The Air Liaison Officer has been a foundational concept in combined Air Force-Army operations since World War II. Over 300 aviators from combat units currently spend an assignment working in an Air Support Operations Squadron (ASOS), facilitating Close Air Support operations at upper Army organizational levels. However, the cost of this current ALO force structure in dollars, flying experience levels, and readiness has increased significantly in recent years. Detrimental impacts are being felt throughout the Combat Air Forces (CAF). The temporary nature of ALO duty also causes considerable continuity, morale, and professionalism issues within the ALO ranks themselves. Finally, the permanent enlisted terminal air controller structure that provides the backbone of the combat capability of the ASOS suffers from a dearth of motivated, knowledgeable officers that can mentor and train the enlisted force and serve as a career advocate to the Air Force at large.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
