US Central Command Air Forces applied intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance air assets combined with precision strike and close air support to aid coalition ground forces in Afghanistan Jan. 10, killing as many as 150 insurgents. CENTAF deputy command, Maj. Gen. William Holland called it a “perfect example” in the “flexibility and combat capability” of combined air assets. The action took place in the Paktika province, where two large groups of insurgents moving across the border from Pakistan were tracked as they launched an attack against coalition ground forces.
As the Air Force readied for its June 21-22 strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the service was also putting its Agile Combat Employment strategy into action, dispersing combat aircraft and Airmen from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in preparation for a possible Iranian retaliatory attack. Some defense experts say…