Tuskegee Airmen

80 Pages·2016·19.88 MB·English

March 2016/$10
Tuskegee Airmen
Lessons of the F-22
High-Altitude ISR at Risk
Horner on the Gulf War

March 2016, Vol. 99, No. 3
28
16 42
FEATURES
4 Editorial: Following the Money to 42 High-Altitude ISR at Risk
Europe By Aaron M. U. Church
To deter Russia, the US will dramati- The future of the U-2 and Global
cally increase its forward presence Hawk missions are up in the air.
in Europe.
47 Hypersonic Weapons Come of Age
16 Critical Ingredient in Short Supply By Mark J. Lewis
By John A. Tirpak Will the US—or some other nation—
USAF’s biggest problem with the be first to field these game-chang-
F-22? There aren’t enough to go ing weapons?
around.
52 Lifesavers Along the Trail
22 Horner’s Gulf War By Brian W. Everstine
By Rebecca Grant Eric Roberts and Ronald Brodeur
The air commander calls Desert Storm have now received Silver Stars they
a hard-fought win for airpower. earned 46 years ago, for heroism in
Vietnam.
28 Toward a Total Force
By Jennifer Hlad 56 DOD Photochart
The integration seen on deployment Compiled by Chequita Wood
still isn’t natural at home station. DOD’s top leadership in Obama’s
About the cover: A 1943 poster that
second-term Administration.
served as a war bonds ad and a symbol of
34 Red Tails
pride for the Tuskegee Airmen. See “Red
Photos from USAF, the Air Force 60 All Eyes on Khe Sanh
Tails,” p. 34.
Historical Research Agency, and Toni By John T. Correll
Frissell via the Library of Congress Day by day, the world followed the
They were pilots, maintainers, news. LBJ had a scale model of
weathermen, and administrators. the besieged outpost in the White
They were Tuskegee Airmen. House.
AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2016 1
Publisher: Larry O. Spencer
Editor in Chief: Adam J. Hebert
Managing Editor: Juliette Kelsey Chagnon
Editorial Director: John A. Tirpak
News Editor: Amy McCullough
Senior Designer: Heather Lewis
Deputy Managing Editor: Frances McKenney
5 10
Senior Editors: Aaron M. U. Church, Jennifer Hlad
Digital Platforms Editor: Gideon Grudo
DEPARTMENTS
Pentagon Editor: Brian W. Everstine
Designer: Kristina Parrill
5 Action in Congress: The Warthog 10 Air Force World
Lives On Associate Editor: June L. Kim
15 Verbatim
6 Letters Production Manager: Eric Chang Lee
33 Flashback: Lucky—and Good Photo Editor: Mike Tsukamoto
6 Index to Advertisers
66 Keeper File: Sijan, by McCain Media Research Editor: Chequita Wood
7 Senior Staff Changes
76 Airpower Classics: B-2 Spirit
8 Aperture: Back to full spectrum; Contributors: Walter J. Boyne, John T. Correll,
Keeping the A-10; Arsenal plane; Robert S. Dudney, Rebecca Grant, Mark J. Lewis,
Warming up for future fi ghts .... Evan McCauley, Megan Scully, Berry Vissers
Advertising: Scott Hill, James G. Elliott Co., Inc.
WINGMAN
[phone]
67 Wingman Cover 72 Chapter News [email protected]
Photo by Kristina Parrill 1501 Lee Highway
74 Reunions
Arlington, VA 22209-1198
68 Five for the Force
By Gideon Grudo Tel: [phone]
AFA’s summer 2016 internship
Telefax: [phone]
program begins soon. Here’s a
look at last year’s interns. [email protected]
70 Thunderstruck
By Evan McCauley
The cadets were surprised by the
chance to work an air show. The
chapter was surprised that so
many volunteered.
AIR FORCE Magazine (ISSN 0730-6784) March 2016
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2 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2016
C O N F E R E N C E A N D E X P O S I T I O N - S A V E T H E D A T E
S E P T E M B E R 1 9 - 2 1 , 2 0 1 6 I N A T I O N A L H A R B O R , M D
A F A . o r g
Editorial
By Adam J. Hebert, Editor in Chief
Following the Money to Europe
It has now been two years since Russia illegally seized the our commitment to NATO Allies and the security of Europe,”
Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and began a low-level, stated EUCOM.
destabilizing “hybrid war” in Ukraine’s east. With these visible airpower commitments as the baseline, DOD
Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty came after Russia is really ramping things up now. “2017 ERI funding strengthens
had previously battled with and occupied territory belonging to deterrence through measures that provide a quick joint response
Georgia and allegedly sponsored severe cyber attacks targeting against any threats made by aggressive actors in the region,”
NATO member Estonia. budget justification documents explain.
