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Gates slams Air Force effort in Iraq, Afghanistan
> Do you agree with Gates that the Air Force could do more in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Monday, April 21, 2008
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday the Air Force is not doing enough to help in the Iraq and Afghanistan war effort, complaining that some military leaders are "stuck in old ways of doing business."
Gates said in a speech at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., that getting the Air Force to send more surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to Iraq and Afghanistan has been "like pulling teeth."
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Get latest headlines via RSS feedsAddressing officer students at the Air Force's Air University, the Pentagon chief praised the Air Force for its overall contributions but made a point of urging it to do more and to undertake new and creative ways of thinking about helping the war effort instead of focusing mainly on future threats.
"In my view we can do and we should do more to meet the needs of men and women fighting in the current conflicts while their outcome may still be in doubt," he said. "My concern is that our services are still not moving aggressively in wartime to provide resources needed now on the battlefield."
He cited the example of drone aircraft that can watch, hunt and sometimes kill insurgents without risking the life of a pilot. He said the number of such aircraft has grown 25-fold since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
He said he has been trying for months to get the Air Force to send more surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, like the Predator drone that provides real-time surveillance video, to the battlefield.
"Because people were stuck in old ways of doing business, it's been like pulling teeth," Gates said. "While we've doubled this capability in recent months, it is still not good enough."
To push the issue harder, Gates said he established last week a Pentagon-wide task force "to work this problem in the weeks to come, to find more innovative and bold ways to help those whose lives are on the line."
He likened the urgency of the task force's work to that of a similar organization he created last year to push for faster production and deployment of mine-resistant, ambush-protected armored vehicles that have been credited with saving lives of troops facing attacks by roadside bombs in Iraq.
"All this may require rethinking long-standing service assumptions and priorities about which missions require certified pilots and which do not," Gates said, referring to so-called unmanned aerial vehicles that are controlled by servicemembers at ground stations.
The military's reliance on unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft has soared to more than 500,000 hours in the air, largely in Iraq, according to Pentagon data. The Air Force has taken pilots out of the air and shifted them to remote flying duty to meet part of the demand.
Gates, who served in the Air Force in the 1960s as a young officer before he joined the Central Intelligence Agency, urged the officers in his audience to dedicate themselves to thinking creatively.
"I'm asking you to be part of the solution and part of the future," he said.
He said the Air Force and the other branches of the military need to protect those in their ranks who are maverick thinkers, who defy convention and push for creative solutions to hard problems. He said he intended to make a similar point about the value of dissent in the military in remarks later Monday at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.
"Dissent is a sign of health in an organization, and particularly if it's done in the right way," Gates said.
Gates made no direct mention of a series of mistakes and missteps involving the Air Force in recent months, beginning with an episode last August when a B-52 bomber flew from an Air Force base in North Dakota to another in Louisiana with the crew unaware that it was carrying nuclear weapons.
Last month Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne announced that four Air Force nose cone assemblies designed for use with nuclear missiles were mistakenly shipped to Taiwan in 2006. The error was not verified until shortly before Wynne made the announcement, and the matter is under Pentagon investigation.
Comments
By Jim
April 21, 2008 9:58 PM | Link to this
It’s amazing the people who don’t get the bigger picture. This is a bogus war just like Nam. It’s all about creating conflict and fear to manipulate and control the population to fuel the war machine. 9-11 was a classic false flag, just like Hitler’s burning of the Reichstag,The Tonkin incident, Lustaina, etc… Create an event to start a war, and use the media’s propaganda to sell it. All anyone needs to do is read The Crowd by LeBon. There’s probably a copy sitting on Cheney’s desk.
By Paul
April 21, 2008 8:54 PM | Link to this
Is the Secretary of Defense capable of calling his senior Air Force command officers into his office and telling them how it’s going to be? Ohhh…let’s be Dr. Phil any “touchy-feely” the solution. Such power, not a clue how to use it. Amazing.
By Dale G.
April 21, 2008 7:52 PM | Link to this
By Dale G.
April 21, 2008 7:51 PM | Link to this
By the Strawboss
April 21, 2008 3:44 PM | Link to this
There’s only one way to solve the problem in Afghanistan and Iraq. Let loose a greased pig. It’s hard to focus on jihad with a greased pig on the loose. Send lil Babe scurrying through town, and before you know it, Sunnis, Shiites, Americans, Extremists, Man, Woman and Child will all give chase. For many years to come people will share warm beer under the shade of a Silver Palmetto and spin tales of the day time stood still and a fleet footed ham sandwich brought peace to the Middle East.
By joe
April 21, 2008 3:16 PM | Link to this
I hate to say it but I agree with Butch. We should have turned Afganistan into a giant sheet of glass years ago. Ask the Japaneese if it works……
By Mike
April 21, 2008 2:50 PM | Link to this
OK, this is a stupid question. Without knowing the details of what the Air Force is currently doing, and what the needs are on the ground, how can the general public have any idea about whether or not Gates’ frustration is justified?
I do agree with other posters, however. Why is this guy whining? He’s supposedly in charge. And if the generals don’t listen, Mr Bush is more than willing to throw more of our money into the “war”, he just needs to ask “daddy” for help…
By Butch Clough
April 21, 2008 2:10 PM | Link to this
The real problem is we NEVER-NEVER-NEVER let the Armed Forces do what they are capable of. Pull our troops out, send the Air Force in and blow the holly@%*! out of the entire region. How do you suppose Sadam kept them in line? These people know of no other way. NUKE THE HELL OUT OF THEM !!!!!! Any other counrty oppose, NUKE THEM TOO! Soon the world would think twice about messing with us. Patton was the last military man with nuts. God Bless Our Troops!!!
By VietVet
April 21, 2008 1:46 PM | Link to this
If Gates has a problem with the Air Force’s effort in Iraq and Afghanistan, he knows where the Generals are that would have an impact on accelerating effort. Call a meeting and review what the role of the Air Force is in these wars. Gates needs to put on his big girl panties and solve the problem internally. Don’t whine to the public about it. We don’t want to hear it. If you can’t do the job, Gates, get out.
By Savanation
April 21, 2008 1:25 PM | Link to this
Sure the Air Force could do a lot more. They could get every transport plane they have and start sending them to Iraq and bring our soldiers home before Bush kills anymore of them.
By Robbie
April 21, 2008 1:13 PM | Link to this
The last time I checked the chain of comand, Gates had the Air Force under his perview. If he really believes what he is speaking to future AF officers why not take decisive action and replace senior leaders that are responsible for his deficient actions? I’d say he has the solution to his perceived problem within his control………
By Leo Lemoine
April 21, 2008 1:09 PM | Link to this
Doesn’t the Air Force report to and work for, the Secretary of Defense? What is gates whining about? Just tell them to do it!
By Bob
April 21, 2008 1:06 PM | Link to this
Gates should go back to Texas A&M where he came from and feed the horses. The Air Force could end this war in one day if they would turn them loose!!!!!
By Courtney
April 21, 2008 12:42 PM | Link to this
Leave it to the Chair Force.