Air Force Doctrine Podcast: Lessons Learned in Doctrine - Ep 6 – Operation ANACONDA: Leadership, Mission Command, & Risk

This special episode features General Mike Minihan, the Commander of Air Mobility Command (AMC*). With what some see as his provocative “Mobility Manifesto,” General Minihan challenged his Airmen to “explode in theater, sense and seize opportunities, and focus on lethality.” In our conversation, we discuss “Beyond the Manifesto” and focus on joint force maneuver and the assertion that “mobility is the most relied-upon force in the history of warfare.” We explore lessons learned from Operation Allies Refuge (U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan), the recent Pacific Mobility Guardian Exercise, and his approach to risk as an art, and why leadership matters. *AMC serves as U.S. Transportation Command’s air component, executing the air mobility mission in support of the joint force, allies, and partners with a fleet of nearly 1,100 aircraft and approximately 107,000 active-duty, guard, and reserve Airmen and civilians. As a reminder to all listeners, all topics discussed are UNCLASSIFIED, and the views expressed by guests or hosts are not necessarily the position of the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any government agency.

Get smart about AIRPOWER in the Pacific theater of WWII! This episode features Dr. Robert Muller, Professor of Military History at the US Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS), as we discuss GENERAL GEORGE C. KENNEY, commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area of World War II. We focus on Gen Kenney’s approach to LEADERSHIP, COMMAND AND CONTROL (C2), and LEADING UP AND DOWN the chain of command. We discuss how Gen Kenney “handled” GEN MacArthur and how he prioritized giving 100 Bulova watches to aircraft maintainers instead of pilots. We talk about influences on General Kenney's leadership and professional development, his implementation of MISSION COMMAND principles, and his use of AIR TASK FORCES (ATF) to command allied airpower in the vast expanses of the South Pacific, and how they relate to the USAF’s current efforts to revive the ATF construct. Books mentioned “to learn more:” “MacArthur’s Airman: Gen George C. Kenney and the War in Southwest Pacific” by Thomas E. Griffith, and “General Kenney Reports: A Personal History of the Pacific War,” by George C. Kenney and George Churchill. As a reminder to all listeners, all topics discussed are UNCLASSIFIED, and the views expressed by guests or hosts are not necessarily the position of the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any government agency.

This special episode features General James C. Slife, the newly appointed Air Force Vice Chief of Staff (VCSAF). Gen Slife explains the current strategic environment and how it's influencing some of the largest structural and organizational changes in Air Force history. Join us as Gen Slife breaks down Air Task Forces, Air Force Force Generation, Multi-Capable Airmen, Composite Wings, and how they all fit together. As a reminder to all listeners, all topics discussed are UNCLASSIFIED, and the views expressed by guests or hosts are not necessarily the position of the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any government agency.

We explore the Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations (EMSO) world with Colonel Joshua Koslov, Commander of the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing (350 SWW). Col Koslov provides immense clarity and education on this rapidly evolving and immensely important Air Force and Joint mission. As the 350 SWW Commander, Col Koslov leads the wing’s primary mission to provide rapid electronic combat power to combatant commanders along the entire competition continuum in peacetime, crisis, and war. He also advises the USAF Warfare Center commander and senior leaders of the Department of the Air Force on the integration of technology, policy, and operations, enabling forces to attain electromagnetic spectrum superiority. Colonel Koslov has commanded in combat three times across the squadron and group levels, most notably as the 609 AOC Commander, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, where his team executed Operation ALLIES REFUGE, the largest non-combatant evacuation in history. As a reminder to all listeners, all topics discussed are UNCLASSIFIED, and the views expressed by guests or hosts are not necessarily the position of the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any government agency.

On this episode of “Deciphering Doctrine,” we pick apart the operational level of war and Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) with LeMay Center’s own Dr. Dan, “Bookem” Jordan. We discussed the linkages between tactical, operational, and strategic levels of war and the enormous difference between counterinsurgency operations of the past and LSCO of the future, including why “Afghanistan 10x” is not an accurate illustration of a war with China or Russia. Dr. Jordan is a retired Air Force colonel and fighter pilot. His experience includes serving as the Command Director for NORAD and assistant professor at the US Army’s Command and Staff College and the Baltic Defense College in Estonia. You can download Dr. Jordan’s book, Operational Art and the Campaigns for Mobile, 1864-65: A Staff Ride Handbook for free https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/operational-art-and-the-campaigns-for-mobile-bay-1864-to-1865-staff-ride-handbook.pdf

This episode features Colonel (retired) Matt “El Cid” Neunswander as he discusses his role in Operation Anaconda in March of 2002. El Cid and I discuss his lessons learned on leadership, mission command, and risk - from his personal experience of setting up forward-operating-bases, or contingency locations – first at Jacobabad, Pakistan, and subsequently at Bagram AFB, Afghanistan. As a reminder to all listeners, all topics discussed are UNCLASSIFIED, and the views expressed by guests or hosts are not necessarily the position of the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any government agency. Podcasts referenced Lessons From The Cockpit on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lessons-from-the-cockpit/id1584257167 Modern War Institute on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/modern-war-institute/id1079958510

This unique episode was recorded at the Air University booth at the 2023 Air and Space Forces Association Conference. The AFA conference afforded us the unique opportunity to sit down with three of the top Airmen involved in developing the Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept. Please join us as we discuss ACE and its enablers - why multi-capable Airmen (MCA), tailorable force packages, and mission command are so vital to its success. As a reminder to all listeners, all topics discussed are UNCLASSIFIED, and the views expressed by guests or hosts are not necessarily the position of the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any government agency.

This episode features U.S. Air Force Major Daniel J. Jackson and examines lessons learned from the China, Burma, India (CBI) theater in the period leading up to and including WWII. Maj Jackson’s extensive research and key insights into the application of airpower can provide listeners insights from the CBI theater that still apply to modern Air Force strategy and operations, including: agile combat employment (ACE), personnel recovery (PR), irregular warfare (IR), and the role of relationships. Maj Jackson has published three books about World War II in China: The Forgotten Squadron, Famine, Sword, and Fire, and Fallen Tigers: The Fate of Americas’ Missing Airmen in China During World War II. As a reminder to all listeners, all topics discussed are UNCLASSIFIED, and the views expressed by guests or hosts are not necessarily the position of the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any government agency.

Highlights from Air Force Doctrine Publication 1-1, Mission Command https://www.doctrine.af.mil Music Credits: 'Goliath' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

This episode of the Lessons Learned in Doctrine series coincides with the release of AFDP 1-1 Mission Command, available at https://www.doctrine.af.mil In this episode, I sit down with retired Lieutenant General Marshall “Brad” Webb and discuss his experience as an MH-53 pilot and mission commander in responding to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Gen Webb relates how he answered to the call to "Go help Americans" to the principles of Mission Command and the attributes of a mission command culture. Please join us! As a reminder to all listeners, all topics discussed are UNCLASSIFIED, and the views expressed by guests or hosts are not necessarily the position of the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any government agency.