Document created: 21 February 01
Published Aerospace
Power Journal - Spring 2001
LT COL ERIC A. ASH, EDITOR
Precision is a bedrock of aerospace power. It became a fundamental goal of aerial warfare prior to World War II and was codified into Air War Plans Division-1 (AWPD-1), a force-structure plan to produce assets capable of delivering high-altitude daylight precision bombing—specifically, the B-17 Flying Fortress with its Norden bombsight.
Precision is rooted in the concept of cutting with accuracy. It is the minute difference between a violin’s being in tune or out of tune, the difference between a vote and a hanging chad in an election, and often the difference between life and death in the profession of arms. As Brig Gen Malham Wakin has eloquently expressed, in the military a fine line exists between incompetence and immorality. A crucial factor in that statement is precision—for it is paramount in core values and core competencies, in which excellence and integrity begin with precise honesty and end with precise execution. Whether we answer a question for a superior or drop a bomb, in the military it is our duty to be precise.
Precision spans the spectrum of what we do. It is obviously key to precision-guided munitions, introduced in Vietnam and now demanded by political necessity. Commonly called "smart" bombs, these weapons have the ability to strike surgically and thus reduce the risk of collateral damage, which makes them exceptionally more attractive than their old-fashioned predecessors—gravity (or "dumb") bombs.
Precision is also a key enabler of stealth and other important platform technologies like the airborne laser (see PIREP, this issue) that continue to boost aerospace capabilities. It is certainly a requirement for good intelligence, and even successful leadership demands precision in myriad ways—for imprecise leadership can lead to poor decision making, lack of confidence, and sinking morale. APJ will have much more on that subject in our special Developing Aerospace Leaders (DAL) issue, coming out in our Summer 2001 issue.
In just about every facet of the Air Force, precision really matters—even in publishing a professional journal like APJ or in composing a precise editorial (ouch!). Exact understanding of ideas and facts is often difficult but important, which is why the precise transcript of Dr. Kohn’s interview is valuable to the story of General Fogleman’s retirement. Precision is also crucial to projecting aerospace power, as exhibited in General Jumper’s piece. And the articles on air and space demonstrate that precision is at the very essence of aerospace integration in both functional and organizational aspects.
Doctrine also spans the spectrum of what we do, and we must recognize the role of precision in doctrine—and vice versa. Traditionally, precision has been linked with strike, as it was with AWPD-1 and is today in an Air Force core competency. Yet, as our service continues to realize the importance of doctrine, it must promote precise doctrine. Covering the waterfront with more doctrine, which happens sometimes, is not necessarily better. Rather, better (read precise) doctrine is preferable. That is the road toward improvement we see in products like the concise Air Force Doctrine Document (AFDD) 1, Air Force Basic Doctrine.
Basically, doctrine is the nexus of precision and engagement. Doctrine is valuable only when deployed and employed through training and education. At that point, technological precision capabilities can be linked to learned (human) precision abilities to produce the precision-engagement core competency. The Air Force is on the right track in recognizing doctrine-education shortcomings and responding with initiatives from the Air Force Doctrine Center and the College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research and Education that emphasize the deployment of doctrine. For example, a new doctrine-education map to clearly coordinate objectives and promote a continuum of doctrinal education at Air University schools and throughout the Air Force promises to help answer the DAL challenge to produce tomorrow’s strategic leaders. The key to success in this and in nearly everything the Air Force does, however, lies in executing with precision—doctrinal precision.
Disclaimer
The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.
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