Fulcrum Of Power Essays On The United States Air Force And National Security

N THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, THE IMPACT OF FLIGHT REACHED INTO EVERY CORNER OF American society. However, nowhere has its impact been more dramatic than in the realm of military affairs. Over the past one hundred years, the evolution of military aviation technology has altered the way Americans have looked at national security. The development of military aviation has had an enormous impact upon the battlefield which, in turn, has transformed international politics and the crafting of national security policy. The question of how best to protect the United States against external military threats has come to involve the projection of military power abroad. With the passage of time and accelerated advancement of military aviation technology, the organization and development of air forces have assumed greater urgency and significance. In 1934, James H. Jimmy Doolittle noted that the future security of our nation is dependent upon an adequate air force AND this will become increasingly important as the science of aviation advances. I.

In the twentieth century, the impact of flight reached into every corner of American society. However, nowhere has its impact been more dramatic than in the realm of military affairs. Over the past one hundred years, the evolution of military aviation technology has altered the way Americans have looked at national security.The development of military aviation has had an enormous impact upon the battlefield which, in turn, has transformed international politics and thecrafting of national security policy. The question of how best to protect the United States against external military threats has come to involve the projection of military power abroad. With the passage of time and accelerated advancement of military aviation technology, the organization and development of air forces have assumed greater urgency and significance. In 1934, James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle noted that “the future security of our nation is dependent upon an adequate air force…this will become increasingly importantas the science of aviation advances.”Today, the United States Air Force (USAF) is the world's premier air arm. Among major nations, it is also the youngest, having been established inSeptember 1947 in the wake of World War II. During the first half of the twentieth century, as part of the United States Army, the air arm was constantly striving for autonomy. Consequently, the question of how to organize military aviation increasingtly occupied the nation's legislators.

"In many ways a pioneering work comparable to Admiral Mahan's classic study of sea power, this comprehensive volume gathers together the best that has been written or said about air and space power. It explores the full meaning and influence of air power upon national security and world politics. Major General Orvil A. Anderson, USAF (Ret.), Executive Director of the Air Force Historical Foundation and former Commandant of the Air West College, says, 'We have waited a long time for a book such as The Impact of Air Power."--Jacket.

This book looks at the history of the US Air Force through the lens of its (lack of) preparedness for major wars, which is shown to be a result of its organizational culture. The U.S. Air Force is probably the most powerful military force in history, both in its destructive firepower and in its ability to project it globally. Yet, despite its unparalleled power, the Air Force entered its first three pivotal conflicts – World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War – unprepared. But surprisingly, it was remarkably well prepared for its fourth major war: the Gulf War of 1991. Could there be an underlying trait or characteristic, which influenced the Air Force between the wars, that historically caused the US Air Force to be unprepared for war or prepared for the wrong type of war? Surprisingly, there is such a factor which was quite prominent in the Air Force’s complex identity – its organizational culture. Besides providing a historical description of the Air Force, this book demonstrates clearly how its organizational culture evolved and how it caused the US Air Force to be prepared for the wrong war. It also shows that when the organizational culture changed, the Air Force changed its focus and arrived prepared for the following war: the 1991 Gulf War. This book will be of interest to students of air power, strategic studies, US public policy, and security studies in general.

Understand the growth and evolution of American air power with this overview of the history of the world's most successful aviation force. The United States Air Force: A Chronology captures the sweep of U.S. Air Force history from the service's inception to present times. Concise entries, arranged by date, touch upon military events such as victories and defeats; significant political, administrative, and technological changes affecting the service; and significant events in the careers of noted leaders. Daily occurrences are described within the context of greater historical events such as wars. The chronology covers all aspects of the U.S. Air Force and its historical antecedents (U.S. Air Service, Army Air Corps, and Army Air Force), commencing with the Balloon Corps in the American Civil War and extending through Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan. Events of note, major and minor, are listed in the order of occurrence. The book includes all major air campaigns in all major conflicts, as well as such noteworthy events as record-breaking flights and the introduction of new aircraft.

Rise of the Mavericks traces the beginnings and subsequent development of the U.S. Air Force Security Service. Established in 1948 as part of the emerging U.S. national security apparatus, this communications intelligence organization was meant to place the fledgling U.S. Air Force on a competitive footing with its Army and Navy counterparts. As World War II ended and the Cold War began, Air Force leaders understood that an effective cryptologic capability would be crucial for maintaining and enhancing the Air Force as a strategic and decisive component of America‘s national defense. Successfully deploying air-atomic strategy in the event of a future war would require reliable information on the capabilities, intentions—and potential targets—of an opposing force, in particular the Soviet Union. Communications intelligence would be a critical source of this information, and Air Force leaders were adamant that their service not remain dependent on other service structures for this capability. The Air Force Security Service rose to the occasion, quickly establishing itself as one of the preeminent communications intelligence agencies in the United States. Rise of the Mavericks fills the gap in the military and intelligence history literature and further complicates the literature surrounding the history of the NSA, which too often ignores or hastily addresses the contributions and role of the service COMINT agencies during the early Cold War period. The book explains how Air Force Security Service personnel were viewed as mavericks by other U.S. military and government organizations. The airmen lived up to this characterization by creating and developing an independent communications intelligence capability while persistently resisting the controlling efforts of the Armed Forces Security Agency and the National Security Agency.