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    General Earle E. Partridge, USAF Airpower Leadership In A Limited War
    General Earle E. Partridge, USAF Airpower Leadership In A Limited War
    General Earle E. Partridge, USAF Airpower Leadership In A Limited War
    Ebook109 pages1 hour

    General Earle E. Partridge, USAF Airpower Leadership In A Limited War

    By David H. Gurney

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    About this ebook

    This study analyzes the career of General Earle Everard “Pat” Partridge, USAF, with a focus on the airpower lessons that inspired his craftsmanship of the first air campaign of the United States Air Force. The author separates Partridge’s career into three sequential periods: company grade operational experiences; field grade instructional and doctrinal studies; and finally Partridge’s flag grade leadership and innovation. The conclusion, drawn from a career spanning both World Wars and culminating in the Korean War, is that Partridge generally endorsed official doctrine as a training goal; a goal to be adjusted to meet the unique and unpredictable contextual demands of an explicit war scenario. Next, the writer evaluates Partridge’s leadership in the Korean War-the first to follow the National Security Act of 1947-where service doctrine, joint training and technology deficiencies demanded unprecedented compromise and innovation. The final section of the study illustrates the lessons learned by Partridge in the aftermath of the Korean War, lessons that are as valuable today as they were fifty years ago on the Peninsula where America and its allies fought Communist expansion.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNormanby Press
    Release dateAug 15, 2014
    ISBN9781782897286
    General Earle E. Partridge, USAF Airpower Leadership In A Limited War

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      Book preview

      General Earle E. Partridge, USAF Airpower Leadership In A Limited War - David H. Gurney

      This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com

      To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – picklepublishing@gmail.com

      Or on Facebook

      Text originally published in 1998 under the same title.

      © Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

      Publisher’s Note

      Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

      We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

      General Earle E. Partridge, USAF: Airpower Leadership In A Limited War

      BY

      DAVID H. GURNEY

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Contents

      TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

      Preface 6

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 7

      ABSTRACT 8

      Chapter 1 — Introduction 9

      Background 9

      Scope of the Study 10

      Preview of the Argument 11

      Chapter 2 — The Development of an Airman 13

      The Early Years 13

      World War I 14

      College 16

      Brooks and Kelly Fields 17

      West Point 22

      France Field, Panama 22

      Selfridge Field 23

      Conclusion 26

      Chapter 3 — The Doctrinal Views of an Airman 28

      Professional Education 28

      The Air Corps Tactical School, Maxwell Field 31

      The Southeast Air Corps Training Command 34

      War Planning in Washington, DC 36

      Becoming a Bomber Baron; the Doolittle Years 37

      Conclusion 47

      REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 48

      BIBLIOGRAPHY 49

      Primary Sources 49

      Audio Tapes 49

      Oral History Transcripts 49

      Government Documents 49

      Books 50

      Secondary Sources 50

      Government Documents 50

      Books 50

      Unpublished Material 52

      Articles and Periodicals 52

      Preface

      Lieutenant Colonel David H. Gurney, USMC (BA, California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo) completed this study while serving as class leader of the seventh USAF School of Advanced Airpower Studies (SAAS) course. His father was a West Point graduate and career USAF pilot, and his father’s father was an Army Air Corps pilot and career United Airlines Captain. Lieutenant Colonel Gurney is an AV-8B Harrier pilot with over 4000 hours of flight time.

      Lieutenant Colonel Gurney has completed three operational flying tours with Marine Attack Squadrons 211 (twice) and 311, as well as a single tour flying the OV-10A/D Bronco as a qualified FAC(A)/TAC(A) with Marine Observation Squadron Two. Additionally, he has served with the Third Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment as a Forward Air Controller and with the Naval Air Training Command as an intermediate and advanced strike flight instructor. During these assignments, he participated in numerous worldwide operations, both as the Harrier Detachment Commander aboard the USS Belleau Wood and land-based in the western Pacific. Lieutenant Colonel Gurney has filled billets as Squadron Executive Officer, Operations Officer, Aircraft Maintenance Officer, Director of Safety and Standardization, Intelligence Officer and Instructor Pilot. His next duty assignment will be on the General Staff of Marine Forces Atlantic in Norfolk, Virginia.

      Lieutenant Colonel Gurney’s Professional Military Education includes Amphibious Intelligence Officer School, Amphibious Warfare School, Naval Postgraduate School

      Aviation Safety Officer Certification, Marine Corps Command & Staff College, Air Command and Staff College, and the Naval War College. He is the 1988 recipient of the Naval War College Foundation Award.

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      I wish to thank Dr. Jim Corum for his expert advice and guidance in focusing and presenting this topic, as well as his limitless patience in reviewing my numerous drafts. Before receiving his incisive guidance, I had believed that I was a writer.

      I would also like to thank Brigadier General I. B. Holley and Dr. Hal Winton for the generous gifts of their time over numerous dinners and private conversations which enriched my professional military education beyond description or value.

      Finally, I acknowledge the heavy debt I owe to one of the greatest airmen to emerge from Annapolis, Dr. David Mets. Dr. Mets asked me to take on this project within five minutes of meeting me, and the subsequent blessings of his encyclopedic knowledge and first-hand experiences have fortified this Marine in the darkest doldrums of the Air University and Historical Research libraries. David Mets shares my father’s uncanny knack for driving to the heart of any issue that I wish to segregate from the task at hand, and his sharp wit and unsinkable humor will stay with me always. Semper Fidelis!

      ABSTRACT

      This study analyzes the career of General Earle Everard Pat Partridge, USAF, with a focus on the airpower lessons that inspired his craftsmanship of the first air campaign of the United States Air Force. The author separates Partridge’s career into three sequential periods: company grade operational experiences; field grade instructional and doctrinal studies; and finally Partridge’s flag grade leadership and innovation. The conclusion, drawn from a career spanning both World Wars and culminating in the Korean War, is that Partridge generally endorsed official doctrine as a training goal; a goal to be adjusted to meet the unique and unpredictable contextual demands of an explicit war scenario. Next, the writer evaluates Partridge’s leadership in the Korean War—the first to follow the National Security Act of 1947—where service doctrine, joint training and technology deficiencies demanded unprecedented compromise and innovation. The final section of the study illustrates the lessons learned by Partridge in the aftermath of the Korean War, lessons that are as valuable today as they were fifty years ago on the Peninsula where America and its allies fought Communist expansion.

      Chapter 1 — Introduction

      Background

      Three days after the North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel and began their rapid march south to Pusan, General Earle Everard Pat Partridge—in his capacity as acting commander of the Far East Air Force—joined General Douglas MacArthur’s staff in Tokyo for a teletype conference with the Pentagon. To his astonishment, President Truman’s decision to halt the communist advance in Korea was relayed with an order to deploy U.S. ground forces to South Korea. Surprise at the order was shared and given voice by General MacArthur as he repeated aloud: I don’t believe it . . . I can’t understand . . ..{1} During the previous week, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson and Joint Chiefs Chairman Omar Bradley had toured U.S. forces in the Far East and were well aware of the poor state of combat

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