50 Quest ions EveryAirman Can Answer

October 1999

Capt Frederick L. “Fritz” Baier, USAF

Air Force Doctrine CenterMaxwell Air Force Base, Alabama

Disclaimer

Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressedor implied within are solely those of the author and do notnecessarily represent the views of Air University, theUnited States Air Force, the Department of Defense, orany other US government agency. Cleared for publicrelease: distribution unlimited.

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Contents

Question Page

DISCLAIMER . . . . . . . . . . . . ii

AUTHOR’S NOTE . . . . . . . . . . vii

FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

1 Why is the Air Force aseparate Service? . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 What is aerospace power? . . . . . . 3

3 What i s an a i rman? . . . . . . . . . 4

4 What is airpower? . . . . . . . . . . 6

5 What is space power? . . . . . . . . 7

6 What is doctrine? . . . . . . . . . . 8

7 What is policy? . . . . . . . . . . . 9

8 What is strategy? . . . . . . . . . . 1 0

9 What is an objective? . . . . . . . . 1 1

1 0 What is an effect? . . . . . . . . . . 1 3

1 1 What is a target? . . . . . . . . . . 1 4

1 2 What is concentrat ionof purpose? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5

1 3 What is central izedcontrol? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7

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Question Page

1 4 What is decentralizedexecution? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9

1 5 Why is centralized controland decentralized executionimpor tan t? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1

1 6 What i s command? . . . . . . . . . 2 3

1 7 What is control? . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4

1 8 What i s combatan tcommand? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 5

1 9 What is operat ionalcontrol? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7

2 0 What is tactical control? . . . . . . 2 9

2 1 What is administrativecontrol? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1

2 2 What is unity ofcommand? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2

2 3 What i s a suppor tedcommander? . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3

2 4 What i s a suppor t ingcommander? . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5

2 5 Why are suppor ted andsupport ing re la t ionships important? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7

2 6 What i s maneuver? . . . . . . . . . 3 9

2 7 What i s mass? . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1

2 8 What is flexibility? . . . . . . . . . 4 2

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Question Page

2 9 What is versatility? . . . . . . . . . 4 4

3 0 What is synergy? . . . . . . . . . . 4 6

3 1 What does integrationm e a n ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 7

3 2 What does synchronizationm e a n ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 9

3 3 What is the differencebetween integrat ion andsynchronizat ion? . . . . . . . . . . 5 1

3 4 What does ExpeditionaryAerospace Force mean? . . . . . . . 5 3

3 5 What i s an aerospaceexpeditionary force? . . . . . . . . . 5 4

3 6 Why is a joint force aircomponen t commander(JFACC) important? . . . . . . . . . 5 6

3 7 Why does the Air Forcebelieve that the JFACC,the a rea a i r defensecommander (AADC), and the airspacecontrol authority (ACA)should be the same person? . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 9

3 8 What i s a commander ,Air Force forces? . . . . . . . . . . 6 1

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Question Page

3 9 What i s an a reaof responsibility (AOR)? . . . . . . . 6 3

4 0 What i s anarea of operations (AO)? . . . . . . . 6 4

4 1 What i s the bat t lespace? . . . . . . 6 7

4 2 What is the differencebetween AOR, AO, and battlespace? . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 8

4 3 What are parallelopera t ions? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 9

4 4 What is s imultaneity? . . . . . . . . 7 1

4 5 What is air superiori ty? . . . . . . . 7 2

4 6 What is air supremacy? . . . . . . . 7 4

4 7 What is space superiori ty? . . . . . 7 5

4 8 What is informationsuperiority? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 6

4 9 What does decisive mean? . . . . . 7 8

5 0 What question did I forget? . . . . . 8 0

Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 1

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Author’s Note

All airmen, present and future, arebeholden to the efforts of those whohave gone before. This particular workisn’t especially profound, but the vi -s ions and ideas of pas t a i rmen thatshaped my efforts are. Therefore, myfirst thanks go to all a i rmen tha t havespent their l ives, their fortunes, andtheir sacred honor to bring Americaand the Uni ted Sta tes Air Force to thethreshold of the new aerospace mil len-nium. My dad, Maj James F. Baier ,USMC, was one of them. I would alsol ike to say thanks to al l my fel lowaerospace power advocates at the AirForce Doctrine Center, most specifi -cally Lt Col Bob Christensen, Lt ColBob Poynor, Lt Col Scott Walker, MajTom Ruby, and Capt Bill Thomas, allof whom provided excellent inputs tothis effort . I’ve attempted to answerthe following questions simply for myown benefit ; hopefully, i t can be ofservice to you and other a irmen.

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Foreword

Airmen have a compelling responsibil-ity to understand and clearly articulateour vision of aerospace power. In thatvein, Air Force airmen are often chal-l e n g e d t o a n s w e r t h e v e r y b a s i cquestions that define our Service andwhat we do best. Despite our enthusi-asm and passion, as a group, we don’talways do so well in answering thesekinds of questions. Unfortunately, air-m e n m o r e o f t e n t h a n n o t r e s o r t t oone-liners, timeworn clichés, or soundbites that, when closely scrutinized, failto satisfy our detractors, our sister Ser-vices, the idle or professionally curious,or even ourselves on occasion. Moreover,even though we have a professional obli-g a t i o n t o k n o w , u n d e r s t a n d , a n dadvocate these basic concepts , beinga b l e t o a r t i c u l a t e t h e s e p o s i t i o n sdoesn’t mean that everyone will be con -vinced. But we can and must continueto espouse the concepts that explain

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how aerospace power i s an in tegra lpart of American military power.

The tools we airmen most often use tocap tu re and exp re s s ou r v i s i on a r ewords. While words like “flexibility,” “ver-satility,” or “integrated” are tools thatonly describe aerospace power’s attrib-u t e s a n d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , t h e y c a nexpress essential truths in greater orlesser degrees. What follows is an effortt o exp res s some o f t hose ae rospacepower t ru ths . This in format ion i s in -t ended to p rov ide a qu ick , informalr e fe rence to the v i t a l concep t s foundin Air Force doct r ine tha t a l l a i rmenshou ld have a t t he i r f i nge r t i p s . Cur-r en t A i r Fo rce doc t r i ne documen t sc a n b e r e v i e w e d o n t h e I n t e r n e t a thttp://www.doctrine.af.mil. I n t h eend, doctrine “lies at the heart of war-fare.” Read, understand, and debate it.

