The United States Air Force is passing through tough times. In the last week, four air crashes have taken place and valuable aircrew lost. This is a serious matter, and the Pentagon is worried despite a statement that there is no crisis or cause for alarm. One can understand that this is just a routine statement meant for domestic consumption. Close on the heels of a Sikorsky helicopter crashing and killing four crew in California another F16 piloted by a person who was earlier flying on the F-35 has crashed close to Las Vegas. ABC News has reported that the pilot is killed and his name Major Stephen Del Bagno, aged 34.
Another us Air Force plane tanked in Djibouti and had set the alarm bells ringing and the entire exercise for the moment has been called off.
Accidents
In 2017 the US armed forces lost 37 personal in training crashes, much more than 17 lost in 2017. Numbers have no meaning, but the fact is that the non-battle casualties have gone up considerably. This is cause for alarm, and a serious retrospection is called for all the training procedures being followed. General Mattis Secretary of Defence has hit the nail on the head and said that America's commitment to global battles resulted in training procedures being cut to argument manpower for the battles. This effectively means that training procedures have been curtailed or shortened to make young men available for combat duties.
Training
The heavy loss of trained manpower in peacetime activities is something no army can sustain. Deaths of aircrew are more serious as to train an aircrew the cost is manifold that of training a soldier for ground combat. In addition, the warplanes cost billions of dollars, and this drains the national economy.
Crashes
The recent crash in the Nevada desert will be investigated, but then all accidents are investigated and we are yet to learn what were the findings the earlier boards of inquiry.
The US Airforce is a global force, but as brought out by Senior generals it is overstretched and continuously losing young men in non-related fatal accidents. Senator John McCain has commented that The United States is losing more people in training than an actual battle. This is a very telling statement and shows that the American military think tank and the president Donald Trump has to do some serious rethinking about the deployment of us forces in near battle conditions at many places in the world.
Last word
President Trump is on the right track when he says that we must withdraw from Syria as the United States has spent 17 trillion dollars in the Middle East and got nothing in return. Having been a fighter pilot myself, I am appalled at the too frequent mishaps involving the deaths of aircrew. This is a matter that should not be brushed under the carpet.
