Once in a Blue Moon: Airmen in Theater Command: Lauris Norstad, Albrecht Kesselring, and Their Relevance to the Twenty-First Century Air Force

摘要

In the 53-year history of the United States Air Force (USAF), only two airmen have risen to serve as regional commanders in chief (CINC). During the same period, 74 soldiers, sailors, and Marines were selected for geographic CINC billets. In Once in a Blue Moon: Airmen in Theater Command, Lt Col Howard D. Belote examines the reasons for this disparity and suggests how airmen might improve their prospects for becoming future regional commanders. Colonel Belote employs historical analysis to identify the personal and professional qualities airmen should seek as prospective war-fighting CINCs. To establish a baseline for that analysis, he begins by studying the careers of two early regional CINCs, Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower and Gen Jacob L. Devers. Relying heavily on primary sources in the Air Force Historical Research Agency, the author then offers two detailed biographical case studies. The first is of Gen Lauris Norstad, until this year the only USAF officer to have served as a regional CINC. The second case study considers the career of German Field Marshal Albrecht Kesselring, one of only two airmen ever to have commanded a theater in wartime.