Rather than continuing the Air Force’s search for definition and purpose, we should distribute its assets and responsibilities to the Army and the Navy. And the Air Force’s image has been hurt by growing unease over drones’ targeted killings, especially when it comes to assassinating U.S. Managing robots from Nevada, however, is much less appealing. For generations, the promise of flying a powerful jet drew would-be pilots to the Air Force. America needs military aviation, but it doesn’t need a bureaucracy specifically devoted to airpower.ĭrones further complicate the picture. Now we have several air forces - in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard - because none of the other services trust the Air Force to meet its needs. The Air Force performed well in Iraq and Afghanistan, but mainly in a supporting role. In 1999, it took three months for NATO to bring Serbia to its knees. A decade later, the Air Force’s bombers couldn’t force Hanoi to give up on South Vietnam, and its fighters struggled against pesky, agile North Vietnamese MiGs.
Over Korea in the 1950s, cheap Soviet interceptors cut B-29s to pieces. The Air Force was expected to essentially win wars by airpower alone.Įxcept it’s tough to win wars from the air. This was the first mission for the newly independent Air Force, after a 30-year campaign by aviators to separate from the Army. In 1947, with the Red Army occupying much of Europe, the United States tasked its Air Force with planning for the atomic destruction of the Soviet Union’s cities and industrial heartland.
What else should we throw away? Enter your suggestions here or tweet #springcleaning ideas to Force With spring weather finally here to stay, Outlook asked 10 writers to nominate something - an idea, a tradition, a technology, a hashtag, anything - we’re better off without.
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