When Afghan soldiers fire upon the coalition forces training them, the damage extends beyond the immediate loss of coalition lives, said Maj. Gen. Tod Wolters, who oversaw Air Force air operations in Afghanistan from May 2011 to May 2012. “When these ‘green-on-blue’ events occur, that makes you look closely at your tactics, techniques, and procedures,” said Wolters during his Aug. 14 talk in Arlington, Va., that AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies sponsored. That same day, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Pentagon reporters that the Afghan National Security Forces have the capacity “to deal a crippling and lasting blow to the [anti-government] insurgency.” For that reason, he continued, “our enemies have attempted to undermine the trust between the coalition and Afghan forces.” This includes the green-on-blue attacks. He said he’s discussed measures to prevent these incidents with Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, who leads US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. “We have not and will not allow this kind of intimidation to undermine our efforts to build up the ANSF,” said Panetta. (Panetta-Dempsey transcript) (For more coverage of Wolters’ talk, read Finding the Right Mix, Keep the Momentum, and Maintaining Requirements during the Drawdown.)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.