All the services have a role to play in the AirSea Battle concept, said Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey. Speaking at AFA’s Air & Space Conference outside Washington, D.C., on Sept. 19, Dempsey, an Army general, said he thinks of ASB as “a multi-service approach to joint operational access.” Air Force and Navy leaders developed ASB to address the need for a long-range air- and maritime-centric approach to dealing with threats such as China and Iran, both of which represent heavy anti-access, area-denial challenges that demand action without a forward land-based staging area. Since word of ASB first started to come out, the Army has worked to involve itself in overcoming A2/AD through new joint doctrine. Dempsey said: “I think we have work to do to make sure we are thinking about it the right way.”
Air Force Chief of Staff nominee Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said he'll give special attention to coordinating with the Navy on buys of new weapons.
