Very well said. I”m about to retire from the USAF. My son is in the Army, and my daughter was in the Marine Corps. I spent 3 years in a Navy squadron, and have deployed to Afghanistan with the US Army.
Makes for interesting Christmas dinners, but I have no sympathy for the USAF-haters here at FR.
The Predator problem was as much Gates’ fault as anyones. He was briefed on what was possible, then made his pick. Then he complained in public about the USAF following the COA he picked.
And at a guess, I’d say much of the UAV situation is driven by the FAA - I doubt they want non-rated folks flying large objects in controlled airspace.