The message Vladimir Putin sends his neighbors is clear: More than a half-billion dollars would be committed to establish-
Toe Russia’s line or pay the price. ing an Army armored brigade combat team in Europe.
These Russian attacks and provocations have had many Planned air initiatives include new pre-positioned equipment
nations in Central and Eastern Europe on edge. In February, to support forward flight operations. DOD seeks to put aircraft
as part of the Defense Department’s Fiscal 2017 budget re- maintenance vehicles, forklifts, crash recovery vehicles and fire
quest, US leaders announced a quadrupling of funding for the trucks, and runway snow removal equipment at numerous for-
European Reassurance Initiative (ERI), a US program designed ward locations to allow for quick and dispersed flight operations.
to reassure, bolster, and defend the European nations most It’s not just logistics. The plan also calls for “deferring previously
threatened by Russia. planned force reductions” at RAF Lakenheath, UK. The base
This is an extraordinary uptick in funding: a more than $2.5 will keep a full complement of 20 air superiority F-15C fighters
billion increase in a single year to enhance “ready for operational patrols and joint
what was already a high-profile defense and To deter Russia, the US will exercises” through 2017.
engagement program. ERI includes Opera- These defense measures send a
dramatically increase its
tion Atlantic Resolve, a series of US-led powerful message to America’s allies
forward presence in Europe.
measures to expand Allied training exer- that the US stands with them against
cises, make infrastructure improvements, aggression and intimidation. In a re-
and create a larger rotational presence in Europe. flection of the tension on the continent, Russian, NATO, and US
“We share a commitment to promoting a Europe that is officials repeatedly exchanged blunt words during last month’s
whole, free, and at peace,” read an end-of-2015 US European Munich Security Conference in Germany.
Command release. Atlantic Resolve is a response to “Russian “We have to take these threats from Moscow seriously,” said
intervention in Ukraine specifically.” Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski. “We have to be
Many of the nations with the most to fear are NATO members, wise before the event, not wise after the event.”
and the Alliance—led as always by the United States—continues Criticism angered prominent Russians in Munich. “NATO’s
to increase its support of their freedom and security. Make no policy with regard to Russia has remained unfriendly and
mistake: “We will defend every inch of our NATO territories,” opaque,” Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev complained, adding,
Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, EUCOM commander, said “One could go as far as to say that we have slid back to a new
in February, Stars and Stripes reported. Cold War. Almost on an everyday basis we are called one of the
This past year saw several notable US deployments and most terrible threats either to NATO as a whole or to Europe, or
military engagements. To cite just a few of 2015’s air-centric to the United States.”
operations, there was: But Russia is still illegally occupying Crimea and covertly sup-
A six-month A-10 theater security package that saw a dozen porting a separatist war in Eastern Ukraine. These facts were
Warthogs and 300 airmen from Moody AFB, Ga., operate out not lost on Breedlove, who said, “Our actions are defensive, and
of bases in Estonia, Hungary, and Romania. they are proportionate in size and capability.”
A three-week, five C-130 detachment deployed to Powidz NATO is bolstering its reassurance efforts because it spent
AB, Poland, to train with the Poles for skills including night vi- 20 years trying to build a partnership with Russia, a nation that
sion goggle operations and fighter intercept training. “does not want to be a partner,” Breedlove said.
An Oregon Air National Guard deployment of a dozen F- And so, to demonstrate commitment to those threatened by
15Cs to Campia Turzii Air Base in Romania to train with allies Russia, USAF will vigorously bolster its European capabilities.
and “strengthen interoperability.” Airpower is fast, flexible, and highly visible when needed.
