The Icarus Syndrome: The Role of Air Power Theory in the Evolution and Fate of the U.S. Air Force

by Carl H. Builder

Overview

At the end of the Reagan era, many in the U.S. Air Force began to express their concerns about the health of their institution. They questioned whether the Air Force had lost its sense of direction, its confidence, its values, even its future. For some, these concerns reflected nothing more than the maturation of the most youthful of America's military institutions. For others it was a crisis of spirit that threatened the hard-won independence of the Air Force.

Although the diagnoses for this malaise are as numerous as its symptoms, The Icarus Syndrome points a finger at the abandonment of air power theory sometime in the late 1950s to early 1960s as the single, taproot cause of the problems. That provocative diagnosis is followed by an equally provocative prescription the Air Force must follow to regain its institutional health.

Author Carl H. Builder begins with an overview of this crisis of values within the Air Force, along with a litany of concerns about what'seems to have gone wrong within that institution. The history of the U.S. Air Force, along with the role played in it by air power theory, is explored and is used to support Builder's thesis. The remainder of the book is an analysis of what went wrong and when, how these wrongs might be corrected, and the challenges for Air Force leadership in the future. Now available in paperback, The Icarus Syndrome will be of great interest to U.S. Air Force professionals, military and aviation historians, and institutional psychologists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765809933
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/30/2002
Series:	Role of Air Power Theory in the Evolution and Fate of the U.
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	322
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Carl H. Builder

Table of Contents

Preface Part I. Taking Bearings 1. A View of the Air Force Today 2. Is There a Problem? 3. The Icarus Syndrome Part II. Creation 4. The Precursors 5. The Prophets 6. The Theory 7. Prophesy Part III. Exploitation 8. The Apostles 9. Founding the Church 10. The Test of Fire 11. The Practitioners 12. Breaking Free 13. Realization Part IV. Erosion 14. The Technology Janus 15. New Dimensions 16. Slow Fall from Grace Part V. Failure Analysis 17. Picking Up the Pieces 18. Crash Analysis Part VI. The Weather Ahead 19. Making Painful Choices 20. A Changing World 21. The New Security Environment Part VII. Setting the Compass 22. Mission Desiderata 23. From Mission to Vision 24. A Theory to Fly By

Editorial Reviews

Builder became involved in this study in connection with work he was doing at the RAND Corporation for the USAF Air War College… What is remarkable about The Icarus Syndrome is that the USAF has finally sponsored a self-analysis that is readable in style and provocative in nature. Upper-division undergraduates and above.” —R. Higham,Choice "The juxtaposition of theory and the operational principles is superbly managed in the framework of the strategic questions about the future of air power.... This book is strongly recommended for those who think or should think in terms of shaping air and space power for the future." —Harry H. Almond, Jr., The Friday Review of Defense Literature "The Icarus Syndrome is an intellectually engaging work and particularly timely.... The author's conclusions are skillfully developed and clearly articulated." —Jeffrey C. Prater, Military Review "The Icarus Syndrome is about a vision and a theory. . . . [His] prophesies . . . are extremely interesting and reflect a lot of thought." —Gen. Bruce K. Holloway, USAF (Ret.), Strategic Review "There is a sense in this book—captured in the title—of underlying Air Force insecurity about its role and its capabilities." —Foreign Affairs "An important book which ought to be understood and debated. . . . [P]rovocative and, for many, convincing." —James A. Mowbray, Parameters

From the Publisher