Book Essay: Airpower Writings of John Andreas Olsen
Abstract
Dr. John Olsen is a Royal Norwegian Air Force colonel who has an educator, teaching at the Norwegian and Swedish National Defence Colleges; an operator, as deputy commander of the NATO advisory team in Sarajevo; and a strategistas military advisor to the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin and currently the Norwegian Ministry of Defence. He earned a PhD from De Montfort University in Leicester, England, and more importantly, is a student of airpower who thinks deeply and writes eloquently on its role in modern war. This essay looks at five of his most important books. The first Gulf War, Desert Storm, was one of the most tactically decisive victories in modern history. It is easy to forget that in 1990 Saddam Husseins Iraq was considered a very formidable opponent. It had the worlds fourth largest army, battle hardened after an eight-year war with Iran. That army, and the Iraqi air force as well, were provided modern equipment by the Soviets, French, and others. It enjoyed interior lines of communication and supply. The trackless desert was seen as a natural defense barrier, making it difficult for coalition forces to locate precise targets and causing difficulties for Western equipment based there. The Iraqis had weapons of mass destruction (WMD)which they had already used against Iranand a reliable delivery system (Scud missiles). These weapons, as well as many other facilities, were protected by concrete bunkers several feet thick or buried underground. The US-led coalition was broad and sizable, but many saw this as a limitationhow could these various national forces meld their disparate equipment, doctrine, and command and control procedures to form a coherent and effective striking force?
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- AD1124916
Entities
People
- Phillip S. Meilinger