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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TALK TO US: Contact Amanda Beglin at (785) 864-4810 or features@kansan.com
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10,2001
AMERICA'S arsenal
As the country begins its fight against terrorism, campus military officials comment on the tactics and weapons of warfare. By John Wells
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, OPERATIONAL TEST & EVALUATION
E-18 SUPER HORNET
USS ENTERPRISE
Cost: $49.9 million
Program cost: $47 billion
Units in arsenal: 32
Day/night strike fighter
Drops 500-lb., 1,000-lb. and cluster bombs
AMERICA'S ARSENAL ON THE WEB
Several informational sites about U.S. weaponry have sprouted since the terrorist attacks.
www.dote.osd.mil/reports/FY00 /index.html
■ www.theksbwchannel.com (click on "America's Arsenal" under "Multimedia")
www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001
trade.center/real.section.html
navy.mil
Two warriors strap themselves into one of the most deadly war machines the United States has ever produced. Invisible to its enemies, it begins a 24-hour mission to defend freedom.
Area of flight deck: 4.47 acres The longest (1,123 feet), tallest (250 feet) and fastest (30 nautical miles per hour) carrier in the Navy fleet. Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Summits attack submarines, cruisers, destroyers
After traveling more than 10 hours, the B2 Bomber, also known as the Stealth Bomber, reaches its target. The wrath of U.S. military power is unleashed, and what was once a terrorist-harboring camp, or enemy weaponry, is now burning ash.
On Sunday, American forces began what President Bush has said would be a long struggle against terrorism. The precision strikes delivered by Air Force and Navy pilots are only the first stage of a carefully planned military operation, said Colonel Kevin McNellis, Commander of Air Force ROTC at the University of Kansas.
Operating cost: $50 million
Seats of flight deck: 4,47 seats
Regardless of the role unconventional warfare will play, the United States has built a formidable force to assist in strikes against Afghanistan. So far, this armada includes four Carriers: the USS Carl Vinson, the USS Enterprise, the USS Theodore Roosevelt and the USS Kitty Hawk.
All of these Carriers bring thousands of personnel with them and support ships that include cruisers, destroyers and attack submarines. This overwhelming show of force is intentionally dramatic, McNellis said.
"The difficulty is that Afghanistan is controlled by a government that's barely legitimate and they don't really worry about things like roads or buildings," Cooper said. "They operate through terror, such as public executions. The populace there is already repressed and terrorized so if you kill innocent civilians by using conventional tactics, you will just create more martyrs."
"There are two main phases to such an operation," he said. "The first phase is to gather intelligence. The second phase involves an obvious part and a covert part. The obvious part is for political coercion."
McNellis said the conventional methods of waging a war would have to be rethought.
"The basics of war is to put many against few," McNellis said. "However, if you look at (Afghanistan's) line up, they don't have much. So it does us no good to just build up a force of a million soldiers."
Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
Supports attacks submarines, cruisers, destroyers
He said the job of the military was to present options to the President and Secretary of Defense. In Afghanistan's case, conventional tactics do not seem to be a productive option. This is in part because the Taliban does not operate on the same level as the United States.
Captain James Cooper, Commander of Navy ROTC at KU, also said that controlled surgical strikes against terrorists was probably the most effective tactic at this stage of the war. Future operations using more precision-guided munitions and Special Forces seem imminent, according to Cooper.
Because of the difficult terrain and few fixed targets, a total land invasion of Afghanistan would not yield the kind of results that military planners seek. However, any targets that may present a threat to American forces are being eliminated using the methods most Americans have seen in previous wars, such as bombing the enemy's radar defenses and offensive capabilities.
"It's called decapitation. You take out the eyes and ears of enemy leaders." McNellis said. "However, you also want to tell civilians how they can stay safe. I don't think people realize that America has a strong fist, but we abide by the laws of armed conflict. We try to spare schools or mosques."
America's ability to hit the right targets will rely heavily on intelligence not only from its own agencies, but others around the world
One new technology uses unmanned aircraft, like the RQ-1
Predator, that can fly surveillance missions over enemy territory. These drones can operate for up to 24 hours and send back both still images and live video to U.S. intelligence officers without risking the loss of American lives.
The fight against terrorism will not be one that can be fought using technology alone.
Once fixed targets are destroyed, McNellis said the military would begin to target mobile
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, OPERATIONAL TEST & EVALUATION
Cost: $20.5 million
Program cost: $604.9 million
Unmanned Flys surveillance missions over enemy territory, sending both still images and live video to U.S. intelligence officers
Can stay aloft for up to 24 hours
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, OPERATIONAL TEST & EVALUATION CH-60S FLEET COMBAT SUPPORT HELICOPTER
Cost: $18.3 million
Program cost: $4.3 billion
Units in arsenal: 237
Day/night search and rescue services
Aeromedical evacuations
An upgrade in development will include forward-firing guns and missiles.
enemy forces, which would require American soldiers on the ground.
Cruise Missiles and other precision guided munitions are useful but, McNellis said, winning the war will require more hands-on involvement.
"Hitting moving targets requires real-time intelligence. You can't send intelligence back to the Pentagon and analyze it for a week," McNellis said. "It has to be an immediate pursuit. We can't fight the entire war like a video game. Eventually, it'll be like a knife fight."
The deciding factor in this new struggle will not be U.S. technology, but the people who are in control of sophisticated U.S. weapons, McNellis said.
"We have better people, better leadership and better training and that's why (our military) is effective," he said. "We'll throw our men into battle, but we're going to do it the right way to minimize loss of life."
McNellis also stressed that the war against terrorism could not be won by the military alone. Citizens, he said, should feel just as much a responsibility to end terror in the world.
"We've taken our freedom for granted," McNellis said. "We were born into freedom because of other people."
Attorney General John Ashcroft is pushing for Congress to pass legislation that would allow the government to use more unrestricted surveillance within its own borders and abroad. These measures to some may represent the loss of civil liberties, but McNellis said he thought citizens needed to ask themselves what their safety was worth.
"What are we willing to forgo today?" he said. "Instead of thinking locally, maybe we should divert dollars elsewhere. People need to take responsibility and report suspicious activity. Everyone needs to think of this as our war. It's not just a military problem."
Contact Wells at 864-4810
CNN.COM
B2 SPIRIT BOMBER
Cost: $1.2 billion
Program cost: $44.7 billion
Units in arsenal: 21
■ Carries up to 44,000 pounds of
weapons
■ Two crew members
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