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Implementation of the Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) fills an urgent need for a force that is structured to respond rapidly anywhere in the world. It is the authors' opinion that the current medical readiness force structure will not support the AEF concept and must therefore be re-engineered. The research presented is a compilation of multiple sources, a complete review of available published materials concerning the AEF, briefings presented d...

The Air Force's aging and overworked intratheater airlift fleet has relatively low density compared to the combatant commander's demand for the capability. Current employment in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom have also highlighted the requirement to move small amounts of cargo and personnel through small austere airfields, suggesting a possible capability gap. Air Force policymakers face the problem of recapitalizing the airlift...

Since the first laser was developed in 1960, directed energy technologies have captured the imagination of civilian and military communities worldwide. Over the past four and a half decades, increases in power, quality and laser types have set the foundation for directed energy weapons (DEWs) to enter, then dominate, battlefield engagements. Given this hypothesized future, the scientific and operational communities need to address the implicat...

This paper discusses two simultaneous trends inside America's military culture -- its increasing domestic role and its growing reliance upon defense contractors. First, the appropriate role of a standing military in a democratic society is an issue that has been the focus of significant debate ever since the founding of our republic. The issue becomes even more complex when the military's mission takes on a domestic tone, in other words, domes...

Today, the continued success of many industries, especially the microelectronics industry, relies upon the ability to fabricate structures with nanometer precision. The efforts toward developing nanometer scale fabrication methods fall loosely into two fields. One field seeks to extend the current planar, deposit-pattern-etch paradigm used for complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS). This is a top-down approach. The other seeks new tec...

The Air Force will benefit from a modularized package of capabilities that assesses and assigns the roles and responsibilities of closing an overseas airbase. These roles and responsibilities are a perfect match for the diverse skills and unique equipment of Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Contingency Response Elements. The projection and employment of United States military forces has involved the rapid establishment of bases through...

Networked communications play a crucial role in United States Armed Forces operations. As the military moves towards more network centric (Net-Centric) operations, it becomes increasingly important to use the network as effectively as possible with respect to the overall mission. This thesis advocates the use of a Network Tasking Order (NTO), which allows operators to reason about the network based on asset movement, capabilities, and communic...

Military members throughout the history of warfare have held courage as a core value. Combat brings many opportunities to exhibit this value by those with the inner strength to show it. However, courage has more than just a physical dimension, the moral aspect is equally important. The career of Colonel Kevin "Mike" Gilroy exemplifies both forms of courage in actions in the skies over North Vietnam and his later career.

If you believe weapons of mass destruction (WMD), chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives (CBRNE), exist and pose a threat to this country and our way of life, this paper will alternately elicit both fear and assurance. The reality of the threat will elicit a fear for yourself, your family and your country, while the recognition of this threat by the national security community and the creation of response units l...

Before September 11, 2001, Hezbollah was responsible for more American deaths than any other terrorist organization. Considering Hezbollah's activities, ideology, organizational structure, and capabilities, the US Government considers Hezbollah a serious threat to national security. Given the organization's history and background, the question is not whether Hezbollah should be stopped, it is how? Studying Hezbollah not only illuminates the gr...

Each year the Air Force spends billions of dollars on Test and Evaluation to ensure acquisition programs roll out the best possible products. In 1997, the National Research Council assembled to evaluate the overall procedure used in procuring various platforms with system planning, research, development and engineering (SPRDE) and program management (PM) processes. In their final report, they claimed that the full advantages of statistical pra...

The purpose of the paper is to review the promotion trends of black officers in the Air Force. Recently the Air Force and other military services have been receiving extensive scrutiny and complaints about unfair promotion systems. A 1994 congressional investigation concluded that racial discrimination still existed in the military. Black military personnel complained that they received deficient evaluations and lacked prominent promotable pos...

Never again, people said after the Rwandan genocidal yet it seems that all conditions will soon be in place for a similar tragedy to take place in Ivory Coast. The once peaceful and prosperous Ivory Coast has been split by deep ethnic divides that have spawned hatred an violence aimed at immigrants and Muslims. Observers from such expert groups as Minority Rights Group International, Genocide Watch, Prevent Genocide International, and the UN e...

Over the next three years the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is undergoing a critical transition by retiring the Space Shuttle program while completing construction of the International Space Station (ISS) by 2010. During this timeframe, NASA is undertaking its most complex and costly acquisition program, termed Constellation, to provide a Space Shuttle replacement capability by 2011 followed by subsequent lunar missions ...

Currently, Predator unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are operated by pilots and navigators experienced with manned combat aircraft. With a projected increase in UAVs, more combat pilots will be needed to operate these aircraft. Yet, if the current ops tempo continues, the supply of combat pilots may not be able to meet the demand. Perhaps alternative pools of Air Force personnel could be considered for UAV duty in order to meet operational requi...

Since the end of the Cold War, Global security has been threatened more by weak nations than by dominant ones. This post 9/11 change in understanding mandates a change in strategic thinking of threats, and therefore engagement of failing states. Failing states present many threats to the international security arena and have recently come to the fore of international security circles. States which have failed require a greater level of effort ...

In 2008, the Sensors Exploitation Research Group at the Air Force Institute of Technology began using spectral properties of skin for the detection and classi cation of humans. Since then a multispectral skin detection system was developed to exploit the optical properties of human skin at wavelengths in the visible and near infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. A rules-based detector, analyzing an image spectrally, currently bases ...

Since World War I (WWI), the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) looked at strategic bombing as a means to make the Air Forces a separate service. Prior to WWII, General William "Billy" Mitchell came to believe that future wars would require striking deep in enemy territory to attack industrial targets through strategic bombing. This belief in strategic bombing carried into WWII as USAAF leaders initially considered only this tactic of attac...

The Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA), a joint acquisition program between the Army and Air Force, has had an unusual history, and has been a prime example of how differently the Department of Defense (DoD) and the United States Congress view service roles and missions, acquisition processes, and proper organization of each military branch. As an introduction to this topic, this paper intends to describe briefly the basic JCA program, differences bet...

This paper develops a compelling case for a national space vision to advance the American vital interests of prosperity and security. The first half of paper focuses on laying the background for the vision that follows in the second half. In the title, prosperity is listed before security since it is the reason for exploration and eventually requires protection.The paper begins with the premise that space is becoming an information center of g...