The number of sorties flown during 2007 over Iraq and Afghanistan greatly increased in both operational arenas compared to 2006. Close Air Support sorties climbed to nearly 20,000 in Iraq and nearly 14,000 in Afghanistan, compared to about 16,000 and 10,500, respectively, in 2006. The increased air support in Iraq followed the ground-force surge. In Afghanistan, the data also show a marked rise in the number of munitions dropped over the past two years. From 176 munitions dropped in 2005, the number climbed to nearly 1,800 in 2006 and climbed again to more than 3,000 last year, evidence of the resurgence of Taliban activity. The number of airlift sorties declined somewhat in 2007, compared to 2006, but the overall amount of supplies airdropped to troops went up, jumping from 3.5 million pounds in 2006 to 8.2 million pounds last year. (Data Points summary chart; CFACC statistics)
The stand-up of the Space Force, and now its early overhaul and the creation of a new Space Systems Command, are all about resilience: Ensuring that space capabilities, which the whole country relies on, could survive a concerted attack by a near-peer adversary. As part of that drive, a new…