General Henry Arnold and The United States Airforce Essay

Billy Mitchell was a visionary airpower pioneer who demonstrated very effective leadership in field operations, but his inability to develop a guiding coalition limited his effectiveness in leading the major organizational change he so desperately desired.

General Arnold displayed the characteristics of a pioneer and Visionary Leader. He served in the capacities of a creator and in every sense; Arnold literally invented the modern U.S. Air Force (Bill Yenne, 2013). Our student guide on Team Dynamics tells us that a creator generates fresh and/or original ideas that defy generally accepted structures or roles (Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (BCEE), 2016). He is and was the first and only five-star general to command the service and he’s credited with developing the idea of airpower. His creative leadership traits enabled him to

General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (born in 1912-2002) was the first African-American General in the America Air Force. Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., his father, was the first African-American to earn the title general in any branch of the American military. This paper aims to prove that General Benjamin O. Davis Jr. was a visionary and ethical leader. After graduating from the University of Chicago, the United States Military Academy commissioned him. He was one the first African Americans to be admitted to the Army Air Corps and to pilot training. General Benjamin had led 60 combat missions and promoted to Colonel by the end of World War II. He was the one of the first black pilots in the military and the first African American cadet to graduate from West Point Academy in the twentieth century (Lerner, 2003). With his effective accomplishments, I believe he provides a perfect example of who we should all look at as a visionary and ethical leader.

Early Americans understood the necessity of powerful armed forces and citizen volunteers in times of conflict. As the United States became a developed country, it also became apparent that a strong military force was necessary for global trade and strategic positioning for the prevention and possible participation in war. Strengthening America’s military resulted in the United States becoming and remaining a major world power.

Eisenhower’s trustworthy leadership style negatively impacted the command climate of AFHC. Trustworthy leaders are, “moral leaders who put the goals of the organization and the well-being of their followers first.”21 Entrusted by Roosevelt and Churchill, Eisenhower assumed responsibility of integrating a coalition of multi-national leaders (i.e. French, British, etc.) into one unified command. Initiated by the poor performance and fueled by statements by the British Tommies,22 American leadership failed to achieve any level of confidence from their

A., 2013, p. 124). General Arnold’s vision for the future and his imagination of the effect that Air Power could provide the fighting forces was profound. Knowing that his vision could not be effective without help, he set his sights on influencing the most important people…the American taxpayers. In the 1920s, Arnold recognized the need for the public’s embracement of the capabilities of Air Power. He organized campaigns that provided an Air Patrol along the Mexican border and provide observations capabilities for forest fires, both of which showcased the effective use of Air Power. Imagination is a very important part of visionary leadership, but an imagination is nothing but a mere thought in one’s mind if there is no engagement that produces tangible results. The dictionary defines engagement as a “commitment to attend.” General Arnold’s commitment to the development of Air Power was tremendous and his production of tangible results set the foundation of the United States Air Force today. Throughout the Change Management lesson we learned that the three elements of adaptability are cognitive, emotional, and dispositional flexibility. The text tells us that “In order to reach an effective level of adaptability, and we must exhibit at least two of the three elements” (LM06-2 Barnes Center, 2013, p. 4). I would state that GREAT visionary leaders need all three. Arnold displayed cognitive flexibility in the numerous initiatives that he

American airpower’s dependence on technology and its influence on future employment are best described with the words of General H. H. Arnold shortly after the Second World War: “The first essential of air power necessary for peace and security is the preeminence in research . . . . We must count on scientific advances requiring us to replace about one-fifth of existing Air Forces equipment each year and we must be sure that these additions are the most advanced in the whole world.” Furthermore, General N. F. Twining believed Air Force not to be bound to any fixed doctrine or concept, but its doctrine grows out of scientific achievement. Therefore, influence of technology on American airpower is evident since its beginnings and especially after the 1947 and the establishment of the independent United States Air Force (USAF) service. Technology continued to have the impact on American airpower after the 1947 through numerous technological achievements and inventions, but some of the major ones had substantial influence in American aerial warfare. Jet engine improvements and missile technology changed viewpoint on strategic bomber, and precision targeting technology and Electronic Counter Measure (ECM) system enabled accurate weapon delivery. Moreover, the invention of the stealth technology brought invisibility to the radar technology.

Along with the influx of personnel and aircraft, the Air Corps was given a new name, “Army Air Forces (AAF).” During this timeframe Arnold was a full member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combined British-American Chiefs of Staff. “Arnold could be unforgiving when he wanted results.” (30) Master negotiator, Hap had much influence in the creation of the 8th-12th Air Force specifically for overseas operations in support of WWII. Hap assisted in laying the ground work for the birth of the United States Air Force and after his retirement from the Army was designated as the first and only five star general of the USAF. Having a forward thinking perspective, with the research and development of “radar, atomics, supersonics, electronics, jet planes, and rockets,” Hap wanted to look forward 20 to 30 years even 50 years (General Who Invented the U.S. Air Force Pg.

