Reflections of a Middling Cold Warrior: Should the Army Air Corps Be Resurected?

The need for the justification of an autonomous Air Force seems to be increasingly questioned. This article will argue the issue arises from a bad case of “presentism” that will make it inevitable that we will again be accused of having prepared for the last war in future conflicts. In this essay, the original reasons for creating the separate USAF in 1947, the ways in which the environment has changed since then, and whether or not America should revert to the old ways or bring about still further change, will be explored. There are great aviators in all the services, and those in the other services are rightly focused on the support of their own form of warfare. What the Air Force brings to the fight is not its piloting skills, but rather more of a global outlook on conflict. Those global capabilities are the principal contribution, but they also entail the capability to help the other services in a supporting role.