The Coalition Air Force Transition Team: rebuilding Iraq's air force

Air & Space Power Journal, Winter, 2007 by Robert R. Allardice, Kyle "Brad" Head

The Us Air Force can no longer afford to treat the advisory mission as a niche endeavor; rather, we must embrace it as a core competency of our twenty-first-century Air Force. Current geopolitical reality suggests that the need for a highly qualified advisor corps will grow significantly in the near future. (26) Effectively engaging these opportunities will require a well-thought-out doctrine that explains how airpower, beyond Us Air Force--unique capabilities, contributes to COIN operations and concentrates specifically on building fledgling COIN air forces. The US Air Force owes it to future advisors to make available both the general skills and specialized training necessary to excel in their jobs. To do it right, the service also will have to provide sufficient manpower and resources.

Conclusion

Iraq is a nation torn by a stifling combination of insurgency, terrorism, and communal conflict--all within the confines of a failed state. (27) no one knows what the future holds for that country; however, Airmen understand that no state or government will remain truly sovereign unless it can control and defend its own airspace. Building an air force capable of responding across the spectrum of operations in Iraq's complex environment differs fundamentally from anything the US Air Force has prepared the current generation of Airmen to accomplish. Like previous generations, today's Airmen are rapidly stepping up to the challenge.

Until Iraq can fully defend its own air sovereignty, US Air Force--led coalition air assets will likely assist the IqAF in maintaining a protective umbrella. Meanwhile, CAFTT members will continue performing one of the most challenging, exciting, and rewarding jobs in today's air force. (28) embracing the mission of building or shaping a partner's airpower capacity, if required, as a critical component of any successful irregular-warfare campaign demands that the US Air Force leverage the lessons learned by the CAFTT and consider institutionalizing this capability.

Notes

(1.) "Reaching Globally, Reaching Powerfully: The United States Air Force in the Gulf War: A Report, September 1991," 28 August 1997, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/ report/1991/desstorm.htm.

(2.) For more on the lessons of the Iran-Iraq War, see Maj Ronald E. Bergquist, The Role of Airpower in the Iran-Iraq War (Maxwell AFB, AL: Air University Press, December 1988), http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/aul/aupress/Books/Bergquist/ Bergquist_B2.pdf.

(3.) For a fascinating after-action review of Operation Iraqi Freedom, see Kevin M. Woods with Michael R. Pease, The Iraqi Perspectives Report: Saddam's Senior Leadership on Operation Iraqi Freedom from the Official U.S. Joint Forces Command Report (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2006).

(4.) "Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 22: Creation of a new Iraqi Army" (Baghdad, Iraq: Coalition Provisional Authority, 18 August 2003), http://www.iraqcoalition.org/ regulations/20030818_CPAoRD_22_Creation_of_a_new_Iraqi_Army.pdf.