steve on Nostr: “John Warden and the Renaissance of American Air Power” by John Andreas Olsen ...
“John Warden and the Renaissance of American Air Power” by John Andreas Olsen
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America’s blunders in Vietnam left its military in shambles and the Air Force confused on its identity. In fact, the entire country was in a strategic malais coined the “Vietnam Syndrome”. Enter a brilliant (and socially awkward) Air Force officer: John Warden. Warden is a quintessential “idea man” who’s forethought and tenacity shaped much of his career… only to be hamstrung by his lack of interpersonal skills and political savvy. Olsen’s biopic paints a very fair and measured portrait of Warden while illustrating the planning process leading to victory in the Gulf War. Warden and his team at Checkmate essentially wrote the air campaign plan from the basement of the Pentagon and pushed it through a an informal network of colleagues and fellow staff officers. By deviating from the again-popular maxim of primarily using air power to support ground forces, Warden’s “5 Rings Model” was implemented to target the heart of Saddam’s regime on day 1. This is a great read that follows the story of one key contributor thru America’s most recent victory - one that shaped our use of air power for the decades to follow.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
America’s blunders in Vietnam left its military in shambles and the Air Force confused on its identity. In fact, the entire country was in a strategic malais coined the “Vietnam Syndrome”. Enter a brilliant (and socially awkward) Air Force officer: John Warden. Warden is a quintessential “idea man” who’s forethought and tenacity shaped much of his career… only to be hamstrung by his lack of interpersonal skills and political savvy. Olsen’s biopic paints a very fair and measured portrait of Warden while illustrating the planning process leading to victory in the Gulf War. Warden and his team at Checkmate essentially wrote the air campaign plan from the basement of the Pentagon and pushed it through a an informal network of colleagues and fellow staff officers. By deviating from the again-popular maxim of primarily using air power to support ground forces, Warden’s “5 Rings Model” was implemented to target the heart of Saddam’s regime on day 1. This is a great read that follows the story of one key contributor thru America’s most recent victory - one that shaped our use of air power for the decades to follow.