1 Sep 2006

Airpower Leadership on the Front Line

Colonel Cox examines the command of Lt Gen George H. Brett in his wartime assignments. General Brett’s leadership did not take him to four stars, why? Cox looks at the reasons why he was not promoted, especially, as he began his war time service second in command to Gen Henry “Hap” Arnold. In his examination Cox shows the reader Brett’s outstanding leadership, his limitations, and delves into the interplay of broader factors that ultimately impacted General Brett’s career. This book provides insight toward becoming an effective commander and leader. [Lt Col Douglas A. Cox, USAF / 2006 / 114 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-157-0 / AU Press Code: B-103] Read This Book Now

1 Sep 2006

Combat Search and Rescue in Desert Storm

Budgetary, political, and organizational changes left the USAF unprepared for the combat search and rescue (CSAR) mission going into Desert Storm. Colonel Whitcomb relates his and others’ experiences from CSAR in Southeast Asia and examines the organization that was established to provide CSAR services in the Iraq-Kuwait theater of operations. He traces each incident from beginning to end along with the tactical and sometimes strategic implications. Scores of interviews, e-mails, and published works provide a compendium of lessons learned and recommendations gleaned from those who flew the missions and made the decisions in Iraq. [Col Darrel D. Whitcomb, USAFR, retired / 2006 / 325 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-153-8 / AU Press Code: B-102] Read This Book Now

1 Aug 2006

Reflections of a Technocrat

In documenting his wide-ranging career in science and technology, Dr. McLucas offers new information and insights on the history of key private-sector and government agencies during the Cold War era—most prominently, the US Air Force. After naval service in World War II, he began a long affiliation with the Air Force as a civilian engineer and Air National Guard officer. He continued this affiliation as president of both a pioneering high-tech company and the Air Force-sponsored MITRE Corporation. He also worked in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and became NATO’s top scientific officer. His contributions to the Air Force culminated with service as its undersecretary and secretary in the challenging and transforming period from 1969 through 1975, during which time he also directed the national Reconnaissance Office. Dr. McLucas’s insider’s account of those years divulges details

1 Jun 2006

Heirpower! Eight Basic Habits of Exceptionally Powerful Lieutenants [ONLINE ONLY]

“So you're 22 years old, you've just gotten your commission, you've arrived at your first duty station, you’ve met with your commander, and you’re now ‘in charge’ of a group of enlisted men and women, all of whom have been in service longer than you, know a whole lot more about military life than you, and are expecting more than you know. To top it all off, your first ‘subordinate’ happens to be a 30-year veteran of every war you ever read about, and his rank is, yes, E-9. He’s not an E-10 only because that rank doesn’t exist. Now what do you do? Let me tell you. . . .” In Heirpower! Eight Basic Habits of Exceptionally Powerful Lieutenants, CMSgt Bob Vásquez, an Air Force veteran of more than 30 years, now serving as director of a freshman seminar at the US Air Force Academy’s Center for Character Development, shares the views of the enlisted force in a powerful, humorous, anecdotal way

1 Apr 2006

Bombing the European Axis Powers

In Bombing the European Axis Powers Dr. Richard G. Davis, currently a division chief for the US Army Center for Military History, provides a detailed chronological narrative of the Anglo-American strategic bomber offensive against Hitler’s Germany, his European allies, and German-occupied territory. Davis also includes several in-depth discussions covering such topics as the evacuation of Sicily, Allied airpower and the Holocaust, the bombing of Dresden, and overall Anglo-American policy concerning city-area bombing. [Richard G. Davis / 2006 / 648 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-148-1 / AU Press Code: B-99] Read This Book Now

1 Sep 2005

Into the Unknown Together

Colonel Erickson examines the use of space exploration as a tool to secure international prestige and national pride as part of the Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations. He looks at the creation of the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), the evolving NASA-DOD relationship, and the larger context in which this relationship was forged. He focuses on the human-spaceflight projects—Projects Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Dynasoar, and the Manned Orbiting Laboratory—by examining the geopolitical, domestic political, and bureaucratic environments in which decisions concerning these projects were made. By blending in the individuals involved, the obstacles that were overcome, and the achievements of the US space program, Erickson reveals a special transformation that took place during this chapter of Americana. [Mark

1 Aug 2005

Circling the Earth

In December 1942, barely a year after the United States had entered World War II, the American military establishment was already planning a postwar overseas base network. Although initially designed to support an international police force, the plans increasingly assumed a national character as the Grand Alliance dissolved into the confrontations of the Cold War. Dr. Converse not only illustrates how Army, Navy, and Air Force planners went about their work but also analyzes the numerous factors influencing the nature, extent, and location of the projected base system. These included requirements for postwar US physical and economic security, rapidly changing technology, interservice rivalries, civil-military conflicts, and reactions by other nations to the prospect of American bases near or on their soil. [Elliott V. Converse III / 2005 / 265 pages / ISBN: 1-58566-141-4 / AU Press

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