Forging a Combat Mobility Culture
Abstract
A survey of the various elements of Air Mobility Command (AMC) reveals a distinct cultural change throughout the organization. From the top leadership to the unit level, many in AMC have either adopted or are in the process of adopting a warfighting mindset, looking for ways to mitigate the threat instead of avoiding the threat environment. The current mobility culture is more combat focused, and more capable of meeting the challenges of a nonpermissive environment. No longer is the mobility air force (MAF) simply following standard rules and regulations to ensure that personnel, cargo, and fuel are delivered to the right warfighters, at the right place and time. Instead, the MAF is responding to the transformational defense agenda directed by the President of the United States and articulated in the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review and to the operational experiences of the last 4 years. As Maj. Gen. Mark Volcheff, the AMC Director of Operations, said in his 3 March 2004 message to all MAF wing and group commanders: "We are going from a culture of rules and regulations to a command of tactical thinking warriors..." As the 2006 QDR states, "the department must adopt a model of continuous change and reassessment if it is to defeat highly adaptive adversaries." As a subculture within the DoD, the MAF has certainly responded to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's direction to transform the way they think, train, exercise, and fight. This paper provides a study of the current MAF culture to ascertain what changes in leadership, doctrine, organization, training, and technology have flowed from operations under increased threat conditions. What are the reasons for the changes? Are these changes temporary, or do they indicate a new warfighting mindset that underpins the current and future culture of the MAF? Appendixes: Nonstate Groups with Shoulder Fired SAMs (1996-2001), Countries Known to Possess MANPADs, and MAF Values and Beliefs Survey Results.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA475525
Entities
People
- Dennis P. Tucker Jr.
Organizations
- Air Command and Staff College