A deployment of eight New Jersey ANG F-16s to Graf Ig- One final example: As part of the 2017 budget request, USAF
natievo AB, Bulgaria, for the two-week Thracian Star combined seeks infrastructure improvements at Spangdahlem to support
air operation exercise. fifth generation fighter operations with hardened aircraft shelters,
And in the highest-profile European deployment of the a low observable/ composite repair facility, and other upgrades
year, four F-22 Raptors, a C-17 airlifter, and 60 airmen to facilitate F-22 (and eventually F-35) deployments to Europe.
deployed to Spangdahlem AB, Germany, for the F-22’s first As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Munich,
deployment to Europe. From Germany, the Raptors branched “Deterrence starts with resolve. It’s not enough to feel it. You also
out to fly from bases in Poland and Estonia, “demonstrating have to show it.” J
4 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2016
Action in Congress
By Megan Scully
The Warthog Lives On
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) won a decisive victory in February moderate and has worked with Democrats on a range of issues,
when Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter announced plans including military sexual assault.
to keep the Air Force’s fl eet of A-10 Warthogs fl ying until 2022, Her election will likely hinge more on domestic issues, like
reversing the military’s cost-saving effort to send the ground at- funding for Planned Parenthood, on which she has had to stray
tack aircraft to the boneyard. from conservatives, than on matters of national security. And in
The New Hampshire Republican, whose husband was an A-10 a state that has voted for Democrats in most recent presidential
pilot, had led efforts on Capitol Hill to keep the Warthog in the elections, the timing of Ayotte’s re-election bid in a presidential
Air Force’s inventory despite assertions from defense offi cials year could hurt her chances.
that the cost of maintaining the single-mission airframes was Ayotte isn’t the only lawmaker with deep national security
simply too high in an era of constrained budgets. interests fi ghting for her political life in what could be one of the
Ayotte, a vocal member of the Senate Armed Services Com- most interesting congressional election cycles in recent memory.
mittee who has emerged as a leading hawk, wasted no time de- Even McCain, a formidable presence in the Senate who is
claring victory and pivoting to preserve the mission in the future. seeking a sixth term in the chamber, has a fi ght on his hands.
“We should now get to work on the development and procure- He won re-election in 2010 with 59 percent of the vote, but he
ment of an aircraft that can eventually replace the A-10 and pro- has perhaps his fi ercest general-election challenger in Demo-
vide even better close air support capabilities for our troops,” she cratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a three-term House member whose
said in a Feb. 2 statement. “Technology will continue to advance district includes Flagstaff and the southern Phoenix suburbs.
and threats will continue to evolve, but our ground troops will For McCain, however, it’s not just his re-election that is at
always need effective, lethal, and precise close air support—and stake. He could lose his gavel as well.
as long as I am in the Senate I will fi ght to ensure they have it.” If Democrats regain control of the Senate but McCain main-
The key to the statement, however, is how long she will be in tains his own seat, GOP rules would prohibit the Arizona Repub-
the Senate. While she won her much-publicized fi ght over the lican from serving as the powerful panel’s ranking Republican,
A-10, her own battle for re-election is in considerably more doubt. a job he has already held for six years.
As the 2016 congressional campaigns begin to heat up, Among those Republicans who hope to prevent a Democratic
control of the Senate is up for grabs, and Ayotte is one of the takeover of the upper chamber is Rep. Joe Heck of Nevada,
most vulnerable senators going into the November elections. a one-star general in the Army Reserve who is running for the
She has a formidable challenger in popular Democratic Gov. seat left open by retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid
Maggie Hassan. (D-Nev.). Heck, a military physician, currently serves as the
In 2010, Ayotte won her seat with a healthy 60 percent margin, House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee chair
but New Hampshire has trended more Democratic in statewide and would likely angle for a Senate Armed Services slot, should
elections in recent years. Indeed, the state’s senior senator, he win in November.
Jeanne Shaheen, was one of only a handful of vulnerable But his victory, like many other competitions for Senate seats
Democrats in 2014 to survive that election cycle, which thrust this year, is far from certain. Democrats have recruited Catherine
control of the Senate into the hands of Republicans. Cortez Masto, a former state attorney general, to run against
Ayotte is considered a rising star in GOP circles, particularly Heck, and they are pulling out all the stops to hold onto that
as she has partnered with Senate Armed Services Committee seat—a necessary win if they have any hope to regain control
Chairman Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Sen. Lindsey O. of the Senate. (cid:31)
Graham of South Carolina to promote hawkish defense poli-
cies and higher Pentagon spending levels. However, she is a Megan Scully is a reporter for CQ Roll Call.
Congress has kept the A-10
fl ying, but will pro-military
lawmakers win re-election?
