This requires a deft touch. Act too aggressively, and the system rejects you like an antigen. Act too timidly, and you get coopted, delayed, or watered down. So, for example, the flamboyant, insubordinate, uncompromising Brigadier General Billy Mitchell got headlines for promoting aviation, but essentially failed. Moffett understood that one could not simply sell off the battleships and armies and buy airplanes.
Rather, one had to integrate aviation into the U. This kind of integration is often a harder and more complex a task than evangelism, but that is precisely Mr. Boot's point. Quoting Andrew Marshall, the Pentagon's guru on military revolutions, Mr. Boot observes military transformation "is not about how to eliminate current weapons. Transformation is not just change, but change that maintains an advantage. Some will argue with several of the examples Mr.
Boot uses to make his argument. For example, he criticizes the military reformers of the s, saying that, if they had had their way, America would have lacked the technological edge that proved decisive in the Gulf War. He cites the Air Force's F and F fighters as examples. Also, Mr. Boot sometimes underestimates the random luck of the draw in explaining some events. He notes, for example, that Moffett built two large aircraft carriers in the s using converted battle cruisers, in the process overtaking the British in naval aviation technology.
He fails to note that these two carriers were available only because the Washington Naval Treaty prevented America from completing them as originally designed. Had this not occurred, Moffett would never have had his opportunity. Britain did not have comparable ships that it could have used for such a conversion. Often opportunity is the driver of innovation. But these are minor quibbles. Fans of Mr. Keegan's will enjoy Mr. Few writers today equal the sheer volume of commentary he generates on defense affairs.
In addition to this book his second major work in four years , Mr. Boot also writes a weekly column and occasional pieces for the Weekly Standard. Since military revolutions today depend on an informed public, this is a good thing. Submission of reader comments is restricted to NY Sun sustaining members only.
If you are not yet a member, please click here to join. If you are already a member, please log in here:. This is an excellent review. It makes me want to read the book even though reading about military anything tends to put me to sleep! I am too much of a rebel to fall in well with military bureaucracy, perhaps this is why my tenure with the Air Force ended after just ten years and my rank tended to go down instead of up!
Join now! Armed Forces. Political Policy. Big Book for a Big City. Enemy Of the Absolute. Members Current visitors. Interface Language. Log in. Install the app. Forums English Only English Only. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. Thread starter Michael Start date Dec 21, Michael Senior Member Russian. Hello everyone, Coach John Kavanagh describes in his book Win or Learn the fight Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz: A strategy error in round two was the difference between victory and defeat on this occasion.
0コメント