Airpower, Afghanistan, and the Future of Warfare

This thesis seeks to answer an important question: How is the relationship between air and ground power changing? The author defines "Relationship" as the relative utility each form of force application provides in the service of American national security. The author argues that airpower has evolved so much that it now dominates the air/ground relationship, and that this truth has important implications for the United States. Because of precision airpower, no adversary can mass against the United States without facing certain destruction, a truth that has profound implications for airmen and soldiers alike. Second, airpower's lethality has made it the most politically useful military tool in America's arsenal. Finally, as a natured extension of its lethality, airpower has become the ultimate guarantor of economy of force. Operations Enduring Freedom Iraqi freedom demonstrated that in the presence of precision airpower, fewer ground troops are required during the combat phase of modern war.