The long road to an independent Air Force

All Airmen should have a basic understanding of the airpower debates leading up to this landmark legislation. The range, speed, and flexibility of airpower required new ways of thinking about theater-level (operational-level) and strategic war. Without the constraints of lines on a map, topography, or the FEBA, airpower is inherently offensive, and as Desert Storm proved, airpower has redefined the meaning of Mass within MOOSEMUSS. Forward-thinking Army leaders, including Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and General Omar Bradley recognized that airpower, and the centralized operational control of it by airpower experts, were vital to winning our nation's wars.