So, I am back from spending some time with some real bright, and not so real bright, individuals serving in the USAF. Like all military types they love using acronyms galore, so if a reply is longer than two words you can count on an acronym being used at some point. In the midst of talking about A2AD, COCOM commitments to strategic integration, BP (building partnerships, not the oil company) networks, UAV forward placements, I continued to be struck by one thing, not the need for security of information through classification, but non-attribution. The military seems to be one of the last great places for legal CYA behavior. If I do not want what I have to say being attributed to me, I guess I better not say it. However, if you are in the military all you have to say is we are operating on a basis of non-attribution. So, now I am not free to tell you who said anything at the conference I attended and have to hope you will trust me not to embellish or improperly represent what was said without having a clue about the reliability of the person who made the statement.
Ok, so the conference allowed me some great networking opportunities with people in the working arena of air power and air strategy from the U.S., India, South Korea, Australia, and the Philippines. I cannot tell you which one of them said what in regards to U.S. Air Force strategy in the Asia-Pacific. I can tell you manyy ideas were diverse, well-reasoned, and most showed a mastery of the material and issues at hand. I was also struck by how little has changed in our understanding of Chinese Foreign Policy goals and their actions in the South China Sea since I wrote my MA thesis on the subject in 1998 and published a book chapter with Ross Marlay, and a journal article on this subject in 2000 and 2001. Listening to one academic and two Air Force officers (remember, non-attribution) present on this issue sounded an awful lot like I was rereading my own and Ross Marlay's writing on the subject a decade past.
Best news of the trip, Budget Rental upgraded me to a very nice vehicle a 2012 Ford Edge with all the bells and whistles. Of course it did not hurt to be in a crimson colored vehicle driving through Alabama.
Ok, so the conference allowed me some great networking opportunities with people in the working arena of air power and air strategy from the U.S., India, South Korea, Australia, and the Philippines. I cannot tell you which one of them said what in regards to U.S. Air Force strategy in the Asia-Pacific. I can tell you manyy ideas were diverse, well-reasoned, and most showed a mastery of the material and issues at hand. I was also struck by how little has changed in our understanding of Chinese Foreign Policy goals and their actions in the South China Sea since I wrote my MA thesis on the subject in 1998 and published a book chapter with Ross Marlay, and a journal article on this subject in 2000 and 2001. Listening to one academic and two Air Force officers (remember, non-attribution) present on this issue sounded an awful lot like I was rereading my own and Ross Marlay's writing on the subject a decade past.
Best news of the trip, Budget Rental upgraded me to a very nice vehicle a 2012 Ford Edge with all the bells and whistles. Of course it did not hurt to be in a crimson colored vehicle driving through Alabama.
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