Forty-Second Boyd

Robert Coram’s “Boyd – The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War,” is a great read about Colonel John Boyd (U.S.A.F), the man many consider the greatest military strategist since Sun Tzu. Coram paints the picture of a larger-than-life man who had a “damn the torpedoes” attitude toward everything bureaucratic and wrong about the military. His inability to temper opinions in front of higher ranking officers and the military establishment in general undoubtedly severely limited his career. At the same time the breadth of his contribution toward military thinking and the defense of the United States is astounding.

John Boyd is arguably the best fighter pilot in American history. In the 1950s he earned the nickname “Forty Second Boyd” at Nellis air force base where as instructor he defeated all comers in simulated air to air combat in forty seconds or less. His abilities as a fighter pilot gave him unique insight into the full potential and glaring weaknesses of the fighter jets he flew.

Boyd made an unheard of transition, from fighter jock to scientist and engineer. During this transition Boyd published an article called the “Aerial Attack Study” that quantified air to air combat in terms never put on paper before – this represented a first step in changing fighter combat from a pure “gut feel” practice to a science that could be learned. He went on to totally revolutionize the field with the development of “Energy-Maneuverability Theory.”

“The E-M Theory, at its simplest, is a method to determine the specific energy rate of an aircraft. This is what every fighter pilot wants to know. If I am at 30,000 feet and 450 knots and pull six Gs, how fast am I gaining or losing energy? Can my adversary gain or lose energy faster than I can? In an equation, specific energy rate is denoted by “Ps” (pronounced “p sub s”). The state of any aircraft in any flight regime can be defined with Boyd’s simple equation: Ps = [(T-D)/W]V, or thrust minus drag over weight, multiplied by velocity. This is the core of E-M.” p.147-148.

From this simple equation Boyd was able to determine the performance metrics of both U.S. aircraft in use and Soviet MIGs, and their relative strengths and weaknesses.

To a civilian, reading “Boyd” is an eye opener into the ways the United States military approaches defending our country. Movies like “Top Gun” might give the impression that skilled fighter pilots have been a celebrated and highly valued part of America’s defense. Surprisingly, in the halls of the Pentagon nothing was further from the truth. The various military services, and the Air Force in particular followed a philosophy of interdiction that led to a “bigger, faster, farther” mindset when it came to aircraft and weapon system design.

Boyd, with the help of his “acolytes,” six men who with Boyd became known as “the Reformers,” was able to beat back the “bluesuiter” careerists at the Pentagon to radically influence multiple new plane programs. This included the F-15, the F-16, and the A10 “Warthog.” The F-16, known as the “light fighter” was a plane that no one in the Pentagon wanted and one that Boyd effectively shoved down their throat (with good reason). Based on E-M theory a lighter fighter has far more ability to lose and then regain energy, making it a far more maneuverable, and deadly weapon. This was in direct opposition to the Air Force’s theory of “push button, let missiles do the rest” warfare.

And that, as they say, is where Boyd’s career gets truly interesting. After making internal enemies throughout the Pentagon (mostly through his hard charging, disrespectful attitude toward incompetence and careerism, and of course direct opposition to status quo thinking) Boyd retired as a full Colonel in 1975. From there he spent the next 15 plus years working as a consultant to the military virtually for free (Pentagon rules forced him to get paid something, so he accepted one day of pay every two weeks). During this period of his life Boyd became a true scholar. As Coram describes it Boyd, interested in how he initially discovered E-M delved into works from all disciplines, eventually publishing a work entitled “Destruction and Creation.”

Boyd continued to have massive, though unofficial influence at the Pentagon. Through mentoring and support of his “acolytes,” and through a briefing entitled “Patterns of Conflict” that he delivered hundreds of times, Boyd began shaping the thinking on how the United States should fight wars. A favorite of few generals, Boyd’s thinking found traction with those open to new ways of fighting, including back-channel relations with multiple high level people such as the Secretary of Defense.

Through the “Patterns” briefing, Boyd’s developments, including the OODA Loop found their supporters. Ironically, it was the Marines, not the Air Force that primarily adopted Boyd’s thinking. One of the Acolytes, Mike Wyly had fought in Vietnam and recognized the error of “straight up the middle” attrition warfare practiced by the U.S. Military. Wyly was in a position to influence Marine combat training using Boyd theories (though he experienced the same resistance that eventually ended his Marine Corps career).

Boyd’s most impressive accomplishment is the performance of the Marine Corps in the Gulf war. U.S. strategy in that war, with the support of Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and General Colin Powell was unquestionably influenced by Boyd and his work:

“What is still not generally known to the public is just how well the Marines performed in the Gulf…. Three days before the war officially began, Myatt’s (General Mike Myatt) men raided deep behind Iraqi lines. They bypassed strong points, forgot their flanks, and penetrated so deeply and caused such confusion that the Iraqi Army rushed in reinforcements against what they anticipated would be the main thrust of the American invasion. Then they began surrendering by the thousands. Nowhere can be found a better example of Boyd’s ideas on “folding the enemy in on himself” than in the fact that some fifteen Iraqi divisions surrendered to two divisions of Marines.” p.424-425

Today, a wide school of thought in both military and business strategy is based on Boyd’s work. Web sites such as www.belisarius.com and http://www.d-n-i.net/ showcase Boyd’s ideas, as well as hundreds of articles and books. “Boyd,” is a great read about someone who is clearly an American hero.