USAF photo by TSgt. Jason Robertson
AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2016 5
Letters
[email protected]
Sigh documentation of some of the critical for making electronic access so much
Nice compilation of fighter pictures. contributors: B-52’s first shots of Desert easier for our students here at Air
Too bad airlift, tanker, bomber, and Storm fired with CALCM plus Ops out University. It has been a struggle ever
ISR aircraft, plus key support ele- of Diego. Fourteen years of B-1 preci- since you started requiring a login. We
ments, too numerous to mention, did sion CAS. Forty-four-hour B-2 sorties did not want to give our admin login to
not participate in the 25 years of war kicking off Enduring Freedom. And the students, so the library staff was
[“USAF: 25 Years at War,” January, then there are the constant enablers having to retrieve the electronic edition
p. 20]. Maybe they were not engaged making everyone look good: AWACS, and print it or have them get our bound
or perhaps they were just forgotten. Rivet Joint, Joint STARS, and strategic or current issues to make a copy. This
The more things change, the more airlift. As history repeats itself, we need is a great improvement. Your magazine
they stay the same. to think through and pace ourselves for articles are currently indexed here in
Col. Larry Hammack, the next 25 years. Looks like the BUFF the library and made available through
USAF (Ret.) will still be around! AULIMP (Air University Library Index
Moseley, Va. Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Keck, to Periodicals). Our students depend
USAF (Ret.) on your quality articles and reference
I read the several letters complain- Tucson, Ariz. them in their school papers.
ing that the writer’s favorite aircraft Rebecca Susan Lipscomb
was omitted from the “USAF: 25 Years Missed a Decade or So Periodicals Chief
of War” issue with disbelief [“Letters: “AWACS for the 21st Century” (Janu- Muir S. Fairchild Research
“We Agree, It’s Disappointing,” Feb­ ary, p. 68) did a credible job conveying Information Center
ruary, p. 6]. the operational impact of the massive Maxwell AFB, Ala.
I well recall how you begged us read- Block 40/45 upgrade. Conversely, in
ers to submit our photos in September reporting its deployment to the Middle General Robinson
and October as you note. I encouraged East, the article fell short on the histori- Enjoyed the article on Gen. Lori
a number of my friends to do so. As cal perspective of AWACS operating Robinson [“Wingman: In Command,”
one who feels highly honored by hav- continuously in the AOR by nearly a January, p. 78]. She was the second
ing one of mine printed, I appreciated third. Statements such as “since the person to welcome me to Thumrait
the opportunity. aircraft began watching Iraq in the Air Base [Oman] when I stepped off
MSgt. Bill Brockman, early 1990s”; “the jet has been flying the rotator. The first was Col. James
ANG (Ret.) continuously in the Middle East for more Kowalski. What’s the chance of being
Atlanta than two decades”; and “AWACS and deployed with two individuals, at the
the Air Force have been in the desert same time, who are both promoted to
Your article “25 Years at War” included … since the first Gulf War” all miss oversee major commands?
extraordinary coverage of airmen and nearly a decade of the 552nd AWACW’s CMSgt. Fred W. Spielmann,
warfighting systems. I would have added proud history. Comprising thousands USAF (Ret.)
of sorties and tens of thousands of Longwood, Fla.
flying hours during the period 1980-
89, 552nd crews flew these aircraft in In your article on General Robinson
executing round-the-clock, 24/7/365 you mentioned her tour as commander
Do you have a comment about a
combat weapons control, surveillance, of the 17th Training Wing at Goodfel-
current article in the magazine?
and warning during Operation Elf One.
Write to “Letters,” Air Force Mag­
Telling a first generation AWACS “crew
a zine, 1501 Lee Highway, Ar-
lington, VA 22209-1198. (Email: dog” that continuous combat operations Index to Advertisers
in the Middle East began in the 1990s,
[email protected].) Letters should
would be akin to telling an RAF airman
be concise and timely. We cannot
that World War II began with the attack
acknowledge receipt of letters. Bradford Exchange.....................................75
We reserve the right to condense on Pearl Harbor! USAA..................................................Cover II
Col. Dan Koslov,
letters. Letters without name
USAF (Ret.)
and city/base and state are not
acceptable. Photographs can not Alexandria, Va. AFA-Deloitte Partnership....................Cover IV
AFA Individual Giving ...............................71
be used or returned.—the editors AFA Member Benefits...............................27
You’re Welcome
AFA’s 70th Anniversary..........74 & Cover III
Thank you, thank you, thank you Air & Space Conference & Tech Expo.........3
6 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2016
low AFB, Texas, where the 17th has a I spent two tours at Goodfellow, one
“mixed bag” of training for operational of which was during Col. (later Gen.)
