Back when your correspondent was a wee nobbut, it was generally accepted that the world’s most experienced modern air combat force was the Israeli Air Force. They were equipped with goodly gear, were very selective, organizationally flat and – most importantly – got plenty of game time.
It was always an open question whether their lopsided kill ratios in fighter combat were attributable to their skill, their tactics or the quality of their opposition. What couldn’t be disputed however was that they were motivated and effective.
60 Minutes has an interesting special linked on a Yahoo web portal on the air arm, for those interested. It’s also a bit educational seeing the bugs crawl out of the woodpile in comments.
In ‘82, they waxed some F-14 butts…
Also in June ‘82, while riding shotgun with the amphibs before they put the Marines ashore in Lebanon, the SPS-48 ADT started generating tracks in the south of Israel. Alot of tracks.
The scene on the scope reminded me of a fireant hill after it gets stepped on as the gaggle moved quickly north. Only until the ADT went nuts with all the maneuvering contacts did we realize that there was one hell of a fight on in the Bekkaa. Due to the the terrain we didn’t see the opposing flights coming out of Syria until the furball started.
helluva show that morning.
I really, really hope that a lot of those comments do not reflect the belief system of the commenters.
Probably do, though.
I suspect an awful lot of those people vote.
However good they are today, I just hope they’ve gotten a lot better at target identification since the USS Liberty “affair”.
I think some of those folks were wearing their tin foil and moonbeam hats…
And SteveC, as much as it pains me to say it, the officer in the video hit the nail on the head: We can only lose once. That kind of attitude makes you take chances you wouldn’t normally have, and raise the bar on your paranoia meter.
Didn’t watch the videos, but the commenters scared the cr@p out of me! Most of those folks are the product of our public education system, have been indoctrinated by the mainstream media. And they probably vote—- and it won’t be for McCain!
God help us. And Israel. They are going to be doing one of the jobs Americans won’t do.
Murder? Murder? What about the Palestinian militants shooting rockets?
That question to the Apache pilot on whether or not he considers himself a “killer” was laughable. It’s called self-defense. Imagine that.
“organizationally flat” as opposed to the U.S. military air wings?
I once was part of an organization that became very management heavy and during a period of painful winnowing became “organizationally flat”. They basically removed 4 (FOUR!) levels of management so the organization went to 5 levels from 9! The ostentious reason being that the top was so isolated from the bottom the top had no idea what the h3ll was going on out where the customer met the force. (I think 5 was even too much.)
Digital Equipment Corporation turned layers of management into an art form where there were people managers with no direct reports and dotted line reporting charts that look like a two year old’s scribble. Sounds like any staff heavy organizations we seem to have been part of or represented?
I guess the point of this screed is: good for the Israelis. Maybe they found the management nirvana where what happens out there is reported unfiltered by multiple layers of politics and * covering. Where the dude in charge can make a decision and have it implemented without 8 juniors mucking it up with unneeded fluff. Where an organization is nimble and responsive. I wish them more success.
One reason that the IAF was always considered superior to the USAF/USN/USMC is that they (along with the Canucks, I might add) consider their people pilots first, and officers, second. With us it’s the other way round.
One thought on organization, and one on the IAF.
Our services organization has long stood the test of time, with the triangular organization of the Army, Marines, and to some extent, the Air Force working pretty well for about 70 years. When you start getting above the BDE/DIV (or Wing) level, things get funky. The Navy isn’t triangular, but task organization has worked pretty well from WWII on.
One reason the IAF shows well in comparison to the US air forces is that they have a much smaller scope of operations to master. They know who the enemy is, what the order of battle is, exactly what the war plan to execute is. This allows them to focus on their key missions in a way we don’t.
Regarding some of the commenters, I’ll paraphrase from a book I once read (When the Poor Boys Dance:” Weak hold on grammar, bitter thoughts, bitter jealousy tearing at their guts.