1 Jul 2013

Airpower and the Environment

With insightful and innovative chapters written by experts in various disciplines, this book chronicles and analyzes the effects of airpower on the environment. It also highlights the fact that military forces now take far more care of the environment than ever before and that many militaries, even in less developed regions such as central Africa, have developed strategies to minimize all harm and even to do environmentally beneficial activities. This book reveals that some military forces, utilizing the speed, reach, and intelligence-gathering capabilities of air assets, are providing highly positive contributions to conservation efforts and the maintenance and protection of ecological protection zones. This is a positive story and it brings richness and variety to this seminal collection of essays. The Library Journal put Airpower and the Environment on its 2013 Notable Government

1 May 2013

The Asia-Pacific Century

When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton published “America’s Pacific Century” in Foreign Policy magazine in November 2011, the administration was clearly indicating to domestic and international audiences that the United States is beginning a pivot toward the Asia-Pacific. Clinton’s article served as a spark for renewed interest in the nation’s Asia-Pacific strategy and American interests in the region. This work looks to the future of the Asia-Pacific and examines a broad range of questions that focus on diplomatic, economic, and military challenges facing the region’s key players, with a particular focus on their relevance to the US military. [Adam Lowther, Editor / 2013 / 270 pages / ISBN: 978-1-58566-224-1 / AU Press Code: B-132] Read This Book Now

1 Nov 2012

Bomber

Noted historian and retired USAF Col Phillip Meilinger’s Bomber traces the development of Strategic Air Command in parallel with a fledgling independent Air Force amid the drama of the Cold War. This well-documented history captures not only lessons learned in strategy, leadership, and budgetary crises, but also the personalities and politics that made the Air Force what it is today. More than 50 historic photos help bring this exciting story to life. [Phillip Meilinger / 2012 / 373 pages / ISBN: 978-1-58566-219-7 / AU Press Code: B-127] Read This Book Now

1 Sep 2012

On a Steel Horse I Ride

The "Steel Horses." Born of necessity in the long war in Southeast Asia to fly search and rescue and special operations missions, the US Air Force fleet of 52 HH-53s and 20 CH-53s were subsequently modified with state-of-the-art precision navigation capability under a program called Pave Low and redesignated as MH-53J/Ms. Assigned as part of our special operations forces, they then flew in every major US military action until their inactivation in Iraq in September 2008. But the story is not just about the helicopters. It is also about the great Airmen who conceptualized, created, operated, maintained, loved, and, yes, sometimes cursed their Steel Horses. They and their great aircraft were the reality of the motto Any Time, Any Place. This is their story, the men and machines, from first to last, presented with deepest appreciation and respect for them and their service to our nation.

1 Aug 2012

Lorenz on Leadership

If you want to learn about leadership, ask an experienced leader. Gen Stephen R. Lorenz, who retired as the commander of Air Education and Training Command, was always interested in leadership. He began writing about it while at the Air Force Academy and has now written numerous articles. He believes that today’s leaders need to reflect on the principles that guide them. This practice gave him insights into his own leadership style and fed his knowledge about the foundations of leadership. He shares his knowledge in this compilation. He also believes everyone is a leader in one way or another and should practice the art of leadership by writing about his or her own experiences and mentoring others. [General Stephen R. Lorenz USAF, Retired / 2012 / 205 pages / ISBN: 978-1-58566-222-7 / AU Press Code: B-130] Also available for: iBook and Nook Read This Book Now

1 Aug 2012

Operational Design

This analysis takes a didactic approach. It attempts to demystify the aura surrounding operational design by presenting a theoretical framework for comprehending its fundamental precepts. The goals of this analysis are threefold: provide a methodological example for understanding and applying design, show how design enhances decision making and risk analysis, and investigate the major differences between design in major combat operations and design in counterinsurgency (COIN). The contents of this study should not be construed as either prescriptive or mechanistic. Warfare is a multifaceted entity conducted in evolving operational environments and against complex, adaptive adversaries. Design is not a sequential methodology or a simplistic checklist. It is a foundational part of operational art that provides the crucial element of structure. This heuristic examination of design simply

1 Feb 2012

Airpower for Strategic Effect

Airpower for Strategic Effect is intended to contribute to the understanding of airpower—what it is, what it does, why it does it, and what the consequences are. This is the plot: airpower generates strategic effect. Airpower’s product is strategic effect on the course of strategic history. Everything about military airpower is instrumental to the purpose of securing strategic effect. [Colin S. Gray / 2012 / 367 pages / ISBN: 978-1-58566-218-0 / AU Press Code: B-122] Read This Book Now

1 Sep 2011

Technology Horizons

A 2011 Air Force chief of staff reading list selection, Technology Horizons assesses what is credibly achievable from a technical perspective to give the Air Force capabilities suited for the strategic, technology, and budget environments of the next two decades. While visionary, its view is informed by the strategic context in which these technology-derived capabilities will be used. It has sought to envision not only US joint and allied opportunities for using technologies, but also ways that adversary capabilities could be derived from them using entirely different concepts of operations or war-fighting constructs. [Office of the US Air Force Chief Scientist / 2012 / 238 pages / ISBN: 78-1-58566-217-3 / AU Press Code: B-126] Read This Book Now

1 Aug 2011

The Quest for Relevant Air Power [ONLINE ONLY]

  Christian Anrig examines the responses of France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden to the challenges of air power in the last two decades, His examination is both instructive and disheartening. Anyone who is detailed to work alongside these air forces will benefit considerably from understanding how and why they do what they do. Sadly, the author has only too clearly identified the national features which, with one or two exceptions, are likely to inhibit the creation of European air power in the foreseeable future. The author brings deep scholarship to his study, reinforced by his national objectivity. It is a unique and indispensable contribution to international awareness of twenty-first-century air power. [Christian F. Anrig, PhD / 2011 / 425 pages / ISBN: 978-1-58566-216-6 / AU Press Code: B-125]   Read This Book Now  

1 Apr 2011

No Sense in Dwelling on the Past?

This book examines the German air force monograph project known as the Karlsruhe project where the US Air Force employed former Luftwaffe generals to record the history of World War II from the German perspective. The Air Force monographs have proven useful to historians because of their high quality. The Karlsruhe monographs writers were insulated from outside pressure, and produced studies immediately useful to the military. The Air Force ignored the monographs and failed to benefit from the experience of the Luftwaffe. The author illustrates the inherent tensions in writing official military history and uses the Karlsruhe project as a lens to examine problems plaguing the Air Force during the early Cold War. Still, cooperative historical work proved to be an inexpensive and unexpected way of cementing the critical West German–American military alliance, and both air forces came to