Air Force will not be executive agency for drones

[babylonsister]

Air Force will not be executive agency for drones
By Roxana Tiron
September 13, 2007

After an intense turf battle within the Pentagon, Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England on Thursday ruled out the creation of an executive agency for all medium-and high-altitude drones.

Instead, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff would take a greater role in overseeing requirements and developments of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) across all military services, according to sources familiar with the issue.

England’s decision comes on the heels of an aggressive campaign by the Air Force to become the executive agency for all UAVs flying at 3,500 feet and above.

This spring the Air Force took its fight to become the executive agency for all medium- and high-altitude unmanned aircraft to Capitol Hill, prompting the other military services to mount campaigns to defend their territory.

The Air Force has aggressively made the case both at the Pentagon and on the Hill that it is organized, trained and equipped to be the executive agent and that therefore the change represents a cost-effective option.

more...

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/air-force-will-not-be-executive-agency-for-drones-2007-09-13.html

[kestrel91316]

1. My dad would be ALL bothered by this, lol. His last 6 years in the USAF

were with the drone program......they were his babies.

And when he was working on them they were ONLY for reconnaisance. But that was in the 70s.

[ReadTomPaine]

3. The USAF seems to have taken a harder evangelical turn than the other branches...

What's your father's take on that change/trend?

[kestrel91316]

4. I think he would be HORRIFIED. I can't ask him because he died in 1980, lol.

He was about as religious as my cats. Probably less.

[HereSince1628]

2. Interservice rivalry. Somethings change but then never really do.

I can imagine aviation executives in the Navy and the Marines were not at all happy with that proposal.