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wwI The Beginning of the Air Power Technology When people look at today's Air Force, they happen to see a technologically advanced force that can be anywhere at any time. Nothing could support this more than Operation Dessert Shield/Storm were the Air Force practically moved itself to the Persian Gulf within the few days. But what many people don't know is that the Air Force almost never came to be if it weren't for the World War I. Aircraft were first introduced into the U.S. military in 1907 as a way to scout and observe enemy movements. After the first ground offensive of the war, the situation in which further progress is impossible in the trenches of France in 1914. The aircraft from both sides became virtually the only source of intelligence. These aircraft were actually part of the stalemate for the fact that their use prevented opposing ground forces from building large formations without being detected. This stalemate lead to the development of pursuit aircraft, which were used to drive the observation planes and balloons out of the skies. The U.S. did not try to make many advances while those in Europe were working to get any sort of advantage that they could. At the same time, the German had developed the Fokker pursuit plane. This plane was created so that it could fire its bullets within the turning propeller blades. The Fokker became superior advancement over the other planes because it required a gunner in the back seat. America's involvement in the air war was minimal at first. American volunteers began flying for the Lafayette Escadrille in the French Air Force. But by the end of the war, America had over 11,000 officers flying. Almost half had served in France. American involvement was significant in the fact that those fighting brought ideas about aircraft and its role in war back to America. The most important of these people was Colonel William "Billy" Mitchell. Colonel Mitchell, who was a private in the Spanish-American War, was an extremely military-minded man. In April 1917, the United States declared war on Germany. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel "Billy" Mitchell was already on his way to Europe as an observer. Over the next 18 months, he held a variety of aviation posts. During this time, Colonel Mitchell had listened carefully to members of the British and French Air Forces about how air power could be used tactically and strategically. Colonel Mitchell took these ideas that he had listened to and put them into action. In 1918 Colonel Mitchell took command of the largest concentration of allied aircraft during the war. The aircraft under his command controlled the skies and was instrumental in helping the allied armies for defeating the Germans. His fleet also began to develop the theory of strategic bombing by dropping bombs on enemy munitions dumps as well as troop concentrations. In fact, by the end of the war, Colonel Mitchell and his staff had developed plans for air attacks deep into German territory. Because of his work, Colonel Mitchell was promoted to the grade of brigadier general. In Mitchell's experience of air power technology, he was very convinced that this technology would make a tremendous change in the military structure. The air power technology is the key of establishing the "Air Force", independent of Army or Navy command. The use of the airplane during the World War 1 had helped the U.S, as the allies of the French, to win the war against the Germans. This technology created many changes and perspective about the war. One of the tremendous changes that had begun is the establishment of the Air Force. As the time goes by, the technology gets even better and is becoming more advanced while the U.S prepares for more wars to come. Bibliography:

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