Air & Space Power Journal articles from June 2008

Air & Space Power Journal archives from June 2008

A house divided: the indivisibility of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.(Senior Leader Perspectives)(Viewpoint essay)
June 22, 2008... Through technological advances and Airmen's ingenuity, we can now surveil or strike any target anywhere on the face of the Earth, day or night, in any weather. A more challenging issue today--and for the future--is determining and locating the...

Fifth Air Force: ready for the future.(Senior Leader Perspectives)(Essay)
June 22, 2008... ON 11 AUGUST 2007, a pair of Russian Tu-95 bombers flew from eastern Russia, skirted the coast of Japan, turned south, and headed for Guam, where US forces were conducting Exercise Valiant Shield, which involved over 280 aircraft, 30 ships, and...

Remembering Almerisio Lopes.(Prelaunch Notes)(Obituary)
June 22, 2008... THE AIR AND Space Power Journal family mourns the loss of Mr. Almerisio "Al" Lopes, longtime editor of Air and Space Power Journal-Portuguese (ASPJ-P), who passed away on 14 January 2008. A native of Brazil, Al later became a US citizen and in...

Remembering Almerisio Lopes.(Ricochets and Replies)(Brief article)
June 22, 2008... On behalf of the Portuguese Air Force, former chief of staff Gen Manuel Taveira Martins and I would like to express our deepest sadness for the unexpected death of Almerisio Lopes, editor of the Air and Space Power Journal, Portuguese edition,...

Introducing the Chinese ASPJ.(Ricochets and Replies)(Letter to the editor)
June 22, 2008... I read with interest the first and second issues of Air and Space Power Journal, Chinese edition, and concluded that this is a journal of value. First, I very much agree with the purpose and direction of the journal. It aims to open a window of...

Lorenz on Leadership: Part 2.(Ricochets and Replies)(Letter to the editor)
June 22, 2008... I enjoyed LT Gen Stephen R. Lorenz's article "Lorenz on Leadership: Part 2" (Spring 2008). I am one of many civilians going through a difficult time getting used to the new National Security Personnel System (NSPS) performance-rating system. My...

Exposing the Information Domain Myth.(Ricochets and Replies)(Letter to the editor)
June 22, 2008... I plunged into Maj Geoffrey F. Weiss's article "exposing the Information Domain Myth: A New Concept for Air Force and Information Operations Doctrine" (Spring 2008) with a certain skepticism, but soon it became apparent that the author "gets...

A Look Down the Slippery Slope.(Ricochets and Replies)(Letter to the editor)
June 22, 2008... After reading Maj Bryan D. Watson's article "A Look Down the Slippery Slope: Domestic Operations, Outsourcing, and the erosion of Military Culture" (Spring 2008), I'd say there is a very real danger that two new elements of military readiness,...

Effects-Based Information Battle in the Muslim World.(Ricochets and Replies)(Letter to the editor)
June 22, 2008... In "effects-Based Information Battle in the Muslim World" (Spring 2008), Remy Mauduit's call for a counteroffensive to terrorist rhetoric is right on. His list of objectives and themes for a proposed Department of Defense Islamic Information...

To Bomb or Not to Bomb?(Ricochets and Replies)(Letter to the editor)
June 22, 2008... I welcome Maj Jason M. Brown's article "To Bomb or Not to Bomb? Counterinsurgency, Airpower, and Dynamic Targeting" (Winter 2007), in which the author recommends additional Doctrine and personnel to address kinetic airpower operations in a...

Dawn of the Cognetic Age.(Ricochets and Replies)(Letter to the editor)
June 22, 2008... Is Lt Col Bruce K. Johnson's article "Dawn of the Cognetic Age: Fighting Ideological War by Putting Thought in Motion with Impact" (Winter 2007) really a new way of thinking? One of the things that strikes me is that we have spent an awful lot...

The Inadvisability of Posthumously Promoting Billy Mitchell.(Ricochets and Replies)(Letter to the editor)
June 22, 2008... I would like to make a comment about Col Phillip Meilinger's article "The Inadvisability of Posthumously Promoting Billy Mitchell" (Summer 2007). Allow me to disagree partially with the author. Colonel Meilinger says the following about General...

The Inadvisability of Posthumously Promoting Billy Mitchell: the author responds.(Ricochets and Replies)(Letter to the editor)
June 22, 2008... Thanks so much for your interesting and insightful letter. It's true that Mitchell did not stop writing after his retirement in 1926, but I would argue that his most fertile period was over by that point. For example, his world war memoirs were...

Counterinsurgency Airpower.(Ricochets and Replies)(Letter to the editor)
June 22, 2008... In his article "Counterinsurgency Airpower: Air-Ground Integration for the Long War" (Fall 2006), Col Howard D. Belote states that the Marine Corps "published an unsupported analysis suggesting that some Air Force JTACs' [joint terminal attack...

