Between 1939 and 1945, the British public was spellbound by the martial endeavours and dashing style of the young men of the RAF, especially those with silvery fabric wings sewn above the breast ...pocket of their glamorous slate-blue uniform. The author provides the first scholarly study of the place of ‘the flyer’ in British culture during the Second World War. Examining the lives of RAF personnel, and their popular representation in literary and cinematic texts, he illuminates broader issues of gender, social class, national and racial identities, emotional life, and the creation of a national myth in twentieth-century Britain. In particular, he argues that the flyer's relationship to fear, aggression, loss of his comrades, bodily dismemberment, and psychological breakdown reveals broader ambiguities surrounding the dominant understandings of masculinity in the middle decades of the century. Despite his star appeal, cultural representations of the flyer encompassed both the gentle, chivalrous warrior and the uncompromising agent of destruction. Paying particular attention to the romantic universe of wartime aircrew, Francis reveals the extraordinary contrasts of their daily lives: dicing with death in the sky one moment, before sitting down to lunch with wives and children in the next. Male and female experiences during the war were not polarized and antithetical, but were complementary and interrelated, a conclusion which has implications for the history of gender in modern Britain that reach well beyond either the specialized military culture of the wartime RAF or the chronological parameters of the Second World War.
From 2002 to 2003, F-16s of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, the Royal Norwegian Air Force and the Royal Danish Air Force flew side by side in the hostile skies over Afghanistan. United under the ...wings of the European Participating Air Forces (EPAF), a unique, trinational alliance, they represented their countries' flying contribution to the American-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). Each country deployed six F-16 fighter-bombers, together forming one squadron-sized detachment. In theory at least, the EPAF enabled the smaller European air forces to make a proportionally greater contribution to OEF than they could have done individually. By joining forces, the participating air forces made optimal use of their limited resources - a typical small powers strategy enacted by the three countries to overcome the structural limitations of their military capabilities in a long-standing allied arrangement. This article is a comparative study of the experiences gained concerning the cooperation between the three air forces and the interoperability of the EPAF detachment within the larger OEF coalition; its conclusion is that, although working within the trinational framework revealed differences on the political, military-operational, tactical-technical and personnel level, most of these problems were eventually overcome. All things considered, the EPAF did offer these smaller countries an instrument to demonstrate their solidarity with the United States and provide a significant contribution to the Global War on Terror, making it a prime "operational" example of effective small or middle power strategy to mitigate (combat) limitations in an asymmetrical multinational relationship vis-à-vis the United States. Keywords: Royal Netherlands Air Force, Royal Norwegian Air Force, Royal Danish Air Force, European Participating Air Forces, Enduring Freedom, coalition warfare
The Air Force Medical Service (AFMS) currently runs three in-theater hospitals for severely injured or wounded personnel. Part of the practioners' preparation was treating DoD beneficiaries for a ...broad range of injuries and illnesses. Opportunities for this preparation are not as numerous "in house" as they once were, and AFMS does not always get proper credit for those gained elsewhere. Proper credit for that work is important for funding.
An interview with Kenneth W. Allen and Cristina L. Garafola, authors of the book 70 Years of the PLA Air Force, is presented. Among other things, they talk about the misunderstandings or ...misperceptions about the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) outside of China, the most important differences in terms of command structure and organization between the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) and its Western counterparts, in particular the US, and how the reform under Xi Jinping affected the PLAAF, particularly the adoption of the Theater Command model.
European Air Powerexamines the current state of eight separate European air forces and their prospective air power capabilities in a manner that will appeal to a wide audience of air force ...enthusiasts. Included are perspectives from independent air power experts reviewing the air forces of France, Germany, Turkey, and Great Britain as well as from the leaders of the air forces of the Nordic nations, including Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland.
Within the national security framework of threats and challenges, and against the seemingly universal backdrop of lower budgets for defense, the contributors present varying views on the types of air power capability a state should have and those it does not need. The contributors consider each air force separately and how each is structured to remain sustainable and efficient in accordance with its national strategic infrastructure.
This report is one of a series designed to support Air Force leaders in promoting resilience among its Airmen, civilian employees, and Air Force families. It examines the relationship between medical ...fitness and resilience, using key constructs found in the scientific literature, which address preventive care, the presence and management of injuries and chronic conditions, and facilitators and barriers to access of appropriate health care.
This article argues that while India is preparing for the contingency of a two-front war against China and Pakistan, its procurement and arms production policies make it problematic for the Indian ...Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy (IN) to meet these challenges. IAF doctrine is not aligned to its current capabilities and is, therefore, largely speculative. Further, due to budgetary shortfalls in its modernization efforts, the IAF will find it difficult to fulfill its stated doctrinal role against China or Pakistan. On the other hand, the Indian Navy's doctrine is better aligned with its objectives and capabilities. The IN can carry out its doctrine of sea control against the Pakistani Navy, but will have to adopt a sea denial posture against China because of the rapid growth of the PLA Navy's force and capabilities. Given their slow pace of modernization, neither service will be able to decisively counter the Chinese military.
This book documents the rapid development of nuclear ballistic missiles in the United States and their equally swift demise after the Cuban Missile Crisis, revealing how these drastic changes ...negatively influenced both the Air Force and the missile community.
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