Document created: 1 September 05
Air & Space Power
Journal - Fal1 2005
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Prelaunch NotesLt Col Paul D. Berg, USAF, Editor |
Honoring a Fallen Airman and Introducing the Latest Chronicles
Online Journal Articles
We begin this issue on a somber note. The editors of Air and Space Power Journal (ASPJ) were profoundly saddened to hear that Maj William Brian Downs, the author of a recent ASPJ article, has died. He, along with three other Americans and the Iraqi pilot he was instructing, perished in an aircraft crash 80 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, on 30 May 2005. His article, “Unconventional Airpower,” appeared in the spring 2005 issue of ASPJ. As a member of the 6th Special Operations Squadron, Major Downs was an expert at training other air forces to employ airpower to defend their countries against terrorists, insurgents, and other threats. His article offers keen insights into the doctrine, force structure, and tactics needed to counter the foes we face today. His personal experience and obvious dedication to duty bolstered the points he made in that article. America has lost an Airman, but his values and ideas live on. We are proud to note that his ASPJ article reflects one modest expression of those ideas. We hope that other Airmen gain inspiration from his life and wisdom from his writings. The ASPJ staff wishes to express our deepest sympathies to Major Downs’s family.
A man of action, Major Downs noted in his article that “the war on terror and our efforts against insurgents will take a long time. The US Air Force must adapt itself for the fight” (p. 25). Airmen can help in this adaptation process by intellectually engaging in the discussion of airpower and space power ideas and issues that confront our service today, as well as those that will concern us in the future. ASPJ promotes that professional dialogue among Airmen worldwide. In that spirit, we commend his article to you and introduce the latest Chronicles Online Journal (COJ) articles.
COJ complements the printed editions of ASPJ but appears only in electronic form. Not subject to any fixed publication schedule, it can publish timely articles anytime. Furthermore, while ASPJ focuses narrowly on airpower and space power topics of concern to today’s Air Force, COJ covers a broader range, including historical, political, or technical matters. It also includes articles too lengthy for inclusion in the printed journals.
Articles appearing in COJ are frequently republished elsewhere. The Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic editions of ASPJ, for example, routinely translate and print them. Book editors from around the world select them as book chapters, and college professors use them in the classroom. Recent articles available at http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/CC.html include
• Capt Craig S. Miller’s “A New Perspective for the Military: Looking at Maps within Centralized Command and Control Systems“ and
• Maj Tadd Sholtis’s “Planning for Legitimacy: A Joint Operational Approach to Public Affairs.”
The ASPJ editorial staff is always seeking insightful articles and book reviews. We offer publication opportunities in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic. We will add a French version of ASPJ in the near future. To submit an article for publication in any of these languages, please refer to the submission guidelines at http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/submissions.htm . We publish book reviews to inform Airmen about the latest books published on military topics. To submit a book review, please refer to the guidelines at http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/bookrev/BkRevGuide.html .
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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