(Air Force Times) Backtalk: Core mission

[unhappycamper]

Core mission
By Robert F. Dorr - Special to the Times

The acquisitions boss at the Pentagon is not sold on the Air Force’s concept for a rescue helicopter — the service’s now-stalled CSAR-X program.

In fact, John Young questions whether the Air Force needs a dedicated CSAR force at all. And now the House Armed Services Committee, prodded by Young, is also asking the service why it needs an in-house CSAR fleet.

In having its dominance in CSAR questioned, the Air Force is paying for recent blunders, when it sought to dominate other missions where it had less of a claim.

~snip~

And Young has plenty of other trouble on his plate. Virtually every major acquisitions program is behind schedule, over budget and plagued by technical glitches, including the joint service F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, the Army’s Future Combat Systems, the Navy’s littoral combat ship and the Marine Corps’ expeditionary fighting vehicle. Most of these programs have produced nothing practical that Americans in uniform can actually use.

But if Young and the other CSAR critics shoot down the dedicated Air Force CSAR mission — and the CSAR-X helicopter with it — they won’t be the only ones to blame. Much of the fault will rest with Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, who have failed to robustly represent their service’s needs.


Rest of article at: http://airforcetimes.com/community/opinion/airforce_backtalk_rescue_021609/%2e