Mr. Towns?
Posted on 03/25/2008 4:36:31 AM PDT by Renfield
March 23, 2008: A year ago, the U.S. Army was only getting about a third of its requests for Predator missions filled. The surge campaign was under way, and the new Secretary of Defense got involved with the growing number of complaints from army officers about the Predator shortage. The air force had about a hundred Predators, but only a dozen were in Iraq. Questions were asked.
The air force said it did not have enough Predators, and that there was also a shortage of Predator operators. A typical Predator crew consists of an pilot and a sensor operator. Because the Predator stays in the air for so long, more than one crew is often used for each sortie. Crew shortages sometimes result in Predators coming down before their fuel is used up. The air force insists that existing pilots (of manned aircraft) be trained as Predator operators. The army uses NCOs trained specifically for UAV operation. The army has no operator shortage.
Ever since World War II, there's been a controversy over whether all pilots (most of whom are highly trained warriors, not leaders, which is what officers are supposed to be) must be officers. At the start of World War II, the army air force (there was no separate air force yet) had enlisted pilots, as did the navy. These men were NCOs ("flying sergeants") selected for their flying potential and trained to be pilots. Not leaders of pilots, but professional pilots of fighters, bombers and whatnot. Officers trained as pilots would also fly, but in addition they would provide the leadership for the sergeant pilots in the air and on the ground. As the Army Air Corps changed into the mighty Army Air Force (with 2.4 million personnel, and 80,000 aircraft, at its peak), its capable and persuasive commander (General Hap Arnold), insisted that all pilots be officers. Actually, he wanted them all to be college graduates as well, until it was pointed out that the pool of college graduates was too small to provide the 200,000 pilots the Army Air Force eventually trained. But Arnold forced the issue on only officers being pilots, and the navy had to go along to remain competitive in recruiting.
Because of Iraq and Afghanistan, the army has also increased UAV operator training, and actually has far more UAVs than the air force. But most of the army UAVs are micro (under ten pounds) models, used by combat units (companies and battalion size units). These UAVs are designed to be very simple to use, requiring little formal training. Brigades and divisions use larger, but smaller than Predator, models. Most army UAV operators are not, like air force ones, pilots.
The Secretary of Defense ordered the air force to get more Predators to Iraq, and there are about two dozen there now. To deal with the UAV operator shortage, the air force has been recalling Predator pilots who have returned to their regular flying jobs. Until recently, being a Predator operator was a temporary (three year) assignment. Now, the air force is making it a career option, but it will take several years before they have enough career UAV pilots. The army complains that the air force is not operating like there's a war on, while the army is. While the air force complains that their UAV operators are working twelve hour shifts, six days a week, the army points out that the Predator operators are stationed in the U.S. (and control the UAVs via a satellite link). Air force personnel in Iraq (ground crews for the Predators) serve six month tours. Meanwhile, soldiers serve 15 month tours in Iraq, work 12 hour shifts, and get shot at a lot.
The army is buying a smaller version of the Predator (the Warrior) [PHOTO] and will be using NCOs and warrant officers as operators. The army is taking advantage of the fact that a UAV operator can become proficient practicing with the kind of flight simulator software you can buy in a game store. The air force does not agree with this approach, and fears unfavorable comparisons to their more complex and expensive approach to obtaining UAV operators. A lot of the bad blood between the army and air force comes down to how each service understands wars, and how they are fought. The air force has always been into new technologies, and new ways of fighting wars. The army is more about getting down and dirty and just getting the job done. The Secretary of Defense is siding with the army, and is telling the air force to get off their butts and get more Predators into the air, or else.
I will freepmail you.
Do I want my country’s AF personnel living in crappy conditions? No. Nor to I enjoy spending extra tax money to give my country’s AF personnel better living conditions than my country’s Army personnel of Marine personnel.
I would think that if that story were true, then it is the Marines' senior officers who deserved the scorn for making their pilots sleep in foxholes next to their planes when there was perfectly acceptable hotel billets available nearby.
Here let me save you some effort.
The Real Thing, Mr. Towns?
Should that dictate how the AF treats its people?
The Air Force takes good care of its own and I appreciate that it does.
I'm surprised that Hollywood hasn't remade it by now.
(maybe they have, I don't know)
” ...Marines’ senior officers who deserved the scorn for making their pilots sleep in foxholes next to their planes when there was perfectly acceptable hotel billets available nearby.”
Guns of Butter, bullets or billets. In Hackworth’s opinion, the Air Force had its spending priorities, and the Marine Corps apparently had slightly different priorities.
As to the former, it should; the latter shouldn’t play into it, except for the command officers.
You should be upset that the Army and the Marines are forcing their highly skilled aviators to sleep in foxholes when there are perfectly acceptable hotel rooms nearby.
I’m not upset that Marine officers are sleeping in foxholes next to their aircraft, their troops there too.
Everybody knows the air farce is not the real military.
Big agreement there.
Each of the services has their own mission. I have the utmost respect for the Marines, the Navy, the Army, and the Coast Guard. If the Air Force isn’t ponying up to what it is tasked to do (I’m an Air Force veteran) then I’d be griping also and demanding they get off their butts. Though I have tremendous respect for pilots abilities and the leadership of many officers, a college degree and a commission does not a leader make. Many NCO’s in all services have college degrees also and are perfectly capable to not only fly but lead as well.
Many people have misconceptions when they think of “Air Force” ... very few have jobs that involve actually flying, just support of the air mission itself. Many jobs must also get down and dirty in the Air Force (Combat controllers, PJ’s, Security Forces, to name a few). We as a superpower in the world can only achieve this by the combined missions of each individual service working in unison. I had a nephew who was a Marine, I wish that he had worn AF blue myself, but he always dreamed of being a Marine. He also died like a Marine in Afghanistan in 2004 ... out of ammo and fighting hand-to-hand. My respect for the Marines through his actions is immense!
This from a Squid?
(Just some friendly service rivalry, folks. Said only in jest.)
Do officers get better tee times at USAF golf courses?
My sympathy for your loss, and respect for your nephew’s courage. May God bless him and comfort you. :-(
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