My Father and I and Saburo Sakai.(Ricochets and Replies)(Letter to the editor)
June 22, 2008... While doing some research on World War II Japanese naval aviators, I happened to come across Col Francis Stevens's article "My Father and I and Saburo Sakai" (Chronicles Online Journal, 21 June 2006). I've read about many amazing things done by...

The First rule of Modern Warfare.(Ricochets and Replies)(Letter to the editor)
June 22, 2008... Col Richard Szafranski's article "The First Rule of Modern Warfare: Never Bring a Knife to a Gunfight" (Winter 2005) has made me think. As a Western norm, the saying "never bring a knife to a gunfight" typically reflects a Western mind-set,...

Expeditionary operations.(Focus Area)
June 22, 2008... TRADITIONALLY, EXPEDITIONARY operations have called for the physical deployment of forces, but that notion is evolving. Practically all airmen are assigned to one of 10 air and space expeditionary forces, and air Force leaders constantly...

Commentary on Lt Col Kenneth Beebe's "reply to 'defining information operations forces: what do we need?'".(The Merge)
June 22, 2008... WE READ WITH some interest Lt Col Kenneth Beebe's "reply to 'defining information Operations Forces: What do We Need?' " (Winter 2007). We generally concur with his commentary; however, we wish to address the following passages: When it...

Adding less-lethal arrows to the quiver for counterinsurgency air operations.(PIREPs)
June 22, 2008... THE CONFLICT IN Iraq has enabled the war fighter to improve, and in some cases rewrite, many counterinsurgency (COIN) tactics, techniques, and procedures and has illustrated some gaps in our COIN capabilities. In this article, I explain one of...

The role of Air Force civil engineers in counterinsurgency operations.(PIREPs)
June 22, 2008... WHAT IS THE role of the Air Force's general-purpose forces in support of counterinsurgency (COIN) operations? Facilitators of the 2007 Air Force Symposium on Counterinsurgency posed that question at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, in April 2007. A...

Timing is everything: operational assessment in a fast-paced fight.(PIREPs)
June 22, 2008... THE AIR AND SPACE operations center (AOC) "provides operationallevel [command and control] of air and space forces as the focal point for planning, executing, and assessing air and space operations" (emphasis added). (1) Within the AOC, the...

Air-intelligence operations and training: the decisive edge for effective airpower employment.(PIREPs)
June 22, 2008... Through technological advances and Airmen's ingenuity, we can now surveil or strike any target anywhere on the face of the Earth, day or night, in any weather.... Because ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] capabilities are at...

The ABCs of strong leadership.
June 22, 2008... TODAY'S AIR FORCE needs strong leadership at all levels and role models to serve as great examples for our Airmen. They help all of us become better. Authors have written much on the subject of leadership over the years; it remains a complex,...

Cleared to engage: improving the effectiveness of joint close air support.
June 22, 2008... Editorial Abstract: The importance of close air support (CAS) is greater now than in any of our most recent conflicts, dating back to Operation Desert Storm. Since the joint aspects of CAS are also magnified more than ever, crucial issues and...

A practical approach to effects-based operational assessment.
June 22, 2008... Editorial Abstract: Operational assessment is the joint force air component commander's process for evaluating joint air, space, and cyber operations. The authors provide a commonsense methodology that greatly enhances the evaluation of...

Education in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance beyond the "green door".(Quick-Look)
June 22, 2008... COUNTLESS PUNDITS HAVE accentuated the importance of intelligence in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and operation Iraqi Freedom. Broadly speaking, a strategy-to-task intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance...

Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lean Thinking: Banish Waste and Create Wealth in Your Corporation, revised and updated by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones. Free Press (a division of Simon and Schuster) (http://www.simonsays.com), 1230 Avenue of...

The Future US Air Force.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... The Future US Air Force by Min Zengfu [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII.]. PLA Publishing House, no. 40 Di'anmen Xidajie Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, China, 2007, 318 pages, [yen] 22.00 ($3.00) (softcover). How does the Chinese military...

Blood on German Snow: An African American Artilleryman in World War II and Beyond.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Blood on German Snow: An African American Artilleryman in World War II and Beyond by Emiel W. Owens. Texas A&M University Press (http://www.tamu.edu/upress), John H. Lindsey Building, Lewis Street, 4354 TAMU, College Station, Texas 77843-4354,...

LeMay, Great Generals Series.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... LeMay, Great Generals Series, by Barrett Tillman. Palgrave Macmillan (http://www.palgrave-usa.com), 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010, 2007, 224 pages, $21.95 (hardcover). The cover of my advance copy of LeMay proclaims it the...

Winged Defense: The Development and Possibilities of Modern Air Power--Economic and Military.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Winged defense: The Development and Possibilities of Modern Air Power--Economic and Military by William Mitchell. Dover Publications (http://www.doverpublications.com), 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, New York 11501-3852, 2006, 320 pages, $9.95...