endeavors, but you failed to mention Norma Brown’s tour as commander.
the maintenance training programs that MSgt. David C. Stamps,
keep those systems up and running. As USAF (Ret.) Air Force Association
a ground radio maintenance instructor, Carlsbad, Texas 1501 Lee Highway • Arlington, VA 22209-1198
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Due to an editing error, the February “Airpower Classics: Predator,” p. 84, Website: www.afa.org
listed two pilots as having received the Distinguished Flying Cross for fl ying
the Predator RPA. No RPA pilots have received the DFC.—THE EDITORS Email Addresses
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man, Stephen N. Whiting, John M. Wood. To be Brigadier General: Michael A. Guetlein,
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Air Force Memorial Foundation.................................
CHANGES: Brig. Gen. (sel.) Mark A. Baird, from Spec. Asst. to the Cmdr., AFMC, Wright-
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Ops., AFSOC, Hurlburt Field, Fla., to Cmdr., Spec. Ops. Jt. Task Force-Afghanistan, US
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Change of Address/Email
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SECDEF, OSD, Pentagon, to Cmdr., 57th FW, ACC, Nellis AFB, Nev. … Brig. Gen. Russell Change of address requires four weeks’
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VA 22209-1198.
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SECAF, Financial Mgmt. & Comptroller, OSD, Pentagon, to Dir., Budget Ops. & Personnel, You may also update your contact informa-
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AFA’s Mission
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COM, Kabul, Afghanistan … Brig. Gen. Ferdinand B. Stoss, from Dir., Strat. Plans, Prgms., Our mission is to promote a dominant United
Rqmts., & Assessments, AFGSC, Barksdale AFB, La., to Dir., Ops., AFGSC, Barksdale States Air Force and a strong national de-
AFB, La. … Maj. Gen. (sel.) Jeffrey B. Taliaferro, from Dir., Plans, Prgms., & Rqmts., ACC, fense and to honor airmen and our Air Force
heritage. To accomplish this, we:
JB Langley-Eustis, Va., to Cmdr., 9th Air & Space Expeditionary Task Force-Afghanistan,
CENTCOM, Kabul, Afghanistan … Maj. Gen. (sel.) Glen D. VanHerck, from Dir., Ops., Educate the public on the critical need for un-
AFGSC, Barksdale AFB, La., to Cmdr., US Air Warfare Center, ACC, Nellis AFB, Nev. … matched aerospace power and a technically
Brig. Gen. (sel.) John T. Wilcox II, from Cmdr., 341st Missile Wg., AFGSC, Malmstrom superior workforce to ensure US national
AFB, Mont., to Dir., Strat. Plans, Prgms., Rqmts., & Assessments, AFGSC, Barksdale AFB, security.
La. … Lt. Gen. (sel.) Robert S. Williams, from Chief, Offi ce of Mil. Cooperation, CENT-
Advocate for aerospace power and STEM
COM, US Embassy, Kuwait, to Cmdr., 1st AF (Air Forces Northern), Tyndall AFB, Fla. education.
SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE CHANGE: Henrietta K. Brisbon, to Vice Procurement Support the Total Air Force family and pro-
mote aerospace education.
Svcs. Executive, Defense Info. Tech. Contracting Orgn., Ft. Meade, Md.
AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2016 7
Aperture
By John A. Tirpak, Editorial Director
Back to full spectrum; Keeping the A-10;
Arsenal plane; Warming up for future fights....
Washington, D.C., feb. 4
EMBRACING “NEXT-WAR-ITIS” counter Iran’s malign influence against our friends and allies
in the region, especially Israel.”
