![]() LeMay carried these priorities with him when he went to the Pacific to direct the strategic bombing campaign against Japan based in the Mariana Islands. Finally, LeMay insisted on realistic training for his bomber crews, which, in turn, led to a culture that prized constant readiness. SAC reflected this World War II-inspired emphasis on specialization. Furthermore, a successful mission required each member of a bomber’s crew to focus on performing their specialized task. LeMay’s initial experiences with the bombing campaign against Germany taught him the value of standardized training that eliminated individual squadron or wing eccentricities. The second chapter traces the shared experience of SAC’s leaders in World War II. SAC imported this pilot culture and consequently prized flying skill as the principal characteristic of leaders. Within the pilot community, officer standing depended on physical characteristics such as flying skill and hand-eye coordination. Pilots tended to view themselves as a separate, superior group compared to other officers due to several factors: they received extra pay, the high attrition rate due to accidents, and the difficulty of passing the physical entrance exams. ![]() The book begins by examining pilot culture in the Army Air Corps before World War II. ![]() Power who together commanded SAC for 16 years beginning in 1948. In particular, he focuses on Gen Curtis E. Drawing upon the work of Edgar Schein on organizational culture, Deaile uses a foundationalist perspective that emphasizes the influence of group leaders in forming culture. The work, Deaile’s revised 2007 University of North Caroline dissertation, relies on Air Force archival records, the personal papers of senior USAF officers, and some oral history interviews conducted with SAC veterans. Deaile, a retired USAF bomber pilot, argues that SAC’s culture stemmed from a shared World War II experience and prioritized standardization, centralization of authority, and specialization. Naval Institute Press, 2018, 328 pp.Īlways at War examines the creation and formation of culture in the best-known command in the Cold War US Air Force: the Strategic Air Command (SAC). Always at War: Organizational Culture in Strategic Air Command, 1946–62 (Transforming War) by Melvin G.
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