Air Power Education in Australia

Abstract

This chapter examines approaches to institutional education at two periods in the life of the US Air Force -- one in its infancy, i.e., before it became a separate service, the other in its maturity as a full-fledged member of the American military establishment. The first embraces the period 1921-1940, the second 1990-2016. Both analyses address five issues concerning the educational institutions being discussed: origins and purpose, faculty, curriculum, students, and significance. The author posits that while both schools have created elites whose function has been to translate the nation's strategy to useable airpower capabilities there has been the need to be vigilant against intellectual elitism wherein the promotion of airpower for its own sake cannot be accepted.