Air Force Association President Michael M. Dunn placed the following quote on his AFA blog:
It is from Gen (Ret) Richard E. Hawley, former Commander of Air Combat Command. He said:
"But institutions can have short memories too. And in the early 60s we entered another Asian war, this time in Vietnam, without a capable air-to-air fighter -- without pilots schooled in the fine art of air-to-air combat -- and without weapons to neutralize the emerging threat of surface-to-air missiles -- and we paid a terrible price against a third-rate power.
In the six months from 23 August 1967 to 5 February 1968, Vietnamese MiG-21 pilots racked up a 16 to 1 kill advantage. In all, we lost 2,448 fixed wing aircraft to a third world military whose Air Force deployed fewer than 200 aircraft.
How easily we forget."
These are the things Defense Secretary Gates needs to remember when dismissing "excessive" aircraft (and other military) procurement programs or deriding forward-looking officers as victims of "next-war-itis".
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