Casey supports aircraft transfer

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey indicated on Tuesday that he was comfortable transferring a much-coveted cargo aircraft program to the Air Force, because he extracted a commitment from the Air Force chief of staff that airmen will fly the plane into the battlefield to deliver much-needed supplies for soldiers.

 {mosads}Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s decision to take away the C-27J cargo aircraft from the Army and transfer it fully to the Air Force has miffed lawmakers and National Guard officials who expected several Army National Guard bases to house the aircraft. The Army was sharing the program with the Air Force. Gates also slashed in half the number of the planes built by a team of Alenia North America and L-3 Communications.

 But Casey supported Gates’s decision.

 “We need the capability to re-supply our forces,” Casey told reporters. “We do not have to fly the planes to get that.”

 Flying fixed-wing aircraft “is not our [the Army’s] core competency,” he added.

 The Army owns and flies the decades-old Sherpa planes. The Army intended to replace those planes with the new C-27Js, but those 38 C-27Js that are going to the Air Force will take over for the Sherpas instead, Casey said. He indicated the possibility of buying more C-27Js than the 38. That issue, however, will likely be tackled as part of the sweeping review of military strategy and capabilities taking place this year, said Army Secretary Pete Geren.

 The Army in particular has been adamant about buying a smaller cargo aircraft that can go deep into the battlefield to deliver supplies to troops. The Army has been relying heavily on its Chinook helicopters for that purpose. Army officials have argued for months that Afghanistan’s terrain, for example, has put great pressure on these helicopters, which are now filling the void of a cargo aircraft that can fly “the last tactical mile.”

 Casey said that both Gen. Norton Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff, and former Air Force chief Michael Moseley both promised him the Air Force would fly the aircraft to the last tactical mile when the Army needs to resupply.