Articulation Beyond the Bumper Sticker: Revamping an Incomplete and Confusing Master Tenet

Abstract

The United States Air Force (USAF) should adjust its time-honored master tenet for the employment of airpower: centralized control and decentralized execution (CC and DE). This thesis has nothing to do with the master tenets validity. This Mosaic-law equivalent remains as valid today as when our air power forefathers divined it amidst their operational context. It is, nonetheless, incomplete. The United States conducts air operations over a wide spectrum of conflict that can produce many and varied conditions. Correspondingly, the military has adapted. From counterinsurgency operations to thermo-nuclear deterrence, Americas strength has been an ability to create flexibility to respond effectively to the types of wars it may face. Why then, should the USAF assume its master tenet is the right approach to all operational contexts? Many airmen view the master tenet as the only way to employ air and space power; however, restrictive doctrine and thinking has contributed to the master tenets unenviable status as a Bumper Sticker.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 2010
Accession Number
AD1018531

Entities

People

  • Rolanda Sr Burnett

Organizations

  • Air War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Air Power
  • Airborne Warning And Control System
  • Combat Operations
  • Command And Control
  • Control Systems
  • Department Of Defense
  • Employment
  • Instructors
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Organizations
  • Second World War
  • United States
  • United States Central Command
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space