Secretary of the Air Force Edward C. Aldridge, Jr. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen Larry D. Welch Commander, Air University Lt Gen Ralph E. Havens Commander, Center for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education Col Sidney J, Wise Editor Col Keith W. Geiger Associate Editor Maj Michael A. Kirlland Professional Staff Hugh Rii hardson. Contributing Editor Marvin W. Bassett. Contributing Editor John A. Westcott, Art Director and Production Manager Steven C. Garst, Art Editor and The Airpower Journal, published quarterly, is the professional journal of the United States Air Force. It is designed to serve as an open forum for presenting and stimulating innovative thinking on m ilitary doctrine, strategy, tactics, force struc- ture, readiness, and other national defense mat- ters. The views and opinions expressed or implied in the Journal are those of the authors and should not be construed as carrying the official sanction of the Department of Defense, the Air Force, Air University, or other agencies or departments of the US government. Articles in this edition may be reproduced in whole or in part without permis- sion. If reproduced, the Airpower Journal re- quests a courtesy line. JOURNAL SUMMER 1988, Vol. II, No. 2 AFRP 50-2 Editorial— My Friend Mich and the Dual-Track System 2 The SIOP: What Kind of War Plan? Dr Stephen J. Cimbala 4 The Strategic Defense Initiative in the Military Context Lt Col G. E. Myers, USAF 12 World War I from the Viewpoint of American Airmen ClC W. Kevin Durden, USAFA 28 Technology, Air Power, and the Modern Theater Battlefield Maj Robert M. Chapman, Jr., USAF 42 Getting a Grip on Careerism Maj Michael L. Mosier, USAF 52 The Soviet Spetsnaz Threat to NATO Capt Erin E. Campbell, USAF 61 Nordic NATO in Transition: Toward Turbulence in the 1990s? Lt Col Lawrence R. Nilssen, USAF 68 Ricochets Letters 3 Net Assessment Reviews of Current Literature 79 Notams Notices of Interest 93 Contributors 95 EDITORIAL M y Friend Mich and the Dual-Track System Y friend Mich is a fighter pilot. He a few years later. By the time individuals M flies Mirages for the Belgian air force. reach the 12- to 15-year point, they have a He is a very good fighter pilot, well re- much better feel for what they really want spected by his peers and his superiors for out of the rest of their career. In the mean- his abilities. In addition, he serves his unit time, young officers need to stay on a single as a NATO exercise evaluation officer, plan- track, learning their jobs and preparing for ning and conducting the exercises that keep the future, whichever path they choose. the unit in top readiness. He has been very We must set a high standard for selection helpful in assisting the collocated Ameri- to either career option. The people we select can unit in developing its own exercises as to remain in their functional career fields well as joint exercises. He is bright and ca- must be chosen based on proven excellence. pable, just the type of officer every wing They must be very capable and highly mo- commander wants to have in the unit. He tivated like Mich but must, for their own will never be promoted again. reasons, have decided not to pursue the Mich is a commandant in the Belgian air path to higher rank and command. We force. That is the rank given to those officers would be making a selection that the Air who have chosen the "other track” in a Force and the individual will have to live dual-track system. Recent changes in the of- with for the rest of that person’s career. ficer evaluation system and various re- These people must be selected against the sponses to the current shortage of pilots most stringent of standards. If we allow the have generated discussion concerning the standards to be lowered simply to fill all the United States Air Force considering some authorized slots or if the specialty track be- form of dual-track system. Should the Air comes a place to hide individuals who sim- Force decide to seriously consider a dual- ply aren’t hacking it in the command/ track system, we would be well advised to promotion track, then the system will fail. check into the existing dual-track systems Poor performers are poor performers regard- of our allies to avoid possible pitfalls. If we less of the option. The secbnd track cannot want a dual-track system, then we must be afford to be a place for the sick, lame, and willing to make the effort to ensure that it lazy to rest. Selection to the second track works. must be every bit as competitive as the com- As Air Force Chief of Staff Larry D. Welch mand/promotion track. If it is, the individ- points out when he speaks about the new of- uals selected can be the corporate ficer professional development system, we knowledge base that keeps their organiza- must time the selection point late enough in tions strong and effective. a career so that individuals are sure they We can make the second track a useful really want to opt out of the command/pro- tool in Air Force personnel management by motion track and perform their current du- controlling entry into it. It can be a tool that ties for the rest of their careers. It is very fills the needs of the individuals in the sys- easy when you are a young captain to say tem as well as the system itself, one that al- you don’t care about promotion but just lows our most capable people to stand out— want to fly. The choice may not be so simple people like my friend Mich. MAK 2 ricochets Letters to the editor are encouraged. Ail corre- bring about this relationship, he concentrates on spondence should be addressed to the Editor, overcoming obstacles at the squadron and wing Airpower Journal, Walker Hall. Maxwell AFB AL levels. While there’s nothing wrong with this ap- 36112-5532. We reserve the right to edit the ma- proach as a starting point, I would go several terial for overall length. steps further to expand the scope of this relation- ship to include the entire Air Force (actually any military) organizational framework. MORE ON "YOUNG OFFICERS" As a professional intelligence officer now on Bravo to Lt Col Stephen C. Hall's comments in "temporary loan” to the political-military affairs “Shortchanging Our Young Officers: Military field, I too, like Captain Tice, have worked down Traditions Denied" in the Fall 1987 issue. How- at the squadron and wing levels, both in CONUS ever. traditions are important only if they sup- and overseas. In addition. I've had assignments up through the major command and joint levels. port why we are here. For example, my role in the Air Force became Regardless of where the jobs have been, there’s clear at SOS but not in the expected way. At SOS been one constant factor: a pressing need to im- it was those people sitting around me, my peers, prove the operations/intelligence relationship. who had fought in some of the most recent con- Fortunately, over the last few years, a marked im- flicts and who would fight in any conflict in the provement has taken place. Credit is due to the near future. My job was to support these people efforts of many from both the operations and in- with command and control computer systems. If telligence areas of the Air Force. a system works poorly, it becomes one less re- Intelligence needs to do even more. Several source available to support their mission and general thoughts for improvement to supple- successful return. ment Captain Tice’s proposed solutions come to My resolve was to ensure our computer sys- mind. These support enhancements will happen tems would be ready and capable of supporting only in a context where intelligence is used and the mission. No excuses of old technology, lack understood. While much sensitive intelligence of trained programmers, or other common rea- should remain strictly "need to know," the old sons would prevent us from realizing every last “behind-the-green-door" syndrome is going capability of the system. It was gratifying to note away slowly. An effective relationship today de- that this same insight and resolve had an equally mands that intelligence personnel make them- motivating effect on the folks who worked for selves and their resources more useful and me. We subsequently made some breakthroughs understood. Said another way, they have to be- and plan to make more. come more credible. I suspect traditions come from striving in a no- Gaining credibility requires considerable ef- ble endeavor and will come and go as needed. fort. However, it is essential that intelligence people do just that, regardless of where they fit in Capt Bruce Benson, USAF the Air Force organization. The resources avail- Neuhruecke, West Germany able might not be as limited as Captain Tice states. According to recent figures published in OPERATIONS AND INTELLIGENCE Air Force Magazine, over 3,400 officers and 13,000 enlisted personnel are in Air Force intel- I want to commend Capt Brian P. Ti c e for his ar- ligence. From my perspective, that's a lot of peo- ticle "Air Force Operations and Intelligence: ple—many with considerable experience and Getting It Together." Winter 1987-88 issue, and capability—to help make the extensive intelli- add several observations of my own. Captain gence community work.