1999 Air Force Study Warns Against Neglecting Air Sovereignty; Terrorist Threats

1999: Air Force Study Warns against Neglecting Air Sovereignty; Threat of Terrorism Highlighted
As the military community is discussing the future of continental air defense in a post-Cold War world (see May 19, 1997), Maj. Gen. Larry Arnold, the commander of the 1st Air Force, orders a study to review the Air Force’s air sovereignty mission. At his request, Maj. Gen. Paul Pochmara forms a 12-member roles and missions team to gather information and ideas on the subject. The team has a one-hour presentation that outlines the military’s responsibility for protecting the nation’s air sovereignty. Maj. Gen. Mike Haugen, a member of the team, will later say that the group discusses everything from technology to the future of the air sovereignty mission to the terrorist threat. Haugen will add: “We made some pretty bold predictions in our briefing.… In fact, it included a photo of Osama bin Laden as the world’s most dangerous terrorist.… We didn’t predict how the terrorists would strike but predicted they would strike.” [Filson, 2003, pp. 37-38]