Touching the Face of God: Religion, Technology, and the United States Air Force
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Touching the Face of God: Religion, Technology, and the United States Air Force Timothy J. Cathcart Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Science and Technology Studies Dr. Shannon A. Brown, Chair Dr. Lee L. Zwanziger Dr. Janet E. Abbate Dr. Barbara J. Reeves 3 December 2008 Blacksburg, Virginia Keywords: united states air force, religion, military technology, military culture, social construction of technology Copyright © 2008, Timothy J. Cathcart Touching the Face of God: Religion, Technology, and the United States Air Force Timothy J. Cathcart ABSTRACT The goal of my project is a detailed analysis of the technological culture of the United States Air Force from a Science and Technology Studies (STS) perspective. In particular, using the metaphor of the Air Force as religion helps in understanding a culture built on matters of life-and-death. This religious narrative—with the organizational roles of actors such as priests, prophets, and laity, and the institutional connotations of theological terms such as sacredness—is a unique approach to the Air Force. An analysis of how the Air Force interacts with technology—the very thing that gives it meaning—from the social construction of technology approach will provide a broader understanding of this relationship. Mitcham’s dichotomy of the engineering philosophy of technology (EPT) and the humanities philosophy of technology (HPT) perspectives provides a methodology for analyzing Air Force decisions and priorities. I examine the overarching discourse and metaphor—consisting of techniques, technologies, experiences, language, and religion—in a range of historical case studies describing the sociological and philosophical issues of the Air Force. As the Air Force is the offspring of the U.S. Army, these examples begin with the Civil War era and the invention of the Gatling gun before moving to the interwar period’s Air Corps Tactical School and its seminal organizational thinking about the aircraft. Moving to the more modern times after the birth of the Air Force, I describe and compare the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center and the Air Mobility Warfare Center, two organizations interacting with technology from different organizational archetypes. The final example is the Department of Defense Readiness Reporting System, an information technology application at the focal point of cultural change affecting not just the Air Force but the entire Department of Defense. Finally, I will conclude with a chapter on policy considerations and recommendations for the Air Force based on the Air Force religion, a balance of both people and technology, and with an eye toward the future of U.S. military operations. The primary goal is to answer three questions: is the U.S. Air Force truly a religion? If so, how should that affect its approach to technology and technological change? With an eye toward consciously building the future, how has the Air Force religion shaped the organization in the past? Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my spouse Sue, who put up with “lost” weekends, evenings, holidays and more, as well as the piles of books strewn across the living room floor for months and months and months. Thanks for the support—as always. All my love—HB. Author’s Acknowledgements Thanks to Dr. Shannon Brown, my committee chair, for the years of encouragement and idea generation and for heading up this effort. I also appreciate the on-going support from the rest of my committee—Dr. Barbara Reeves, Dr. Lee Zwanziger, and Dr. Janet Abbate—thanks for the mentoring, journal articles, encouragement, and random thoughts relating to my area of research. Also, Dr. Barbara Allen at the Northern Virginia campus of Virginia Tech’s STS program, and Ms. Crystal Harrell at the Blacksburg STS office—your efforts in shepherding me to completion are greatly appreciated. I also appreciate those who assisted by providing their recollection, thoughts, and time for the interviews. It added a great deal to the dissertation, and helped capture the history and essence of the organizations and their social dimensions. The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or positions of the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. All information and sources for this paper were drawn from unclassified materials. This document is cleared by the Department of Defense for public release (OSR Case #09-S-0496). iii Table of Contents High Flight .................................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 Science and Technology Studies and the Air Force .................................................................................. 3 Dissertation Structure ............................................................................................................................... 6 The Alpha .................................................................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2 In the Beginning: A Brief Air Force History ................................................................................. 10 In the Beginning was the Flyer ................................................................................................................ 11 World War I ............................................................................................................................................. 14 The Interwar Period ................................................................................................................................ 16 World War II ............................................................................................................................................ 19 The Cold War Era .................................................................................................................................... 22 After the Fall of the Wall ......................................................................................................................... 26 The Modern U.S. Air Force ...................................................................................................................... 29 Air Force Organizational Structure ..................................................................................................... 29 Air Force C-130 Community ................................................................................................................ 32 A Brief History of Joint ............................................................................................................................ 35 The Goldwater-Nichols Act ................................................................................................................. 35 Ten Year Retrospective ....................................................................................................................... 36 Twenty Years Later .............................................................................................................................. 37 Conclusion: To Slip the Surly Bonds ........................................................................................................ 40 Chapter 3 U.S. Air Force as Religion: An Exploration of Culture ................................................................. 41 Military Culture ....................................................................................................................................... 43 Military Religion ...................................................................................................................................... 48 Underlying Precepts ............................................................................................................................ 48 Key Doctrine ........................................................................................................................................ 51 Organizational Roles ........................................................................................................................... 53 Cultural Manifestations ...................................................................................................................... 55 Summary: The Military Religion Model .............................................................................................. 57 The Military Religion Model Applied to the U.S. Air Force ..................................................................... 60 iv The Air Force and Underlying Precepts .............................................................................................. 60 The Air Force and Key Doctrine .......................................................................................................... 62 The Air Force and Organizational Roles .............................................................................................. 64 The Air Force’s Cultural Manifestations .............................................................................................. 65 Summary: The Air Force and the Air Force Religion ..........................................................................