Testing the Aerospace Expeditionary Force Concept: An Analysis of AEFs I-IV (1995-97) and the Way Ahead
Abstract
During the period 1995-97, the deployment of four Aerospace Expeditionary Forces (AEFs) to Bahrain, Jordan, and Qatar (x2) served as useful tests of the AEF concept first broached in its latter-day incarnation soon after "Operation Vigilant Warrior" in the Persian Gulf in 1994. Responding to a manifest need to be able to rapidly deploy aerospace power to deter or to halt aggression against U.S. interests abroad, USAF leadership has designed and implemented a new organizing concept for service culture and operations - the Expeditionary Aerospace Force (EAF). The deployments of AEFs I - IV to the Middle East provided experience, data, and "lessons learned" that have since been incorporated into the EAF design. Based on available unclassified information, this study first comparatively considers the strengths and weaknesses of the aerospace expeditionary force concept evinced in the four deployments of 1995-97. Then, factoring in additional accounts of participants and the views of other writers, the author mines the accumulated evidence for analytical insights around six issue categories: planning, diplomatic preparation, force protection, logistics, command and control, and training and education. The study concludes that force protection and logistics are the most vexing challenges confronting architects and implementers of the EAF concept. Force protection may indeed prove to be too hard and too expensive in some cases.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA381886
Entities
People
- William L. Dowdy
Organizations
- Air University