U.S. Air National Guard Units Headed To Israel?

From the online edition of the St. Louis Post Dispatch

Lambert Guard unit appears headed to Israel
By Harry Levins
POST-DISPATCH SENIOR WRITER
04/22/2006

Unofficially, word among enlisted airmen at Lambert Field's Air National Guard complex holds that the 131st Fighter Wing will soon fly its F-15 Eagle fighters to Israel for exercises with the Israeli air force. Officially, Air Guard officers will say nothing about any such exercise.
If the St. Louis-based Eagles indeed lift off and head east toward Israel, they'll continue a long-running but remarkably low-profile series of joint military exercises between the two countries.

Some people who pay attention to such affairs expressed surprise. Among them is military historian Jerry Morelock of Fulton, Mo., managing editor of Armchair General magazine. From 1990-94, he served on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon as an Army colonel - and in that post, he said, "I don't recall anything like that. This is a new one for me."

Similarly surprised was aviation historian Walter J. Boyne of Auburn, Va., a retired Air Force colonel. He said he found it hard to imagine such an exercise, "particularly at this time, because things are so sensitive." In particular, he cited the suspicion by some that "we're going to whack Iran" to prevent that nation from developing nuclear weapons.

The St. Louis Eagles lack any whack, at least with bombs. The planes are C-model Eagles, designed to shoot down other fighters. Only E-model Eagles tote bombs - and the Air Guard here has no E-model Eagles.

At any rate, from EuCom headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, Navy Lt. Corey Barker said: "The exercises are not based on real-world events. They are designed to increase interoperability and understanding."

Still, when Middle East scholar Victor Le Vine of Washington University first heard of the exercise, he said, "Maybe these are tests in preparation for that strongly denied possibility of an attack on Iran."Like many others, Le Vine was unaware that since 1984, the United States has regularly and routinely held joint military exercises on Israeli soil.

For example, retired Air Force officer John Correll of Annandale, Va., edited Air Force magazine from 1984-2002 and still keeps a hand in as contributing editor. He said, "No, I've not heard of that - and yes, it's a surprise."

But others who were unaware of the exercises expressed no surprise. Among them was historian Richard Kohn of the University of North Carolina.

"Our relationship with Israel is close and so long-standing that any kind of interchange or joint training would hardly be surprising," said Kohn, once the chief historian of the Air Force.

Similarly, military writer (and retired Army officer) Ralph Peters of Warrenton, Va., said: "It doesn't surprise me that such exercises would take place. But given the current tension with Iran and the Middle Eastern penchant for conspiracy theories, whether combined exercises at the present time are a good idea is another issue entirely."

Len Nordeen of Webster Groves - he's the author of "Fighters over Israel," a history of the Israeli air force - said: "I don't know anything about it, but it doesn't surprise me. You're talking about a very experienced air arm."
He added, "In the war on terror, the sharing of techniques is a valuable thing."

Low profile

News organizations have covered past U.S.-Israeli exercises, which began under President Ronald Reagan. But the coverage has been scant - and much, if not most, of it has been in the foreign press. Why the low profile?

It's a matter of perception, said Carl Conetta of a think tank called the Project on Defense Alternatives. From Bethesda, Md., he spoke of "trying to appear to maintain balance and even-handedness in the region." He said the joint exercises had accelerated since the Persian Gulf War, "but we're not crazy about advertising this stuff."

Likewise, Middle East scholar Juan R. Cole of the University of Michigan said: "Every time you have big headlines about U.S. exercises with Israel, you might provoke demonstrations or even attacks. By and large, this is something you don't want to advertise."

Washington University's Le Vine said: "The Israelis are nuts about security. So the less others know about what goes on militarily, the better. Besides, why give others propaganda weapons to use against Israel and the United States?"

But retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Shlomo Brom showed no qualms about discussing such exercises. "This is nothing unusual," said Brom, now a visiting scholar at the congressionally chartered U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. "Each year, the U.S. Air Force is involved."

St. Louis University political scientist Timothy Lomperis agreed."The fact that there has been an ongoing and special military relationship between the U.S. and Israel is a 'well-kept secret' that's well-known to all sectors of the Middle East," said Lomperis, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War. "Muslim countries don't like these exercises - but they know the exercises go on."

But U.S. military officials won't talk about them.A spokeswoman for the Air Guard here referred all questions to the U.S. European Command, whose geographic turf includes Israel.Navy Lt. Barker of EuCom said that "due to force-protection concerns and Department of Defense policy, we will not be able to discuss any upcoming exercises."

hlevins@post-dispatch.com: 314-340-8144


Source from St. Louis Post Dispatch