Asking the right questions. The adage "be careful what you wish for--you may get it" should be on the minds of airpower advocates coveting the air occupation mission. It may be a double-edged sword that expands the relative influence of the U.S. Air Force, but also saddles it with a complex, persistent, and costly mission. The U.S. Air Force must ensure it asks the right questions before embarking on a serious campaign to "win" the air occupation debate. What do we mean by the term air occupation? The term air occupation can be very perplexing. Unfortunately, neither the term air occupation, nor the word occupation, is defined in Joint or Air Force doctrine. Of the many historic occupation objectives, air occupation most likely applies to less intrusive scenarios that attempt to coerce, enforce sanctions, or create buffer zones. Probable air occupation tasks to achieve these objectives would include a combination of presence, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, psychological operations, humanitarian airdrops and airlift, and punitive strikes.
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