Enhancing Full-Spectrum Flexibility: Striking the Balance to Maximize Air Force Effectiveness in Conventional and Counterinsurgency Operations

摘要

With the United States currently engaged in difficult and taxing counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, renewed emphasis has been focused upon the country's capabilities and priorities vis-a-vis this type of warfare. Within the military, the Air Force has been especially and increasingly criticized for being too enamored with a Cold-War era conventionally minded force structure and for not shifting aggressively to meet the threats of COIN-style conflicts that many predict will be pervasive throughout the Global War on Terror. This paper addresses the conceptual capabilities and limitations of air power in COIN in order to illuminate how the Air Force can leverage the distinct asymmetric advantage that air power presents across the spectrum of conflict. This asymmetry is founded upon a clear U.S. superiority in air power capabilities combined with the unique flexibility inherent in air power. An understanding of air power's efficacy in COIN, measured against conventional requirements and capabilities, will inform decisions on appropriate force structure and employment. Conceptualizing the generic strategic mindset of insurgent 'doctrine' is indispensable before a relevant discussion of the effectiveness and limitations of air power can be undertaken. Chapter 1 offers a brief examination of the nature of insurgencies so that the reader can understand the framework and broad assumptions from which the discussion will proceed. If COIN operations come to represent the greatest challenge to U.S. interests in the future, as many suggest they will, changes in Air Force programs and structure must also be predicated on whether or not air power by its nature can be fashioned into an appropriate response.