21st Century Warfare: Is the AEF Ready to Play?

Nearly eight decades have passed since early aviators like Billy Mitchell and Guilio Douhet first advocated strategic air power theory. Their original ideas still permeate all aspects of U.S. Air Force basic doctrine. The Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) concept is based on this notion of rapid deployment of strike forces anywhere in the world, and single-handedly sustaining operations in that region. The basic flaw of the AEF plan is to be based in the continental U.S. (CONUS). With no access in theatre, how will the Air Force achieve sustained air superiority? This paper will prove the AEF’s present configuration cannot support all theatres due to limited access, insufficient mobility assets, and logistical support problems. This paper compares the capabilities and limitations of the AEF and Carrier Battle Group (CVBG) with regards to expeditionary features. We then apply the Navy and Air Force capabilities to real world scenarios to analyze the validity of current force structures. With the end of the Cold War, collapse of the Russian economy, and a renewed push for global democratization, many question the need for a robust military. The effectiveness of both, the AEF and CVBG will be discussed. Lastly, we give recommendations for revisions to the AEF, enabling its effective participation in future joint operations.

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