Book Description

The concept of command in a military setting is nothing new. It proliferates throughout most good history books. Many different individuals have exercised this phenomenon called commander: Alexander the Great as he conquered the known world; Attila the Hun in the fifth century A.D.; Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant against each other during our Civil War; and General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower in Europe during the Second World War. These leaders are certainly a varied grouping: they were literally and figuratively worlds apart; they were surely loved by thousands of people and probably despised by an equal number, and with the exception of Lee and Grant, lived in different eras. But they shared this one common thread – military command. In the United States Air Force, an officer's first opportunity to command in the true sense of the word occurs at the squadron level. Most Air Force officers who have been commanders will tell you that their command tours were the best years of their careers, and a majority of those who commanded at multiple levels will tell you that squadron command was the absolute pinnacle. This book is all about squadron command. Colonel-select Jeff Smith has done a tremendous job in gathering the thoughts and ideas of many commanders, including himself, and offering the reader the opportunity learn from literally a hundred former and current commanders. After conducting extensive research, Colonel Smith presents “the best of the best” on a wide range of topics that directly apply to squadron commanders. “Commanding an Air Force Squadron in the Twenty-First Century” does not pretend to present the patented answer to any problem, issue or situation. Colonel Smith does not direct you to ready or study instruction and regulations as if you need textbook answer to command a squadron – you don't. Finally, he does not discuss units other than squadrons and does not discuss squadron command as if it were accomplished I the first 50 years of our Air Force's history. What Colonel Smith does do is present a plethora of account of how recent and current squadron commander have approached today's situations, problems, and issues. He paints a picture of commanding a squadron through the eyes of a hundred individuals and offers it to the reader in a well-written, easy-to-read format that might be best described as “Dutch uncle advice.” Any commander or soon-to-be commander can pick up this book, read it, and come away with new ideas or methods that he or she will be able to apply to his or her own situations. Please also see a previous book entitled “Commanding an Air Force Squadron (1993)” by Timothy T. Timmons, Col, USAF.