Sustaining the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) Program (original) (raw)

The US Reserve component: an operational force

In the United States, the reserve component has always held a key role in the defence apparatus, although its role has evolved over time. While it was seen for a long time as a strategic reserve for use in the event of major conflicts, after the Vietnam War it became a flexible and responsive operational force working in tandem with active units. While the term " reserve " is often indiscriminately used, there is a noteworthy difference between the Reserve, under federal status, and the National Guards, which are dependent on US states and territories. This dual structure, the product of history and a delicate balance between local and federal echelons, may sometimes seem complex and ill-suited to the challenges that the US military faces today. As equipment, missions and training have become increasingly similar between the two reserve components, it would be legitimate to raise the question of simplifying the current system in view of merging the two. Nonetheless, such an outcome is unlikely, as the current model is based on two premises: the clear separation of federal and local prerogatives and the significant role held by the National Guard and the citizen-soldier in the American collective consciousness.

Air National Guard Remotely Piloted Aircraft and Domestic Missions: Opportunities and Challenges

2015

: The use of remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs), also referred to as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), attracts considerable interest from policymakers, Congress, and the public. This is especially true regarding their use in missions for defense support of civil authorities (DSCA) conducted by the Department of Defense (DoD). Congressional interest in the use of RPAs for domestic missions dates to at least 2003, when Congress directed the President to study and report on RPA use for support of homeland security missions. 1 In its budget for fiscal year (FY) 2006, Congress passed a special appropriation for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to build a fleet of RPAs in its Customs and Border Protection (CBP) component, and such appropriations have continued in nearly every subsequent year. In 2012, however, Congress capped DHS s authorized RPA force at ten aircraft, citing budgetary constraints.2 To date, all large and medium RPAs in DHS remain...