1 Aug 2005

Archie to SAM

Archie to SAM is an update to Kenneth Werrell's Archie, Flak, AAA, and SAM published in 1988. He continues to study ground-based air defense systems in new events, including the Gulf War. In rescuing ground-based air defense systems from long neglect, Werrell delves into such topics as tactics, leadership, change, and innovation. [Kenneth P. Werrell / 2005 / 308 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-136-8 / AU Press Code: B-28] Read This Book Now

1 Apr 2005

A War of Their Own

Captain Rodman, an instructor weapon-systems officer at Dyess AFB, Texas, examines the distinctive nature of Fifth Air Force's role in the air war over the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II. Especially notable is Gen George Kenney's innovative use of light attack aircraft as well as both medium and heavy bombardment aircraft, characterized by theater-specific tactics, ordnance, and structural modifications. A War of Their Own also considers the free exchange of aircraft and missions in the Southwest Pacific—a hallmark of that theater—in terms of the conflict between doctrine and tactics that underlay Fifth Air Force's relationship to the prewar Army Air Corps and the postwar Air Force. The author also notes the relevance of the Fifth's experiences to airpower. [Matthew K. Rodman / 2005 / 184 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-135-X / AU Press Code: B-96] Read This

1 Oct 2004

Creech Blue

Colonel Slife chronicles the influence of the late Gen Wilbur L. "Bill" Creech—a leader, visionary, warrior, and mentor—in the areas of equipment and tactics, training, organization, and leader development. His study serves both to explain the context of a turbulent time in our Air Force's history and to reveal where tomorrow's airmen may find answers to some of the difficult challenges facing them today. Colonel Slife, who addresses such controversial topics as the development of the Army's AirLand Battle doctrine and what it meant to airmen, is among the first to describe what historians will surely see in years to come as the revolutionary developments of the late 1970s/early 1980s and General Creech's central role. Creech Blue enlightens the Air Force on its strongly held convictions during that period and challenges the idea that by 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, the Air Force had

1 Aug 2004

Technology and Military Doctrine

This compilation of essays includes copies of speeches and articles that Dr. I. B. Holley Jr., Major General, USAFR, retired, has delivered and written throughout his career as a military officer and scholar of military history and thought. In these essays, Holley primarily addresses the need for the Air Force to adapt its doctrine and the processes of formulating and disseminating that guidance as the technology of air and space warfare improves. Dr. Holley’s common message throughout is that the process of how the Air Force develops its doctrine and preaches and teaches that doctrine to its Airmen is as important or, perhaps, more so than its content. [I.B. Holley / 2004 / 176 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-127-9 / AU Press Code: B-93] Read This Book Now

1 Aug 2004

Air-to-Ground Battle for Italy

Brig Gen Michael C. McCarthy wrote this World War II memoir from his perspective as a fighter pilot who flew two years with one squadron first in the P-40 then P-47. During the war, he progressed to major and acting squadron commander. He began training after Pearl Harbor in the Army Aviation Cadet program and continued with P-40 training in Florida. With some of his classmates, he traveled through equatorial Africa ferrying P-40s to Cairo and Cape Bon to join the 57th Fighter Group. This three-part story, set primarily in Italy, captures fears, uncertainties, and accomplishments of ordinary Americans involved in extraordinary events. [Michael C. McCarthy / 2004 / 116 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-128-7 / AU Press Code: B-94] Read This Book Now

1 Jun 2004

Interagency Fratricide

The United States government promulgates national security policy through a complex, recursive negotiation process across multiple interagency players. When coercive intervention requires the use of force, it is imperative to understand the ways in which interagency conflict within the US government influences policies regarding conflict termination and withdrawal. Drawing upon the experiences of 135 interagency participants, Maj Vicki J. Rast, USAF, examines the conflict termination policy development processes for the Persian Gulf War (1990–91) and the Bosnia Conflict (1993–95). [Vicki J. Rast / 2004 / 466 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-126-0 / AU Press Code: B-92] Read This Book Now

1 Feb 2004

A Need to Know

More than a tool of policy makers to gather intelligence, Air Force reconnaissance efforts shaped early Cold War doctrine and war planning. Dr. Farquhar argues that a lack of information on Soviet strategic capabilities dominated the organization, operational planning, and equipment of the postwar Air Force. To support his assertion, Farquhar traces the development of aerial reconnaissance from the first balloon ascents through World War II as a prelude. He then examines early Cold War peripheral reconnaissance and overflights of the Soviet Union. He explains the evolution of intelligence-gathering technology, bureaucratic growth, and a relative lack of attention paid to electronic warfare before the Korean War. Based primarily on archival sources, the book serves as an excellent reference for air doctrine, intelligence, and electronic warfare in the formative years of the Cold War.

1 Dec 2003

A-10s over Kosovo

The NATO-led Operation Allied Force was fought in 1999 to stop Serb atrocities against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. This war, as noted by the distinguished military historian John Keegan, “marked a real turning point . . . and proved that a war can be won by airpower alone.” Colonels Haave and Haun have organized firsthand accounts of some of the people who provided that airpower—the members of the 40th Expeditionary Operations Group. Their descriptions—a new wingman’s first combat sortie, a support officer's view of a fighter squadron relocation during combat, and a Sandy’s leadership in finding and rescuing a downed F-117 pilot—provide the reader with a legitimate insight into an air war at the tactical level and the airpower that helped convince the Serbian president, Slobodan Milosevic, to capitulate. [Christopher E. Haave and Phil M. Haun / 2003 / 367 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-122-8 /

1 Dec 2003

Airpower Myths and Facts

Ever since the US Army bought its first “aeroplane” in 1909, debates have raged over the utility, effectiveness, efficiency, legality, and even the morality of airpower and strategic bombing. Unfortunately, much of this controversy has been colored by accusations, misconceptions, inaccuracies, myths, and simple untruths. If airpower needs criticizing—and certainly there are times when criticism is appropriate—it must be based on accurate information. In Airpower: Myths and Facts, Col Phillip S. Meilinger, USAF, retired, raises points and counterpoints that attempt to clear away some of the detritus that obscures the subject, thus allowing more informed debate on the real issues concerning airpower and strategic bombing and giving our political and military leaders a better basis on which to form decisions in future conflicts. [Phillip S. Meilinger / 2003 / 147 pages / ISBN:

1 Aug 2003

Commanding an Air Force Squadron in the Twenty-First Century

Jeffry Smith updates the earlier release of Col Timothy T. Timmon’s Commanding an Air Force Squadron (1993). In this book, which includes a foreword by Gen John P. Jumper and an introduction by Colonel Timmons, USAF, retired, Colonel Smith relies on the vast “insights, experiences, and recommendations” of former and current commanders to identify the attributes of a successful commander at multiple levels.He identifies some issues commanders face regardless of the level of command, including counseling personnel, dorm inspections, commanders’ calls, money management, and the roles of spouses and families. According to Colonel Smith, the conduct of individuals in times of crises is the truest barometer of a good commander. [Jeffry F. Smith / 2003 / 194 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-119-0 / AU Press Code: B-9] Read This Book Now