TIMOTHY A. KINNANMajor General, USAFCommander, Air ForceDoctrine Center

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Why is the Air Force aseparate Service?

The US Air Force i s a separa teService for one pr imary reason: abelief that airpower’s full potentialto contribute to war fighting couldbe realized only if airpower capa -bili t ies were a separate, function -ally organized military service, co-e q u a l w i t h t h e o t h e r m i l i t a r yb r a n c h e s o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e sarmed forces . On the pract ica l andbureaucrat ic level , a i rmen recog-nized a need for our own serviceleadersh ip tha t unders tood, f rompersonal experience, the detai ls in -volved with organiz ing, t ra ining,e q u i p p i n g , a n d f i g h t i n g a n a i rf o r c e . T h e t h i n k i n g w a s t h a t a

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separa te se rv ice would f ree a i r -power (now aerospace power) frombeing a rb i t ra r i ly and unduly sub-ordina ted to the opera t ional andtact ical requirements of the othermili tary services. Previous use ofa i r p o w e r b y g r o u n d a n d n a v a lcommanders showed that airpowercapabilities were not always fully un-derstood nor properly exploited.

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What is aerospace power?

Aerospace power is essentially theability to create political and mili-tary effects using aircraft , space-craft , and information. Aerospacepower involves the effective use ofthe full range of the nation’s re-s o u r c e s t o a l l o w u s t o u s e t h ephysical environments of a i r ands p a c e a n d o u r i n f o r m a t i o n r e-sources to our national advantage.Air Force Doctrine Docu m e n t 1 , AirForce Basic Doctrine, defines thecombination of air and space poweras “the synergistic application of air,space, and information systems toproject strategic military power.”1

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What is an airman?

The term airman i s of ten used in avery narrow sense to mean pi lo t .This is far from adequate. Rather ,an a i rman i s any pe r son who un -ders tands and apprec ia tes the fu l lrange of aerospace power capabil i-t i e s and can emp loy o r suppo r tsome aspect of aerospace powercapabi l i t ies . As one airman put i t ,an airman is “one who exercisesand be l i eves in the fundamenta lt ru ths regard ing aerospace power .Not a l l who wear the blue sui t area i rmen; no t a l l a i rmen wear theb l u e s u i t . ” Airman i n c l u d e s n o tjust the pilots who fly aircraft buta lso space and miss i le opera torsand the ful l range of maintainers

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and suppor t people , as wel l as theresearchers , des igners , and bui ld -e r s o f a e r o s p a c e v e h i c l e s , b o t hpublic and private. Air Force air -men are those people who formallybelong to the US Air Force andemploy or support some aspect ofthe US Air Force’s aerospace powercapabilities.

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What is airpower?

Airpower is the fundamental abi l-i ty to use aircraft to create mil i taryand polit ical effects. Another wayof defining it is “military power thatmaneuvers through the a i r whi leperforming its mission.” Airpower isa subset of aerospace power.

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What is space power?

Much l ike airpower, space poweris , in essence, the abi l i ty to usespacecraft to create military and po-litical effects. Another way of definingit is “military power that comes from,resides in, or moves through spacewhile performing its mission.” Spacepower, like air power, can place anadversary in a position of disadvan-tage. Space power is a subset ofaerospace power.

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What is doctrine?

Doctrine is the compilation of offi-cially sanctioned beliefs about war-fighting principles. Doctrine is thecollective body of thought on thebest way to employ a given systemor perform a given task. Doctrine isa guide to action; it should not beappl ied arbi t rar i ly but should beviewed as the collected wisdom ofour predecessors. Doctrine is de-rived, for the most part, from expe-rience, but it can also be derivedfrom theory, simulation, and gam-ing. It is authoritative, but not di-rective. Think of doctrine as goodadvice.

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What is policy?

Policy is an official statement of in -tentions. It is, for the Air Force,directive in nature. Policy is theanswer to the ques t ion , “W h a t dowe want to do?” Policy primarilyout l ines broad goals but may ar-t iculate cer ta in procedures or ob-jectives. Policy is not doctrine.

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What is strategy?

Strategy is a methodology to ac-compl ish objec t ives wi th the re-s o u r c e s a v a i l a b l e . S t r a t e g y a n -swer s t he ques t ion , “How are wegoing to do what we want to do?”Strategy is a plan of mili tary ac-t i on , i dea l l y ba sed on doc t r i ne ,originating in policy, and shapedb y s i t u a t i o n - s p e c i f i c v a r i a b l e s .Strategy, l ike policy, is not doc-trine.

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What is an objective?

An objective is a specific statementof a desired end. Like policy, anobjective art iculates the w h a t t h a twe want to achieve, but in moreconcrete, specific terms. Normally,object ives are based on the overal ldes i red end-s ta te , and they shouldb e m e a s u r a b l e s o c o m m a n d e r scan quantify or qualify the level ofsuccess . The tendency to see ob-j e c t i v e s a s m e r e l y g e o g r a p h i cpo in t s i s an inaccura te , na r row,a n d u n n e c e s s a r i l y l i m i t i n g p e r -spect ive . The Air Force bel ievest h a t o b j e c t i v e s s h o u l d b e c l e a r ,concise , and a t ta inable . Said an-other way, “clear” objectives canbe easi ly understood; clari ty easesthe way for issuing mission-type

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orders and a l so suppor t s decen -tralized execution. “Concise” objec-tives are, l i terally, brief in naturea n d d o n ’t drone on about i r re le -vant s tuff . An advantage of beingbrief is that there is more collectivebrain space avai lable to concen -trate on what’s important . Final ly,“ a t t a i n a b l e ” o b j e c t i v e s c a n b eachieved g iven the ava i lab le re-sources and proper p lanning. Gen -erally speaking, poorly constructedobjectives are either not clear ora re no t a t t a inab le under the cu r-rent circumstances. A well-definedobject ive can be described in termsof an effect or effects.

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What is an effect?

An effect is the physical or psycho-logical outcome, event, or conse-quence that resul ts f rom a specif icmil i tary act ion. Effects can occurat all levels of war (strategic, op-erat ional , and tact ical) and may inand of themselves produce secon -dary outcomes. Effects can be de-scribed as direct or indirect. Gen -eral ly speaking, par t icular mil i taryac t ions a re p lanned and executedto create certain effects that helpachieve specific objectives.

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What is a target?

