Originally Posted by
Adlerdriver
You don't control how your fighter is equipped by Uncle Sam. If you need to get from A to B without a tanker, what choice do you have? Go to FL450, get direct and I'll bet no one will even know your were there.
Yea, and that's how we approached the issue. Still, if there is a way to get the job done with less interference/impact on civilian and commercial traffic, we were usually willing to tread lightly. We even usually had an FAA/ATC liaison officer just to help make sure we weren't doing something during day to day ops that really impacted civilian ATC.
But again yes, mission accomplishment was the first priority and if we weren't equipped to do the mission in a way that was ATC friendly, that wasn't our problem. Superpower, coming through.