"Over Not Through"

This paper explores the foundations of Air Force culture and outlines five cultural narratives that are tied to major moments in the Air Force's history, especially to critical junctures in the evolution of Air Force culture when the nation or the Air Force institution faced profound challenges. The author identifies five distinct cultural identities and argues that, as the Air Force has matured, these identities increasingly overlap and coexist. The first narrative describes Airmen's culture when aviation emerged as a revolutionary instrument of war in World War I. This, then, morphed into a narrative that marked the beginning of the modern Air Force during the interwar years. A third narrative describes a shift to the concept of victory through air power that occurred during World War II and recurred in the 1990s. A fourth narrative explores the Airmen's culture that emerged in response to the Cold War and the need to deter global nuclear conflict. A final narrative, which emerged during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, focused on the Air Force's enabling roles and shaped many of today's Airmen. The author points out that the fact that five discernible narratives exist suggests that a strong, single narrative that unites Airmen is missing. This absence encourages Airmen to create their own subnarratives and points out that senior leaders are missing an opportunity to imbue all Airmen with a unifying cultural identify that captures their value and place in a dynamic national security arena.