The concept of US Air Force expedi-tionary operations is both old and new. The United States has employed expeditionary airpower for quite some time. Air units sent to Europe in World War Ⅰ constituted part of the American Expeditionary Force. In World War Ⅱ, US air units deployed worldwide, island-hopped across the Pacific, and advanced from base to base across North Africa and Europe. One often hears that a "garrison mentality" arose during the Cold War as Air Force units became ensconced in cozy main operating bases in the continental United States (CONUS), the Pacific, and Europe. However, during the Cold War, the Air Force repeatedly demonstrated the capacity to deploy large forces across intercontinental distances, establish new bases, and conduct campaigns as diverse as the Berlin airlift, Linebacker I, and Operations Desert Shield/Storm.
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