General William Mitchell, entered the Army as a private after leaving college to serve his country. He work hard and getting promoted in the Signal Corps. After a few years Mitchell found himself as the youngest Captain ever in the Army in 1912 from there he went to work for the General Staff. This is where he found his love for aviation. He learned to fly in 1916 were the military didn’t pay for his schooling but he paid for it out of his own pocket. From there was promoted at a fast rate were he found himself at the top of the aviation command. Were he was building the strongest Air force were he claimed that his air power as more superior that the Navy’s. This lead to confrontation with the Navy. Then in 1921 he was able to prove his point

The United States Air Force This paper deals with the contributions of the United States Air Force to the eventual victory of the Allies in Europe during World War II. The Allied powers had no idea how important a strong air force would be against the Axis powers during World War II. The fact that Hitler moved east in 1941 and had planned to do so since 1940, had important implications for the British war effort. Though still powerless to prevent German initiatives from being successful in Greece and Crete, the British government was given a long period during which to prepare adequate defenses in the mainland against the expected day when Hitler would turn west again.

The United States Air Force has secured our country in the air, as well as space through the skills and talents of the brave Airmen of American. During the Cold War Era, the United States Air Force assumed control of the Strategic Air Command(SAC), which controlled America’s airborne strategic forces which were the B-29 bomber (Martin, 2015). During 1940, 1950 and,1960 the Bomber Mafia generals gave way to the Fighter Mafia of the 1970’s and the 1980’s that had a different mindset that had infiltrated the United States Air Force (Martin, 2015). The United Air Force had to be ready at any given moment to use its nuclear arsenal power, due to the events that were taking place in Europe, due to the Soviet Union and, the Middle East (Martin, 2015). Also, SAC had to be ready to respond to the actions of the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics (USSR) overseas as well, due the Soviet Union becoming the second nuclear power in the world (Martin, 2015).

How did Billy Mitchell do this? He promoted a diverse atmosphere by pushing for a unified control of air power by using the experiences of the Army Air Power and the Naval Air Power. Asking…what did we learn from being a separate power? He moved individuals through the use of demonstration. He used cognitive flexibility to create a belief that we should consider what might go wrong and accept that just because it is different it isn’t wrong. Billy used dispositional flexibility to acknowledge that we should visualize a better future.

Some think shiny jets like the F-22 Raptor or the F-35 Lightning II make the United States Air Force (USAF) the best in the world. I don’t. The USAF as we know it wouldn’t even exist if it wasn’t for transformational leaders. We, by ‘we’ I mean Airmen, tend to think of ourselves as employed in a technical occupation, turning wrenches or pushing buttons or adding up figures. But we are in the Service of Ideas, ideas like “man can fly” and “air superiority is critical to national defense.” But flying itself didn’t create an air force. Having the idea that mastery of the “Wild Blue Yonder” would make the United States (US) military the best and most lethal in the world, and that the US Army did not fully appreciate that idea, was a job only a transformational leader could accomplish.

Doctrine, is a thought that leads to best practice, this thought is flexible, takes the structure of air power theorists and generates a focus from the tactical to the strategic. The doctrine of air force is of vital importance because it represents the consolidation of air power theories and the variables that affect the success of air power in relation to the technological possibilities and the strategy of the nation. The development of the air force doctrine after 1947 represents the greatest impact on the employment of American air power. Because, the United States Air Force doctrine changed its perspective of the war and adapted to meet the challenges of the war in Korea. Additionally, the adaptability of air power during the Vietnam War was indispensable to meet challenges due to the technology gap and lack of training. Lastly, reconciling the doctrine of the Air Force with the other services to work in a joint environment, and addressing the challenges of the future. Furthermore, the bad perception of air power during the Vietnam War was due to several factors such as poor organization, lack of a robust command and control structure, and lack of training planning. Moreover, the theorists of air power of the interwar period over emphasized strategic bombing. Because,

Gregory “Pappy” Boyington is arguably one of the most influential leaders of World War II. Boyington, the commander of the famed “Black Sheep Squadron,” often found himself disrespected and overlooked by his superiors early in his career. Due to the myths surrounding Boyington and his portrayal as a drunken hooligan in the famed television series Baa Baa Black Sheep, most people are unaware of the traits that made Boyington a wildly successful military leader. It was not until he found his home in the Marine Corps with a group of misfits that his career began to blossom. Though Pappy Boyington was an unorthodox leader, his leadership, development of tactics, and commitment to his men are what led to the Pacific’s most successful air campaign of World War II.