LEARN TO LEAD - Civil Air Patrol

lifeline of a maritime-capable adversary, also provides thepotential for strategic results. However, slow surfacespeeds can constrain its capability to respond rapidlyfrom one theater to another. In addition, it may be extremelyvulnerable in littoral regions. Often, in such circumstances,the political risks outweigh the actualmilitary risks.Airpower, on the other hand, has been successfully usedto influence strategic political outcomes in many worldcrises since the Berlin Airlift of 1948. Throughout theCold War, and continuing under various internationalarms control agreements, Air Force assets have been usedto observe and verify compliance, leveraging our ability tonegotiate and influence diplomatically. If force becomesnecessary, Air Force assets can secure strategic outcomesat any time by overflying surface forces and thus bypassinggeographical boundaries, or striking with precision atthe critical vulnerabilities within an adversary's political,military, and industrial centers of gravity. Even in situationswhen joint strategy requires large-scale destructionof enemy surface forces, Air Force forces can deliver thebulk of that destruction. It can do these things soonerthan can other military forces, and it has been demonstratedthat the earlier the application of effects, usuallythe less total force required. In humanitarian cases, theearlier the relief, the better the effect.Operating in a seamless medium, there are no naturalboundaries to constrain air, space, and cyberspace operations.Through centralized control of Air Force assets anddecentralized execution, commanders reap the benefitsof airpower throughout the ROMO, wherever mostneeded at any given time.Airpower has a degree of versatility not found in anyother force. Many aircraft can be employed in a variety ofroles and shift rapidly from the defense to the offense.Aircraft may conduct a close air support mission on onesortie, then be rearmed and subsequently used to suppressenemy surface-to-surface missile attacks or to interdictenemy supply routes on the next. In time-sensitivescenarios, aircraft en route to one target, or air mobilityaircraft in support of one mission, can be reassigned newtargets or re-missioned as new opportunities emerge.Multirole manned and unmanned platforms may performintelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), commandand control (C2), and attack functions all duringthe same mission, providing more potential versatility persortie. Finally, aircraft can be repositioned within a theaterto provide more responsiveness, while space and cyberspacecapabilities can be reprioritized.Joint campaigns rely upon this versatility. However, manyairpower capabilities are limited in number; dividing orparceling out airpower into "penny-packets" violate thetenet of synergy and principle of mass. To preserve unityof effort, JFCs normally vest a single air commander withcontrol of all airpower capabilities.Historically, armies, navies, and air forces massed largenumbers of troops, ships, or aircraft to create significantimpact on the enemy. Today, the technological impact ofprecision guided munitions enables a relatively smallnumber of aircraft to directly achieve national as well asmilitary strategy objectives. When combined with stealthtechnologies, airpower today can provide shock and surprisewithout unnecessarily exposing friendly forces. Todestroy a single target, we no longer need the thousandplanebomber raids of World War II or the hundreds ofsorties of Vietnam. Today's air forces can provide accurateand assured destruction of vital targets with farfewer aircraft, sometimes multiple targets with a singleaircraft. Moreover, that capability can be delivered fromwithin the theater or around the globe if necessary.Whether in the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan, deliveringUnited Nations peacekeeping troops to Africa, or monitoringnuclear weapons proliferation and development,Air Force forces have a far-reaching presence and theability to produce direct and immediate effects.With all those characteristics considered, one should rememberthat air, space, and cyberspace superiority arethe essential first ingredients in any successful modernmilitary operation. Military leaders recognize that successfulmilitary operations can be conducted only whenthey have gained the required level of control of the domainsabove the surface domains. Freedom to conductland and naval operations is substantially enhanced whenfriendly forces are assured that the enemy cannot disruptoperations from above.Control of the air, space, and cyberspace domains is not agoal for its own sake, but rather a prerequisite for allother military operations. Air mastery has allowed Americanland, naval, and air forces to operate where theywant, at their own tempo, while creating the environmentfor success.“Airmindedness”The perspective of Airmen is necessarily different; itreflects a unique appreciation of airpower’s potential,as well as the threats and survival imperatives uniqueto Airmen. The study of airpower leads to a particular expertiseand a distinctive point of view that General HenryH. “Hap” Arnold termed “airmindedness.”Airmen normally think of airpower and the applicationof force from a functional rather than geographical101