Aerospace World By Suzann Chapman, Managing Editor B-1B Crashes in Indian Ocean An Air Force B-1B bomber crashed into the Indian Ocean at about 11 p.m. local time some 30 miles north of Diego Garcia, Pentagon officials announced Dec. 12. The bomber’s four crew members bailed out and were rescued by a US Navy destroyer. USAF photo by MSgt. Keith Reed US Central Command officials said that a USAF KC-10 refueling aircraft circled the location of the ditched crew until USS Russell picked them up. The tanker spotted a light blink- ing at the crash site and had made voice contact with one of the crew, said CENTCOM. This is the first fixed-wing US war- plane lost since Operation Enduring Freedom began Oct. 7. Two Black Hawk helicopters have crashed, one in Pakistan with two fatalities and one in Afghanistan. SSgt. Rene Delarosa, a C-17 loadmaster from the 17th Airlift Squadron at Charles- Officials indicated bad weather or poor ton AFB, S.C., holds the two millionth Humanitarian Daily Ration to be dropped visibility due to dust may have caused over Afghanistan. By early December, the total was more than 2.3 million. those two crashes. Rumsfeld Sees Continued and defectors may still hide in some move them from the country,” he said. Danger cities and in the rugged countryside. “This is non-negotiable,” Rumsfeld Defense Secretary Donald Rums- He noted that broadcasts from declared. feld told reporters Nov. 27 the situa- USAF Commando Solo aircraft and As opposition groups have taken tion in Afghanistan is “difficult and leaflets they had dropped offering a over more and more territory, US dangerous” even with more than 75 reward for information on Osama bin troops in Afghanistan have been able percent of the country in the hands of Laden were starting to show results. to search facilities abandoned by re- anti–Taliban forces. US forces are receiving many tips treating Taliban and al Qaeda forces. “The war is not over,” he said. from people interested in the reward. “We’ve acquired a great deal of Rumsfeld and Air Force Gen. Rich- In Franks’s words, the noose is samples,” Franks stated. The samples ard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint tightening. He added that CENTCOM are being tested in the US. Chiefs of Staff, flew to Tampa, Fla., may establish a forward base for the to receive an update on the situation command in the region. C-17s Drop Two Million HDRs from Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, The numbers keep mounting in the Commander in Chief of US Cen- Leaving WMD “Non-negotiable” the effort to fight starvation in Af- tral Command, which is headquar- At the Tampa briefing, CENTCOM ghanistan. As of early December, tered at MacDill Air Force Base. chief Franks revealed that US ground Pentagon officials said USAF C-17s Franks is the theater CINC respon- forces have found lab paraphernalia, had air-dropped more than two mil- sible for operations in the Middle East chemical compositions, and materi- lion Humanitarian Daily Rations. and Southwest and Central Asia. This als at about 40 locations around Af- US forces began dropping the includes activity in and around Af- ghanistan. HDRs on Oct. 7, the same day that ghanistan. He confirmed that there is the pos- coalition aircraft began delivering At a press conference in Tampa, sibility the terrorists may have been bombs against al Qaeda and Taliban Rumsfeld and Franks emphasized to making Weapons of Mass Destruc- forces in Afghanistan. C-17 crews reporters that Taliban and al Qaeda tion. have dropped 35,000 or more HDRs forces are going to ground in Af- Defense Secretary Rumsfeld left daily. ghanistan, while others may be at- no doubt as to the dispositon of any According to Joseph J. Collins, tempting to flee. WMD materials. “You can be certain deputy assistant secretary of defense Rumsfeld stressed that it is likely if Weapons of Mass Destruction are for peacekeeping and humanitarian that Taliban and al Qaeda deserters found in Afghanistan, we would re- affairs, Afghanistan was already a 8 AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2002 country in the middle of a full-blown humanitarian crisis, the result of a Wolfowitz: World Will Forget Taliban generation of war, four years of drought, and continued underdevel- As al Qaeda terrorists and Taliban militia in the Afghan cities of Kunduz and opment. Kandahar continued to battle opposition forces, a Taliban spokesman gave a “This has made humanitarian as- press conference Nov. 21 near Kandahar. He proclaimed that Americans should sistance to distressed populations an forget about Sept. 11 and that despite rumors, the Taliban is not crumbling. To that, DOD’s No. 2 civilian responded, “I can assure them we will not forget integral part of the Defense De- about