REVIEW - Air Power Studies

from what he regards as the airmen’s
tendency to over-promise and
under-deliver; this is a controversial
contention and APR would welcome
an alternative perspective to continue
this particular debate.
Finally, the next edition of Air
Power Review (summer 2009) will
be another in the recent series of
‘specials,’ themed around the topic
of Space to celebrate the fortieth
anniversary of the lunar landing and
explore the increasing importance of
space in current military operations.
Articles on any air power-related
themes are now welcome for the
winter 2009 edition of APR, and
potential contributors may also wish
to be aware that as 2010 marks the
twentieth anniversary of the RAF’s
deployment to Iraq, the summer
edition will be devoted to an analysis
of the two decades of continuous air
operations conducted in and over
that state. As there must be few
serving personnel who have been
unaffected by Iraq there should
be no shortage of contributions
and viewpoints, which should be
submitted in accordance with the
guidance at the RAF Centre for Air
Power Studies (RAF CAPS) website,
www.airpowerstudies.co.uk.
RAF CAPS Prizes
The Air Power Review editorial board
sat on 12 February 2009 to consider
the award of prizes for 2008. The
Gordon Shephard Memorial Prize is
awarded annually to the best essay
on an air power-related theme
submitted to the RAF Centre for Air
Power Studies (RAF CAPS); except
for the war years, the competition
has taken place annually since 1919,
the prize money being provided from
the income of a trust established in
1918 by Sir Horatio Hale Shephard
in memory of his son, Brigadier
G F Shephard DSO MC RAF. The
board determined that the Gordon
Shephard Memorial Prize for 2007,
worth £200, should be awarded to
Wing Commander Rob O’Dell,
for his article ‘Electronic Warfare
and the Night Bomber Offensive’
published in APR Volume 10, Number
1, Spring 2007. The prize for 2008
was awarded to Wing Commander
Simon Harper, for his article ‘What is
Meant by Harmonisation and What
are the Implications for the RAF?’,
published in APR Volume 11, Number
1, Spring 2008, and the subject of
Wing Commander Harper’s excellent
presentation at the Chief of the Air
Staff’s Air Power Conference in
November 2008. Second place in the
Gordon Shephard Memorial Prize
Competition is worth £175, and was
awarded to Wing Commander Bryan
Hunt for his timely and informative
article in APR Volume 11, Number
1, Spring 2008, ‘Air Power and
Psychological Warfare Operations,
Malaya 1948-1960.’
The Park Prize is awarded annually
to the best essay on an air powerrelated
theme submitted to the RAF
Centre for Air Power Studies by
a serving RAF junior officer, noncommissioned
officer, airman or
airwoman. The winner of the Park
Prize for 2008 is Flight Lieutenant
Kenny Fuchter for a well-researched
and original essay ‘Air Power and
China in the 21 st Century,’ published
in APR Volume 11, Number 3,
Winter 2008. Finally, The Salmond
Prize is awarded to the best essay
on an air power-related theme
submitted by a civilian or non-RAF
serviceman or servicewomen of