When looking at the extraordinary circumstances our American prisoners of war faced in North Vietnam, were these men trained in such a way that they knew exactly what to do? Can a training environment adequately duplicate the horrendous conditions these men faced? This research project intends to show that no amount of training could have fully prepared these airmen for the grueling captivity they faced as POWs in North Vietnam, but rather it was their heroism, innovation, imagination, and professional character that cause us to hold them in such high esteem. First, the research focuses on...

This anthology discusses the converging operational issues of air base defense and counterinsurgency. It explores the diverse challenges associated with defending air assets and joint personnel in a counterinsurgency environment. The authors are primarily Air Force officers from security forces, intelligence, and the office of special investigations, but works are included from a US Air Force pilot and a Canadian air force officer. The authors examine lessons from Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflicts as they relate to securing air bases and sustaining air operations in a...

The author subjects five case studies of interdiction, close air support, and strategic bombardment to rigid analysis. Dr. Gilster shows the relationship between the strike effort and target damage of several air campaigns during the Vietnam War. First published in 1993. Contains maps, tables, graphs and photographs in black and white.

Colonel Popes book examines current interagency structures, with a particular focus on the regional level, to describe and analyze several current or recent shortfalls in interagency unity of effort. He considers not only military operations but also nonmilitary US government responses, often in concert with other nations, to natural disasters around the world. While the US military is often best equipped to be the first agency on the scene with the greatest resources, it may not always be the most appropriate agency to run the show, particularly in regions where the appearance of US military...

Part 1 of 2 The theory of strategic air bombardment states that airpower is best used offensively to penetrate an enemy's home territory and disrupt or destroy the economy and means of war production to force the enemy to surrender. Strategic bombing will succeed either because it has fatally compromised the ability to carry on hostilities or because bombing has broken the will of the people and/or leadership to continue the fight. In World War II only multiengine bomber aircraft had the range, payload, and accuracy to accomplish this task. The strategic bombing theorists posited that...

Part 2 of 2 The theory of strategic air bombardment states that airpower is best used offensively to penetrate an enemy's home territory and disrupt or destroy the economy and means of war production to force the enemy to surrender. Strategic bombing will succeed either because it has fatally compromised the ability to carry on hostilities or because bombing has broken the will of the people and/or leadership to continue the fight. In World War II only multiengine bomber aircraft had the range, payload, and accuracy to accomplish this task. The strategic bombing theorists posited that...

Potential adversaries of the United States recognize that its ability to globally project combat power is essential to maintaining military dominance. Degrading US combat power projection requires a strategy of access denial which consists of geopolitical and military measures. In the Pacific Rim, the development of antiaccess capabilities is accelerating. Specifically, China has increased its procurement of ballistic, cruise, and antiship missiles, sea mines, and diesel submarines with a special focus on anticarrier operations. Although China seems focused on naval forces, the antiaccess...

The U.S. Air Force is said to be evolving into an Air and Space Force on its way to becoming a Space and Air Force. Part of this transition includes the possibility of deploying weapons in space. While much has been written about the need for weapons in space, or conversely the need to keep space as a sanctuary, little has been published about what space-based weapons can and cannot bring to the battlefield. A decision to put weapons in space, or to refrain from doing so, should be based on a firm foundation of knowledge about what the weapons can be expected to do. Numerous concepts have...