RE: http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,172715,00.html Iguess this is the place to start. Why do the soldiers of our militarys have to wait on civiliavs to figure out if the militarys can use awacs aircraft in war. I my self don't thing the talaban have aircraft to track on radar. but maybe they have long range missiles???.are is this a ploy by the germans to look good.

Kicking and screaming,Germany agrees to send AWACS.
This is a more accurate headline.

Thanks. Thanks a f'kin bunch. Why not send us a submarine or two as well

I'm no aviation expert...but can't JSTARS track ground movements?

Britain has been using its Nimrods on EI missions over Aghanistan since day 1.

It was the crash of one such a/c, with it's crew of 'experts' that gave the British element of the international force one of its worst days.

The downing was caused by an intrinsic fault that allowed a build up of fuel in a wing root after air-to-air refuelling.

What would AWACS be sniffing for? I'd guess any sort of electrical impulses in a country much in the electronic dark.

As a former AWACS crew member I can tell you why they are needed in Afghanistan....So that our guys and gals flying OUR helicopters, tankers, fighters, etc. don't run into each other! It has nothing to do with missiles on the groun, the Taliban having aircraft, whatever. Yes, the JSTARS has the capability of tracking GROUND FORCES. (That is their whole mission in life). AWACS on the other hand is more like Air Traffic Control and coordinates the "show" while airborne. They also have other capabilities, but this is not the forum to discuss them.

Having AWACS capabilities in the theater only makes sense, especially if a "scaling-up" of operations is in the works.
If more troops are headed for A-stan, that means more S&D missions, with air support. More missions require more control and coordination of air assets.

I do wish the Europeans would stop whinning about the GWOT, it gets really old. Plus it makes them look really stupid, because Europe, unlike the U.S. has suffered terrorist attacks and a massive influx of middle easten immigrants.
You'd think that they would be more interested in their own security and well being.
But they ARE Europeans, after all!

quote:

Originally posted by 15286791:
As a former AWACS crew member I can tell you why they are needed in Afghanistan....So that our guys and gals flying OUR helicopters, tankers, fighters, etc. don't run into each other! It has nothing to do with missiles on the groun, the Taliban having aircraft, whatever. Yes, the JSTARS has the capability of tracking GROUND FORCES. (That is their whole mission in life). AWACS on the other hand is more like Air Traffic Control and coordinates the "show" while airborne. They also have other capabilities, but this is not the forum to discuss them.

The above post basically explains the reason the AWACs A/C are needed in the theater.

On another note, Where did NATO get those spiffy E3 Sentry aircraft from in the first place? And who do you think is funding the bulk of NATOs general operating budget?

Why don't we have a leader in this country stand up and say, "We don't need your help, but the next time you get into to a scrape, don't ask the U.S. for any help".

If we had done what we set out to do in the original plan, Bin laden would be swinging freely from a tree, all his henchmen dead and we wouldn't be fartin' around in A'stan now.

I, as a German, would pull out all German Troops. What do we have to do there? Nothing. What do the Americans have to do in IRAK? Nothing other than watching out for the oil. Nobody wanted you there, nobody asked you to be there. You all put out billions of dollars and at the same time people in your own country living on the street, loosing there homes, dont have work. America was such a great country before the Bush family took over. First the US finances the Taliban to fight the Russians and than dump them and fight against them. What is the moral of all of that? Governments are controlled by money hungry, stock marked controlled companies and there bosses. It is time for a change in the US.

quote:

Originally posted by 17320160:
I, as a German, would pull out all German Troops. What do we have to do there? Nothing. What do the Americans have to do in IRAK? Nothing other than watching out for the oil. Nobody wanted you there, nobody asked you to be there. You all put out billions of dollars and at the same time people in your own country living on the street, loosing there homes, dont have work. America was such a great country before the Bush family took over. First the US finances the Taliban to fight the Russians and than dump them and fight against them. What is the moral of all of that? Governments are controlled by money hungry, stock marked controlled companies and there bosses. It is time for a change in the US.

Isn't it funny how when the Euros were getting there nose bloodied in recent Balkans conflict and were at a stalemate with the Serbs, they begged for the help of the U.S. Military. We came to their aid and in a short time, brought an end to the conflict. I guess it was alright when the Euros decided to meddle in a domestic affair of Serbia and we came to their aid when we had no business or interest in the Balkan Conflict. We as good allies, got the Euros out of another war they got themselves into.

