The Marine outpost sat in a valley and was bombarded by intense mortar, rocket, and artillery attacks from the surrounding hills. Until the siege was broken 11 weeks later, Khe Sanh was reinforced and resupplied under fire by tactical airlifters, who took their share of battle damage in the course of 1,128 sorties into Khe Sanh. The primary wartime role of air mobility is to get the other forces to the fight and to sustain them until sealift begins to arrive, several weeks later. Most defense analysts acknowledge that air mobility, principally airlift, is the main constraint on the nation's capability to respond to military emergencies in faraway places. Despite a general inclination toward reductions in force structure and personnel, last year's Quadrennial Defense Review projected an increase in the requirement for strategic mobility and said that smaller US forces would be adequate only if they could be transported swiftly and over long distances.
Air mobility means global reach.
In most operations, air mobility will be a leading force in support of the mission, but sometimes as in the case of the Berlin Airlift air mobility will be the mission. It is a significant instrument of national power. We must take care that the focus on it is not lost through organizational realignments and mergers.