Airpower's Master Tenant and Anti-Access/Area Denial: Hope Is Not a Course of Action
Abstract
Two decades of conflict in the Middle East have shaped the USAFs cultural habits for a specific type of enemy: one who has offered minimal opposition to air, space, and cyber supremacy. The nature of these conflicts has encouraged a creeping centralization of command and control (C2). This shift has been out of convenience. Emerging peer competitors signal the need to decentralize out of necessity. This paper argues that unless the USAF leads a doctrinal shift to centralized command, adaptive control, and decentralized execution, it will suffer increasing paralysis due to A2/AD lines of operation specifically designed to exploit todays centralized control paradigm. In the near future, technological peers will be focused on hitting the USAF where it hurts most. The A2/AD focus on C2 denial portends a formidable challenge to U.S. C2. These changes in the character of war, coupled with a shrinking U.S. defense budget will require adaptive control. USAF culture is well suited for centralization, but a rebalance toward decentralization will be necessary to employ this model. In addition to bolstering our communication and network security, the USAF should use the C2 concepts presented in this paper to commit to the mission command philosophy instead of maintaining the hope that a technophile, brute-force network defense will hold against a technological peer. Hope is not a course of action.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 13, 2014
- Accession Number
- AD1019127
Entities
People
- William Betts
Organizations
- Air War College