A target is a specific area, object,person, function, or facili ty subjectto mili tary action. A target is the“thing” on which we want to createan effect.

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What is concentrat ionof purpose?

Think of concentrat ion of purposeas “keeping your eye on the ball .”Concen t r a t i on o f pu rpose i s t hetenet of applying the appropriatelevel of aerospace power in a delib -e r a t e , f o c u s e d w a y a g a i n s t t h emos t impor tan t s t r a t eg ic , ope ra -tional, or tactical objectives. Con -centra t ion of purpose helps createoverwhe lming e f fec t . Concen t ra -t ion of purpose keeps our focus onthe main s t ra tegy and prevents lo-c a l c o n c e r n s f r o m c l o u d i n g o u rv i e w o f w h a t m u s t b e a c c o m -plished to achieve the objective. Itguards agains t d is t rac t ion by pe-r ipheral events . I t involves good

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j u d g m e n t a b o u t h o w t o e x p e n dy o u r r e s o u r c e s : i t i s l o s t w h e naerospace power capab i l i t i e s a rearbi t rar i ly scat tered, dispersed, ordi f fused. Somet imes th is happenssimply to sa t is fy secondary, lessimportant , requirements , of ten forno be t te r reason than to es tab l i sh“equal” shares of aerospace powercapabil i t ies among competing in -terests. Historically, airpower ca -p a b i l i t i e s h a v e o f t e n b e e n f r a g-m e n t e d a n d m a d e m u c h l e s seffect ive when surface command-e r s have focused so l e ly on a i r -power’s abil i ty to support tact icalo p e r a t i o n s . A i r m e n m u s t a v o i dt h i s t e n d e n c y . C o n c e n t r a t i o n o fp u r p o s e , m a s s , a n d e c o n o m y o fforce work together to produce thea p p r o p r i a t e e f f e c t s t h a t w i l lachieve the objective.

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What is centralizedcontrol?

Centralized control is the practicea n d p r i n c i p l e o f a s s i g n i n g t h ea u t h o r i t y t o a s i n g l e a i r m a n t oplan, organize , and execute opera-t ional / theater- level aerospace op-e r a t i o n s . T h e a e r o s p a c e p o w e rtenet of centralized control, decen -t r a l i z e d e x e c u t i o n c o m p l e m e n t sthe pr inciple of uni ty of command.Cont ro l in th i s sense means hav-ing the authori ty to organize andemploy aerospace forces as well asto priori t ize and assign tasks, des -igna te ae rospace ob jec t ives , andgive authoritative direction neces -sary to achieve those object ives .Finally, centralized control grants

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aerospace forces the abi lity to beboth flexible and versatile.

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What is decentralizedexecut ion?

Decentralized execution is the prac-t ice of de lega t ing the execut ionauthority over tactical aerospace op -erations to subordinate tactical com-manders. It means being able to exe-c u t e a e r o s p a c e o p e r a t i o n s f r o mdispersed locations, allowing the exe-cution of tactical operations to ac-c o m m o d a t e u n f o r e s e e n c i r c u m-s t a n c e s , a n d a l l o w i n g t a c t i c a lcommanders the flexibility to per-form their missions without rigid di-rection from above. Ideally, decen-tralized e x e c u t i o n c a n “ f o s t e rinitiative, situational responsiveness,and tactical flexibility.”2 Decentral-ized execution also helps “achieve ef-

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fective span of control.”3 Proper useof decentralized execution helps keepthe commander, Air Force forces(COMAFFOR) or joint force air com-ponent commander (JFACC) focusedon the operational-level issues likeapportionment and allocation of lim -i ted aerospace resources and theprogression and management of thetheater a i r campaign. There is anatural tension between the prac-tices of centralized control and de-centralized execution that manifestsitself in the time required to com-plete the air tasking order cycle. De-spite the tension, the air tasking or-d e r p r o c e s s d o e s a c c o m m o d a t eresponsiveness, immediacy, and lati-tude in execution at the tactical level.

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Why is centralizedcontrol and decentral izedexecut ion important?

The Air Force believes the combinedconcept of centralized control anddecentralized execution must be ap-plied properly to achieve the neces-sary integration of aerospace effortswithout rigidly controlling tacticalexecution. Airmen believe the mostefficient use of aerospace power is towin wars rather than battles. There-fore, airmen also believe centralizedcontrol of aerospace forces under asingle airman is vitally important ifthe joint force commander (JFC) in -tends to exploit the full potential ofaerospace power to produce strate-gic- and operational-level effects on

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a n a d v e r s a r y . A i r m e n do unde r -stand that individual battles musta l s o b e w o n , b u t i n t h e g r a n dscheme of things it is more impor-tant to win the war. The evidence forthis view is compelling and is under-scored by the fact that well-con-structed, effective operational strate-g i e s a n d s u p p o r t i n g o b j e c t i v e salways focus on war winning. TheAir Force believes that in most cir-cumstances aerospace power bestcontributes to the theater effort atthe strategic and operational levels.Nevertheless, decentralized execu -tion allows aerospace forces to be re-sponsive to the tactical si tuation,either on the surface, in the air, or inspace.

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What is command?

C o m m a n d i s t h e l e g a l a u t h o r i t yand responsibil i ty mili tary leadersa n d t h e N a t i o n a l C o m m a n dAuthori t ies have to organize andemploy mili tary forces.

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What is control?

Control is the abili ty to maintaina w a r e n e s s o f m i l i t a r y p l a n n i n gand execut ion and the abi l i ty toadjust these act ions whi le they oc-cur. I t involves the abil i ty and theresponsibili ty to organize and em -ploy forces, assign tasks to thoseforces, determine object ives , andgive appropria te direct ion to seetha t those t asks , when comple te ,achieve the objectives. Control isa l s o a c o m m a n d a u t h o r i t y t h a tcan be exerc ised by commandersor subord ina te commanders whenit is delegated to them. The com -mander’s s taff , working on behalfo f the commander , o f t en imple -ments procedures des igned to ex-ercise control over forces.

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What is combatantcommand?

