Air Force: “A Quick Symphony of Planning”

By Mark Thompson | @MarkThompson_DC | July 13, 2011 | +

A B-1 readies to launch from a South Dakota base for bombing runs over Libya / Air Force photo by Marc I. Lane

Airmen from the 28th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron prepare a B-1B Lancer March 27, 2011, at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., to support Operation Odyssey Dawn. Their work was made difficult by severe weather conditions including snow, ice, and freezing fog. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Marc I. Lane)

As the war for Libya stretches into its fifth month next week, it’s easy to question the wisdom of entering into a conflict with as many caveats on it as this one. But there’s no questioning the gee-whizzedness of the Air Force’s initial strikes carried out by five bombers from bases in the United States. While that “quick symphony of planning” may have turned into a dirge since NATO took over, John Tirpak has the details of the conflict’s first days in the July issue of the independent Air Force magazine:

Collectively, the bombers destroyed nearly 150 targets. All the aircraft returned home unscathed. The missions marked a number of organizational and operational firsts for the Air Force, especially with regard to how USAF coordinates the planning and execution of long-range strikes.

Related Topics: Air Force, Libya, Military, Military History, National Security, NATO, Pentagon, Weapons

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