Operation Noble Eagle—the long-running homeland air defense mission that has consumed some 43,000 sorties since the 9/11 terrorist attacks—is a stateside endeavor but that doesn’t mean it can sustain itself without deployments. NORAD reports that several thousand airmen deploy each year to support ONE.
With a fresh directive from the president, the department could opt to repeat its unconventional—and potentially unlawful—move to pay troops using unused non-personnel appropriations.