Combatant command is the legal,“can’t give it away” authority and re-sponsibility the unified commandersin chief (CINC) exercise. Accordingto the Department of Defense Dic-tionary of Military and AssociatedTerms, c o m b a t a n t command is a“nontransferable command authoritye s t a b l i s h e d b y t i t l e 1 0 ( ‘ A r m e dForces’), United States Code, section164, exercised only by commandersof unified or specified combatantc o m m a n d s u n l e s s o t h e r w i s e d i-rected by the President or the Sec-retary of Defense.”4 It is the high -est level of command assigned tothe mil i tary leadership in the op-

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erat ional chain of command. Thisa l so means tha t the CINCs can ex-ercise operational or tactical con -trol of their assigned forces at theirdiscret ion. These CINCs can anddo exerc i se combatan t commandt h r o u g h t h e i r s u b o r d i n a t e c o m -manders , to whom they normal lyd e l e g a t e o p e r a t i o n a l c o n t r o l o ff o r c e s . C o m b a t a n t c o m m a n dauthor i ty a lso means the CINC canexercise operat ional control or tac-tical control over forces assignedor a t tached i f he or she wants to ,even though i t may not be eff i -c ient , prudent , or appropr ia te .

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What is operationalcontrol?

Opera t iona l con t ro l i s t he com -mand author i ty usual ly delegatedto subordinate service or compo-nent commanders f rom the CINC.I t i s the commander’s legal andm o r a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o e x e r c i s econtrol over the general directionand operat ion of ass igned or a t-tached mil i tary forces . When thesesubordina te serv ice or componentcommanders have operat ional con -trol, they can organize their com -m a n d s a n d e m p l o y t h e i r f o r c e s ,ass ign tasks , des ignate object ives ,a n d g i v e a u t h o r i t a t i v e d i r e c t i o nnecessary to accomplish the mis -s ion. As a rule of thumb, opera-

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t ional control is a middle t ier ofauthori ty , a l lowing a commanderau thor i ty to p lan and execute themili tary operat ions of large war-f i g h t i n g c o m p o n e n t s . I t i s t h a tlevel of control which is normallyresponsible for the day-to-day op-era t ions of a par t icular componentor uni t . We of ten ta lk about opera-t ional control as the commander’s“ownership” over cer ta in compo-nent-size forces l ike numbered airforces or aerospace expedit ionarytask forces.

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What is tactical control?

T a c t i c a l c o n t r o l i s a c o m m a n dau thor i ty g iven by the CINC tos u b o r d i n a t e c o m m a n d e r s t h a tthey in turn can delegate to evenlower-echelon commanders . Tact i-cal control is that level of controltha t a l lows commanders to d i rec tand control generally smaller-sizedunits to accomplish a specif ic taskor mission. In general , i t is the de-t a i l e d , m i s s i o n - s p e c i f i c c o n t r o lwhich is normally focused on ac-complishing a single tactical objec-t i ve . Aga in , gene ra l ly speak ing ,tactical control is the lowest tier ofcommand author i ty ; i t usua l ly ex-is t s when there i s no o ther formale c h e l o n o f c o m m a n d b e l o w t h ec o m m a n d e r a n d h i s o r h e r a s -

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s igned or a t tached forces . Whenwe think of tact ical control in theAir Force, we tend to equate it tothe authorities of the local com -m a n d e r o r t h e c o m m a n d e r o f awing o r squadron .

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What is administrativecontrol?

A d m i n i s t r a t i v e c o n t r o l i s t h eauthor i ty and responsibi l i ty of ac o m m a n d e r t o t e n d t o t h e p e r -sonal and professional welfare ofthe forces ass igned to him or her .T h i s n o r m a l l y m e a n s b e i n g r e-s p o n s i b l e f o r l o g i s t i c s u p p o r t ,read iness and t ra in ing , and per -sonne l management i s sues inc lud-i n g d i s c i p l i n e , b u d g e t i n g , a n dother func t ions of tha t na ture .

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What is unity of command?

Unity of command is the principleand prac t ice of making a s ingleperson legally and morally respon -sible for a particular military activ-ity or organization. The Air Force,l i k e o u r s i s t e r S e r v i c e s , v a l u e su n i t y o f c o m m a n d . I n p r a c t i c e ,u n i t y o f c o m m a n d h e l p s e n s u r ec o h e r e n t , o r c h e s t r a t e d p u r p o s eand act ion. The principle of uni tyof command, which pu ts a l l ae ro-space forces under a s ingle a i r -man, is the principle which allowsaerospace forces to mass effects a tthe strategic and operat ional lev-e l s . For the Ai r Force , un i ty o fcommand i s an essen t ia l e lementfor centralized control. Think “onetask , one commander . ”

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What is a supportedcommander?

I n s i m p l e t e r m s , t h e s u p p o r t e dcommander i s t he commander r e-sponsible for the overal l operat ion.To use an analogy, the suppor tedcommander i s l ike a quar terbackin football . The quarterback is re-sponsible for get t ing the bal l in theopponent’s goal. A supported com -mander exists by vir tue of his orher ass igned responsib i l i t ies andthe relationship legally establishedbetween commanders by lawful or-d e r s . A s u p p o r t e d c o m m a n d e rmight be the CINC or one of theCINC’s functional or service com -ponen t commanders . The DOD Dic-tionary d e f i n e s s u p p o r t e d c o m -

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m a n d e r a s “ t h e c o m m a n d e r h a v i n gprimary responsibility fo r a l l a s -pec t s o f a t a sk ass igned by theJoint Strategic Capabil i t ies Plan oro t h e r j o i n t o p e r a t i o n p l a n n i n gauthori ty . In the context of jointopera t ion p lanning , th is te rm re-fe rs to the commander who pre-pares operat ion plans or operat ionorders in response to requi rementso f t h e C h a i r m a n o f t h e J o i n tChiefs of Staff ” (emphasis added). 5

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What is a supportingcommander?

U s i n g t h e f o o t b a l l a n a l o g y , t h esuppor t ing commander i s l ike ano f f ens ive l i neman who p rov idess o m e l e v e l o f a s s i s t a n c e ( g o o db l o c k i n g ) t o t h e q u a r t e r b a c k . Asuppor t i ng commande r migh t beany commander f rom a CINC ondown to the tac t ica l commanderw h o p r o v i d e s a s s i s t a n c e t o a n -other commander by direct ion oflawful orders. The DOD Dictionarydef ines suppor t ing commander as“a commander who provides a u g-mentation forces or other supportto a suppor ted commander o r whodevelops a supporting plan” (em -p h a s i s a d d e d ) . 6 U s i n g a n o t h e r

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ana logy , t h ink o f t he suppor t edcommander a s a gene ra l con t rac-to r ; he o r she might con t rac t ou tspecific jobs, but the general con -tractor is responsible for the wholep r o j e c t . T h e s u p p o r t i n g c o m -mande r , on the o the r hand , i s t heguy responsible for instal l ing theplumbing.

