US employs broad array of equipment: recent military operations in Afghanistan have served to highlight the amazingly broad array of weapon systems and support equipment used by US special operations and conventional military forces.

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US employs broad array of equipment: recent military operations in Afghanistan have served to highlight the amazingly broad array of weapon systems and support equipment used by US special operations and conventional military forces.

Speaking before the US Senate Armed Services Committee on 9 April 2002, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz emphasised the broad nature of that array by noting, "In Afghanistan today, brave special forces on the ground have taken 19th century horse cavalry, combined it with the 50-year-old B-52 bomber and, using modern satellite communications, have produced a truly 21st century capability".

The representative scenario cited by the Deputy Secretary is summarised by an operational vignette provided by the US Air Force. Focusing on a notional B-52 Close Air Support (CAS) mission ...

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