I guess I have to agree/disagree with you. I am not sure that the complete cap that has been flying over many major cities is necessarily worth it but I have several friends from college that are Air Force controllers. We have had a need to have ready 5 aircraft and more patrols for probably 30+ years now. I think they would all do it if they could not scare the aircraft with either warning shots or jet buffeting. It would most likely cause less damage than anything that a suicidal terrorist would most likely hit. The pilots and ground controllers will pick the best area to down them or atleast the least worse place. That is part of the reason why the are flying constant cap is that so they can attack planes before they get over major cities.

This is atleast one area the gov seems to be thinking about though. Aircraft sortie rates and cap are being reduced significantly in many areas. That will reduce costs, but they don't seem to be going all the way back to the pre 9-11 thinking which is good. As to Nat Guard call up. This is one area that probably is not to bad because the pilots and ground crew people are some of the same ones that might have been laid off by airlines. The planes are actually made to fly these types of missions. We fly have flown these types of caps over Iraq for 10 years. Air crews get very bored doing it but with a large number of intercepts and practice intercepts happening every day I do not feel real bad for them. Flight hours/takeoffs and landing always improve a pilot. Some hours are just less effective at the amount of improvement.

The one area that I still think is most stupid is calling up nat guard troops at the airport. They are nearly completely wasted at airports and since many are civilian police officers, they would be much better used in their civilian capacity. The only real function that they could be used for is to do fixed position defense. That means stopping a repeat of Rome or Ben Gurion airport attacks. Yet they are not being positioned or preped for that mission. The greatest lunancy is to place them in this kind of duty and not issueing them with bulletproof vests or have them issued the flak vests they would normally wear overseas. I have also talked to many of them and not one airport has a reaction detail set aside and ready to react. They all have a few walkers and the rest at fixed positions. This is the greatest waste of time and military training I have ever seen. I can see the reason to have airplanes up for the population and political leadership to feel safe but at the airports the national guard really offers nothing that hiring a few more retired/off duty cops would not do as well or better. Atleast cops have some experience dealing with criminals and the necessary body language.

For what its worth.

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Robert