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Why are supported andsupporting relationshipsimportant?

From the Air Force’s perspective,t he suppor t ed and suppor t i ng r e-l a t i o n s h i p e s t a b l i s h e d b y l a w f u lorders can be cr i t ica l to the suc-cessful , appropriate , and eff icientuse of aerospace power. An im -proper suppor ted /suppor t ing re la -t i o n s h i p c a n c o s t m o n e y , r e-s o u r c e s , a n d l i v e s . F a c t o r s t h a tcan influence the relat ionship in -clude experience, geographic loca -t ion, and the forces and capabil i -t i e s a v a i l a b l e . I m a g i n e , f o rexample, the most junior mailroomclerk a t tempt ing to run a Fortune500 company success fu l ly . More

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than l ikely i t would be extremelydifficult . As a rule of thumb, thesuppor ted commander ough t to bethe person who has (1) the properskills (experience and expertise) todo the job; (2) the proper tool forthe job ( the bulk of assigned, ap-p r o p r i a t e f o r c e s ) , a n d ( 3 ) t h eproper author i ty to do the job. Therole of the support ing commanderis to p i tch in and he lp when asked,not to do the job himself.

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What is maneuver?

Maneuver is simply the abili ty toposi t ion yourself so that your ad-versary i s a t a d i sadvantage . Jus tas cer tain chess pieces can moveo v e r i n d i v i d u a l s p a c e s o n t h echess board to compel the oppo-nent to reac t in cer ta in ways , sotoo can aerospace forces move faracross the “board” to create effectstha t can compel the opponent toreact in certain ways. For the AirF o r c e , m a n e u v e r p u t s a e r o s p a c eforces in a position to deliver over -w h e l m i n g e f f e c t . I n s o m e i n -s t a n c e s , t h e a c t o f m a n e u v e r i n gcan itself create psychological ef-f ec t s on t he adve r sa ry . F ina l l y ,when we cons ider the ab i l i ty o fa e r o s p a c e f o r c e s t o c r e a t e b o t h

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physical and psychological effectsin an adversary’s rear , f lanks , andfront s imul taneously and a t var i-ous l eve l s ( t ac t i ca l , opera t iona l ,and s t ra tegic) , i t i s c lear that aero-space forces are premier maneuverf o r c e s — t o o l s t h a t c a n p o s i t i o nthemselves to put our adversar iesa t a d isadvantage .

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What is mass?

Mass is the principle and pract iceo f c o n c e n t r a t i n g c o m b a t p o w e r .F o r t h e A i r F o r c e , m a s s m e a n sc o n c e n t r a t i n g t h e p o t e n t i a l o faerospace power a t a cer ta in pointin t ime and space to crea te a spe-cific effect. Mass, the result of con -centrat ion of purpose, a lso helpscreate overwhelming effect. The AirForce emphasizes massing effects ,not forces.

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What is flexibility?

Flexibility is the ability to adapt tonew or different environments ors i tua t ions . Aerospace forces canquickly adapt to changing environ-m e n t s , r e q u i r e m e n t s , o r c i r c u m-stances. For example, the immediateshift from counterair engagement toclose air support or vice versa dra-mat ical ly i l lus t ra tes one facet ofaerospace power’s flexibility. In con-trast to surface forces that must takean extended period of time to adjustto the change in mission, aerospaceforces have the capability to adjustthe focus of their operations fromone objective to another in a matterof minutes, sometimes seconds. Sev-eral examples of such flexibility canbe found in the history of Desert

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Storm. Like airpower, space power isalso flexible. The ability of spacepower forces to shift emphasis rap-idly from one situation to another isan additional example of flexibility. Iti s i m p o r t a n t t o u n d e r s t a n d t h a tflexibility does not mean that aero-space forces can adapt to every con-ceivable situation or new environ-ment. Aerospace power may play alimited role in some environments.Finally, when we say “flexibility is thekey to airpower,” we mean that thetenet of flexibility complements bothcentralized control and decentralizedexecution and is an integral part ofmass and maneuver .

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What is versatil ity?

Versat i l i ty means that a tool canbe used in more than one way. Us -ing a pocketknife to whit t le a s t ick,then s l i ce some b read , o r l a t e r ,even open a can of beans i l lus-trates the idea of versatility. Aero-s p a c e f o r c e s c a n b e u s e d t o d omany d i f fe ren t t asks , such as de-l iver supplies to austere locat ions,a t t a c k d e e p i n e n e m y t e r r i t o r y ,provide close air support , provideg l o b a l m i l i t a r y c o m m u n i c a t i o n scapabil i t ies , monitor adversary ac-tivities from air or space, assist inglobal navigation of all surface ve -hicles or vessels , or even help putout forest fires. For the Air Force,the tenet of versat i l i ty means theabil i ty to conduct parallel opera-

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t ions . Unders tandab ly , ae rospaceforces do some th ings be t te r thanothers , but the abi l i ty to perform awide var ie ty of miss ions under -scores the versati l i ty of aerospaceforces. Versati l i ty does not meantha t ae rospace power can be usedfor every job. In some cases, aero-space power may play a very minorrole in achieving some objectives.

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What is synergy?

Synergy is the idea that when dif-fe ren t capab i l i t i e s a re combinedthey create more powerful effectst h a n w h e n u s e d b y t h e m s e l v e s .Synergy is exponential growth ofeffect, not l inear growth. Think ofsynergy in terms of multiplicationra ther than s imple addi t ion . Whenw e a i r m e n l o o k a t a e r o s p a c epower’s potential to create effects,we quickly real ize that the second-ary , te r t ia ry , and succeeding ef-fects (often described as “cascad-i n g ” e f f e c t s ) r e s u l t f r o m t h esynergistic application of differentaerospace power capabil i t ies . Eachone of our core competencies re-su l t s f rom the synergis t ic na tureof aerospace power.

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What does integrationm e a n ?

