Episode Summary

In episode 48 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, Operation Enduring Freedom: A 20-Year Air Commander Retrospective Part 2, General Buzz Moseley, USAF (Ret.), General Chuck Wald, USAF (Ret.), Lt Gen Dave Deptula, USAF (Ret.), and Maj Gen Larry Stutzriem, USAF (Ret.) rejoin us to provide first person air commander perspectives regarding the air campaign they led against the Taliban, which began on October 7th, 2001. This was an air war like none other. B-2s set new bombing mission endurance records—flying over 40 hours on a single sortie—while remotely piloted MQ-1 Predators ushered in an entirely new form of unmanned combat airpower. General Wald, USAF (Ret.) and General Moseley, USAF (Ret.) each served as the head of Central Command Air Forces Commander in back-to-back assignments, General Deptula, USAF (Ret.) commanded the combined air operations center, and Major General Stutzriem, USAF (Ret.) was the Director of Operations for Joint Task Force – Southwest Asia and Deputy Director of the Combined Air Operations Center. Today we explore the second half of this conversation, discussing what it was like to launch an air campaign less than a month after the 9/11 attacks in a location few could have ever imagined. Through their leadership, drive, and innovation—they surged planning efforts and launched one an air campaign that yielded decisive results.

 

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