Sept. 11. We are moving on, and I think before long, the world will forget partment’s overall policy,” he told about the Taliban.” reporters in mid–November. Although anti–Taliban forces had gained control of 75 percent of Afghanistan, “In fact, in the first week of Novem- Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz told reporters at a Pentagon press ber, before the apparent collapse of briefing that work in Afghanistan continues. He urged patience. the Taliban, UN World Food Program “There’s still a lot of work to be done in Afghanistan and a lot of work beyond deliveries doubled the pace of their Afghanistan.” October deliveries, and their Octo- He added, “It’s worth emphasizing that this whole operation is clearly one that ber deliveries had been a record for is bringing great relief to the people of Afghanistan … who seem to be everywhere greeting the removal of the Taliban as an act of liberation.” the past few years,” said Collins. Coalition air strikes and ground force support continue, but Wolfowitz pointed “The reality is clear; our military out that the mission is also now moving more toward one of preparing for actions have not slowed humanitar- significant humanitarian aid. Beyond the sustained airdrop of food, he said ian assistance, but rather, care in the barges are flowing. And, he noted, “We’ve been joined by advance parties from field and coordination among the vari- France and from Jordan, with the ultimate goal, among other things, of setting up ous agencies involved has made it a field hospital in Mazar [-e Sharif].” possible to both fight successfully When asked about the pursuit of Osama bin Laden, he said, “This is a man and to accelerate humanitarian as- on the run.” He emphasized, though, “There’s a danger in the fascination with bin sistance at the same time,” he em- Laden. … We might forget that there is a whole network outside of Afghanistan … that we have to get rid of. It’s more than just bin Laden.” phasized. “At the same time that we’re hunting him, we’re hunting down that whole Collins noted that it was the Taliban network and not just in Afghanistan but in the 59 other countries where they’ve that had been the single greatest burrowed in,” stated Wolfowitz. obstacle to providing humanitarian He said that even after completely decapitating al Qaeda in Afghanistan, “we assistance to the Afghan people. As would still be concerned about their networks elsewhere.” the Taliban has been removed, hu- On the other hand, he harbored no such reservations about the Taliban. “I think manitarian efforts have gotten easier. in the case of the Taliban, it’s quite different. I think the more one can make an example of the leaders, the more the followers will desert, and that’s a process Wald: Bombers Carried Initial that seems to be taking place as we speak.” Load As the first month of Operation Enduring Freedom was wrapping up, sile sites, and much of the military ber, but officials initially declined to the air campaign boss said that bomb- infrastructure in the country. The cam- comment on their specific use. ers carried the load for the first part paign then began also to target Tali- Joint STARS aircraft made their of the air war. ban and al Qaeda ground forces, debut in Operation Desert Storm in However, Air Force land-based particularly to aid the Northern Alli- 1991 while still in Research and De- strike aircraft and US Navy aircraft ance rebels fighting in the north and velopment. The Global Hawk Un- flown from aircraft carriers also joined Pashtun rebels in the south. manned Aerial Vehicle is currently in the campaign, particularly against The air campaign helped the op- its R&D phase. smaller moving targets, said Lt. Gen. position forces to take control of 75 “Global Hawk is in the theater; it is Charles F. Wald, who was the joint percent of the country, according to flying,” USMC Gen. Peter Pace, the forces air component commander. He Pentagon officials. US special op- JCS vice chairman, told reporters Nov. is now USAF’s deputy chief of staff erations forces on the ground aided 21. for air and space operations. in identifying targets for the air “It is still very much in the Re- The heavy air assault, conducted strikes. search and Development phase of its largely by B-52, B-1B, and B-2 bomb- “Quite frankly, I don’t think the development,” he said. “But in fact, ers during the first month, achieved Taliban really realize how bad off they this theater now provides us a tre- most of its goals, said Wald, and the have it, so we’ll just continue hitting mendous laboratory in which to use focus of the operation shifted to their army in the field and destroy it, so it is flying, and it will be part of Taliban and al Qaeda forces on the them as we go along,” said Wald.