Analyzing the Military Strategic Analysis

Strategic Analysis

The 501st Combat Support Wing

The 501st Combat Support Wing is a U.S. Air Force unit based in RAF Alcon Bury in England (501stCSW, n.d). The organization has its headquarters at the 3rd Air Force, Ramstein Germany. It served a community of more than 14,000 people. As a wing, it was able to provide combat support to facilitate communication, intelligent as well as global strike operations. The wing can trace its history to the World War II bombardment group, which operated and served the Pacific and was mostly used to bomb Japan's mainland. Between 1944- 1945, the tactical missile unit that carried the 501st served in Europe during the cold war. The combats objective was to ensure that the Norway and the UK based airbases were resourced, trained, and equipped. It was also supposed to ensure that it is sustained, and served well so that they could easily provide support to enable the U.S. and NATO fighters to carry out their flying operations unhindered. They had to ensure theater munitions movement, expeditionary deployment, global command and control communication to forward deployed locations. Also, it was charged with the responsibility of ensuring theater intelligent operations as well as combined and joint training. On 12 thMay 2005, the wing was reactivated at RAF Mildenhall to provide support to the seven geographically separated units in the UK. The 501st CSW was then moved to Alcon Bury in the UK so as to provide accessibility between the wing staff and other units (501st Combat Support wing, 2016).

The 501st CSW included the operation and the maintenance of the bomber forward location. It was also responsible for munitions movement and storage capabilities. Moreover, it was charged with global command and control of the communication capabilities of the three combatant commanders and communications access site as well as support for intelligent operations. It was also supposed to support other missions from the NATO joint Warfare Centre in the U.S., U.S. Africa Command, European Command and NATO intelligence unit at RAF Welford, RAF Molesworth, Air Force Global Strike command, U.S. European Command, RAF Welford, government agencies in Norway and UK. The RAF Welford wing provides support to over 70 different U.S.

This unit was established in the early 1944 at the Dalhart Army Air Field in Texas and was formed as B-29 Super Fortress, the group that is well-known for its heavy bombardment. This unit was formed with the 21st, 41st and 85th bomb squadrons. The 21st one was formed in1940 and was deployed in Alaska as the eleventh Air Force to become part of the forces that engaged in combat against the Japanese forces in flying B-24 Liberators as well as forces in the Aleutian campaigns. In 1943, it took part in the first USAAF raid against the Japan. It also attacked the Kuril Island on the northern part of Japan. At the end of the campaign in November 1943, the squadron was inactivated. The remaining squadrons, the 41st and the 48th,had been assigned to the B-29 group, which was training at the Nebraska, were also inactivated because they lacked the equipment and aircraft to use.

Interview

Interviewee: Colonel Kevin P. Cullen

Designation: 501st Combat Support Wing Commander

Cullen served as a commander of the 501 stCombat Support Wing of the U.S. Air force, which was based in Europe. He joined the Air force in 1992 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree. He held various unit and staff positions, and served as a shift commander, a flight leader, chief of the nuclear security, flight commander, group operations officer and squadron as well as division chief and group commander. The colonel was deployed to support operations Bright Star, the enduring freedom as well as Iraqi freedom (501st Combat Support Wing, 2016).

Interview Questions

1. Let's define strategic risk as the risk to the 501st CSW within the United Kingdom. Please describe a procedure or routine that the 501st CSW uses to manage strategic risk.

2. What strategic actions would you say are the riskiest for the 501st CSW future and for our long-term survival?

3. What is the role of the U.S. air force in particular 501st CSW in handling the Russian Aggression in Europe and how are they being checked in terms of security of neighboring nations where the U.S. has vested interests?