There are some broader lessons as well affecting issues such as readiness and deployability. Of course, not everyone needs to be there on day one, but the Gulf War left no doubt that speed of response can be critical to deterring or containing aggression. Airpower is particularly well suited to meeting the requirements of rapid response but there is more to this than jumping in the cockpit and taking off. Timescales may not allow for work up training. Planning is needed for deployable support.
Provision needs to be made for air transport and cargo handling equipment.
Air to Air refueling is virtually an essential both for rapid deployment and for operations. Unless crews are fully trained in this capability, much of the responsiveness of airpower is prejudiced. One may also not be able to assume the availability of radar cover or communications equipment. In the UK, we have taken to heart the lesson that effective intervention may be crucially dependent on speed of response and readiness of forces deployed, notably through work to provide for a rapid deployment force. This is a formalization and rationalization of more piecemeal arrangements already in place, but we are neither alone nor the first in seeing the importance of such a capability.