With its Fiscal 2017 budget request, the Pentagon is The fight against terrorism, and ISIS in particular, is the
shedding its posture of focusing almost exclusively on coun- fifth-ranking challenge, Carter said. ISIS “must and will be
terinsurgency and the all-out pursuit of terrorists, saying the defeated now” because it is “metastasizing in Afghanistan,
threats posed by near-peers, such as Russia and China, are Africa, and elsewhere.” The anti-terrorism fight will likely con-
now its top priority. While the fight against ISIS and terrorism tinue for years, he said, and will get increasingly tough. This is
broadly will still be vigorous—and would get a huge boost in because “destructive power of greater and greater magnitude”
the spending plan now before Congress—the “base budget” is falling into the hands of “smaller and more aberrant groups.”
request clearly emphasizes investment in modernization, While DOD “must and will address all five of those chal-
research, and development geared for a future, high-end fight. lenges,” doing so will demand “new thinking” and a recogni-
The $582.7 billion budget request marks a full pendulum tion that the realm of potential combat has expanded beyond
swing away from the policies of just seven years ago, when air, land, and sea, to “cyber, space, and electronic warfare.”
then-Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates fired the Air Force’s
top leaders partly because of what he viewed as their “next- CARRY A BIGGER STICK
war-itis”—what Gates considered to be the inexcusable sin
of continuing to prepare for high-end major-nation warfare Deterrence is the key for security in all of the nation-state
instead of bending every dollar and asset available to the scenarios, Carter asserted. “We must have—and [be seen]
lower-tech fights in Afghanistan and Iraq. to have—the ability to impose unacceptable costs on an ad-
The switch back to “full spectrum” readiness signals an vanced aggressor that will either dissuade them from taking
acceptance on the part of national security leaders that the provocative action or make them deeply regret it if they do.”
strategy of the Obama Administration—that there can’t be “The US military will fight very differently” than it has in the
a new Cold War if the US won’t play along—hasn’t worked, last 15 years, and will be readied to cope with “a high-end
and that during America’s long preoccupation with Middle enemy,” Carter said. Russia and China will be the pacing and
East brush wars, its major competitors have gained ground “most stressing competitors.” They are pursuing capabilities
technologically, and now pose a much bigger problem. “that seek to achieve their objectives rapidly; before, they hope,
Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, providing an early Feb- we can respond.” Although the US doesn’t want a conflict with
ruary “preview” of the defense budget, said the new spending either country, “we also cannot blind ourselves to the actions
plan takes “the long view” of challenges, which amount to “a they appear to choose to pursue.”
return to ‘great power’ ... competition.” To defeat ISIS, Carter said DOD is proposing to double
The budget proposal focuses on “the fights that might come its spending on Operation Inherent Resolve to $7.5 billion in
10, 20, or 30 years down the road.” The US must confront “a 2017. He suggested that $1.8 billion of that will go to replenish
new strategic era,” Carter asserted. depleted war stocks. “We’ve recently been hitting [ISIS] with
“We’re taking a strong and balanced approach to deter so many GPS-guided smart bombs and laser-guided rockets
Russian aggression,” he said in Washington, D.C., calling that we’re starting to run low on the ones that we use against
Russia the top existential threat to the US. “We haven’t had terrorists the most,” he said, specifying that the money would
to worry about this for 25 years,” Carter noted, and “while I buy about 45,000 more munitions.
wish it were otherwise, now we do.” The Pentagon will back away from its proposed retirement
The world has “not stood still” while the US fought in Af- of the A-10 Warthog until 2022, Carter acknowledged, saying
ghanistan and Iraq, Carter said, and the security environment broadly that more fourth generation aircraft will be retained than
is “dramatically different than the one we’ve been engaged planned. The A-10 would be replaced by F-35s “on a squadron-
in” since the first Gulf War in 1991. by-squadron basis, so we’ll always have enough aircraft for
China, Carter said, continues its explosive military spending today’s conflicts.” However, it was revealed separately that
and growth, and this fact will require the US to continue its the Air Force would buy five fewer F-35s in Fiscal 2017 than
“rebalance, so-called, to maintain stability” in the Pacific region. previously planned, to cover other modernization expenses.
Carter called out North Korea as the third-highest security The budget plans for a quadrupling of funds allocated to the
challenge facing the US. American forces will have to remain European Reassurance Initiative, Carter said, from $800 million
ready to “fight tonight” on the Korean Peninsula because of in FY16 to $3.4 billion in FY17. The money will fund additional
Pyongyang’s unstable and threatening behavior. force rotations from the US to Europe, more international
Iran is the fourth on the list of security challenges, Carter exercises and training, more pre-positioned equipment, and
said. The nuclear weapons deal struck with Iran is a good “infrastructure improvements to support all this.”
one, he said, because it “doesn’t limit us in the Defense The goal, to be achieved by the end of 2017, is to create “a
Department in any way,” but the US military will “still have to highly capable combined arms ground force that can respond
8 AIR FORCE Magazine / March 2016