Risky Business

102 Pages·2015·1.45 MB·English

by  Robert C. Bearden

TTHHEE 19
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A PE
P R
S
Risky Business
Reducing Moral Hazard
in Airlift Operations
Robert C. Bearden
Lieutenant Colonel, USAF
Air University
Steven L. Kwast, Lieutenant General, Commander and President
School of Advanced Air and Space Studies
Thomas D. McCarthy, Colonel, Commandant and Dean
AIR UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF ADVANCED AIR AND SPACE STUDIES
Risky Business
Reducing Moral Hazard in Airlift Operations
Robert C. Bearden
Lieutenant Colonel, USAF
Drew Paper No. 19
Air University Press
Air Force Research Institute
Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama
Project Editor Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dr. Ernest A. Rockwell
Bearden, Robert C., 1975–
Copy Editor Risky business : reducing moral hazard in airlift operations /
Sandi Davis Robert C. Bearden, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF.
pages cm. — (Drew paper, ISSN 1941-3785 ; no. 19)
Composition and Prepress Production
Includes bibliographical references.
Nedra O. Looney
ISBN 978-1-58566-244-9
Cover Art, Book Design 1. Airlift, Military—United States. 2. Dien Bien Phu, Battle of,
Daniel Armstrong Điện Biên Phủ, Vietnam, 1954 3. Khe Sanh, Battle of, Vietnam,
1968. 4. Airlift, Military—Case studies. I. Title. II. Title: reduc-
ing moral hazard in airlift operations.
Illustrations
UC333.B43 2014
Susan Fair
358.4’141–dc23
Print Preparation and Distribution 2014038694
Diane Clark

AIR FORCE RESEARCH INSTITUTE Published by Air University Press in January 2015

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ii
The Drew Papers
The Drew Papers are award-winning master’s theses selected for publica-
tion by the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS), Maxwell
AFB, Alabama. This series of papers commemorates the distinguished career
of Col Dennis “Denny” Drew, USAF, retired. In 30 years at Air University,
Colonel Drew served on the Air Command and Staff College faculty, directed
the Airpower Research Institute, and served as dean, associate dean, and pro-
fessor of military strategy at SAASS. Colonel Drew is one of the Air Force’s
most extensively published authors and an international speaker in high
demand. He has lectured to over 100,000 students at Air University as well as
to foreign military audiences. In 1985 he received the Muir S. Fairchild Award
for outstanding contributions to Air University. In 2003 Queen Beatrix of the
Netherlands made him a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau for his con-
tributions to education in the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
The Drew Papers are dedicated to promoting the understanding of air and
space power theory and application. These studies are published by the Air
University Press and broadly distributed throughout the US Air Force, the
Department of Defense, and other governmental organizations, as well as to
leading scholars, selected institutions of higher learning, public-policy insti-
tutes, and the media.
iii
Please send inquiries or comments to

Commandant and Dean
School of Advanced Air and Space Studies
125 Chennault Circle
Maxwell AFB, AL 36112
Tel: [phone]
DSN: 493-5155
[email protected]
iv
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Foreword ix
About the Author xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Abstract xv
1 Introduction 1
2 Dien Bien Phu 9
3 Khe Sanh 29
4 Modern Implications 51
5 Mechanisms to Reduce Moral Hazard 65
Abbreviations 75
Bibliography 77
v

Illustrations
Figure
1 President Johnson Studying the Khe Sanh Map in the
White House Situation Room 41
2 C-17 Sortie Distribution 56
3 Pounds of Supplies Airdropped for OEF 57
vii