General: Fighter Pilots’ Jobs Safe, for Now

Lt. Gen. David Deptula, Air Force deputy chief of staff for ISR and a strong advocate for UAVs, recently stated that “we haven’t even seen the horizon yet” on the last manned tactical aircraft.

While many have forecasted the “unemployment of the fighter pilot” as UAVs have become more ubiquitous, Deptula’s reason for saying fighter pilots have some job security is fairly simple: 

There is no sensor package capable of “360-degree situational awareness that can process information” and decide on how to act upon it better than the human brain.

The article notes that Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said he is “inclined to believe” that the F-35 will be the last manned fighter.

White House Staff Swaps F-22 for F-15

In an interesting “behind the scenes” look at a Presidential speech, The Cable, a blog of Foreign Policy magazine, says that White House staffers asked an Air Force squadron to remove its F-22 from President Obama’s speech location and replace it with an F-15.  The story was corroborated by an Elmendorf AFB public affairs officer.

The blog reports that some of the local troops who fly and maintain the Raptor “took offense” and were bewildered that the White House wouldn’t want to showcase the Air Force’s premier front line fighter.

It is highly unlikely that Obama personally had anything to do with the decision.  Such political “staging” matters are frequently made at levels well below the Oval Office (as noted by the article saying aides made the request).  As the Foreign Policy article shows, though, sometimes the decision to use what might seem like an innocuous stage piece (in this case, two Air Force fighter aircraft) may have a significant backstory.

Academy Hosts ‘Religious Warrior Weekend’

The US Military Academy at West Point recently hosted civilian college students and fellow military academy cadets at its annual religious Warrior Weekend at the cadet chapel.  Designed to give the civilians a sense of their religious military heritage, it also gave the military cadets the opportunity to “immerse” themselves in their culture.

The event, described below, is an admirable effort by cadets and officers to do two important things: convey to civilians that their faith is not inconsistent with military service; and remind military cadets of the depth of Read more

A Day which Will Live in Infamy

December 7, 2009, marks 68 years since the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that propelled the United States into what was already the second World War.  While Remembrance Day is an annual event (see the Presidential declaration), memories of Pearl Harbor have been more vivid since what some have implied was the 21st Century Pearl Harbor: the terrorist attack on the US on 11 September 2001.

Many recognize the opening line and a choice phrase or two, but Read more

Faith and Profession at the Military Academy

As noted here at various times, Christians are far from the only ones to struggle with conflicts between their faith and military service, or to organize in order to support one another in it.  They are also not the only ones who intertwine their spiritual beliefs with their patriotic ones.

For example, in 2005 a Jewish cadet at the US Military Academy at West Point told how he was “prepped” by an older friend for his time in basic training:

One of Bergman’s older friends told him to ask for permission to participate in prayer services on Friday nights during Beast.  Read more

Crew Mistake Led to F-15E Crash in Afghanistan

The Air Force and the Air Force Times have published articles releasing information on the crash of an F-15E Strike Eagle in Afghanistan in July.  The crash claimed the lives of the both the fighter pilot, Capt Mark McDowell, and the WSO, Capt Thomas Granith.

The investigation determined that the two-man crew was executing a simulated attack for training on their way back to base.  The planned attack was a high-angle night strafe against a ground target.  After their flight lead aborted a simulated attack Read more

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