Integration means that more oftenthan not, different aerospace forces’capabi l i t ies are b lended togetherand used in combination to createspecific effects. In Air Force parlance,integration is about putting differentcapabilities together for a specificpurpose. In practical terms, it meansputting forces from multiple units orcomponents together into a seamlessplan of employment. Think of inte-gration in the same way you mightconsider an a r t i s t ’ s pa l e t t e . Thepalet te may have only the primarycolors—red, blue, and yellow—andperhaps two tones, black and white.The skillful artist, however, can cre-

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ate a nearly inexhaustible numberof shades from these basic ingredi-en t s . Orches t ra t ing the d i f fe ren tcapabilities of aerospace power to-gether in myriad different ways tocreate meaningful effects that helpachieve objectives is the first job ofthe COMAFFOR or JFACC. Again,in practical terms, integration ap-p l i e s t o t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p a m o n gc o m p o n e n t s a t t h e o p e r a t i o n a llevel of war. If the different compo-nents’ capabilities are blended insuch a way as to achieve comple-mentary, synergistic effects, thenthey are integrated. The Air Forces t resses the in tegra ted na ture o faerospace operations because theword integration u n d e r s c o r e s t h econscious act of properly combin -ing diverse aerospace power capa -bili t ies necessary to exploit the fullpotential that aerospace power canbring to the fight.

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What doessynchronizat ion mean?

Synchron iza t ion means a r rang ingevents or act ivi t ies to occur at thesame t ime. Synchronization is im -por tant in the conduct of mi l i ta ryopera t ions and complements in te-grat ion. At the operat ional level ,a i r m e n v i e w s y n c h r o n i z a t i o namong componen t s a s an e s sen t i a ls tep in working together towardscommon object ives . However , inmany cases , synchronizat ion im -plies l i t t le more than deconfl ict ion,and fa l l s shor t o f p rov id ing thesyne rgy tha t can r e su l t t h roughtrue integrat ion. The DOD Diction-ary emphas i ze s t he t ime -co inc i-den t na ture o f synchronized op-

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erat ions so that combat power isfocused on a “decisive place andtime.”7

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What is the differencebetween integrat ion andsynchronizat ion?

In tegra t ion s t resses the coheren tblending and management of d i f-ferent capabili t ies; synchronizations t r e s s e s t h e m a n a g e m e n t o f a c-t ions where t ime is the most cr i t i-cal variable. Neither is more im -por t an t t han the o the r . The Ai rForce avoids the use of the wordsynchronization p r imar i ly becausei t connotes opera t ions conductedin a serial or l inear fashion oftena s s o c i a t e d w i t h s u r f a c e o p e r a-t ions, even though the str ict defi -nit ion of the word does not neces -s a r i l y i m p l y l i n e a r o r s e r i a lac t iv i ty . From the a i rman’s per -

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spect ive, the term synchronizat ionb e s t d e s c r i b e s t h o s e m e a s u r e st aken t o keep d i f f e r en t m i l i t a rycomponents on the “same page ofthe playbook” when the s t ructuresand tools that provide for true in -tegrat ion do not exis t . Despi te ourr e l u c t a n c e t o u s e t h e w o r d , n oknowledgeable a i rman would saythat t iming isn’ t important to aero-space opera t ions .

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What does expeditionaryaerospace force mean?

Simply , exped i t iona ry ae rospaceforce means the Air Force will con-duct the vast majority of its impor-tant business away from our garri-s o n l o c a t i o n s . U s e o f t h e w o r dexpeditionary i s purpose fu l ly de-signed to encourage a new way ofthinking among Air Force airmenabout conducting aerospace opera-tions with minimal notice from gen-erally austere, remote locations withminimal support. In sum, the wordsexpedi t ionary aerospace force orEAF are being used to capture anidea; these words should not be usedto describe a particular organization.

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What is an aerospaceexpedit ionary force?

A e r o s p a c e e x p e d i t i o n a r y f o r c e(AEF) is a general term used to de-s c r i b e a b r o a d c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o fa e r o s p a c e f o r c e s o r g a n i z e d a n dta i lo red to per form cer ta in mis -sions, general ly from austere, re-mote locat ions , wi th minimal sup-p o r t . I n g e n e r a l , a n A E F i s apackaged set of forces on a com -mon t ra in ing and deployment cy-c l e , f r o m w h i c h e x p e d i t i o n a r ywings , g roups , and squadrons canbe drawn. The words aerospace ex -peditionary force refer to a generalkind of organizat ion, not the spe-cific bits and pieces. Finally, thespecific form of an AEF (once the

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bits and pieces are identif ied, or-ganized, and deployed) is called an“ a e r o s p a c e e x p e d i t i o n a r y t a s kfo rce” (ASETF) . In i t s s imp les tform, an ASETF has three key ele -ments. These include (1) al l AirForce forces assigned or at tachedto a specific joint operation, (2) as i n g l e a i r m a n c o m m a n d e r ( t h eCOMAFFOR), and (3) a means toe x e r c i s e c o m m a n d a n d c o n t r o lo v e r t h o s e f o r c e s . T h i n k o f a nASETF as a very specific expedi-t ionary organization designed for avery specific mission.

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Why is a joint force airc o m p o n e n t c o m m a n d e r(JFACC) important?

The shor t answer : A JFACC pro -v ides un i ty to t he ove ra l l a i r e f-f o r t . T h e l o n g a n s w e r : A j o i n tf o r c e a i r c o m p o n e n t c o m m a n d e ri s i m p o r t a n t b e c a u s e w e A m e r i-cans a re genera l ly a th r i f ty , e f f i -c i en t peop l e , and we deep ly r e-s p e c t t h e i n t r i n s i c v a l u e o fc e r t a i n t h i n g s . W e A m e r i c a n sd o n ’ t l i k e w a s t e ; w e w a n t t h emos t ou t o f wha t we have . Aero -space power , l i ke many t h ings ,c a n b e u s e d p r o p e r l y o r i m p r o p -e r l y . I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o h a v e t h er igh t t oo l f o r t he r i gh t j ob andt h e r i g h t p e r s o n t o d o t h e j o b .

