Don’t Leave Us Stranded

Don’t Leave Us Stranded: Speaking to reporters Nov. 20, John Young, Pentagon acquisition executive, essentially burst the bubble of those who thought that the need for a new Air Force combat search and rescue helicopter was universally supported within the walls of the Pentagon. In fact, Young said he’s not even convinced that the rescue community “has to have its own set of assets for the occasional rescue mission when we have new things coming online like V-22s and other things that could be pressed into service.” Young maintained that there are "a lot of assets that could be used in rescue missions with planning." He asserted, too, that a rescue mission would be a "come-as-you-are" operation "unless all of these CSAR assets are prepositioned for that.” (Yes, Mr. Young, the rescue assets are deployed to the combat theater and those other assets have jobs.) Young recently went on the record expressing his displeasure with the Air Force’s decision to delay announcing the winner in the CSAR-X contest until next year, so we don't think he's out to kill the program. He apparently was trying to use the CSAR-X as an example of how the “intensity” of parochial interests may adversely affect the best use of resources across the military enterprise. So much so, he contended, that the new Administration may well want to “revisit” the enterprise-vs.-community topic. (New to CSAR-X? Read The Struggle over CSAR-X .)

—Michael C. Sirak

11/24/2008

Verbatim

Appreciative Host
"I know you're here during a difficult time. You're here through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. I promise you, we will find turkeys."
—Republic of Lithuania Chief of Defence Maj. Gen. Arvydas Pocius, expressing his thanks to airmen of the 493rd Fighter Squadron from RAF Lakenheath, Britain, who on Sept. 1, 2010, began a four-month stint with their F-15s in Lithuania to protect the airspace of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania under NATO's Baltic air policing mission.

Verbatim

Family Momentum
"In many ways, this was what the Year of the Air Force Family was all about—connecting airmen and their families with the resources they need. I have confidence the Air Force will capitalize on this strong momentum in the years ahead by continuing to improve our family support programs and ensuring people know what resources are available."
—Suzie Schwartz, wife of USAF Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, commenting on the accomplishments of the Year of the Air Force Family initiative that concluded in July, in a statement provided to the Daily Report, Aug. 22, 2010.