Air Force Times December 02, 2011
Air Force: Ready for more Afghanistan flights
By David Larter
With Pakistan’s decision to close off two border crossings with Afghanistan, airmen may assume a larger role in keeping troops in Afghanistan supplied with fuel, food and ammunition.
Troops use the Pakistani border crossings to get about 30 percent of supplies to Afghanistan by ground transportation. Pakistan sealed both crossings in response to a Nov. 26 NATO airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
Within days, Russia threatened to cut off another route used to deliver 40 percent of war supplies that come through the Northern Distribution Network, a rail line that was set up by the Russians during the Soviet occupation in the 1980s.
If the routes continue to be threatened or closed, the Air Force is ready to step up its delivery of supplies to the region, said Maj. Mike Andrews, spokesman for Air Mobility Command, in an emailed response to questions. The Air Force delivers about 30 percent of war supplies.
“The nature of our global mobility enterprise is such that we continually assess our capacity and make the necessary adjustments to meet the need,” Andrews wrote. “This means setting priorities, adjusting our structure by augmenting in some places while bringing it down in others.”
Andrews said that recent history has provided some guidance as to how a surge, if needed, might be accomplished.
In March, the Air Force had to double the number of C-5 Galaxy flights to respond to combatant commanders’ needs. Andrews said it meant AMC had to rely on the “total force” — Guard and Reserve members stepped up to help with the mission.
“We’re still putting together the lessons learned, but what we have seen validates the importance of air reserve component volunteerism,” Andrews said. “However, we do have other options, including mobilization, minimizing training and increasing the use of our commercial partners.”
Andrews said AMC could maintain a surge for months, if necessary.
Pentagon spokesmen refused to comment on the contingencies in place for a scenario with two vital supply lines closed.
In the near term, the International Security Assistance Force should be fine with the supplies stored in country, said John Pike, a defense expert with GlobalSecurity.org.
Pike said the U.S. has moved away from the light footprint model advocated by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and has large stockpiles of supplies in Afghanistan in case of emergency.
“They got away from the ‘right on time’ delivery model early in the Iraq war,” Pike said.
As for the crisis with Pakistan, most experts seem to agree that the situation will gradually normalize.
“Slowly but surely we’ll go back to a collaborative relationship,” said Thomas Gouttierre, head of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. “The stakes are too high for Pakistan for it to play out any differently.”
© Copyright 2011, Gannett Government Media Corporation
