Doctrinal Frontiers

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Doctrinal Frontiers

C. H. Builder

I would like to develop two themes dealing with doctrinal frontiers. One is the importance of our pursuing this subject. The other is the location of one of those frontiers. Air Force Manual (AFM) 1-1 tells us that 'doctrine should be alive--growing, evolving, and maturing. New experiences, reinterpretations of former experiences, advances in technology, changes in threats, and cultural changes can all require alterations to parts of our doctrine even as other parts remain constant. If we allow our thinking about aerospace power to stagnate, our doctrine can become dogma.' We are accustomed to seeing doctrine grow, evolve, and mature, particularly where doctrine applies to what we care most about--our traditional roles and missions in the mainstream of the Air Force. We seem to have more difficulty, however, with nurturing doctrine off the mainstream roles and missions--what I call the doctrinal frontiers, such as space and special operations. I don't know whether that is because of insufficient interest from the mainstream of the Air Force or because such developments might be perceived as threats to (or unwanted diversions from) the mainstream interests. History admits to both possibilities.