AU History
Air University
History
Epilogue
Air University was established to provide a single military organization that was free to concentrate all of its energies on developing the leadership, strategies, concepts, and doctrines necessary for winning future wars. To this end, Air University continuously revised the course content and subject matter at its various schools to keep abreast of current technologies, international situations, and military concepts and capabilities. Air University also attempted to avoid traditional thinking in the development of its courses' content, least the Air Force fight future conflicts as it had fought previous wars. As General Fairchild once put it, Air University was "a pre-war educational system, not a post-war school".
The focus of the Air Force's vital professional education mission is Air University's academic circle, home of the Air War College; Air Command and Staff College; Squadron Officer School; the Eaker College for Professional Development; the College for Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education; and the Air University Library.
To ensure this, AU commanders have sought and acquired the most highly qualified military and civilian instructors available for staff and faculty duty at their schools. They have also made a deliberate effort to encourage the rapid turnover of these individuals to prevent stagnation and to facilitate fresh and open views of the future. At the same time, these commanders have always taken actions to ensure that the most promising and highest qualified students attended AU schools in residence at the most appropriate points in their careers. These concerns, necessary for fostering and producing the brightest and best future planners and leaders of the United States Air Force, are as critical today as they were when the command was first established.
Air Force Senior NCO Academy students take part in a seminar at Gunter AFS.
And so, Air University continues in the proud tradition of its predecessors, the Air Corps Tactical School, AAF School of Applied Tactics, and the AAF Schools by providing professional military, specialized, and continuing education to officers of the US Air Force, sister services, foreign countries, and DOD civilians. The university also continues to play an important role in formulating USAF concepts, doctrines, and strategies for the employment of air power and, today, manages two of the Air Force's major pre-commissioning programs. Air University forms a vital link in the Air Force's overall readiness chain and remains a key element in building and maintaining an Air Force that is second to none.
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