SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN THE US AIR FORCE

Situational leadership in the US Air Force

Situational leadership in the US Air Force

Military aviation finally gained formal status in the United States with the creation of the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1914. The flying unit consisted of 12 officers, 54 enlisted men, and 6 airplanes. By contrast, when World War I broke out in Europe that same year, the German air force consisted of 180 planes, the French air force boasted 136 planes, and the British had 48. Early in the war, airplanes were used solely for reconnaissance. However, the rapid development of airplane design, air gunnery, bombing equipment, and combat strategies and techniques turned the skies into a battlefield. Most of these developments bypassed U.S. military aviation. The United States remained neutral until 1917 and its air-combat readiness lagged well behind. High-ranking U.S. Army officers were still convinced that the airplane's primary military use was to gather intelligence.

The first military use of U.S. airpower actually occurred a year before the nation entered World War I. When Mexican bandit Pancho Villa staged a raid into New Mexico in March 1916, the First Aero Squadron was enlisted to take part in border patrol as a tactical air unit. The squadron also participated in the subsequent U.S. expedition that hunted Villa after he retreated into Mexico.

The United States entered World War I with woefully inadequate military airpower but a tremendous pool of resources that, with guidance from European Allies, could be transformed into a credible force. The U.S. Army Air Service was formed as part of the American Expeditionary Force that was dispatched to Europe to join the fighting. Congress allocated $640 million for aeronautics and airplane production, but all of the planes constructed in U.S. factories were based on British, French, and Italian designs. Because the war ended just a year after U.S. entry, the United States ultimately purchased, rather than built, most of its combat aircraft.

Advances in aircraft technology and air combat doctrine made between World Wars I and II would have important implications for future conflicts. New altitude records were set, the first test jumps were made with parachutes, the first Round-the-Rim (periphery of the continental United States) flight was conducted, and coast-to-coast flight tests were carried out. Speed tests were also conducted to improve flight time, and gyroscopic equipment was installed to control altitude and direction.

With the United States officially uninvolved in foreign wars during this time, American pilots gained experience where they could. Some volunteered their services to fight in the Kosciuszko Squadron during the Polish-Soviet War (1921). At home, former World War I ace Billy Mitchell was developing new doctrines for the use of airpower. In 1923, he conducted a demonstration in which he proved that airplanes could sink battleships at sea. Mitchell was furious when his superiors dismissed the significance of the demonstration. United States military leaders still were unable to grasp the full potential of airpower. By the 1930s, European nations, particularly Germany and ...