At An Undisclosed Air Base In The Persian Gulf...

Lt. Gen. T. Michael "Buzz" Moseley (right), Operation Iraqi Freedom's Combined Forces Air Component Commander, visited the base here recently to update the troops on Operation Iraqi Freedom and to award a B-1B flight crew the Distinguished Flying Cross for their actions over Iraq on April 7.
Moseley talked about how succinct the campaign has been, taking only 22 days to topple Saddam Hussein's regime.

"You knew from the beginning that this thing was going to go quick because there was no way an opponent can survive what we did to these guys," Moseley said. "From the very beginning we had a set of options of how we were going to start it. We took a year to plan it."

He started out by telling everyone that he loves them and that everyone supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom here is part of something bigger than their individual branch of service.

"You don't see Guard, Reservists or active duty, you see Airmen," Moseley said. "At other bases you see Army, Navy, Marines and maybe some Coast Guard. Most everybody is dressed in this kind of uniform (referring to the desert flight suit the general was wearing) or [Desert Camouflage Uniforms] and you can't really tell what branch they're with unless you read their uniforms that say U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, etc..."

The general said that although major fighting is over, the war with Iraq is not over.

"We're in a different phase now that is going to be a little tougher," he said. "The Army has a tough job ahead of them. They've got to stabilize (Iraq) and make it livable. I've got to tell you though, it looks a whole lot more livable then it did in the beginning of March. There's people coming out into the streets; there's people coming out to the open businesses ... none of that was possible before March."

Speaking of both Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Moseley said, "You guys are all a part of an operation that I think is something special on a historic context because you're part of an operation to take out two rogue regimes. Not bad work. You guys have been a part of that from the beginning."

General Moseley also talked about how history was made recently using B-1B Lancers, B-52 Stratofortresses and B-2 Spirit bombers.

"Who'd have thought that we could have B-1s, B-52s and B-2s all in downtown Baghdad at the same time hitting multiple targets simultaneously," Moseley asked. "No other country in the world can do that."

Speaking of the command and control platforms the Air Force has at its disposal, Moseley referenced the E-3 Sentries stationed here supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

"We don't do anything without command and control," he said. "We have to have our eyes out there, we have to be able to see and analyze the information and pass that info to the [combined air operations center] and be able to make decisions based on that information. That is a sizeable commitment for command and control.

"No other air force in the world can maintain this type of connectivity with command and control and deliver the types of munitions that we're delivering in the conditions that we're all operating; at the ranges that we're operating from, then the U.S. Air Force with the partnership of the Navy and Marines," he said.

He finished his speech talking about combat experience. Between Operation Desert Storm, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and now Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Air Force has the most combat experienced Air Force in the world, he said. The same can be said about the Navy.

DFC To B-1B Crew That "Bombed Saddam"

General Moseley also presented B-1 flight crew, Lt. Col. Fred Swan, Weapon System Officer; Capt. Chris Wachter, aircraft commander; Capt. Sloan Hollis, pilot; and 1st Lt. Joe Runci, offensive systems operator, the Distinguished Flying Cross for their actions to destroy a priority Baath Party leadership target on April 7. The citation accompanying the award read that the crew's actions marked the beginning of the rapid collapse of the Iraqi regime and the fall of Baghdad.

FMI: www.defenselink.mil