Pentagon chief says Air Force should do more

AP ^ | 04/21/08 | ROBERT BURNS

[saganite]

Pilotless surveillance and attack aircraft are having a coming out party in this war. The military can’t get enough of them.

[Abathar]

Right now I think they should be flying a big surveillance pattern between Afghanistan and Iraq that happens to cover most of Iran also.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Gates needs to remember that the air force works for him. Stop asking, start ordering.

[Thrownatbirth]

We need the Air Force in theatre for their dining facilities.

[conservativehusker]

Isn’t part of the reason that the AF brass (who are mostly pilots) want only qualified pilots who are officers to “fly” these birds..while the army uses enlisted men??

[lp boonie]

You know what the difference is between the Coast Guard and the Air Force? The Coast Guard becomes part of the military during war.

[al baby]

Thats gonna leave a mark

[KarlInOhio]

If Congress were to tell the Air Force that “maybe the Army needs their own recon airplanes ... and ground attack airplanes ... and or course they’ll need their own fighter cover for those”, the Air Force would have an metal overcast over Iraq to stop any more such talk.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Or threaten to outsource them to India.:-)

[patch789]

Iraq is a dangerous place.

manned US Air Force planes should stay away

[TigerLikesRooster]

Or round up teenage boys addicted to warplane simulation game and put them in uniform and give ranks to pilot UAV’s from Langley.:-)

[ASA Vet]

USAF Carrier

[saganite]

I’m not sure lack of pilots is an issue since they can fly those things from anywhere in the world and it’s my understanding some missions are actually flown from the US. I’m thinking it’s a boots on the ground type issue, they need the airframes in country to do the missions. As a retired AF pilot though, I will tell you that it’s a lousy time to be a pilot in the AF. You get your wings and your assignment is to fly a drone from a desk? Glad I’m not in anymore.

[Archie Bunker on steroids]

You know what the difference is between the Coast Guard and the Air Force? The Coast Guard becomes part of the military during war.

I guess you were asleep in 1990/91

[Gamecock]

A Marine Platoon faces driving rain in the middle of a 20 mile road march. They cheer “This is good crap!”

A Navy SEAL team swims miles through cold, shark infested water and scream out “We love this crap!”

An Army SF A team plods up a mountain with no sleep for the last three days and sing out “We eat this crap up!!”

An AF pilot comes back to his BOQ after eating a steak at the O-Club, turns the AC down to 65 degrees and then discovers his cable is out. He moans “What kind of crap is this!?!”

[TigerLikesRooster]

Where are golf carts? They are not walking around, are they?

[mad_as_he$$]

Well Secretary Gates., it is a bad or foolish leader that cannot get his underlings to do his bidding. I think you are just another sock puppet at the Pentagon. Try giving them a DIRECT order. If they do not follow it get some new underlings. Grow a pair geez.

[ASA Vet]

They're in the club house having a cool one.
They'll go out on the links as soon as their Army or Marine porters arrive to carry them around on their backs.

[BwanaNdege]

In Vietnam we Marines used to come out of the bush for a week or two of rest. We'd hitchhike to DaNang to hit the Freedom Hill PX, then head for the Air Force messhall. Individual plates, salads set out on chrushed ice, fountain drinks. Whole time (first time - enlisted) I was in the USMC, we ate off of tin trays and drank milk or “bug juice” (cool aid).

If we'd end up at a firebase like Hill 55, we'd go through the messhall like army ants, cleaning out the ketchup, Tobasco sauce, jam & jelly, etc.

One trip to the Air Force messhall at DaNang we found it all locked up. We went around back and found a messman sitting on the loading dock.

“Why aren't you open?” we asked.

“Oh, the water is off” he replied. “But that's great, since we get to eat C-rats!” he said with genuine delight.

It was with great effort that we refrained from beating him to a pulp.