Quote Originally Posted by Uboat509 View Post
IED emplacers are cheap and easy to replace and after four years the enemy is getting pretty good at it. Using these air assets may be an imperfect solution to the IED threat but I have yet to hear what they should be doing instead, particularly the UAVs. Has there been a shortage of A/C available for CAS because they are doing reconnaissance? If there is, I have not heard of it.

SFC W
Maybe I'm not tracking here. It's a good idea to use air assets to counter IEDs even if its not working just because there may not be anything else for them to do? That's like saying I have to make the square peg fit in the round hole because I can't find a round peg.

If we're using expensive air assets on something that isn't working, it needs to be stopped. Perhaps that money can be spent on something else; like gas for a C-130 rather than an F-16. And even if there isn't a shortage of CAS because of the recon, the same rule applies. Also, wear and tear on jets isn't cheap.