How did air operations for Enduring Freedom differ from those flown during Operation Desert Storm?
In Desert Storm, the services did not communicate as effectively. The Navy did not have systems that were compatible with the Air Force. For example, we couldn t transmit air tasking orders directly to the Navy. We had to physically fly the orders to the carriers. We ve made a lot of improvements in the last ten years. We work much better now in a joint environment. We have fixed the communication problems between the services and removed all the seams. Now information is transmitted to everyone in the same way. At the tactical level, I think we have progressed as well. Special operations personnel equipped with GPS and radios worked with Afghan soldiers on horseback. That didn t happen in Desert Storm. We have several new technologies that help us find and share target information from airplanes. We have a lot more laser-guided precision munitions than we had during Desert Storm. We have better methods of delivering weapons. We have forward air controllers on the ground designating ta
