Airpower Pioneers: From Billy Mitchell to Dave Deptula

John Andreas Olsen

Jan 2023 · Naval Institute Press

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Airpower Pioneers studies twelve especially influential airmen, detailing their impact on the evolution of the United States Air Force (USAF). Rather than focus on command in a series of air campaigns, this book describes the personal qualities and careers of people who distinguished themselves first and foremost by advancing airpower theory, doctrine, and strategy, and in certain cases by implementing significant organizational changes in the USAF structure. Some held important positions during wartime, but except for a few who excelled in both combat and peace, those selected for inclusion in this volume made their main contributions to advancing aerospace power away from the front line as planners, organizers, educators, and strategists. The future of aerospace power requires airmen not only to push the limits in combat but also to emphasize, publicly and frequently, what is special and vital about airpower. The distinctive characteristics of airpower—speed, range, flexibility, precision, and lethality—have improved with every new generation of aircraft and weapon systems. The history of modern warfare is full of empirical evidence of airpower’s relevance. Looking ahead, the main challenge for air forces all over the world is to match advances in technology with new ideas. All air forces need visionary men and women whose reach exceeds their grasp, who are determined to adapt to new security and defense realities rather than adhere to romanticized ideas of yesteryear, and whose organizational skills ensure successful implementation of new ideas despite inevitable resistance to change.

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John Andreas Olsen is a colonel in the Royal Norwegian Air Force currently assigned to NATO headquarters. He is a professor at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies, a non-resident senior fellow of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, and a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences. Professor Olsen has published a series of books on airpower strategy and defense policy, lectured worldwide, and received several awards for his writings. His latest books include Airpower Reborn, Airpower Applied, and Routledge Handbook of Air Power.