The Moral Domain of War

This study uses Brigadier General J.F.C. Fuller's theory of war to investigate the motivation of pilots flying in combat. The study holds the physical and cognitive domains of war variables constant and analyzes the moral domain effects on pilot behavior. Vietnam era F-105 pilots serve as the case study. A pilot combat motivation model based on J.F.C. Fuller's theory served as the framework for a survey. This survey, sent to 236 F-105 veterans, functioned as a vehicle to obtain data. The veterans returned 173 surveys for a 73.3% response rate. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences analyzed the data and determined the validity of the model. Other empirical evidence such as unit end of tour reports, flight surgeon aeromedical evaluations, and monographs written by the pilots during the war, helped to verify findings. The results of the study strongly indicate that the proposed pilot combat motivation model explains pilot behavior in combat and suggests areas for future study.