Inhaltsangabe
History is the study of change. It is an important—but often neglected—resource and tool that allows each of us to analyze and extract the most relevant experiences from the past and apply that knowledge to today’s decision making process. What has happened in the past affects the way we live in the future. Therefore, to ignore history is a mistake. Likewise, to capture the history associated with contemporary events can have huge payoffs for future leaders and is an extremely wise investment of time and energy. Early in my career, I served on the history faculty at the Air Force Academy, where I challenged cadets to gain a better appreciation for the past. As part of that educational process, I encouraged students to consider history a basic building block in their development as professionals. My goal was to make them more aware of a time-tested database that they, as future leaders, could draw upon in shaping policies and strategy to best accomplish the mission. Later, as chief of staff, I initiated a reading program of selected historical works to promote the professional growth of all Air Force personnel. This history documents a watershed event within the United States Air Force during my tenure as chief of staff—the creation of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). As the “high technology” service, the Air Force has always searched for ways to improve continuously its science and technology enterprise. In that context, the making of AFRL was not a bureaucratic accident. Rather, it was the product of a complex mixture of historical forces and pressures at work that convinced people at all levels that the time was ripe to bring about fundamental reform in how the Air Force conducts its business of science and technology. In terms of significance, a wealth of past studies has focused on almost every aspect of the “operational” side of the Air Force. But there has been a scarcity of available scholarly studies that address the far-reaching implications of science and technology. Bob Duffner’s insightful and comprehensive account of the evolution of events leading to the genesis of a single Air Force laboratory is a major contribution that helps fill that gap. Organization and infrastructure are critically important components of the total science and technology picture. Thus, the manner in which our laboratory system is organized is a critical factor in the Air Force’s ability to assure that we are investing in and delivering the most relevant technologies possible. Duffner is an accomplished historian who weaves an engaging and cogent story of how the Air Force moved from 13 separate labs to one consolidated lab. Thoroughly researched and documented, this balanced and highly readable narrative is divided into two parts. Part one addresses the reasons why the Air Force decided to consolidate its far-flung science and technology enterprise into one lab. How the new lab was implemented is the focus of part two. This study is especially revealing because the reader is given access to the inner workings and struggles of a major Air Force organizational restructuring through interviews with key individuals who participated directly in the decision-making process to establish a single lab. People—collectively and individually—make history. The creation of the Air Force Research Laboratory represents one of the most sweeping reforms in the history of the Air Force and is testimony to the principle that change is inevitable. Understanding why and how a single lab happened is critically important in assessing where Air Force science and technology has been in the past and where it is going in the future. This book offers a unique perspective on how and why the Air Force altered its organizational approach to science and technology. I strongly recommend that it be added to every serious Air Force professional’s reading list.
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