Lifeline From The Sky: The Doctrinal Implications Of Supplying An Enclave From The Air

Download or read book Lifeline From The Sky: The Doctrinal Implications Of Supplying An Enclave From The Air written by John Steven Brunhaver and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 121 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper seeks to answer the following question: What are the doctrinal imperatives of providing effective airlift support to enclaves? Doctrinal imperatives are those necessary and sufficient propositions that describe the optimal way to employ airlift forces in support of an enclave. In short, this paper attempts to determine the best way to conduct airlift operations to support enclaves. The primary conclusion of this paper is that four fundamental factors influence airlift operations: requirement to capability ratio, threat, support infrastructure, and weather. The second conclusion is that there are two basic methods to employ airlift forces: continuous flow and surge methods. The additional doctrinal imperatives contained in the conclusion relate to the interactions among the four factors affecting airlift operations to support enclaves and the ways in which they influence the two employment methods. Evidence used to derive the doctrinal propositions came from the Luftwaffe’s attempt to resupply the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad from the air, the Berlin Airlift, and the airlift to the Khe Sanh garrison in the Vietnam War.