Kometer Michael W. Command in air war. Centralized versus decentralized control of combat airpower

Air Univ Press, Maxwell, AFB, AL, 2007. — 335 p.This work will develop a more complete picture of the various ways airpower is controlled in combat, and their subsequent consequences, by presenting airpower as a system, placing the above theories in their proper context within that system, and accounting for the interaction among them. While using primarily historical concepts to illustrate types of control, this study attempts to add to the body of knowledge on human-technology systems and about the airpower system in particular. The questions it will answer along the way are: 1. How has the information age affected C2 of combat airpower? 2. Have technological changes impacted the military s adherence to the doctrinal tenet of centralized control and decentralized execution? 3. Is there a general formula that better characterizes the system's C2? 4. Where are these changes heading?