Gen Lawrence A. Skantze, USAF (Ret)
July 7, 2007

Many Americans are not aware that our Air Force has been actively engaged in war for the past 17 years. The Air Force was deployed to the Middle East soon after the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990 and has been standing in defense of freedom with Operations Desert Storm, Southern Watch, Provide Comfort, Northern Watch, and Iraqi Freedom ever since. During this time the Air Force was also engaged over the skies of Serbia and Kosovo, over Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom, over the US defending our home skies in Operation Noble Eagle, and participated in numerous humanitarian relief efforts around the world. No one else has this capability to respond to any contingency at such short notice. While there has always been great support for the American Military among the American Public, the public does not have an appreciation for how 17 years of constant military operations and humanitarian relief efforts, combined with a procurement holiday during the 1990s, has affected the Air Force’s ability to carry out today’s missions and prepare for future conflicts and contingencies wherever they might occur.

In the early 1940s when I was in high school in the Bronx, New York, the American Public was singularly focused on World War II and our progress in defeating the Axis powers. In addition to dramatic newspaper accounts of how our forces were doing, there was Movietone News in our theaters, which highlighted the Army Air Forces, with the great 8th Air Force’s B-17 and B-24 raids into Germany, and the achievements of the 9th Air Force fighter groups credited with destroying the German Air Force. Hollywood and the movie industry was actively involved. There were movies like “Twelve O’Clock High” which showed the American Public the consequences of Command in directing singular raids on German Industry with the resultant severe losses of aircraft and air crews. Many Hollywood celebrities and senior film executives served on active duty in the armed forces. The dramatic achievements of the U.S. Army Air Corps ultimately led to the creation of a separate United States Air Force in 1947….Now flash 40 years ahead to 2007, the 60th Anniversary of the United States Air Force.

We are again at War – this time a different war – The Global War on Terrorism – no less insidious – no less difficult – no less challenging. The current war in Iraq has already exceeded the length of WW II. However, unlike WW II, the American Public doesn’t seem to be focused on this war … except for how and when to end it. The way news is delivered to the homes and into the lives of the public has changed dramatically. Television news is the major medium of news delivery. Yet, television news devotes scant attention to substantive world events. The rationing of resources, the restructuring of the workforce and industry and the significant percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) spent on the war effort is non existent when compared to World War II. In World War II, the war effort affected virtually every home and every family. Today, that just is not the case. The nation’s wealth and abundance has made the current War a far away and obscure event unless one has a family member or a loved one in the service.

The Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force are focused, and must remain focused, on this War and, over the past several years, they have seen their equipment and infrastructure being steadily eroded in combat without the full support of the Government or the American Public. Today’s Defense Budget is only 3.8% of GDP. In WW II over 50% of GDP was spent on defense So today we are fighting a War without a War Time Budget! While debates rage in Congress over Domestic spending priorities, the Services carry the burden of being at War without adequate support or resources. Today’s war efforts are funded through the regular Defense budget combined with a series of supplemental appropriations. While the current war effort costs in excess of $2 billion per week, most Americans do not know that figure nor do they feel its impact.

The combat vehicle attrition rate has been significant – far in excess of any predictions. A recent allocation of some $20 Billion to purchase thousands of Mine Resistant Ambush Preventive (MRAP) Vehicles for the Army and Marines to help counter Innovative Explosive Devices (IEDs) is a vital necessity, and the Army and Marines must continue to get major budget support, but none of the services are receiving sufficient funds to address replacement of consumable supplies and address recapitalization needs.

Some brief snapshots of Air Force operations serve to illustrate the Air Force’s current involvement. The Air Force has 24/7missions from Balad AB in Iraq to include F-16 and C-130 transports, among other combat sorties. For example, from May 22 through May 28, the Air Force flew 191 Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance missions; 701 Close Air Support and Armed Reconnaissance missions in direct support of ground troops; 1058 Airlift missions, of which many were dedicated to airlifting 8000 troops rather than exposing them to road convoys and IEDs; and finally 361 Air Refueling missions to serve all coalition aircraft in-flight needs. The U.S. Air Force flies 82% of all the sorties in Iraq and 78% of all the sorties in Afghanistan. In addition to all that effort by heroic and courageous air and ground crews, there are nearly 16,000 Airmen embedded with the Army and Marine units on the ground on convoy duty and other ground combat support roles, freeing up Army and Marine troops to concentrate on their combat missions. The Air Force also is continually flying Homeland skies security missions -- 47,000 flights since 9/11. The Air Force’s contributions are most effective but are absent from the public eye. Because of the lack of media and public exposure of Air Force operations, the Air Force leadership is having an extremely difficult time getting the Administration and the Congress to recognize the shortfalls and the continual attrition of Air Force equipment, particularly the combat Air Force structure.

The readiness rate for Air Force Combat aircraft has fallen 17% from a traditional 90+%. In most cases we have at least doubled the annual flying hour rate, which ages the aircraft more rapidly and increases the repair and maintenance requirements. The average age of our combat aircraft has increased from 17 years in 1990 to 28 years in 2007. To support the current operational tempo we have 1,280 fewer aircraft and the remaining aircraft are aging rapidly. Air Force leadership has appealed to the Defense Department and to Congress to support a critical recapitalization of its combat aircraft, but Congress has refused to allow the Air Force to retire older C-5s, KC-135s, C-130Es, F-117s, U-2s, and B-52s, some of which cannot fly standard mission profiles or at all. The Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff have reported they need $20B a year to recapitalize the Air Force. Without that, and at the current rate of Congressional Air Force Budget approval, it will take 100 years to recapitalize and rebuild the United States Air Force.

Each of the Services is faced with fighting this war, preparing for the next war, and training and developing the people to operate a new modern military force structure. Each Service is faced with a long term challenge that must be funded and sustained through the uncertainties of two-year Congresses, and eight-year Administrations. Looking forward, if sufficient funding does not come soon, a “Hollow” Air Force surely will come to pass. The founding fathers declared that a major responsibility of the United States Congress is “to provide for the common defense.” It is the responsibility of every American to make sure the Congress does just that, and it is the clear responsibility of the Media to convey to the American public a complete picture of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the contribution of all the Services including the United States Air Force.