Air Force Tenets

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Recommended: The role of airpower in World War 2

INTRODUCTION
The Tenets of Airpower seemed to have transcended time, or at least into the foreseeable future. Great lessons were learned in the infancy of the Air Force. Many of the concepts learned during World War II (WWII) extend into the way airpower is utilized today. It is remarkable that some of the Tenets have lasted, even been proven, through the advances made in technology. The Air Force Tenets make for a force that can adapt and change and still be relevant.
The Air Force’s relevance has made it the premiere deterrent force. Our competencies as a fighting force changed forever when we took flight. These new capabilities gave us reach much further than ever experienced. We became a more deterrent force. Our ability to deter raised …show more content…

Land-based aircraft were used successfully against naval vessels. Land-based aircraft handle everything from combat rescue to humanitarian aid drops to long-range bombing campaigns. Airpower applications are ever expanding. I witnessed airpower’s greatest example of synergy during intelligence collections where several assets collected data and turned it into actionable intelligence by both Air Force bombers and Navy Special Forces. It was a perfect example of airpower in use in several different mission-sets to accomplish a …show more content…

It was interesting to learn that many of the Tenets were thought of during the beginning of the Air Force operations. They have been reinforced and forged in battle since. Airpower is such a unique arm of the United States military force; we have the ability to act globally within a matter of minutes or hours. This ability requires some sound principles to follow.
As the Air Force develops new deterrence weapons and capabilities, it will be interesting to see how these Tenets hold up. Cyber is blurring the lines between a lot of traditional fields (military vs civilian, public vs private, etc.). Cyber and the vastness of space are going to challenge some long-held ideas. I can foresee many of these tenets remaining valid even given the changes approaching. The Tenets are solid because they are not specific to a weapon system, but are an outline to wage war with Airpower effectively. Our ability to deter in the future will require a strong Air Force and these Tenets are a solid foundation to build upon once

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