Air University Review, May-June 1977
With this issue we regretfully bid farewell to our Associate Editor, Lieutenant Colonel Richard E. Hansen, on his retirement. His career spanned three wars, in which he flew variously as a fighter, bomber, and transport pilot. Interspersed among combat and Cold War assignments were academic, staff, and command positions, where he accumulated a wealth of experience that we leaned heavily on in editorial deliberations. We will not only miss his wise counsel but also his prolific pen and the provocative ideas that flowed from it. It is hoped that you will see more of his work in future issues.
In the opening article, Colonel Herman L. Gilster examines one of the basic Air Force missions--air interdiction--in the light of recent historical experience. His study indicates that the success of an interdiction effort is directly related to the intensity of the ground effort it opposes. Our cover depicts aircraft that have performed the interdiction role in the last three wars.
One of the imponderables of any future confrontation between NATO and the Warsaw Pact is the strength of the bonds that hold these respective alliances together. In the March-April issue, Wing Commander Peter Papworth offered his assessment of the integrity of the Warsaw Pact as an entity. Continuing in this issue, he examines the cohesiveness of each individual member nation to the pact. Although he would probably agree that such an undertaking is speculative and subject to ever-changing conditions, the reliability of the Warsaw Pact is certainly a critical element of the European power equation and invites a best estimate regardless of the relative scarcity of reliable information. We suspect that the Soviets are pondering the same problem and arriving at their own closely held input to their "correlation of forces."
In another thoughtful examination of intangible inputs to the power equation, Colonel William M. Charles, Jr., weighs the impact of the capability to wage war at all levels of conflict on our national will. Regardless of your predisposition, "Rethinking the Unthinkable" may provoke you to justify your own thoughts on the matter.
May 21,1977, marks the 50th anniversary of one of aviation's great milestones, the first solo flight over the Atlantic by Charles A. Lindbergh. As a reminder of his legacy to the science of flight, we include a number of his thoughts throughout this issue.
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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