Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Dayton Daily News
April 21, 2007
Pg. 8
America's enemies are 'committed for the long haul,' the commander says at Wright-Patterson AFB.
By John Nolan, Staff Writer
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE - The war in Iraq is just "a battle within a war" against an enemy committed to a longer fight against the United States, the commander of the Air Force Materiel Command said Friday.
"The 'war' will not end, regardless of the outcome in Iraq," Gen. Bruce Carlson said in a speech to the Air Force Association, an organization of retired and active Air Force personnel.
He affirmed that opinion afterward in an interview, saying: "I worry that the war's not over. Those who picked the fight with us really believe this is a long war. That's what they've declared. They are committed for the long haul."
Carlson told his audience at the Hope Hotel & Conference Center that he would steer clear of any discussion about whether the United States should have gone to war in Iraq or whether American troops should remain there.
He said the country, and American armed forces, have other concerns beyond Iraq:
* "The Chinese defense budget went up 17 percent last year, more than ours did. And that's just the part we know about."
China is buying fighter aircraft, submarines, ships, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. And, China's use of a missile to destroy an old, orbiting satellite in January was "unsettling" and seemed intended to send a clear message to the United States that the Chinese have that capability, Carlson said.
* The Air Force's personnel costs are soaring because of increasing health care costs - which have tripled since 1988 and are rising 15 to 17 percent annually - and because increased use of reservists in the war on terror has escalated spending on manpower and equipment. The service's goal is to eliminate 40,000 positions system-wide by 2009 so it can buy more new planes and weapons.
* The Air Force doesn't have enough additional money to buy all the new aircraft it needs in the short term and so is spending $4 billion to $6 billion a year to modify and upgrade older planes. Air Force officials would rather spend that on new planes instead of older ones whose maintenance needs and costs are increasing, he said.
Carlson said the United States could afford greater defense outlays because its current defense spending is 3.8 percent of the gross domestic product.
"This country can afford double that," he said. "We can afford much more than this, if the country makes that decision."
Impact on Air Force Materiel Command
Gen. Bruce Carlson oversees a $50 billion budget, 79,000 military and civilian employees and 10 bases, including Wright-Patterson, as commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, which has headquarters at Wright-Patterson.
As part of the Air Force's nationwide directive to reduce manpower between now and Sept. 30, 2009, the AFMC is to cut its work force by 5,100 positions - including military, civilian and Air Force Reserve jobs - across the 10-base command and its related operations.
April 21, 2007
Pg. 8
America's enemies are 'committed for the long haul,' the commander says at Wright-Patterson AFB.
By John Nolan, Staff Writer
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE - The war in Iraq is just "a battle within a war" against an enemy committed to a longer fight against the United States, the commander of the Air Force Materiel Command said Friday.
"The 'war' will not end, regardless of the outcome in Iraq," Gen. Bruce Carlson said in a speech to the Air Force Association, an organization of retired and active Air Force personnel.
He affirmed that opinion afterward in an interview, saying: "I worry that the war's not over. Those who picked the fight with us really believe this is a long war. That's what they've declared. They are committed for the long haul."
Carlson told his audience at the Hope Hotel & Conference Center that he would steer clear of any discussion about whether the United States should have gone to war in Iraq or whether American troops should remain there.
He said the country, and American armed forces, have other concerns beyond Iraq:
* "The Chinese defense budget went up 17 percent last year, more than ours did. And that's just the part we know about."
China is buying fighter aircraft, submarines, ships, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. And, China's use of a missile to destroy an old, orbiting satellite in January was "unsettling" and seemed intended to send a clear message to the United States that the Chinese have that capability, Carlson said.
* The Air Force's personnel costs are soaring because of increasing health care costs - which have tripled since 1988 and are rising 15 to 17 percent annually - and because increased use of reservists in the war on terror has escalated spending on manpower and equipment. The service's goal is to eliminate 40,000 positions system-wide by 2009 so it can buy more new planes and weapons.
* The Air Force doesn't have enough additional money to buy all the new aircraft it needs in the short term and so is spending $4 billion to $6 billion a year to modify and upgrade older planes. Air Force officials would rather spend that on new planes instead of older ones whose maintenance needs and costs are increasing, he said.
Carlson said the United States could afford greater defense outlays because its current defense spending is 3.8 percent of the gross domestic product.
"This country can afford double that," he said. "We can afford much more than this, if the country makes that decision."
Impact on Air Force Materiel Command
Gen. Bruce Carlson oversees a $50 billion budget, 79,000 military and civilian employees and 10 bases, including Wright-Patterson, as commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, which has headquarters at Wright-Patterson.
As part of the Air Force's nationwide directive to reduce manpower between now and Sept. 30, 2009, the AFMC is to cut its work force by 5,100 positions - including military, civilian and Air Force Reserve jobs - across the 10-base command and its related operations.