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Airmen (a t least wise airmen) sel-dom pretend to know the intimatedetails and various cons idera t ionsnecessary to employ armor or ar-t i l l e ry , o r how to employ nava lf o r c e s t o p r o v i d e s e a c o n t r o l .Likewise, i t is foolish to believet h a t a s u r f a c e c o m m a n d e r u n-d e r s t a n d s t h o s e e q u a l l y i m p o r -t a n t i n t i m a t e d e t a i l s a n d c o n s i d -e r a t i o n s n e c e s s a r y t o e m p l o yae rospace fo rce s t o t he i r f u l l po-ten t ia l . Tha t ’ s p r imar i ly why wew a n t a s i n g l e a i r m a n i n c h a r g eo f a e r o s p a c e f o r c e s — w e w a n tm o r e b a n g f o r o u r b u c k . I n s u m ,t h e A i r F o r c e u n d e r s t a n d s t h a t(1 ) we a lways f i gh t j o in t l y , ( 2 )a e r o s p a c e f o r c e s a r e b e s t o r g a n-ized and employed func t iona l ly ,a n d ( 3 ) a s i n g l e c o m m a n d e r o fa e r o s p a c e f o r c e s s u p p o r t s t h ep r inc ip l e s o f un i t y o f commanda n d s i m p l i c i t y a n d e n a b l e s c e n -

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tralized control, flexibility, and versa-tility. It is the right thing to do fromthe Air Force perspective, even if ins o m e c i r c u m s t a n c e s t h e J F A C Ccomes from another Service.

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Why does the Air Forcebelieve that the JFACC,the area air defensecommander (AADC), andthe airspace controlauthority (ACA) should bethe same person?

The Ai r Force th inks tha t t hesejobs should normally (meaning inmos t cases , wi th ra re excep t ion ,e tc . ) be done by the same personbecause the duties of each signif i -cant ly overlap those of the others ,and all revolve around the efficientintegration of different aerospacecapabil i t ies. To spli t these dutiesup among severa l d i f fe ren t pe r -sons, in the Air Force’s view, is a

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gross inefficiency, especially froma c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , s u p p o r t , a n de x e c u t i o n p e r s p e c t i v e . F u r t h e r ,separa t ing these funct ions createsa poten t ia l ly dangerous envi ron -ment that can eas i ly increase com -plexity and uncertainty, jeopardizelives, and finally, dramatically vio-late the principles of unity of com -mand and s impl ic i ty . In shor t , theresponsibilit ies for all three are in -ter twined; therefore the author i tyshould be intertwined as well .

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What is a commander, AirForce forces?

A COMAFFOR is the designatedAi r Force commander p resen t inga e r o s p a c e f o r c e s t o t h e t h e a t e rCINC or JFC. The rank of the offi -cer , number of COMAFFORs in atheater , and specif ic dut ies of anygiven COMAFFOR can vary. Thekind of joint operat ion can vary.The s ize and subordina t ion of ajoint force can vary. In addit ion,the size and capabilities of the AirForce component ass igned to thejoint force can be tai lored to thepar t i cu la r c i rcumstances and mis -s ion of the jo in t force . The keyhere i s tha t the ro le and respons i-bilities of a COMAFFOR physically

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demonstrate the Air Force’s beliefthat a s ingle commander providesunity of effort and purpose. TheC O M A F F O R e x p r e s s e s t h e A i rForce’s war-fighting belief in thep r inc ip l e s o f un i ty o f commandand simplicity. The COMAFFOR isthe “single Air Force face” that theJFC can and shou ld tu rn to fo raerospace power capabi l i t ies andeffects . Finally, perhaps even moreimpor tant than tha t , the COMAF-FOR is the single Air Force com -mander tha t a i rmen can po in t toand say, “ there’s the boss .”

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What is an area ofresponsibility (AOR)?

An area of responsibil i ty, or moreoften AOR, is a defined geographicspace direct ly associated with par-t i cu la r comba tan t commands . Thec o m b a t a n t c o m m a n d e r h a s t h eauthor i ty to p lan and conduct op-era t ions in th is space .

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What is an area ofoperations (AO)?

An area of operat ions is a subdivi-s ion of an AOR. An AO is an arbi-t rar i ly defined (not in a meaning-less o r i r r a t iona l way , bu t a s amatter of the JFC’s or CINC’s judg-m e n t o r d i s c r e t i o n ) g e o g r a p h i cspace which the JFC or CINC de-termines to be suff ic ient and ap-propriate for a land or naval forcecommander to employ his or herforces. The Air Force takes greati n t e r e s t i n wha t r e spons ib i l i t i e sthe subordinate component com -manders exercise within their AOsbecause aerospace forces are bes temployed wi th a thea ter and func-t ional perspect ive in mind, not as

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a geographic component l ike thesurface forces that are ass igned anAO. Said another way, aerospaceforces are the JFC’s or the CINC’stools. The CINC’s prerogatives area lways pa ramoun t and supe r sedet h e s u b o r d i n a t e s u r f a c e c o m p o-nent commander’s in teres ts . Whenaerospace forces operate di rect lyin support of the JFC’s or CINC’si n t e r e s t s , t h e s i n g l e a i r m a n i ncharge of aerospace forces shouldno t be cons t ra ined f rom accom -pl i sh ing miss ions tha t suppor t theCINC’s objectives by either (1) es -tabl ished arbi t rary boundar ies or(2) the l imited authori t ies subordi-nate AO commanders exerc ise tha tdo not direct ly inf luence the or-ganization or employment of aero-s p a c e f o r c e s . A g a i n , a e r o s p a c eforces are funct ional ly organizeda n d e m p l o y e d r a t h e r t h a n a s-signed a specific area of water or

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land to operate above. I t is impor-tant to note that only CINCs haveAORs—areas for which they are re -sponsible . Sur face commanders a tthe operat ional and tact ical levela r e g i v e n A O s — a r e a s i n w h i c hthey operate . In sum, cons t ra in ingaerospace power to assigned geo-g r a p h i c A O s i s i n e f f i c i e n t a n dl imi t s the ab i l i ty o f the JFACC orCOMAFFOR to exploit the full po-ten t ia l of aerospace power , u l t i-mately creat ing more dangers forsurface forces.

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What is the batt lespace?

T h e b a t t l e s p a c e i s a n a r t i f i c i a l ,conceptual way for a commanderto look at his or her projected mili-tary operat ions. The batt lespace isnot a defined geographic area. It isonly a way (or a thinking method-ology, if you will) for commandersto consider al l the relevant aspectsof their operations. This includesnot only specific concepts l ike thearea of responsibi l i ty or the area ofoperat ions but other more elusivefactors such as the threat , logis -tics, information flow, force protec-tion issues, political considerations,and a wide variety of other variablesthat could have some impact on acommander’s decision making.

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What is the differencebetween AOR, AO, andbatt lespace?

