U.S. MILITARY IN DECLINE: America’s Airpower Is at Risk

In July 2014, I wrote a column that included this troubling paragraph: “With a few teeth-clenching exceptions (the Korean War’s MiG Alley battles), since 1944, American land, sea and air forces have enjoyed the military and diplomatic benefits of U.S. air superiority. Unfortunately, in 2014 there are strong indications that America’s air advantage is diminishing.”

On July 29, 2024 (10 years later), Air & Space Forces Magazine online interviewed U.S. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James C. Slife. This Ukraine war-informed quote struck home: “We used to make the claim that since 1953 no American has been killed by air attack. We can’t make that claim anymore,” Slife said. “It calls into question, ‘What does air superiority actually look like?’ [Does] it look like 30,000 feet over the Yalu River (Korea) in 1953 or does it look like below 3,000 feet with quadcopters with a hand grenade slung to the bottom of them? I think the answer is: It’s all of the above.”

Check it out.

FROM LAST WEEK: Biden’s ‘Different Picture’ Ploy Put Freedom at Risk Did it ever. The direct quote from Joe that describes the entire Biden Administration: “And there’s a need, whether it is true or not, there is a need to project a different picture.”