"Non Cents"

[LawVol]

I appreciate the attempts at locating a copy of the Dunlap article. I'm pursuing other avenues as well.

I agree with Gen Dunlap on one point I took from his rebuttal. I do not think we'll be in any extended COIN campaigns in the near future although I am unwilling to put a time frame on it like he did. We can't even keep 125k (give or take) on the ground for four years without an uproar. Do you really think Congress and the American public would go for a 12 year campaign like Iraq? I would imagine we'd take casualties exceeding 10k over that period of time. Maybe some of you with more experience can extrapolate a better casualty number based on past COIN episodes (although given technology I'd assume we'd be higher now).

Another point I see some AF trying to make (and one in which I agree) is the danger in focusing too much on COIN. If we cast aside our big war, technological advantage in favor of what wins in COIN are we dooming ourselves to fighting the last war again in the future? I'm all for doing what it takes to win this one and have written on how airpower can help, however, we need to be aware of, and be ready for, all potential threats not just the ones we want to face. I don't propse to speak for Gen Dunlap (although I have spoken with him), but maybe that's a point he's trying to make.

Here's how Gen Moseley put it: http://aimpoints.hq.af.mil/display.cfm?id=18841

Oh, and one last point in reference to USAF Insurgent's post. To argue that an AF guy can't offer a critique of FM 3-24 because AF leadership chose not to perticipate is disingenuous. First, they didn't ask me to participate. Second, of those they did ask to participate, how was this presented? Was it truly full participation or we they simply checking a box? I don't know.