As the Air Force increasingly operates in contested airspace in places like Syria, Gen. Mike Holmes, head of Air Combat Command, wants his fighter pilots to learn to take more decisions into their own hands.
In a Sept. 6 interview with Air Force Times, Holmes said ACC needs to develop leaders who are more willing to take risks on the battlefield.
“We got used to operating in an environment where ... we would rather avoid having one bad bomb and pass up the opportunity to have 10 good ones,” Holmes said in the Sept. 6 interview.
During a media roundtable Monday at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference, Holmes clarified that that doesn’t mean the way the Air Force drops bombs on ground targets in Syria and Iraq is going to change. But the increasingly contested and congested air environment is forcing ACC pilots to change the way they operate.
“What we are seeing are things like, ‘hey there‘s an Iranian [remotely-piloted aircraft] that may or may not be a threat to coalition ground forces,’” Holmes said. “Are you going to counter that threat, or are you going to wait for somebody to tell you what to do?”
Click here for more from the Air Force Association’s annual conference!
Holmes said he’s looking for a way to build lessons on how pilots can take the initiative ― and have confidence in their decisions ― into ACC’s training environment to prepare for future battles.
Pilots’ decisions on whether to shoot down potentially hostile aircraft ― which has the potential for serious geopolitical consequences ― are governed by rules of engagement given to pilots through the commander’s directive they receive when they check in before flying.
“Over time, we‘ve gotten used to waiting and asking the question and letting somebody else interpret those rules,” Holmes said. “We’ll be asking our guys to take more responsibility for interpreting the guidance they receive from the commander in the area and the rules they operate under. ... I think we need to move a little bit. Not every case is an exception.”
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
