F-16 ping. Freepmail to be added or removed from the the list.
Posted on 03/22/2009 7:15:05 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
An Air Force officer based at the Pentagon has suggested the United States and NATO would be best served by moving F-16s now stationed at Aviano Air Base, Italy, to Poland.
Lt. Col. Chris Sage, assistant executive officer to the Air Force Chief of Staff, delivered his opinion in a paper published in the spring edition of Air and Space Power Journal. In an interview last week, Sage said the paper was written as a project while he was attending the Naval War College more than a year ago. The journal picked it up and posted it on the Internet earlier this month.
A lack of training opportunities and other factors make Aviano a less-than-ideal location in some respects, said Sage, who added that he agrees with U.S. Air Forces in Europe’s stated goal of concentrating more efforts to the east and south.
"It is in the national interest of the United States to continue to transform USAFE by relocating U.S. F-16s currently in Italy to new bases in Poland," he writes in the opening paragraph of "Transforming United States Air Forces in Europe and Empowering Poland."
USAFE and Brig. Gen. Craig Franklin, commander of the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano, noted that Sage’s proposal was an "academic paper," and declined to comment further.
Sage admitted there would be some major obstacles to such a move:
Poland doesn’t have a base that would meet U.S. standards, so the U.S. would spend hundreds of millions of dollars on construction. Russia would likely oppose putting U.S. forces so close to its border. Poland itself would have to agree to such a move. Officials at the Polish Ministry of Defense did not provide answers to a query sent on Thursday.
But Sage said Poland’s decision to purchase a few squadrons of F-16s make joint training opportunities possible. Poland also has fewer restrictions on its air space than Italy, as well as designated areas where pilots could practice their bombing skills. It’s also closer to former Soviet Republics, such as Ukraine and Georgia, that have undergone turmoil in recent years.
And Poland has been a staunch ally, Sage said.
There are at least a handful of reasons to keep forces at Aviano, including the $600 million construction project ongoing at the base and the base’s proximity to the Vicenza-based 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, which plans to bring about 2,000 more troops to Italy in a few years. Also, Aviano is a sought-after assignment in the Air Force, according to the Human Resources Command.
"Having spent a couple of months TDY there, there is no doubt in my mind that it’s a good place for morale," Sage said.
But he said that flight restrictions, a lack of training ranges and the potential of local population growth leading to even more restrictions make the base less attractive militarily.
F-16 ping. Freepmail to be added or removed from the the list.
Food’s better at Aviano.
Make it so, so say we all.
They have borscht at Aviano?
Any Wyborowa available?
Italians are not really bad allies. Northern Italians (Venetians) and the Poles along with Germans and Austrians were the last to battle Islam at Vienna in 1683 AD. The western Europeans held them but were losing until the Poles smashed the muslims on 9-11 and 9-12. Wonder why 9-11 happened on that date?
Food is better at Aviano. The nice thing about Italy and Poland is the leader of those countries is not a muslim.
This looks like a compensatory move, to make up for Bambi’s upcoming cave-in to Russia on Poland’s anti-missile shield.
It’ll never happen because the Polish Prime minister wants to chop them in half and get two F-8s.
LOL!
All of western Europe is a challenge for the U.S. Air Force. The air space is too crowded. Even in the 1960s USAFE fighters regularly deployed to Wheelus Air Base Libya for range training they could not get in Europe.
This paper was just looking at alternatives. I don't think it has anything against Italy other than the limits of operating a fighter wing in a region which has limited airspace and range support.
Russians move bombers to Cuba and Venezuela
We move F-16’s to Poland.
Chess pieces are moving.
Why should I (a US Taxpayer) pay for the defense of __________ (insert name of any foreign country here)?
I like borscht very much, but you're going to have a hard time persuading people that Poland has better food than Northern Italy. Additionally, Aviano is near ski slopes and quality beaches, amenities in short supply in Poland.
Because your country signed the North Atlantic Treaty, which promises mutual defense. Both Poland and Italy have troops in Afghanistan because Afghan-based terrorists attacked the United States. Polish and Italian taxpayers are paying to protect your butt.
NATO is obsolete, and its expansion was a terrible idea.
So you don't think the US should have any allies? The US was attacked on 9/11, and NATO came to its assistance. The US doesn't have anywhere near enough troops to occupy Afghanistan on its own.
I am sick of paying for _________(insert any US Govt funded program like Defense, Aid, etc) for any foreigners.
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