Black Hawk Down author on future of airpower

The Air Force Live blog noted a feature article by Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down. He writes in the March 2009 "The Atlantic" on some of the difficult decisions that face the future of U.S. Air Dominance. Several Airmen from Elmendorf Air Force Base were interviewed as part of the research for the feature.

On The Atlantic's website, the feature article is accompanied by this five-minute overview video, "View from the cockpit."



(Lt. Col. "Corky" Corcoran, commander of the 525th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, worked with the magazine's team during their research for the article, and offered the following perspective on the experience:)

It was an honor and a privilege to host Mark Bowden and his research assistant, Terrence Henry, when they visited Elmendorf AFB last summer. Terrence contacted me several months prior to the visit to begin researching Mark's potential story on the erosion of US Air Dominance. After several discussions I offered up the idea of a visit to Elmendorf during PACOM's NORTHERN EDGE exercise as an excellent opportunity to give both Mark and Terrence a crash course in air combat training and tactics. They accepted.

Neither Mark nor Terrence had any background in Air Combat training or tactics, but they proved to be quick studies.... We started off their visit by introducing them to the 3rd Wing Commander, Brigadier General Tom 'Pugs' Tinsley, and the 3rd Operations Group Commander, Col Jim 'Scorch' Hecker. They interviewed both leaders and were very impressed with their knowledge and professionalism. After those interviews we simply roamed the halls of the RED FLAG - Alaska complex, home to all the units deployed to Elmendorf for the exercise, and introduced Mark and Terrence to folks from every Air Force walk of life. They interviewed F-15 and F-16 Aggressor pilots, E-3 Air Battle Managers, Intelligence officers, Radar experts, threat experts, and of course the F-15, F-16 and F-22 pilots flying the 'Blue Air' role in the exercise. We watched 30-40 minutes of a live NORTHERN EDGE mission on the 'big board' at RED FLAG and explained exactly what the pilots were doing. Mark and Terrence asked very insightful questions and by the time we left the room it was clear they understood what had just taken place before their eyes -- not only the significance of the exercise but the level of difficulty involved and the skill required to succeed.

Finally, we took them to the flight line to watch the launch of the large force exercise. This allowed them to get an up close and personal look at the aircraft they had watched on the big board. The unique opportunity to see F-15s, F-16s, F-18s and F-22s side-by-side on the ramp clearly highlighted the generational leap our joint force has made with the F-22. This also allowed them to briefly interact with the maintainers who keep the fleet in the air -- and Mark and Terrence couldn't have been more impressed with those Air Force professionals.

It was a privilege to spend time with Mark and Terrence. I walked away from the experience with a new found appreciation for what it takes to develop a quality, accurate story, and more importantly, I gained two new friends.