There is something very unusual in our Air War against Libya. Both the top naval commander and air commander have the same first name.

Pause.

Margaret! Oh, and the other unusual thing is that they are both women. The top US air commander is Major General Margaret Woodward

and the top US Navy commander is Rear Admiral Margaret Klein.

If we put aside for a moment the question of Should we be fighting in – or above, if you want – Libya? and only ask How is it going? the answer is terrific. Because it is going so well, it looks like a simple exercise, but co-ordinating an attack like this can’t be simple. A week ago, Libya had a very robust air defense system; now it has been destroyed with no causalities on our side. Nine different country’s air forces – United States, Britain, and France with Canada, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Norway, and Spain: ten if  count Qatar – and additional planes from a couple of navies are in the airspace and need to be co-ordinated.

I’ve read comments that General Woodward is a logistics specialist, not a fighter pilot, and shouldn’t be in charge. Sour grapes; I think. One of my favorite military aphorisms is – very roughly – Amateurs study strategy; professionals study logistics, and my very favorite general is General U. S. Grant who started out in the Quartermaster Corps and was a logistics expert. That worked out well.

I read that NATO will take over now and the next commander will probably be a man, but General Margaret Woodward seems to have done a hell of a job.