Airmen (Air Force) forced to do Army's job since Army is "Tapped"

[noahmijo]

Can we start drafting Republicans Age 21-39 yet?

Air Force's Role Changing in Iraq

AN AIR BASE IN KUWAIT - U.S. airmen are increasingly on the ground in
Iraq, driving in convoys and even working with detainees — a shift in the Air Force's historic mission that military officials call necessary to bolster the strapped Army.

The main aerial hub for the war in Iraq has 1,500 airmen doing convoy operations in Iraq and 1,000 working with detainees, training Iraqis and performing other activities not usually associated with the Air Force, said Col. Tim Hale, commander of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing.

"Every one of us has learned that we are in a nontraditional state in our armed forces," he said, standing outside an auditorium at an air base in Kuwait.

The dangers of the new roles were highlighted when the expeditionary wing lost its first female member in the line of duty in Iraq. Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Jacobson, 21, was killed in a roadside bombing while providing convoy security in September near the U.S. detention center at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq.

"More and more Air Force are doing Army jobs," said Senior Master Sgt. Matt Rossoni, 46, of San Francisco. "It's nothing bad about the Army. They're just tapped out."

Air Force security forces are traditionally associated with base defense. But Chief Master Sgt. Tom McDaniel, 41, of Winston-Salem, N.C., said his squadron is happy to provide security for patrols and to deliver supplies.

"It's all about getting the mission done," he said. "These are different roles we find ourselves in . ... This is probably the forefront of things to come."

The Navy is seeing the same trend, using its fighter aircraft to escort convoys and protect oil infrastructure and sending sailors in boats to contact fishermen from Saudi Arabia and even
Iran for tips on terror suspects.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060102/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_air_war
U.S. Air Force's Role Changing in Iraq - Yahoo! News

[TomInTib]

1. So much for the "volunteer" argument. This has been going on for a while.

Navy personnel on land-based missions, etc. I will guarantee that no one in the Air Force "volunteered" to escort Army convoys.
There are far too many soldiers/sailors/airmen working outside the specialties they were trained for. This is a morale destroyer.

[tx_dem41]

4. Ummmm....Navy personnel do land-based missions.

Working on the training for such a program for the last 15 years, I should know. Inter-branch support isn't some new thing either.

[DELUSIONAL]

2. The bush crime family is doing everything possible to destroy

the military.

It is going to take decades to clean up after the GOPigs.

[MrModerate]

3. Will this lead to the merger of the services . . .

into one big military? No more Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, etc. . . . ?

If so, it's about time. Everything is combined operations these days and for the foreseeable future.

[shanti]

5. THANK GOD

that my son is now out of the air force (dec. 1)!!!!!!!!! the timing couldn't be better! i really feel for these airmen!