Air Force for the Long War and Beyond

The Long War and the post-Cold War world in general demand that the U.S. military improve its ability to conduct effective Counterinsurgency; Stability, Security, Transition and Reconstruction; and Humanitarian Assistance. In practice, these operations have common elements and are closely related. This paper refers to them collectively as Extraordinary Operations (EO). Air forces bring vital capabilities to EO, but the U.S. Air Force has historically neglected their cultivation because EO requires fundamentally different ways of thinking, different skill sets, and different equipment - making them nearly antithetical to conventional operations. EO and building partner capacity (BPC) are fundamental elements of our strategy to win the Long War, but EO is so different from conventional operations and so historically vulnerable to neglect that the USAF should consider establishing an organization dedicated to EO that is focused on BPC. This paper presents an organizational concept for a Partnership Numbered Air Force and argues that it would meet national strategic guidance; assure proper professional development; improve EO skill, theory, doctrine and equipment; encourage better cooperation with other U.S. government agencies, IGOs and NGOs; provide better response to domestic emergencies; and would provide national leaders and combatant commanders with low-risk, high-payoff engagement options. Such an organization would be the Air Force's most effective weapon in the Long War and beyond.