I can guess a couple of the topics at the top of the list are "cost" and "vulnerability", which I doubt have changed since the Golden Age of aviation (Vietnam war), leaving aside the "which branch controls it" parochial/practical discussion.
On pg 52 of "The Rise and Fall of an American Army" by Shelby Stanton, commenting on the establishment of 11th Air Assault Division in 1963:
"Many senior Army generals were adamantly against the idea. They weren't sure helicopters were thick-skinned enough to survive on the battlefield, but they were sure such a conglomeration of expensive gadgets would eat up the Army's budget."
and
"The Army staff was both right and wrong. The 11th Air Assault Division turned out to be frightfully expensive, but on the other hand, the new production models of Bell helicopters, being called Hueys, were proving fairly dependable."
The book is full of examples of the advantages of airmobility, and the costs when confronted by purposeful anti-air defences. Obviously judicious employment is necessary.
I also guess that if we had an aviation brigade purposed for mid-intensity conflict and higher, its assets would also be useful and used for a lot of lesser operations. It would not sit in Canada alternately exercising and collecting dust.
www.theglobeandmail.com