On the other hand, left leaning countries like Germany and France, pick and choose when they want to support U.S. operations.

Tell me my little left leaning anonymous German, do you remember how the U.S. rebuilt Germany after WWII, a war Germany started(if not, research the Marshall Plan and refresh your memory). Do you remember a wall between East and West Germany and the only thing that kept the Soviets from storming over that wall and taking the rest of your once divided country was the constant U.S. military presence.
Do you remember the Berlin Airlift when U.S. cargo aircraft flew dangerous missions night and day to bring the lifeblood of supplies to the besieged city of West Berlin.

I hope other Germans do not think like you do. You must be young and somewhere along the line have been indoctrinated by leftist/socialist/communist Anti American ideology.

People that live in glass houses should not throw stones. At least 40 million people lost their lives due to the German people electing a Madman for their leader.

Additionally, the only people that are loosing their homes are people who were financially irresponsible and bought homes that they couldn't afford. So in Germany, let's say you want a house, it is out of your budget, but darn it, you want it anyways. You sign a contract to buy it, knowing that in five years, your payments will go up because the interest rate will increase. As the interest rate goes up, you realize that you no longer can make the payments. In Germany would get to keep the house if you no longer can make the payments? I think not. Additionally, a large percentage of the people that have had their home go into foreclosure, never made one payment on their home, so in essence, they lost nothing.

I find your post peculiar; it sounds rooted in purely Anti American sentiment. Are you even German in the first place? Sounds like you work for the Obama campaign. Your last line is kind of glaring,"It is time for change in the U.S.".
I tried looking up your public profile, but it is not listed, still afraid of the Gestapo eh.

quote:

Originally posted by 17320160:
I, as a German, would pull out all German Troops. What do we have to do there? Nothing. What do the Americans have to do in IRAK? Nothing other than watching out for the oil. Nobody wanted you there, nobody asked you to be there. You all put out billions of dollars and at the same time people in your own country living on the street, loosing there homes, dont have work. America was such a great country before the Bush family took over. First the US finances the Taliban to fight the Russians and than dump them and fight against them. What is the moral of all of that? Governments are controlled by money hungry, stock marked controlled companies and there bosses. It is time for a change in the US.

Let's see; a part of the NATO charter is "an attack against one is an attack against all". What, you don't believe in that? You think NATO should disband? Without NATO and massive US presence, you might not have the opportunity to spout your dribble on the internet.

Europe has had troubles keeping its own house in order for centuries. But yet you deem yourself qualified to pass judgement on te US like you know what you are talking about. I think you should turn your attention to Germany's internal issues in stead of preachinbg to others about what you perceive to be theirs.

What have German troops to do in Afghanistan? How about support an ally that has protected you for over 60 years. That would be a nice start. Stop whining like it is not your problem. As long as NATO exists, it is your problem. What a bunch of puzzies.

As a former US and NATO AWACS crewmember, I would like to give a bit of perspective. The use of AWACS in Afghanistan has been talked about already. At the beginning of the Afghanistan conflict the US AWACS was there and it was shortly joined by the British AWACS. When 9/11 happened, the bulk of United States Noble Eagle AWACS missions were flown by NATO AWACS because we were spread thin in operations near Iraq and in Afghanistan. NATO AWACS (including the Germans) were there when we needed them. One country that also be applauded is Canada. Canadians fly on both NATO and US AWACS and have joined us in nearly all our endevours from day 1.

quote:

Originally posted by 15286791:
It has nothing to do with missiles on the groun, the Taliban having aircraft, whatever.

Iran has been allowing private planes to fly into Afghanistan, one such flight was on PBS and was challenged directly by the AWACS there after it flew across the border.

If those who question the need for AWACS in Afghanistan had bothered to read the article or had a lick of common sense they would have seen it was to control the vast volume of NATO air traffic, not defend against a non-existent Taliban air force. It just shows their desire to condemn anything that would help insure victory against the terrorists since they would prefer to see America defeated even at the risk of their own demise. Pathetic.

These aren't AWACS, they're man-killers.

"http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/12/01/319508/uks-astor-system-achieves-delayed-in-service-date.html"

"http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/top-secret-british-spy-plane-to-hunt-al-qaeda-and-taliban-leaders-in-afghanistan_100125747.html"

Looking into every Afghan nook, and granny, over hundreds of square miles. Afghan sheep & goats could become an endangered species. That worked on American Indians, so it could be a 'winner' in A'stan.