The Faith of the Force: The Strategic Implications of Religion in the United States Air Force

Abstract

This study examines the strategic implications of religion in the United States Air Force. While religion in the Air Force is often cast purely as a matter of personnel policy, this paper attempts to examine the implications of religion as they relate to strategy. The examination discusses the historical roots of religion in the United States and identifies current rates of religious affiliation in the nation as a whole, which are then compared to those within the military at large and within the Air Force specifically. With this historical and demographic foundation set, the author moves on to analyze the role of religion at the various levels of war: strategic, operational, and tactical. In the end, the author concludes that religious affiliations in the Air Force have very little strategic implications, but instead, lie mostly at the tactical level. The author concludes by making a number of observations and recommendations concerning the organizational and legal implications of religion at the tactical level.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2012
Accession Number
AD1019695

Entities

People

  • Frederick Iii A. Coleman

Organizations

  • Air University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Personnel
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Doctrine
  • Geography
  • Market Economy
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Political Systems
  • Psychology
  • Students
  • Supreme Court
  • United States Government
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.