Army Builds Recon, Targeting Air Fleet
June 23, 2008

Ever since the Army lost its warplanes to a newly independent Air Force after World War II, Soldiers have depended on the sister service for help from the sky, from bombing and strafing to transport and surveillance.

But the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have frayed the relationship, with Army officers increasingly vocal with complaints that the Air Force is not pulling its weight.

In Afghanistan, Army officers have complained that the Air Force has complicated their jobs with bombing missions gone awry that have killed innocent civilians. In Iraq, Army officers say the Air Force has often been out of touch, fulfilling only half of their requests for the most sophisticated surveillance aircraft that ground commanders say are needed to find roadside bombs and track down insurgents.

The Air Force responds that it has only a limited number of remotely piloted Predators and other advanced surveillance aircraft, so priorities for assigning them must be set by senior commanders at the headquarters in Baghdad working with counterparts at the air force's regional command in Qatar.

There are more than 14,000 airmen performing tasks on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, including Air Force civil engineers replacing Army construction engineers.

But now in Iraq, the Army has quietly decided to try going it alone for the important surveillance mission, organizing an all- Army surveillance and targeting unit in Iraq that represents a new move by the service toward self-sufficiency and away from joint operations.

Senior aides to Defense Secretary Robert Gates say that he has shown keen interest in the Army initiative - much to the frustration of embattled Air Force leaders - as a potential way to improve battlefield surveillance.

It's getting harder and harder to figure out who does what and with which and to whom. USAF ground troops doing USA jobs and USA air soon doing USAF jobs. Spec Ops works well together combined.

Being a ex-Army pilot, and spending the ammount of time in Iraq I did, I know first hand how true this article is.

I dropped a 2 special ops on a rooftop one time and a JDAM dropped by a USAF pilot hit WAY TO CLOSE to us. It missed its original target and dropped in the middle of the street. I just about (*)(*)(*)(*) my pants.

But without of doubt, there are major communication problems between the two.

It appears I got out at a good time. Lots of criticisms lately directed towards the USAF...

Well, its a 50/50 problem in my opinion.

Both the Air Force and the Army independently pursued options for a smaller cargo aircraft to fly intratheater airlift missions.

In late '05, the DoD directed the Army's "Future Cargo Aircraft" program and the Air Force's "Light Cargo Aircraft" program be merged into the single "Joint Cargo Aircraft" program. There's been a lot of tension over this, the rift between the two services is established.