The Problem With The Air Force's DNA

Robert Farley at Lawyers, Gun$ & Money has again taken on a favorite topic of mine: Why the Army and Navy seem to be able to reinvent themselves when the need arises but the Air Force is determinedly stuck in the past.

As I wrote here in arguing that it is time to clip the Air Force's wings, it is only 70 percent of the size it was after the First Gulf War, but it remains bloated as it tries to justify both its presence and independence in the rapidly changing world of warfare.

Farley concludes that:

"The Air Force lacks historical traditions to borrow from, both because it is such a new service, and because it has been a worldwide leader since its inception. Put briefly, the Air Force only knows the Cold War; it only understands conflict in terms of great power struggle, and as such all future planning (in contrast to short term compromises) will be oriented around that organizational purpose. To ask the Air Force not to think in terms of great power is to ask it not to be the Air Force, but rather some other organization born at some other time for some other purpose. As such, [Robert] Gates cleaning out of the brass isn't really going to amount to much; it is literally in the DNA of the Air Force to act in this way."

More here.