Well, maybe "care" is not really the best word to use here. I think the better word to use is "to entertain" our request.
And it is precisely as you said because aircraft would have limited ordnance, if the F-16 or Strike Eagle or the Hawks are only there to entertain to our request, then you probably going to be needing to rearm every 15 minutes because 8 bombs is nothing, I probably have 100-120 hard target per battle, more if a battle is more developed. You will be dropping bomb for us all day and maybe you guys better off became USAAF again.....
Aaahhh...Nein, nope, nyet, non, không thể làm được...
Another issue here, not too many people know, is jurisdictional issue, I mean, it's hard enough to have our own JAG approve a target, and the Air Force won't do shit unless their own JAG (not sure what you call it in the AF) approved that target. which mean even I was green lit by the JAG and FO, that target may still be refused by the Air Force.
Same for us -- JAG.
If the insinnuendo, allegation, or charge of 'war crime' arise, it is us who will be at risk because we were the ones who dropped the bombs or fired the missiles. We need our own JAGs who will look out for our best legal well being, at least in theory, anyway.
And when you call in air strike, you need to lift every other support, which mean I cannot call in arty or mortar if I call in fast mover as you can't stack, which can be for nothing because they would have to fly past the target and get their approval, and I spend 10 minutes or so for nothing, and if I am urgent enough to call an airstrike, that mean I am not sitting on my arse in that 10 minutes and doing nothing.
Us grunt preference of support goes from Base Tube/Stove Pipe > Arty > Army Aviation > Airstrike > NATO Asset.
So yes, we prefer to do it in house, we have a saying "When they cut air support to us, that's mostly a suggestion".
If the target is a petrol refinery, it is called a 'deliberate' target. But if the target is a tank column, even if the tanks are dug in, the column is called a 'dynamic' target. The nature of the target determines its classification. The petrol refinery can never move while the tank column can move on its own volition.
Here is the conflict...
If the fighting is near civilians, the Army is
STILL most concerned about its own soldiers, however, the Air Force will put 'collateral damages' as equal priority. It is shiddy, I know. Prior to our squadron's deployment to Desert Storm, we had heated debates about that. The behavior of the Iraqi Army supported our beliefs that human shields is an important component of its tactics, and frankly, the same for any army in the ME. Unofficially, the word spread that if any Western military has to fight an ME country, expect the other side to use human shields tactics.
What am I supposed to do when our brethen/allied soldiers and the enemy's civilians are within the blast radius of my bombs?
Our squadron was fortunate in that none of us had to face that dilemma. Personally, each of us would rather put our guys above all other considerations, even if some of us may later have to suffer mental traumas for it. But we are also in a hierarchy and if the order says 'No' we have to obey.
armored-vehicles.fandom.com
