Air Force Doctrine Problems 1926-Present
Abstract
The doctrinal history of the United States Air Force has been short and troubled. The Air Force first tried to write doctrine in the aftermath of World War I, while still an organic part of the United States Army. It confronted numerous problems then, just as it has ever since that time. Some of those problems run like consistent threads through Air Force history, and they are the focus of this article. Until the Air Force acknowledges, accepts, and understands these persisting problems, it will not be able to resolve them. Until it does resolve them, it will continue to have trouble with its doctrine and its place in the order of battle. The consequences of these problems for its relations with the other services, its role on the battlefield, and its continued viability as a fighting force, will be highly significant. This is especially true in a time of serious fiscal constraint. Four problems stand out. The first is a corollary to the argument that Carl Builder advances in his new book, The Icarus Syndrome. Builder argues that the Air Force has neglected airpower theory as the basis for its mission or purpose. This neglect of airpower theory, from which doctrine should flow, has also impaired the ability of the Air Force to write sound doctrine, particularly operational doctrine. The second problem is the Air Force's need for an established and institutionalized process for the development and transmission of basic and operational-level doctrine. The third problem is its fear of finding itself committed doctrinally to more than it can in fact deliver. As a result of this concern, the Air Force has been unwilling to articulate precisely what it can do for each of the other services. The fourth problem is that of its own longterm paranoia, a difficulty that has been to a great extent an influence on the Air Force abandoning its reliance upon airpower theory as its underlying creed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA515089
Entities
People
- James A. Mowbray
Organizations
- Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment, Portland