Boyd - The Fighter Pilot Who Changed The Art Of War

I just re-read Boyd - The Fighter Pilot Who Changed The Art Of War, by Robert Coram, the biography of Col. John Boyd, USAF. Every time I read this book, I come away with new understandings of the third part of the book (on Boyd the Scholar). Upon finishing the book, even the first time, one of my first thoughts was that it is a shame that this man is so little known given the extent of his influence, even to this day. Boyd developed the OODA Loop, which influenced the way Desert Storm was fought and continues to be applied in military thought to this day.

John Boyd first changed the way fighter pilots thought about air combat, then changed the way fighter aircraft were created. His "Aerial Attack Study" became a tactics manual used by not only the USAF but by the USN and USMC as well. Boyd's Energy-Maneuverability Theory changed the way military aircraft were conceived and designed. Boyd can be considered the father of the F-16. He is responsible for the F-15 coming out more like a fighter and less like the F-111. He fought against the B-1, for reasons which were eventually proven to be correct. Boyd was even an influence on one of the men who were responsible for the A-10: Pierre Sprey. Boyd even had an influence on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle through his mentor relationship with the officer that oversaw the Bradley's testing process.

After he retired from the USAF, Boyd applied himself to ground combat and the use of the OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) in combat. Through his connections to then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, Boyd influenced how the first Gulf War (Desert Storm) was fought. He was also connected to Donald Rumsfeld, so you have to wonder how much he influenced Rumsfeld's thinking (even though Boyd was by then dead) and what he would have thought of how Rumsfeld fought the war. Coram uses examples from previous conflicts to illustrate how the OODA loop works and how most commanders have problems with it. It is interesting that the Marine Corps is the one that has picked up on the OODA Loop the best and ultimately has recognized Boyd's work and achievements the most. (I'm currently reading Nathaniel Fick's One Bullet Away; Boyd isn't mentioned by name, but the OODA Loop is. Fick was a USMC Recon officer in Iraq.)

For a great read on a fascinating, yet unheralded figure in American History, I strongly recommend this book. Not only is it informative and entertaining, it makes you THINK.


Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net