March 2008

Vol. 91, No. 3

 
Highlights from the March 2008 Issue

The “2018 Bomber” Controversy

In its 1999 “Bomber Roadmap,” the Air Force famously declared that it had no need for a new long-range strike aircraft until 2037. It soon wavered but did not change course by much. Then, early in 2006, the Pentagon’s Quadrennial...

Air Force World

CSAR-X Bids Are In Again … Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Sikorsky on Jan. 7 turned in their updated proposals for the CSAR-X combat search and rescue helicopter, giving the Air Force the chance yet again to decide on a winner...

Verbatim

Technology Is So Yesterday “The US has no conventional military enemies now. Neither Russia nor China nor anyone else is building vast arsenals of advanced weaponry. The enemies the US actually fights are guerillas and insurgents. So why spend huge...

P-38 Lightning

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The Battle Orders of Billy Mitchell

“Battle Orders, No. 1” Col. William Mitchell First Army Headquarters American Expeditionary Forces Ligny-en-Barrois, France Sept. 11, 1918 FULL TEXT VERSION On the afternoon of Sept. 11, 1918, Col. William Mitchell was putting the finishing touches on his plan for...

Letters

More on AFSO 21 I enjoyed Adam Hebert’s “Issue Brief” on AFSO 21 in the January 2008 edition of Air Force Magazine [p. 20]. When addressing the difficulty in clearly explaining AFSO 21, his following comment particularly caught my attention:...

Books

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AFA National Report

“Thrills and Spills” When the Washington Capitals hockey team played the Philadelphia Flyers in Washington, D.C., in January, several members of the Gen. Charles A. Gabriel Chapter (Va.) were in the stands. They were volunteer escorts for Wounded Warriors—injured US...
 
Complete Contents of March 2008 PDF
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Beyond the F-22 Problem
Why, on an issue of supreme importance to the Air Force, does the Pentagon find itself unable to agree with USAF's leadership?
By Robert S. Dudney

Integrated Total Force
USAF has abandoned the term "Future Total Force." The transition can't be put off any longer.
By John A. Tirpak

Special Operators Head West
Over the next six years, Cannon will acquire nine squadrons of Special Operations Forces and aircraft.
By Marc V. Schanz

Firepower on the Wing
Live munitions dropped in the desert made an awesome demonstration.
By Ted Carlson

The Ground Force Taskings Go On
More than 6,000 airmen will be doing the work of soldiers and marines for quite a while to come.
By Otto Kreisher

Why Airmen Don't Command
Those who wear Air Force blue are virtually shut out of the top warfighting posts.
By Rebecca Grant

DOD Senior Leadership
Who's who in the Bush Administration Pentagon.
By June Lee

Protracted Nuclear War
The Reagan Pentagon wanted to plan for it. Then, all hell broke loose.
By Richard Halloran

The Air Mail Fiasco
In the winter of 1934, FDR canceled the contracts with the airlines and told the Air Corps to deliver the mail.
By John T. Correll

A Study in Stripes
Through the centuries, the enlisted man has been known by the chevrons he wears.
By Walter J. Boyne

The Force Was With Her
AFA's 2007 National Teacher of the Year brought the world of aerospace to students in Kansas.
By Bruce D. Callander

Departments


Letters

Washington Watch

Air Force World

Index to Advertisers

Senior Staff Changes

Issue Brief

Books

The Keeper File

Chart Page

Verbatim

AFA National Leaders

AFA National Report

Unit Reunions

Airpower Classics