I’m a 1LT in the Air Force, and I started my own blog mainly to be able to comment on the DNI page, but I might contribute my own articles as well. I read Robert Coram’s book “Boyd” for the first time my freshman year of college (Virginia Tech), and since then have re-read it two or three times. Then I started picking up anything relating to his ideas that I could get my hands on. I’ve read a number of Chet Richards’ books as well as Grant Hammond’s biography of Boyd. And for good measure I’ve started reading a series of books by H. John Poole and Martin Van Creveld’s, “The Transformation of War.”
Basically, I want to educate myself in the best way to compete in a wartime environment, as opposed to my current AF education which puts Boyd’s trinity (people, ideas, hardware) in the REVERSE order. I’m hoping to be able to bounce ideas off of several people on a number of subjects ranging from war strategy and small unit tactics to aircraft design.
Ultimately, I want to get a better grasp on how Boyd’s ideas could be applied to the air. Any help is appreciated.
-MickeyPvX
Regarding Boyd’s trinity, the position of hardware makes sense. But since I’ve read about Boyd, I struggle with whether I accept which of the other two should be cardinal: people or ideas. I think a egg-chicken arguments can be made supporting either ordering: people then ideas, or ideas then people.
Regardless, I think the most useful point is indeed that hardware is subordinate to both people and ideas.