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John Richard Boyd Essay

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Born in Erie, Pennsylvania on January 23, 1927, John Richard Boyd had a humble upbringing. In late 1944, Boyd enlisted in the Army Air Corps as a junior in high school where he later became an F-86 pilot having his first combat deployment in the Korean War, 1953. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor’s degree in economics and later also completed an industrial engineering Bachelor’s degree from Georgia Tech. Though COL Boyd is credited with minimal combat missions and zero kills, he revolutionized aerial combat tactics and developed the OODA (observe, orient, decide, and act) loop which is still used in aerial combat today. After graduating high school and enlisting in the United States army, John Boyd’s first assignment …show more content…

COL John Boyd’s theory on the Elements of Warfare divided warfare into three different categories: moral warfare, mental warfare, and physical warfare. Moral Warfare was basically defined as defeating and reducing the enemy’s will to win. The overarching concept behind the moral warfare portion was the destruction of moral bonds that allow an organization to maintain continuity (defeat the spirit of the group consciousness). Mental Warfare was the battle waged against the enemy’s perception of reality through channels of disinformation, restricting communication, and destroying information infrastructure. Essentially, the mental warfare portion was the manipulation of the enemy’s perception reducing force effectiveness. Finally, Physical Warfare was the utilization of physical resources like weapons, munitions, people, and logistical assets. These three combined factors; moral warfare, mental warfare, and physical warfare together were Boyd’s core subcategories which created his Elements of Warfare. According to Robert Coram, in his book (The Fighter Pilot who Changed the Art of War) regarding COL John Boyd’s Elements of Warfare, interviewed then Vice President Dick Cheney who credited COL John Boyd’s Elements of Warfare theory “…responsible for America’s swift and decisive victory in the Golf

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