AirPower capabilities have made it the “easy call”
I agree with what you say about the article by John Garofano. Senior military leaders need to have a combination of both military analysis and political relevancies. However, I believe that there is also a need to have a critical analysis of the importance of airpower before any deployment. Military leaders will receive gratification only if they properly understand the cost implications of deploying airpower (Garofano 2000). Airpower can be deployed easily and most senior leaders have been overly reliant on this deployment to justify their continued use of airpower.
The recent event that took place in Iran regarding the shooting down of the UAV demonstrates how easily they can be taken over. The assumption that there is a data loss or data breach when this happens is not true. This is because the UAVs do not store any data and all data is captured and saved on the remote servers. Therefore, when the UAV is shot down the only loss incurred is that of the damage to the UAV. Intelligence gathering can be easily done using the UAVs without the enemy forces realizing (Kalilizad and Shapiro 2002).
With proper analysis of the cost implications of deploying the UAV then military leaders will come to understand the impact of their decision. Therefore, understanding the cost incurred when one is shot down will be an eye-opener to them, which is what GEN Ridgway would have voiced to the senior leaders. Even though most UAVs currently fly so high the likelihood of them being shot down is demonstrated in the Iranian incidence. This makes the use of airpower less seductive not unless the senior leaders have performed the correct military analysis before they recommend the use of airpower.
References
Garofano, John. 2000. \"Deciding on military intervention: What is the role of senior military leaders?\" Naval War College Review LIII (2):40-64.
Kalilizad, Z, and J Shapiro. 2002. United States Air and Space Power in the 21st Century. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
