The Air Force needs to raise Irregular Warfare and Counterinsurgency operations from an ad-hoc mission, often evolved on-the-fly, to a marquee capability on a par with things like major regional operations, nuclear operations, and airlift, Acting Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Tuesday. IW and COIN need to be considered “at a higher doctrinal level” than they currently enjoy, Donley said in a meeting with reporters, and the Air Force’s role in these missions needs to be more formally fleshed out. Donley mentioned this briefly in his address to the AFA Air & Space Conference Monday, as a way of calling attention to the issue. “I’d like to see a broader strategic consensus in the Air Force about our role at the lower end of conflict,” he said.
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.