Air Expeditionary Force 8 (AEF-8)
Cycle 3
More than 1,000 airmen began replacing Operation Northern Watch veterans as the Air and Space Expeditionary Force system performed its regular three-month rotation from late November 2002 through the first part of December 2002. Based at Incirlik AB, Turkey, the new airmen join Turkish and British coalition partners to enforce the No-Fly Zone in Northern Iraq and monitor Iraqi forces to determine compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions.
On January 28, 2003 Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper announced that airmen deployed for AEF 7 and AEF 8 Cycle 3 would remain deployed longer than the previously targeted three-month rotation. The change was made to meet the needs of combatant commanders.
Specifically, active-duty and mobilized reserve component airmen deployed with Air and Space Expeditionary Forces 7 and 8 and those deploying as part of new taskings ordered by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Dec. 24, 2002 could anticipate remaining in place until further notice.
Airmen in some "stressed" career fields had already been extended beyond three months.
The need for additional forces was part of a buildup of air power in Southwest Asia, ready to achieve national security objectives if directed by the president.
Jumper argued that the Air Force must interrupt its normal three-month AEF rotation cycle because the resources in a single AEF pair can no longer satisfy the needs of the combatant commands.
