Retired General Returns With Recommendations
by Aero-News Senior Correspondent Kevin R.C. "Hognose"
O'Brien
Retired General, former drug czar
and sometime Democratic Party politician Barry McCaffrey recently
returned from Iraq with a sheaf of notes, opinions and
recommendations. One of his urgent recommendations is that the
Iraqi forces receive 120 or more Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters,
presumably including spares and training on them.
Aero-News has closely followed the redevelopment of Iraqi air
power. So far, Iraq has received obsolescent Bell 205 Hueys and
Bell 206 Jet Rangers from friendly Arab powers, as well as a
variety of fixed-wing utility and cargo aircraft, up to C-130s.
Prior to Iraq's defeat at the hands of the US-led Coalition in
2003, the Iraqi Air Force operated large numbers of Mil Mi-8/17 and
Mi-24 helicopters. Those helicopters remain widely available and
cost less to obtain and operate than Black Hawks (which run about
$12 million each). The infrastructure that supported the Mils was
destroyed in the war or subsequent looting, and the American
trainers the Iraqis would likely want to employ know the Black
Hawk.
The Iraqi Security Forces, McCaffrey writes in an email dated
July 28th and obtained by Aero-News, "absolutely must have enough
helicopter air mobility (120+ Black Hawk UH 60's)...." His
reasoning behind equipping the new Iraqi forces with the
helicopters and with armored vehicles is, "to lower casualties and
give them a competitive edge over the insurgents they will
fight."
McCaffrey's email was based on a visit he made to Iraq in early
June. The email apparently is a summary of testimony he gave to a
Senate committee in July. News reports at the time said little
about his generally positive, upbeat testimony.
The retired general's penchant for helicopters and armored
vehicles may be a result of his service in armored, mechanized and
aviation units as a relatively junior officer.
Could this be a windfall for
Connecticut-based Sikorsky? It would be premature to say that. The
retired general's recommendation carries no official weight. Even
if the helicopters were provided, they might come out of Army units
which are replacing older machines with new. The oldest Black Hawks
are about 25 years old. This would be a wash for the manufacturer,
which is already providing the new copters.
Elsewhere in the document, while McCaffrey praises the
leadership of the key CENTCOM commanders, Generals Casey, Vines,
and Petraeus, calling them a "a collective national treasure," he
suggests that the military should adopt Vietnam-era personnel
policies, including freezing those generals in their commands, and
setting up their families somewhere near enough that they have
frequent visits.
His most controversial suggestion is likely to be his call for
an end to the policy of rotating entire units, and a return to the
Vietnam policy of rotating individual soldiers as replacements.
Conventional wisdom in the military is that this policy in Vietnam
was an unmitigated disaster, eroding unit cohesion and
effectiveness.
He also chides "[m]ilitary leaders on the ground" for preferring
to talk to reporters that they trust, rather than to reporters for
more prominent media, whether trustworthy or not. His point is that
such organizations as the Associated Press and New York Times,
widely derided by soldiers as pro-enemy, reach great numbers of
Americans, and the war will be won or lost by the will of ordinary
Americans to support the effort; therefore it's critical for
soldiers, especially junior commanders and NCOs, those "leaders on
the ground," to be accessible to the reporters.
General McCaffrey served in the military from Vietnam to Kosovo,
and has since held a variety of responsible positions, was
extremely highly decorated, even among generals. He was awarded two
Distinguished Service Crosses and two Silver Stars for valor in
combat, and three Purple Hearts for combat wounds, not to mention
scores of decorations for distinguished and meritorious
service.
He served as drug czar in the second Clinton administration,
with cabinet rank.
FMI: www.centcom.mil