Customer Reviews

Sovereign skies: Air National Guard takes command of 1st Air Force

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My name is Paul Connors and as the Acting Historian of First Air Force at the time Leslie Filson wrote this book, I served as CO-AUTHOR for SOVEREIGN SKIES, THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD TAKES COMMAND AT FIRST AIR FORCE. This is a book that was the brainchild of two officers at First Air Force at Tyndall AFB, FL as command of it and overall responsibility for the continental air defense of the USA transitioned from the active Air Force to the Air National Guard. The officers who conceived this project were major general Philip G. Killey and retired Colonel Dan Navin. Major General Philip G. Killey, then the Director of the ANG was assigned to command 1AF and lead the mission transition from the regular component to the ANG. General Killey believed that the major success of the transition of the mission and the command structure needed to be documented and ordered the PAO of 1AF, then Captain Don Arias to get this project underway. He hired Leslie as the primary writer and interviewer (she was the wife of a fighter pilot assigned to the 2nd Fighter Squadron of the 325th Fighter Wing - the base's host unit) and had a degree in Journalism from San Diego State University. I was assigned the task of researching and writing about the history of First Air Force as well as the technical reseacrh and wrriting about the aircraft used by the units assigned to it over the years.

The first half of the book contains my history of the origins of First Air Force in 1940 and the various mission changes it had, as well as its periods of inactivation. The latter part of the book also includes research I did on the various aircraft flown by the fighter units assigned to 1AF through the years. Many great photos, both B&W and color are included and were provided by the USAF Historic Research Agency (AFHRA), the Air National Guard and the units themselves. Many of the later color photos are absolutely gorgeous and are a tribute to the talents and skills of various Air Force and ANG photographers around the country (as well as the advances in photographic equipment and technology).

Leslie's interviews and coverage deals mainly with the transformation process and the actual people involved and these interviews are numerous and cover the wide spectrum of people involved. She discusses at length the recruiting for the full-time positions at Tyndall AFB and the conflicts between the legal status of Air National Guard personnel as guardsmen under state control and those who are "federalized" for actual air defense missions or events at the air defense sectors around the country. This coverage was needed and is essential to this day for without it, there would have been no record of this highly successful mission transfer.

One of the things that came out in the 9/11 commission hearings was that former Secretary of State Don Rumsfeld, perhaps one of the most venal, vindictive and incompetent defense secretaries the USA has had since the defense department was created in 1947 actually PLANNED and began the implementation of the dismantling of 1AF, the CONUS NORAD region and the dedicated air defense fighter units located at the corners of the country. Those plans were in process as recently as September 10, 2001. The following day's horrific events changed all that and unfortunately, critics seeking to place blame immediately focused their attentions on Major General Arnold, the 1AF and CONUS/NORAD commander and the air defense units assigned that mission.

Unfortunately, this book does not cover ANY of those events, but Leslie's sequel does. This book ends in 1999, more than two years before 9/11 and is an excellent documentary look at what went into the transfer of a vital area of national defense from the active component to one to be handled and led by the Air Guard.

The depth of research in what is a rather small book is really well done and I don't say that because I am the co-author. Generals Killey and Arnold saw to it that more than adequate resources were devoted to the project and the book itself won an excellence in PA products award on an AIR FORCE WIDE level in 1999.

While this book was being researched and written, Leslie and I also provided other PA and historical support to 1AF. I served as de facto photographer for some of the photos used in the book, and so did Leslie. Ironically, 1 AF Public Affairs did NOT have a camera assigned to it at the time, so Leslie and I each used our own equipment and film.

Readers with a sharp eye will find some errors in fact and nomenclature that I pointed out to Captain Arias AFTER leaving First Air Force. There are several times where Leslie used the term "jets" where she should have said "aircraft or airplanes" (because the planes in question were piston powered and had propellers) and some other minor errors. She also mislabled several Air Force organizations and while it may seem trivial, there is a protocol to how and why Air Force and other military organizations are formed and designated. The refusal to make the necessary corrections, especially to military titles, designations and so on irked me because it showed a lack of attention to details and military history. The failure to correct these errors PRIOR to printing is the main reason I cannot rate a project I co-authored with 5 stars.

After leaving First Air Force, Captain Arias and I disagreed on the style for the book and as a PA officer, he insisted that the Associated Press Style Guide be used throughout. Leslie, as a journalist regularly used that style, despite the fact that it DID NOT lend itself to accurate historical reportage. Air Force historians and PA Specialists generally don't see eye-to-eye on writing styles and this was one of those occasions. As a result, I appealed to have my name removed from the project, the book's cover and any mention within its contents. Given that I am a Non-Commissioned Officer, Arias was a Captain (now a Lieutenant Colonel) and Leslie a civilian, I lost that battle.

Still, the book is well crafted, laid out and designed. I was not involved in the lay out or final production and by the time the book was printed and distributed, I had moved on to other assignments.

As I look back on my participation, I realize that ultimately this is Leslie's book. She gets and takes ALL OF THE CREDIT for it, her name on the cover is larger than mine and that is probably as it should be. Where the book serves a valuable purpose is that it provides an excellent primer to this historically significant mission transfer PRIOR to the tragic events of 9/11. Leslie's follow-on volume documents the participation of 1AF and the assorted ANG, USAF, USN and USMC fighter units that stood up and protected the continental USA after the attacks. The combined pair provides a good look at how the lower 48 is protected in the air by the men and women of the Air National Guard.

It was a story well worth telling and more significantly, it was an IMPORTANT STORY that needed to be told. Finally, it is a story more Americans need to know about. As I look back now, from a position offering 20-20 hindsight, I am pleased that I was the enlisted Air National Guard historian who helped contribute to the success of the telling of this story. My participation meant the Air Force Historian's career field was represented, that the history of First Air Force was accurately written and reported and that the men and women who contributed to the successful mission transformation were recognized for their contributions to national defense.