Political Handbook of the Middle East, 2006.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Political Handbook of the Middle East, 2006. Congressional Quarterly (CQ) Press (http://www.cqpress.com), 1255 22d Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20037, 2006, 452 pages, $125.00 (hardcover). Neither a light read nor a work of...

What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat by Louise Richardson. Random House Publishing Group (http://www.atrandom.com), 1745 Broadway, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10019, 2006, 336 pages, $25.95 (hardcover). ...

Information Age Transformation: Getting to a 21st Century Military.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Information Age Transformation: Getting to a 21st Century Military by David S. Alberts. Department of Defense Command and Control Research Program (http://www.dodccrp.org), Washington, DC, 2002, 145 pages. Free download available from...

With God on Our Side: One Man's War against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... With God on Our Side: One Man's War against an Evangelical Coup in America's Military by Michael L. Weinstein and Davin Seay. St. Martin's Press (http://www.stmartins.com), 175 Fifth Street, New York, New York 10010, 2006, 272 pages, $25.95...

Firestorm: The Bombing of Dresden.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Firestorm: The Bombing of Dresden, 1945 edited by Paul Addison and Jeremy A. Crang. Ivan R. Dee (http://www.ivanrdee.com), 1332 North Halsted Street, Chicago, Illinois 60622-2694, 2006, 272 pages, $16.95 (softcover). Among the Dead Cities:...

Combat Search and Rescue in Desert Storm.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Combat Search and Rescue in Desert Storm by Col Darrel D. Whitcomb, USAFR, retired. Air University Press (http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/aul/aupress), 131 West Shumacher Avenue, Maxwell AFB, Alabama 36112-6615, 2006, 328 pages (softcover). Free...

Children at War.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Children at War by P. W. Singer. University of California Press (http://www.ucpress.edu), 2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94704-1012, 2006, 278 pages, $16.95 (softcover). P. W. Singer's book Children at War is a sad, troubling look...

Spying from Space: Constructing America's Satellite Command and Control Systems.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Spying from Space: Constructing America's Satellite Command and Control Systems by David Christopher Arnold. Texas A&M University Press (http://www.tamu.edu/upress), John H. Lindsey Building, Lewis Street, 4354 TAMU, College Station, Texas...

The Precision Revolution: GPS and the Future of Aerial Warfare.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... The Precision Revolution: GPS and the Future of Aerial Warfare by Michael Russell Rip and James M. Hasik. Naval Institute Press (http://www.usni.org/press/press.html), 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, Maryland 21402-5034, 2002, 448 pages, $55.00...

Boys of '67: From Vietnam to Iraq, the Extraordinary Story of a Few Good Men.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Boys of '67: From Vietnam to Iraq, the Extraordinary Story of a Few Good Men by Charles Jones. Stackpole Books (http://www.stackpolebooks.com), 5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055-6921, 2006, 416 pages, $29.95 (hardcover). ...

Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway by Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully. Potomac Books (http://www.potomacbooksinc.com), 22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, Virginia 20166, 2005, 568 pages, $28.00 (hardcover). ...

Espionage: A Reference Handbook.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Espionage: A Reference Handbook by Glenn Hastedt. ABC-CLIO (http://www.abc-clio.com), 130 Cremona Drive, Santa Barbara, California 93117, 2003, 225 pages, $45.00 (hardcover). Author Glenn Hastedt's theme throughout Espionage: A Reference...

Cradle of Conflict: Iraq and the Birth of Modern U.S. Military Power.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Cradle of Conflict: Iraq and the Birth of Modern U.S. Military Power by Michael Andrew Knights. Naval Institute Press (http://www.usni.org/press/press.html), 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, Maryland 21402-5034, 2005, 462 pages, $39.95 (hardcover)....

The War of the World: Twentieth Century Conflict and the Descent of the West.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... The War of the World: Twentieth Century Conflict and the Descent of the West by Niall Ferguson. Penguin Group USA (http://us.penguingroup.com), 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, 2006, 544 pages, $35.00 (hardcover). In H. G....

Bombing the European Axis Powers: A Historical Digest of the Combined Bomber Offensive, 1939-1945.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Bombing the European Axis Powers: A Historical Digest of the Combined Bomber Offensive, 1939-1945 by Richard G. Davis. Air University Press (http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au/aul/aupress), 131 West Shumacher Avenue, Maxwell AFB, Alabama 36112-5962,...

The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror by Bernard Lewis. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, Orion Publishing Group (http://www.orionbooks.co.uk), 5 Upper Saint Martin's Lane, London, WC2H 9EA, 2003, 192 pages, $19.95 (hardcover); 2004, 208...

Man without a Face: The Autobiography of Communism's Greatest Spymaster.(Book review)
June 22, 2008... Man without a Face: The Autobiography of Communism's Greatest Spymaster by Markus Wolf. Public Affairs (http://www.publicaffairsbooks.com), 250 West 57th Street, Suite 1321, New York, New York 10107, 1999, 460 pages, $19.00 (softcover). Do...