The eight USAF commands representing the combat air forces have issued the 2010 CAF strategic plan. The 21-page document, Securing the High Ground: Agile Combat Airpower, articulates the vision for developing, planning, and employing integrated CAF capabilities in defense of the nation. “The CAF is America’s asymmetric advantage and the backbone of our nation’s security,” said Gen. William Fraser, Air Combat Command commander and CAF lead, in an ACC release. The changing security environment is characterized by a growing list of competitors and potential adversaries across the spectrum of conflict, states the document. Adding to the challenge are “fiscal constraints, which, if not properly managed, can and will negatively affect” the ability to satisfy combatant commanders’ requirements, states the document. The mitigation strategy is “to develop a smaller, more capable force that is effective across the wide range of military challenges,” it reads. (CAF strategic plan)
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…