The Newest Air Force Core Function: Building Partnerships
Abstract
Since its creation in 1947, the United States Air Force (USAF) has participated in building partnerships (BP) with other friendly nations. Over the past ten years, the USAF role in BP expanded due to a major air advisory role in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as other support activities around the world. Based on these expanding roles in the last decade, and the BP guidance contained in the Department of Defense (DoD) 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), the Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for International Affairs (SAF/IA) authored the 2008 Air Force Global Partnership Strategy (AFGPS) to guide BP activities. In February 2008, the Deputy Secretary of Defense named BP as one of nine joint capability areas (JCA) and thus elevated the importance of BP across the entire DoD.2 Similarly, in August 2008, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF) made "Building Partnerships" one of 12 core functions, intending to "streamline Air Force lexicon" and align terminology between services and the DoD.3 Unlike such traditional Air Force core functions as "Air Superiority," "Space Superiority," or "Nuclear Deterrence Operations," Airmen are not familiar with this new BP core function. Additionally, the organization, training and equipping of these BP activities remain immature when compared to other legacy core functions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 17, 2011
- Accession Number
- AD1018746
Entities
People
- James S. Kockler
Organizations
- Air War College