Gates Goes Beyond AF Criticism: Military Doesn’t Back Soldiers Enough
WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today that U.S. military services are not doing enough to support soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, singling out the Air Force for adapting too slowly to the new enemies on those battlefields.
In unusually harsh public criticism, Gates said that his attempts to get the Pentagon to more quickly help commanders on the ground have been “like pulling teeth,” and he blamed military leaders who are “stuck in old ways of doing business.”
He said he was particularly upset with the failure of the Air Force to get more unmanned spy planes into the air over the two war zones. While the number of drones has doubled in recent months, he is setting up a new task force to push for even more.
“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,” Gates said in a major address at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. “Our services are still not moving aggressively in wartime to provide resources needed now on the battlefield.”
Gates has complained in the past that the Pentagon he inherited in 2006 was not on what he called a “war footing.” He has criticized other military services in the past, including the Army for failing to get mine-resistant armored vehicles to war theaters and for its lapses at Walter Reed Medical Center.
The new round of criticism comes at an especially tense time between Gates and the Air Force. The Defense secretary has been fighting a series of increasingly acrimonious internal battles against Air Force leaders, who have pushed for dozens of new F-22 fighter planes and resisted more drone deployments.
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Great post drill!
April 21st, 2008 at 6:09 pmNow where are those photos of scantily clad young lads you promised so we can ladies vote!
April 21st, 2008 at 6:10 pmGot so excited thinking about it, screwed up the sentence!
April 21st, 2008 at 6:11 pmThe F-22 is needed and soon but, we should be on the “war footing” Mr. Gates called for. My Air Force brothers will gladly take any challenge. Just getting the brass up to speed has always been the trouble. If the USAF doesn’t fill the need the other branches will. It is the joint commands that have proven themselves unstoppable, lets promote this type of work and cut the red tape out.
April 21st, 2008 at 6:29 pmThe Pentagon he inherited in 2006 wasnt on a ‘war footing’. 3 years after the war in Iraq had started and 5 years into Afghanistan. thats some pretty shocking shit right there.
good choice for posting Drill
April 21st, 2008 at 8:12 pmNow where are those photos of scantily clad young lads you promised so we can ladies vote!
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Patience, Missy!
All in good time …
April 21st, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Donnie B
April 21st, 2008 at 9:38 pmThe f-22 is not needed and is way too expensive.
if the AF does not want to get absorbed back into the army
it had better quit acting like it has money to burn on planes that have nothing to fight against. UAV’s are the future and they better put some serious effort into them if they want to stay relevant. China is the only high tech threat left, listen to this man.
Just what the Hell do you have against next generation weapons systems? The Osprey, the Raptor, haven’t heard you bitch about the JSF yet, but wouldn’t be surprised….
April 21st, 2008 at 11:59 pmIf the F-22 has nothing to fight then it is doing its job, nobody else is even bothering to try and build a fight that can match it. Also it has so many other capabilities the fact that it isn’t opposed by other fighters makes it more useful
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:41 am
Gaige Mosher, James F.
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:43 amMy view of the JSF is that it’s the project to fund based on cost to function results, it will deliver and pay off big time in the long run, = bang for the buck. The osprey is a pet project that should have been killed eons ago, it’s just an expensive pickup truck that flies and not too well, also extremely vulnerable. The f-22 is not as advanced as the f-35
not as versatile and costs more. It’s like buying last years model for next years price. IMO.
My point simply is that as a total force our military has needs beyond an AF that consistently wants the most expensive new toy on the shelf and they have an aircraft building lobby ready to fill their every wish and whim.
My suggestion is to ask the rest of the total force if 330 million per copy is money well spent for an f-22.
The only thing I can do is post my opinion and vote anyway.
BTW I am not a pilot but my father and brother were Col. & Gen respectively.