USAF Combat Search and Rescue

Colonel dePalo believes that better application of the doctrinal tenets of airpower is needed for more effective and efficient utilization of USAF combat rescue forces. He uses the tenets of flexibility, concentration, and persistence to demonstrate that the current force can transform to more effectively support the global war on terrorism and adapt to new roles and missions leading to a more agile, multifaceted personnel-recovery capability worldwide. This force can ably support USAF combat search and rescue requirements while also supporting broader personnel-recovery requirements for both the military and civilians. The potential exists to expand even beyond personnel recovery to support other missions such as the infiltration and exfiltration of battlefield Airmen. He argues that it is important to define the force as a war-fighting capability instead of as an executable function. Better integration of the force into strategic planning will facilitate matching this capability to desired effects, leading to a force able to execute a broad range of missions in varying environments.