So I Guess They Could Do It All Along

What follow is an excerpt from an article at Aviation Week.com

In the wake of the U.S. Air Force leadership shake up, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is directing the service to field six more Predator combat air patrols (CAPs), as well as more Reapers to support operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The order comes shortly after Gates’ first briefing from the new Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Task Force June 6. He set up the task force in April, explaining during a speech at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., that getting warfighting support from institutional military — namely, the Air Force — was “like pulling teeth.”

A lack of support for the ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was one of several reasons cited by insiders and observers for his abrupt ousting of Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley.

While DOD is looking across the services for ISR support, the Air Force’s immediate task is to field more Predators and Reapers, which provide much-desired full-motion video to operators on the ground. The Air Force has fielded 25 Predator MQ-1B CAPs — each including four air vehicles plus ground control and support — as of this month. Gates is directing that six more be fielded by December, a military official says...

More can be seen HERE

Amazing isn't it? Someone gets fired and magically they find a way to get more UAVs into theater. I'm sure someone could say they were going to do that anyway...but it is quite the coincidence.