The AF just doesn't view the lift mission as being essential to their corporate identity, though they do like to teach AFROTC cadets about the Berlin Airlift. It's depressing to think that the AF couldn't muster such an effort today, and most likely wouldn't put the same value on it as they did then.

Personally, I think the AF should really look at its current operations (the real ones, not the ones they'd like to be doing) and reevaluate their structure and mindset accordingly. That would mean increasing the lift fleet substantially (even if that means cutting some F-22s and B-2s/B-3s), adding to their AFSOC capability, and investing in a good follow-on to the A-10 (not the F-35, but a less expensive aircraft with the same survivability as the A-10). They also need to look hard at their ability to operate in less-than-ideal conditions and perhaps draw lessons from other services. But that would involve a major shift in power and thinking within the AF as a whole, along with discarding some cherished myths about airpower. I'd love to see it, but I really have my doubts that we will in my lifetime.