Define Close Air Support (CAS) and its purpose.

• A. CAS is air action conducted to deny enemy airspace to friendly forces.
• B. CAS is air action intended to assist ground forces by engaging targets that are close to friendly troops, with the ground commander controlling the fires.
• C. CAS is the use of air power to defeat enemy air defenses exclusively.
• D. CAS is air action used only for strategic bombings of infrastructure.

Answer: (B)

Close Air Support means using aircraft to help ground forces by striking targets that are very close to friendly troops. The key is that the ground commander controls the fires, typically through a forward air controller such as a JTAC, so the attack fits the ground plan and minimizes risk to friends and noncombatants. The purpose is to provide timely, accurate, and integrated air power that protects troops, suppresses or destroys near-term threats, and enables ground maneuver. The other descriptions describe missions outside of this close integration—air space denial, SEAD/air defense destruction, and strategic bombing—so they don’t capture what CAS is meant to do.