Blue Moon Rising? Air Force Institutional Challenges to Producing Senior Joint Leaders

Abstract

The limited number of geographic combatant command billets entrusted to Airmen implies that the nation's political and civilian leaders do not put faith in the Air Force's leadership development process when it comes time to select strategic level joint commanders for multi-medium operations. This paper seeks to answer the following the question: What institutional factors prevent senior Air Force general officers from gaining the strategic and political experience to be competitive for geographic combatant command billets? The author proposes that the Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC) position remain the ultimate focal point of warfighter development for the institutional Air Force. Institutional priorities early in Airmen's careers fail to put the appropriate emphasis on the joint staff assignments that are necessary to build competitive credentials. To determine the validity of the hypothesis, the author will briefly examine how the Air Force's historical culture and identity set the stage for today's emphasis on the JFACC. Second, the issue of centralized control of airpower assets during conflicts has been a continual sore point among the services. A short historical summary of the debate during major conflicts in the 20th century -- World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War -- will lay the foundation for current Air Force organizational priorities to create standing and trained staffs capable of filling the JFACC role in a moment's notice. Finally, selection for and success as a wing commander are required if airmen are to serve in the senior general officer ranks within the Air Force; every current four-star general in the service led at least one wing during his career. The paper will examine the biographies of current wing commanders to determine any developmental path trends.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 20, 2010
Accession Number
ADA523051

Entities

People

  • William H. Burks

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

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

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Airframes
  • Combatant Commanders
  • Command And Control
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • Fighter Aircraft
  • International Relations
  • Military Force Levels
  • Military History
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States Africa Command
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.