It was inevitable that the airman's perspective regarding the
employment of airpower in an operational theater would surface in
North Africa, the first major American offensive of World War II.
The publication of Field Manuals (FM) 31-35, Aviation in Support of
Ground Forces, and 100-20, Command and Employment of Air Power, was
a manifestation of how airmen looked at the command of airpower,
the selection of missions, and the assignment of priorities. The
institutionalized conflict between soldiers and airmen over air
employment that raised its head in Africa continues, regardless of
the recorded combat experiences of, and the individual rapport
among, field commanders. North Africa provided a stage to expose
these deep-seated conflicting views of airpower. The soldier viewed
the war in terms of brigades, divisions, corps, and armies; some
saw the application of airpower as being in direct support of their
own combat formations. The airman, on the other hand, saw the
application of airpower in terms of the entire theater of
operations; therefore, he saw it employed in situations and against
enemy forces presenting the greatest threat in the theater. The
establishment of three priorities for air missions-superiority,
interdiction, and close air support- was a focus of his perspective
of theater air operations. Historical experience greatly affected
the advocacy of this theater-wide operational scheme, particularly
the way airpower was initially commanded and employed in North
Africa. Along with an air campaign needing a focus to gain control
of the air and interdict the battlefield, there was a need to
reorganize the command structure. In essence, the decision to
establish a tactical and strategic air force under a single air
commander (Northwest African Air Forces under Gen Carl A Spaatz)
created a theater command structure with coequal air and ground
commanders under Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower. By this arrangement, the
air and ground component commanders received equal footing.
Previously, tactical airpower was subordinated, thus limiting the
ability of XII Air Support Command and RAF 242 Group to influence
the determination of theater strategy, the employment of forces,
and the assignment of priority in application. It is against this
background that the long-standing ideas of airmen brightened,
leading to the development and publication of FM 100-20 and, later,
to revisions of the basic tactical doctrinal manual (FM 31-35).
These manuals served the purpose, perhaps too shrilly in
retrospect, of articulating what airmen believed about airpower and
how their perspectives on its use related to the views of ground
forces. These manuals continue even today to be the foundation of
what airmen believe about airpower and its relationship to the
other services in a combat theater. The North Africa experience
provided a model for the organization and employment of tactical
airpower in subsequent campaigns in Europe, Korea, Vietnam, and the
Gulf War. In each of these campaigns, planners have continued to
refine, expand, and improve the effectiveness of tactical air
support for all forces in a theater. The priorities for employment
are a function of the most pressing threat and the greatest
opportunity for imposing a major effect on the fighting ability of
the opposing forces. The flexibility of tactical air (its greatest
asset) permits a shifting focus between air superiority,
interdiction, and close air support in accordance with the priority
established by the overall commander. Differences in opinion on the
employment of forces will continue among air, ground, and sea
commanders in combat situations. However, when the overall
commander in the theater makes a decision on the strategy and
priority of operations, the air component commander must and will
apply his forces in accordance with that decision.
General
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