Airmen serving as “in lieu of” convoy drivers drove a total of more than six million miles in Southwest Asia last year, according to Air Force data. These airmen working in traditional Army jobs handled 393 convoys, during which they came under attack 138 times from small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades, and improvised explosive devices. (They also drove another 495 convoys within Kuwait.) And, if the Air Force’s senior personnel official, Lt. Gen. Roger Brady, is correct, more airmen would be diverted to ILO duty during President Bush’s plan to increase the number of soldiers and marines in Iraq.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.