28 Nov 2018

Electromagnetic Defense Task Force (EDTF) 2018 Report

In August 2018 Air University brought together a diverse group of leading subject matter experts to address current challenges in the electromagnetic spectrum. This report summarizes insights, conclusions, and recommendations developed during the inaugural Electromagnetic Defense Task Force (EDTF). The EDTF seeks to inspire action based upon an array of research spanning more than six decades. Such actions and exploits are needed to immediately deepen the defense and resilience of the United States and its allies. [Maj David Stuckenberg, USAF; Amb. R. James Woolsey; and Col Douglas DeMaio, USAF; Editor: Dr. Ernest Allan Rockwell / 2018 / 69 pages / ISBN: 978-1-58566-286-9 / AU Press Code: P-127]   Read This Paper Now   

26 Nov 2018

Student Satisfaction in Traditional, Online, and Hybrid Continuing Education Courses

This mixed-methods research study examines student satisfaction of traditional, hybrid, and online delivery of two military continuing education courses using research-based practices. Study findings suggest that traditional courses could be transitioned to online and hybrid delivery with particular attention to ensuring that the courses contain job-related content, high-quality instructors incorporate interactive activities, and school staff personnel provide robust support. [Leah Flores Goerke / 2018 / 55 pages / ISBN: 978-1-58566-281-4 / AU Press Code: P-126] Read This Paper Now

20 Nov 2018

Cradle of Airpower

Cradle of Airpower takes readers through a hundred years of discovery and development, starting when the future runways of Maxwell Air Force Base were still furrowed fields and Orville Wright himself astonished the people of Montgomery, Alabama, as he buzzed overhead in his Flyer performing daredevil deeds, ascending to heights previously unimagined.In this illustrated history of Maxwell’s first century, readers will discover why the Wright brothers chose this land for their first pilot-training program and how that single choice contributed to a century of US military airpower advancement. It also documents in photographs the growing communal relationship among the military population on what became Maxwell AFB and Gunter Annex with the communities of central Alabama. How did the winds of war and the perils of politics influence the development of aircraft and all the teaching and

19 Nov 2018

Radar Contact

The emergence of radar and tactical fighter control is the genesis of today’s air battle managers. Army Signal Corps technicians and Air Corps aircraft operators comprised the aircraft warning service, creating a constant source of frustration to both communities. It is from this mixed environment that the first fighter control squadrons emerged. What air battle managers do today has its foundations in procedures and terminology developed by the struggles of their predecessors in both the Army Signal and Air Corps in developing cutting-edge radar technology and in defining roles and organizations. This context is valuable in fostering an appreciation for the fighter controller heritage. [Randall DeGering / 2018 / 111 pages / ISBN: 978-1-58566-291-3 / AU Press Code: B-152] Read This Book Now

15 Nov 2018

Cognitive Radio Cloud Networks: Assured Access in the Future Electromagnetic Operating Environment

This paper explores how the collision between technological advances in software-defined radios, machine learning, and cloud computing offers a viable solution to this growing problem. That solution is cognitive radio cloud networks. [Maj Lawrence O. Jones, USMC / 2018 / 41 pages / AU Press Code: WF-63]

9 Apr 2018

The Stakes Are High

A series of high-profile ethical lapses by senior military professionals has generated calls from levels as high as the commander in chief for a renewed emphasis on military ethics. Leaders engaged in professional military education across the joint force have worked to ensure their programs support this call. This paper explores and assesses the ethics education programs at the service senior leader colleges (war colleges) based on three fundamental questions: (1) What are the desired outcomes of ethics education? (2) How should the curriculum be structured to achieve those outcomes? (3) What is the correct faculty composition to develop and employ that curriculum? Analysis reveals that existing ethics education programs at the war colleges compare favorably to the model program structure based on the answers to these questions. However, leaders at these institutions could further

9 Apr 2018

Military Personnel as Innovators

Maxwell Paper No. 74 calls for innovation from US military leaders reverberate throughout the ranks. In an organizational culture that reinforces self-restraint, rewards groupthink, and treats white space as wasted space, these leaders have unrealistic expectations of their military personnel. An examination of the requirements for innovation along with recent neuroscience and organizational psychology research provides valuable insight into how the checklist mentality of the military inhibits creativity and innovation. Recommendations to counter these barriers include recruiting creative personalities, training in divergent thinking, providing time for incubation, and promoting innovative leaders. Adoption of these recommendations will embolden military members to be more creative and will cultivate a culture that champions innovation.  [Col Michelle E. Ewy, USAF / Jan 2018, 33 pages /

1 Apr 2018

Developing Your Full Range of Leadership

Developing Your Full Range of Leadership Dr. Fil J. Arenas, Dr. Daniel Connelly, and Maj Michael D. Williams, USAF    Defining leadership is a daunting task because there so many definitions. In fact, if you research the term, you will discover, according to Stogdill, as many definitions of leadership as there are leaders. That statement suggests that leadership is an individual and personal effort. Developing leaders must find a model or theory that best fits their organization. Organizations at Air University are utilizing the full range of leadership approach. Initially introduced by James MacGregor Burns in 1978 and Bernard Bass in 1985, these transformational and transactional leadership styles have sustained for nearly four decades. [Dr. Fil J. Arenas, Air University, Dr. Daniel Connelly, Air university, Maj Michael D. Williams, USAF / 2017 /

1 Mar 2018

A Discourse on Winning and Losing

A Discourse on Winning and Losing is the first book published on John R. Boyd’s famous same-titled briefing. A maverick fighter pilot devoted to the Air Force and its mission, Boyd challenged orthodoxy including fighter tactics and the theory of how wars were to be fought. Inspiring radically different opinions, he had the courage to state his views—and defend them regardless of consequence. His ideas have influenced the military as well as business, politics, and education. Former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich stated that Boyd “changed American military doctrine and made Desert Storm possible” while former defense secretary James Schlesinger remarked that “the military services should welcome more people like Colonel John Boyd.” [Col John R. Boyd, USAF, Retired; Edited and Compiled by Dr. Grant T. Hammond / 2018 / 400 pages / ISBN: 978585662791 / AU Press Code: B-151]  Read This

2 Jan 2018

Brothers in Berets: The Evolution of Air Force Special Tactics 1953-2003

Relying largely on oral history interviews, this work explores the evolution and contributions of the Battlefield Airmen assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) special tactics units over 50 years. “Their story deserves telling within the US Air Force and to the general public,” notes Gen John Jumper, USAF, retired. Battlefield Airmen core competencies include performing duties primarily on the ground, often “outside the wire,” and under austere conditions—all skills needed for carrying the fight to the enemy on the ground. The AFSOC special tactics community is a small brotherhood of highly trained and equally dedicated warriors consisting of special tactics officers and combat controllers, combat rescue officers and pararescuemen, and officer and enlisted special operations weathermen. Its members have proven themselves as force multipliers time and time again