An AOR is a large geographic areaa s s i g n e d t o a c o m b a t a n t c o m-mander. An AO is the smaller geo-graphic area ass igned to a com-mander subordinate to the JFC orCINC. “Battlespace” describes animaginary construct designed to helpcommanders t h i n k a b o u t w h a tthey have to do and what factorscan positively or negatively influ -ence the mission.

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What are paralleloperat ions?

T h e t e r m parallel operations d e-scr ibes the idea that aerospace op-erat ions are most effect ive whent h e y c r e a t e e f f e c t s t h a t h e l pachieve different levels of objec-t ives at the same t ime. The not ionof s imultaneous a t tack is imbed-ded in the idea of paral lel opera-t ions . General ly s p e a k i n g , a e r o-space forces can a t tack s t ra tegic ,operat ional , and tact ical targets a tt h e s a m e t i m e m o r e e f f i c i e n t l ythan surface forces can. This isnot to say that surface forces can-n o t c o n d u c t p a r a l l e l o p e r a t i o n s ;instead, the bel ief is that for sur-face forces to engage in parallel at-

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tacks is often a less efficient use oftheir potential combat power.

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What is s imultaneity?

Simultanei ty is the principle andprac t ice of conduct ing aerospaceopera t ions agains t a cer ta in k indof ta rget a t the same t ime. Simul-taneous opera t ions a re no t neces -sarily parallel. For example, direct-ing that all sorties for a single dayat tack a l l enemy armor format ionsa t the same t ime would be an ex-ample of s imul taneous a t tack , notparallel attack. The best use of aero-space power, from an Air Force view,is that simultaneity and parallel op -erations go hand in glove.

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What is air superiority?

Air superiority is a relative stan-dard of freedom of action that de-scribes the abil i ty to conduct op-e r a t i o n s a g a i n s t a n a d v e r s a r ywithout the adversary’s forces cre-a t ing insurmountable obs tac les toour actions. Air superiority is de-termined on a s l iding scale basedon bo th ob jec t ive measu res andsubjective factors; i ts presence orabsence i s de te rmined by the ap-p ropr i a t e commander ’ s j udgmen ta n d e x p e r i e n c e , o f t e n s u p p l e -mented by recommendat ions f romhis or her s ta f f or subordina tes .History te l ls us that a i r superior i tyu l t i m a t e l y p r o v i d e s m u c h m o r ethan just freedom of operation foraerospace forces . I t provides the

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entire joint force the freedom fromat tack , the f reedom to maneuver ,and the f reedom to a t tack.

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What is air supremacy?

Air supremacy is a term that de-scribes virtually absolute freedomto conduct opera t ions wi thout op-posi t ion from adversary aerospaceforces.

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What is space superiority?

Like air superior i ty , space supe-r i o r i t y i s a r e l a t i ve s t anda rd o ff reedom of ac t ion that descr ibesthe abi l i ty to conduct space opera-t ions aga ins t an adversa ry wi thoutthe adversary’s forces creating in -surmountab le obs tac les to our ac-t ions. I t is determined by the com -mander on a s l id ing sca le basedon the commander ’s judgment andexper ience , of ten supplemented byrecommendat ions f rom his or herstaff or subordinates. Finally, air -men a l so know tha t space supe-riority helps provide the joint forcethe freedom from at tack, the free-dom to maneuver , and the f reedomto a t tack.

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What is informationsuperiority?

Like the other forms of operat ionss u p e r i o r i t y , i n f o r m a t i o n s u p e-r i o r i t y i s a r e l a t i ve s t anda rd o ffreedom of action defined in partby the commander ’s judgment andexper ience that descr ibes the abi l -i ty to conduct information opera-t ions aga ins t an adversa ry wi thoutthe adversary’s forces creating in -surmountab le obs tac les to our ac-t ions . Imbedded in the meaning ofinformation operat ions is the cr i t i-ca l requi rement to assure conf i -dence in friendly information forfriendly forces. Information supe-riori ty uses a sl iding scale basedon bo th ob jec t ive measu res and

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subject ive factors , and i ts presenceor absence is ultimately determinedb y t h e a p p r o p r i a t e c o m m a n d e r .Like air and space superiority, in -fo rmat ion super io r i ty a l so he lpsprovide the joint force the freedomfrom at tack, the f reedom to ma-neuver , and the f reedom to a t tack .

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What does dec is ive mean?

Decisive means having the poweror quali ty to bring about a conclu -s ion. I t may refer to the decidingf a c t o r a m o n g m u l t i p l e f a c t o r s .Aerospace power is decisive—justas much or as l i t t l e as any form ofcombat power when used in jo in toperations. Applying the adjectivedecisive t o o n e f o r m o f c o m b a tpower or another i s ent i re ly sub-jec t ive and i s o f ten a source ofh e a t e d , e m o t i o n a l d e b a t e a m o n gthe Services. Decisiveness is diffi -cul t to prove and is a lways in theeye of the beholder. The problemwith d iscuss ions on dec is ivenessis that historically we can alwayspoin t to any number o f s teps a long

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t he way to success tha t , had theynot happened, might have derai ledthe ultimate victory. What is im -por tan t here i s tha t we should fo-cus on those componen t s t ha t a r erequired (not decisive) parts of asuccessful joint force. The fact isthat in today’s world, the USAFfights jointly. But fighting a jointf ight doesn’t mean the quanti t iesor quali t ies of people, resources, orcapabi l i t ies presented by the indi-vidual Services to the CINC or JFCare equa l . The rea l , compel l ing ,l i fe-and-death issue in war f ight ingis whether we win or lose; if theteam loses , does i t mat ter whichp l a y e r g e t s t h e m o s t v a l u a b l eplayer award? Bottom line: The AirForce , f i r s t and foremost , wantsthe joint force to be decisive. Inshort , the issue of decisiveness ismoot if the joint force loses.

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What question did Iforget?

Please answer here, and tell anotherairman the answer while you’re atit. Tell the Air Force Doctrine Cen-ter, too, so we can start the next 50questions. Give us your thoughts athttp:/ /www.doctrine.af .mil .

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Notes

1. Air Force Doctrine Document (AFDD) 1,Air Force Basic Doctrine, September 1997, 78.

2. Ibid., 23.3. Ibid.4 . J o i n t P u b l i c a t i o n ( J o i n t P u b ) 1 - 0 2 ,

Department of Defense Dictionary of Militaryand Associated Terms, 83 .

5. Ibid. , 429.6. Ibid. , 430.7. Ibid. , 433.

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