The commander overseeing the Air Force’s role in Iraq and Afghanistan favors short tours in the war zones, despite a call by the Pentagon for yearlong deployments for instructors, and envisions airmen someday being stationed in the Persian Gulf with their families if host nations agree.Lt. Gen. Mike Hostage touched on the length of deployments and the Air Force’s long-term role in the Middle East during an exclusive telephone interview with Air Force Times from his office in the Persian Gulf.Hostage took over Air Forces Central Command, the air component of U.S. Central Command, in August. At the same time, the Air Force temporarily separated AFCent and the Ninth Air Force, both with headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., to allow the AFCent commander to focus on war fighting.On Afghanistan, Hostage is waiting for word from Central Command on how many airmen will be part of the 30,000-troop buildup ordered by President Barack Obama and what roles they will play.The Air Force could assign airmen to missions in Afghanistan but base them outside the country, he said. For example, C-17 Globemasters and KC-135 Stratotankers assigned to Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan already fly Afghan assignments. Long-range B-1B Lancer bombers, KC-10 Extender tankers and C-17s reach Afghanistan from Persian Gulf airfields.Much of the focus is on close air support operations, a mission for which the Air Force and other services have taken criticism when the attacks kill civilians.Hostage, who flew F-16s for much of his career, backed his aircrews.“My aviators are disciplined professionals,” he said.Close-air support strikes always come at the request of ground commanders, who make hard choices, Hostage pointed out.“If he chooses an air strike,” he said, “we’re going to hit it.”During the summer, some Defense Department officials raised concerns about B-1B Lancer bombers flying close-air support. After a review, the Pentagon decided to keep the bombers on the mission because they can remain over a target for a long time and drop guided bombs with the same accuracy as fighters.“There is no finer platform,” Hostage said.For Iraq, Hostage expects airmen to stay put right up until the withdrawal deadlines — August 2010 for 80,000 troops and the end of 2011 for the remaining 50,000 service members.“The Air Force will maintain a constant level until late in the game,” he said.Even as soldiers head out, airmen will fly combat and reconnaissance air patrols, manage airfields and installations, fly troops and cargo and train the Iraqi air force. Still, Hostage’s orders are to have all airmen — even instructors — out of the country by the 2011 deadline mandated by an agreement between the Iraqi and U.S. governments.Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes Air Force trainers could stay in Iraq beyond 2011.“I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see agreements between ourselves and the Iraqis that continue a train, equip and advise role beyond the end of 2011,” Gates told troops at Kirkuk Air Base in Iraq in early December.Air Force instructors have taught Iraqis to fly and repair C-130 Hercules, helicopters and a host of small propeller-driven aircraft. Now, the Iraqi government is moving to buy fighter jets such as F-16 Fighting Falcons.Whatever aircraft the Iraqi government chooses to fly, Air Force instructors can prepare Iraqi service members.“They will get to decide [the aircraft],” Hostage said. “Our job will be to train them up.”Hostage would not discuss specifics on how the Air Force could continue to train Iraqi airmen past 2011 if the Iraqi air force moves to jet fighters but expects the relationship to continue. It takes the U.S. Air Force about two years to train its own new fighter pilots.“We’ll be in the Gulf with our friends and allies for a long time,” Hostage said.Before taking command of AFCent, Hostage spent 18 months as vice commander of Pacific Air Forces.An earlier assignment to AFCent came in July 2001 when he arrived to lead for one year the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, the primary base for Southern Watch patrols over Iraq.Two months into Hostage’s command, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed everything as Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan began.“We went from 3,800 airmen to 11,000. Life got very busy,” Hostage said.AFCent’s pace has not slowed, with about 28,000 airmen, most on four- to six-month deployments, assigned to the command.For the near future, Hostage favors continuing to deploy airmen for short tours because they are manageable for the deploying airmen and the base that has to make do without the airmen.In the long term, Hostage can see airmen on accompanied tours in the Middle East — much as they are in Germany and Japan — when the combat tempo slows and the risk decreases, and if host nations do not object.