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Air & Space Power
Journal - Fall 2005
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Focus AreaLt Col Paul D. Berg, USAF, Editor |
Coalition Perspectives on Airpower and
Space Power
Alliance and coalition military operations figure prominently in both war and peace. Alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are formal, usually long-term strategic partnerships codified in written accords. Alliance agreements normally obligate signatories to render substantial military, political, and economic support to one another. Coalitions are less formal than alliances, typically consisting of countries or other political groups acting in concert to pursue selected common goals on an ad hoc basis. Coalition members may contribute to only a single aspect of an operation, remain in the coalition temporarily, and feel free to limit the extent of their obligation to other members. For example, the coalition formed to conduct Operation Enduring Freedom featured members who provided varying forms of political, logistical, or military support. A different coalition participates in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Yet another took part in Operation Unified Assistance—the tsunami-relief effort of early 2005. Terms like coalition of the willing have entered our vocabulary to describe countries joining together for specific purposes but not forming broad, enduring political relationships. Some pundits question the future of traditional military alliances such as NATO, but few of them doubt the ongoing importance of coalitions.
From an Airman’s perspective, airpower and space power operations conducted by alliances and coalitions present somewhat different challenges. Alliance members usually have time to train together to refine doctrine and optimize interoperability. They may even standardize equipment to some degree. Conversely, coalitions bring together air forces that may have minimal prior experience working together. The event that triggers coalition formation may be a war or natural disaster, so Airmen from participating nations need to reach agreement on key operating procedures as soon as possible. The success of Unified Assistance showed that preparation and planning before an emergency can pay dividends. The Multinational Planning Augmentation Team (MPAT), “a cadre of military planners from nations with Asia-Pacific interests capable of rapidly augmenting a multinational force headquarters established to plan and execute coalition operations in response to military operations other than war/small scale contingencies,” offers a good example.* Disaster-response agreements that MPAT members had reached long before the tsunami struck in December 2004 helped coalition members work together to deliver relief to stricken people more quickly than might otherwise have been possible.
Each unique coalition member deserves understanding and respect. Some bring impressive military capabilities. Others contribute more modest resources, such as logistical support or basing rights. However, all participants significantly bolster the effort’s political legitimacy, as seen by the world community. Airmen from different countries need to understand the ever-changing constraints faced by their coalition partners and value the contributions they make.
Because we cannot predict the next crisis in today’s uncertain world, Airmen should educate themselves about the perspectives of potential coalition partners. In some cases, such as the British-American relationship, Airmen from different countries have long trained and served together, but other air forces are less acquainted with one another. Each of the world’s air forces faces unique challenges and operates different equipment, but Airmen everywhere can profit from exchanging views about how best to apply airpower and space power in pursuit of common goals. To foster such an exchange, this issue of Air and Space Power Journal contains articles written by authors from Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Germany, Portugal, Singapore, and the United States. In hope of supporting future coalition operations, we dedicate this issue to advancing professional dialogue and mutual understanding among all the world’s Airmen.