Robert Coram (1)

I wonder if boys and young men still read GOD IS MY CO-PILOT and dream of becoming pilots. Several generations of youngsters did. I was one of them. Robert Lee Scott Jr.'s wartime book about flying P-40s against the Japanese with the famed Flying Tigers was possibly the most popular and famous war memoir published during the conflict, and its popularity was such that it remains in print 75 years later. As a boy, I read and re-read it until the binding cracked, and 55 years later I still show more remember passages from it. I have a copy today, signed by General Scott. As a result of his exploits and his book which told and augmented them, Scott became possibly the most famous American fighter pilot of all time. He also became famed for the sometimes fabulistic nature of his stories, stories which grew in drama and color with each telling. While no one denied Scott's bravery and very real contributions both to the fight against Japan and to the prestige of the U.S. Army Air Forces, some of his fellow flyers found cause to question some of the accomplishments he described for himself, and some found fault in how he made himself the face of the Flying Tigers without ever actually having been one. The legend of Robert L. Scott Jr. looms large even now, and it was with very real interest that I read this biography of the man by Robert Coram. Coram writes well and exhaustively after deep and thorough research, and the picture he paints is of a great warrior with all-too human fallibilities. Scott was driven to succeed by a desire to please his mother, and his relationship with her transcended all others, even those with his wife and child. His passion to become a flyer and his wild success at doing so are undeniable. Some of the stories he told about those successes are less undeniable. But Scott succeeded in publicizing the little-known corner of World War II known as the China-Burma-India theatre and was wonderfully effective at helping win that portion of the war through both his combat skills and his ability to marshal support from the American public for the great Flying Tiger commander Claire Chennault and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, leader of China. Scott wasn't a good husband or father, and his whoppers grew larger the more he told them. In John Ford's film THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, a famed dictum decrees, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." This fine biography depicts, warts and all, a man who made himself a legend and who, despite the non-legendary facts presented in this book, is likely to remain one. show less

I'm a little bit obsessed with John Boyd and his theory of the OODA loop, but I knew little about the man himself. Corman paints a picture of a brilliant iconoclast: swimmer, fighter tactics instructor, engineer, Pentagon warrior, and finally philosopher-strategist. Corman draws heavily on the memories of Boyd's Acolytes, the six people closest too him in his career, his reticent family, and the public record. As Corman will freely admit, sometimes the myth overtakes the man, but the myth is show more more correct.

Boyd was a character. He had three good ideas in his life, which is three more than most people have. He literally wrote the book on air-to-air combat, revolutionized aircraft design with Energy-Maneuverability theory, and his OODA loop has become the dominant strategic metaphor of the 21st century. But for all that brilliance, and his frequent tactical victories and "hosings" of those who opposed him, he lost the war. Pentagon procurement is still very expensive gold-plated systems. Get-along managers rather than principled warriors are promoted. And Boyd's personal life was a wreck, and he died practically penniless and alienated from his children. But for all that, this was a great book and a great biography.

To share one bit of Boydian wisdom: You can either be somebody or do something. Follow the rules, agree with your superiors, and you'll rise to the best of your abilities but accomplish nothing. Stick to your principles, fight for what's right, and take no shit from anybody, and you may go down in flames but you'll have fought with honor. It's your life, so what will you do with it? show less

I got this book in the mail yesterday and finished about 2:30 this morning. John Boyd had many personal flaws. He was arrogant, loud, profane, rude, and uncouth. (And the book reflects that.) He sacrificed his family to his job. Not acceptable. However, his greatest characteristic was that he was willing to do what was right for the Air Force and the military no matter what it took or who disagreed. When he knew he was right he stood on it, waiving his cigar, and preached. My favorite quote: show more "Tiger, one day you will come to a fork in the road, and you're going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go. If you go that way you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and you will get good assignments. Or you can go that way and you can do something - something for your country and for your Air Force and for yourself. If you decide you want to do something, you may not get promoted and you may not get the good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors but you won't have to compromise yourself. You will be true to your friends and to yourself. And your work might make a difference. To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That's when you will have to make a decision. To be or to do? Which way will you go?"

His contributions to the American fighting man and the Armed Forces are so significant that he did indeed change the face of war. And his contributions often had to be shoved down the throat of the military as they resisted kicking and screaming. He wrote the book on fighter tactics. On his own initiative He created the Energy-Maneuverability Theory (E-M Theory) for the first time using mathematical principles to create an accurate grading system for the overall performance of airplanes resulting in winning the highest awards for scientific achievement the Air Force gives out. (The Air force was and still does spend millions on some of the brightest scientific minds to further American Air Power. You can bet they were red faced when a nobody Fighter pilot created a new theory that changed the face of air war forever and he did it without any help from the bureaucracy.) He developed and re-emphasized Sun Tzu's Maneuver Warfare possibly becoming the greatest influence in winning the Panama conflict and Desert Storm. He invented the OODA loop* which is used not just by the military but has broad application to all human interactions and endeavors. The Marines re-wrote their war fighting manual because of him. The remember and honor him and his contribution though the Air Force while teaching his discovery and application of his E-M Theory are doing their best to keep him one of the most influential forgotten men in recent history. His work was directly responsible for the F-15, F-16, and the A-10. The main portion of the AF brass at the Pentagon fought very hard against these planes for various reasons.

This book is worth reading especially if you are part of the military industrial complex, interested in the military acquisitions process, care about how tax payer monies are spent in the military, are interested in the history of fighter pilot tactics, or are interested in the OODA loop* which can be easily applied to business. Because Col Boyd was a very controversial person and not a great team player I doubt this book will be on the CSAF's recommended reading list. But Perhaps it should be.

It takes about a third of the book before you get beyond the man to the legend.

* See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop show less

John Boyd may be the most remarkable unsung hero in all of American military history. Some remember him as the greatest U.S. fighter pilot ever-the man who, in simulated air-to-air combat, defeated every challenger in less than forty seconds. Some recall him as the father of our country's most legendary fighter aircraft-the F-15 and F-16. Still others think of Boyd as the most influential military theorist since Sun Tzu. They know only half the story.Boyd, more than any other person, saved show more fighter aviation from the predations of the Strategic Air Command. His manual of fighter tactics changed the way every air force in the world flies and fights. He discovered a physical theory that forever altered the way fighter planes were designed. Later in life, he developed a theory of military strategy that has been adopted throughout the world and even applied to business models for maximizing efficiency. On a personal level, Boyd rarely met a general he couldn't offend. He was loud, abrasive, and profane. A man of daring, ferocious passion and intractable stubbornness, he was that most American of heroes-a rebel who cared not for his reputation or fortune but for his country. show less