John Andreas Olsen

Airpower Reborn: The Strategic Concepts of John Warden and John Boyd John Andreas Olsen

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Review Quotes: ""Airpower Reborn" is both an anthology of airpower thought and a call to action. Today, there is a great need for contemporary airpower thought. This book is a commendable attempt to spark discussion about airpower theory and strategy. Also, Olsen's call to action is both timely and relevant, since the words 'Douhet was wrong' still ring from people's mouths. This persistent (and mistaken) belief that modern airpower thought rests solely on century-old airpower prophecy says more about our failure as airpower advocates than it does about airpower critics. It is our job to effectively develop and communicate modern strategic airpower thought to our interested brethren. In this, we seem to have failed. Luckily, Olsen's "Airpower Reborn" is a great step toward reinvigorating and improving the critically important field of airpower theory."--The Strategy Bridge.com Review Quotes: "Since its unbroken record of achievement from the first Gulf war of 1991 through the major combat phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, airpower has taken a back seat to the more costly and ineffective land fighting that has prevailed in Iraq and Afghanistan throughout the ensuing years. In "Airpower Reborn, " John Andreas Olsen has marshaled an able quorum of experts to reflect thoughtfully on the abiding strategic vision that will be needed for airpower to regain and retain its due place as the tool of first choice in future tests of strength around the world."--Dr. Benjamin S. Lambeth, author of "The Unseen War: Allied Air Power and the Takedown of Saddam Hussein" "In "Airpower Reborn, " John Andreas Olsen presents an incredible contribution of insights from several leading strategists regarding the realization of airpower as fundamental to success in modern conflict. This work will well serve policymakers, national leaders, and warfighters. Olsen ties together assessments of why we must recognize success in future warfare as fundamentally different from the ground-dominant bias of how it was conceived, planned, and applied in the past. This reality will be critical to defining the ways, means, and ends of success in future conflict. The bottom line is that this book is a 'must read' for those interested in meeting the challenges of modern warfare."--Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, USAF (Ret.), dean, Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies Publisher Marketing: "Airpower Reborn" offers a conceptual approach to warfare that emphasizes airpower's unique capability to achieve strategic effects. Six world-leading theorists argue that a viable strategy must transcend the purely military sphere, view the adversary as a multi-dimensional system, and pursue systemic paralysis and strategic effects rather than military destruction or attrition. The book is divided into three parts. The first section presents a historical perspective on airpower theory and airpower strategy, tracing their evolution from the 1920s to the 1980s. The second section contains in-depth examinations of the strategic concepts that John R. Boyd and John A. Warden developed in the 1980s and 1990s, with an emphasis on their contemporary relevance. The final section provides further context on modern airpower theory and strategy. Theory, in this setting, serves as the basic paradigm, strategy represents its generic, mechanisms-centered application, and plans of campaign constitute the specific steps for any given situation. In short, the authors look beyond the land-centric, battlefield-oriented paradigm that has continued to dominate military theories and strategies long after airpower offered new options. The book acknowledges the essential role of advanced technology in improving airpower capabilities, but emphasizes that air services must cultivate and harness the intellectual acumen of airmen and encourage officers and men to think conceptually and strategically about the application of aerospace power. Modern airpower can offer political decision-makers more and better options--provided the underlying strategy coherently links the application of airpower directly to the end-state objectives rather than limiting it to "the battle." The book recommends that all countries should consider establishing a dynamic and vibrant environment for mastering aerospace history, theory, strategy, and doctrine; a milieu for cultivating broader knowledge of and insight into airpower; and a setting in which airpower experts have the opportunity to communicate their narrative to politicians, the media, and fellow officers, and to interact to mutual benefit with experts from all sectors of governance. This effort should emphasize the potentially unique contribution of airpower to political objectives and joint operations, and in turn connect to operational headquarters that do operational planning. Mastering such strategic thought lies at the heart of the military profession, but it requires in-depth knowledge and understanding of theory, strategy, and airpower, and transcends traditional metrics.

Contributor Bio:  Olsen, John Andreas Colonel John Andreas Olsen is general deputy director in the Norwegian Ministry of Defence and visiting professor at the Swedish National Defence College. Professor Olsen is the author of "Strategic Air Power in Desert Storm" and "John Warden and the Renaissance of American Air Power", and the editor of "A History of Air Warfare, Global Air Power, Air Commanders", and "European Air Power".