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March 1, 2009
Understanding Airpower: Bonfire of the Fallacies

The general purpose of this monograph is to help prevent or reduce error in debates over all aspects of airpower. Since we humans, our institutions and procedures, and our behavior are friction prone and apt to err, it is sensible to try to diminish the pile of assumptions, beliefs, attitudes, and
March 1, 2009
Centralized Control and Decentralized Execution

Lieutenant Colonel Hinote applies the Air Force tenet of centralization versus decentralization to the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and suggests that the urgent need for improved communication between air and ground forces. Relying on the teaching of the theoretician B. H. Liddell Hart,
Jan. 4, 2009
Rethinking The QDR

P. Dean Patterson and Lenny J. Richoux offer a cogent argument for a Department of Defense quadrennial defense review (QDR). Having been established in 1997, the QDR is a relatively new process. It examines the budgetary process to ensure that taxpayers’ money is well spent. At the same time,
Jan. 3, 2009
The “In Lieu Of” Myth

Lt Col Dave Marttala discusses the Air Force deployment of large numbers of Airmen to perform various combat support functions doctrinally assigned to the Army or Marine Corps. Known as “In Lieu Of” (ILO) deployment (since then the term has changed to “Joint Expeditionary
Dec. 1, 2008
Taking the Lead: Russia, the United States, and Nuclear Nonproliferation

Dr. Stephen Cimbala, distinguished professor and author of numerous books and articles on national security issues, seeks to reestablish relations on nuclear arms control between the United States and Russia. He reviews arms control history to illustrate the complexities of building agreements that
Aug. 1, 2008
Communicating Airpower: Strategic Communication and the United States Air Force since 9/11

The Air Force Research Institute asked the knowledgeable Washington editor John Robinson to analyze Air Force communications and provide some lessons that might help the Air Force communicate with the nation. As the ground campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on, perceptions of the Air Force
July 1, 2008
Expansion or Marginalization: How Effects-Based Organization Could Determine the Future of Air Force Space Command

The Air Force Space Command is currently a domain-based organization: the command “does things in and through space.” Tomme argues instead for an effects-based organization, whereby missions are grouped according to similar effects rather than platforms and locations. Separating combat
May 1, 2008
Recapitalizing the Air Force Intellect

This collection of essays and speeches is the fruit of Prof. Drew’s 30 years at Air University, a career spent at the intellectual forefront of the Air Force. The topics range from the history of airpower doctrine, to the transformation of airpower after the Cold War, to the education of
May 1, 2008
Spectrum Management

Can the future of highly technical unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) depend on something as minor as frequencies? The answer is an overwhelming yes, and, by the way, frequencies and spectrum management are not minor players in today’s global operations. The Department of Defense’s (DOD)
May 1, 2008
Air National Guard Structure for the Twenty-first Century

For nearly three decades, the Air National Guard has served as a strategic reserve available to the Total Force only during a time of crisis. Today, the days of the “baseball cap flying club” are long gone, and Total Force Integration is firmly ensconced as the only way to fight the