For those looking for a good military read, let me recommend ‘Boyd: the Fighter Pilot who Changed the Art of War”. (
boyd. the fighter pilot who changed the art of war - AbeBooks )
This book should be a must read for any officer and NCO in any of the three services, particularly those with aspirations of making a career in the service.
For those non-fighter jocks among you who might, (as I was), be initially dismissive of the seemingly typical fighter pilot hyperbole contained in the title of the book, don’t be. This was the man responsible - against massive resistance from his superiors - for the F15, the F18, and most importantly, the F16, and who, through one of his ‘acolytes’, (see the Wikipedia link), had much to do with the creation and introduction to service of the A10 despite the USAF hierarchy doing everything in their power to kill the project.
However, the fighter stuff is only part of the story. Boyd’s real influence didn’t come to bear until after he quit flying, where he developed the concept of ‘manoeuvre warfare’, a (for the US military, at least), radically novel concept of warfare that changed the way of fighting a modern war.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bo...ary_strategist)
John R. Boyd, Colonel, United States Air Force
John Boyd - USAF, The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of Air Warfare
There should be a copy of this book in every crewroom.