Part One of this series identified the core problem facing the US Air Force:

The Air Force lacks a uniting, common identity and very few aviation missions are unique to the Air Force.

So what is the Air Force’s common identity? In other words, what is an Airman? Lots of very smart people have grappled with this question. Unfortunately, it’s the wrong question. We should ask, “What is an Airman?”

Is implies a fundamental nature. For example, a Marine is a rifleman, his roles and missions naturally fall in line with this nature. 

Airman literally means a man who flies. Okay, over simplistic. A businessman drinking a scotch on an airliner at 35,000 feet isn’t an Airman. Since humans don’t have wings, this definition implies technology behind the act. This point is critical – one can’t separate the Airman from the technology enabling flight. Aircraft must be designed, built and maintained. I call it the NASCAR theory: the racing car’s designer and the pit crew get to bask in the glory and share defeat with the driver because they are front-line players in the technology loop

If your job entails flying, fixing or designing aerospace craft engaged in controlled flight for military purposes, congratulations, you’re an Airman.

“Wow,” you’re thinking, “You just included a lot of people who aren’t in the Air Force.” Correct.

Let’s play a little game called “You might be an Airman.” It’s sort of like comedian Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a redneck if…” If you’re a US Army Patriot battery operator, you’re an Airman. If you’re a mechanic fixing Patriot missiles, you’re an Airman. If you’re a uniformed Army engineer designing future surface-to-air missiles, you’re an Airman. If you’re the cook feeding the people manning the Patriot missile battery, you’re not an Airman. If you’re an F/A-18 mechanic on a carrier, you’re an Airman. If you’re a sailor in charge of steering the carrier, then you’re not an Airman. Stinger fire team members are Airmen because the Stinger missile is a guided aerospace craft. A soldier manning an anti-aircraft artillery piece, however, isn’t an Airman because is bullet is not a guided aerospace craft, it a ballistic piece of lead as is artillery. Army Apache pilots or UAV operators are Airmen. What about a Navy sea-launched ballistic missile launch officer? Airman. However, the nuclear propulsion officer on the same sub isn’t. What about a military person who controls a satellite? Yes, he’s an Airman. What about a Department of Defense civilian or contract pilot training military pilots? No, he’s a civilian who flies for the Department of Defense and gets a paycheck. These are there gray areas, but all definitions have gray areas.

“Okay,” you’re thinking, “You just excluded a lot of people in the Air Force.” Correct again, but I’m not trying to insult anyone. I’m trying to get to the heart the issue.  For example, any soldier, from a cook to a clerk, can put down their spatula or stapler and function as a ground combatant. Any sailor can perform basic seaman functions. As stated earlier, all Marines are riflemen. But not everyone wearing Air Force Blue can function as an Airman because the Airman cannot be separated from the aviation technology which gives him power of controlled flight. It is mastery of this technology which makes him unique and defines his intrinsic nature.

So what’s an Airman based on the case presented here? Airmen are military personnel who fly or directly control, maintain, or design aerospace craft engaged in controlled flight for military purposes. Translated to good old fashioned English, it means Airmen fly and fight!

In one definition the nature of an Airman is captured, and his roles and missions will naturally follow. As we’ve seen, many not in the Air Force are Airmen by this definition. These are ‘in lieu of’ Airmen – non-Air Force military personnel performing airpower missions.  Then there are those in the Air Force not performing airpower missions; these are the more familiar ‘in lieu’ soldiers. These are important points which tie into the second half of the core problem - very few aviation missions are unique to the Air Force. This will be explored later in this series. What’s important to understand now is this definition raises many uncomfortable questions.

For example, aviation is the Air Force’s sole mission focus but the other services also perform aviation functions as secondary missions – and perform them very well. In the 60 years since the Air Force has been in existence I cannot find a single case where the other services surrendered an aviation role in recognition the Air Force could do it better. To the contrary, the Air Force has lost several missions to other services. Is it just inter-service politics or is there more to it? Perhaps it’s because Airmen are tied to technology like no other warriors. This is a strength but also a profound weakness. It gives birth to a host of cultural issues reinforcing the core problem, including something called ‘technological tribalism.’

Technological tribalism underlies and reinforces the services lack of common identity, which we’ll discuss in Part Three.