John Boyd and Air Power Theory

Brash. Brilliant. Pompous. Ground-breaking. The list goes on but fails to capture the drive, the talent, the intellectual horsepower, or the creativity of Colonel (R) John Boyd, USAF. There are many scholars and Boyd fans who contend that Boyd is the greatest military theorist that you have never heard of, but should have. Throughout his storied, if tumultuous career, Boyd developed a well-earned reputation for identifying problems of air combat, aircraft design, and military strategy and generating powerful solutions, which usually challenged the system, existing norms, and business as usual, but always advanced military theory and ideas. This presentation will explore John Boyd the person, his intellectual processes, and his ideas to better understand his contribution to strategy and warfighting.

During the event, submit your questions for Mr. Johnson to dolequestions@ku.edu for the question-and-answer portion of the program.

This program is closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.

This special program will be live-streamed to the institute’s YouTube channel and to its website, www.doleinstitute.org. Due to continuing concerns regarding the novel coronavirus pandemic, the program will only be available online. Follow the Dole Institute on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for updates regarding this and future programming.

Christopher Johnson
Christopher Johnson is an Assistant Professor at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS, where he teaches in the Department of Military History. He served for over 31 years as an officer in the U.S. Army with operational tours throughout the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Johnson is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, focusing on the U.S. Occupation of Japan after World War II.