Airmen,
I am excited to announce the launch of our new CSAF Leadership Library, a dynamic and diverse resource designed to expand your perspective as you tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead. This modern-day library marks an evolution in the DAF’s dedication to your professional growth and the strengthening of our Air Force culture.
My vision for this library is to serve as a platform to inform discussions by providing material that draws lessons from the past while addressing pressing emerging topics such as leadership, resiliency, technology, geopolitics, and national security. I am committed to ensuring that you are well-informed on DAF priorities and the strategies shaping the future of our Air Force, and I eagerly anticipate hearing your thoughts. The pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong journey; we are never truly done learning, as every experience and interaction offers an opportunity to expand our understanding of the world.
This library is not merely a collection of books, podcasts, and documentaries; it's a vibrant platform for dialogue. I encourage discussions, debates, and the sharing of insights among Airmen of all ranks—fostering a culture of open communication and mutual learning. These resources are tailored to equip you with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives essential for effective leadership in the 21st century. Included, you will find a rich blend of both traditional and nontraditional recommendations, all designed to sharpen critical analytical skills and develop the leaders essential for meeting the challenges of the future.
I value your input in shaping our Leadership Library. Your opinions matter and are vital in defining what we value as an organization and what is essential for your leadership journey. I invite you to actively participate and share your thoughts. I will be introducing a series of initiatives to gather feedback and engagement from you. This process will be iterative, guided by your evolving needs and interests. Your active involvement will be pivotal in shaping a vibrant knowledge hub tailored to our service. Together, let's make our CSAF Leadership Library a thriving center of learning and growth.
Editor’s note: The CSAF Leadership Library is a fluid set of media selected by Gen. Allvin that evolves as novel ideas are published, recorded and debated. New entries will be added periodically throughout the year.
One Mission
In Team of Teams, retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal and former Navy SEAL Chris Fussell made the case for a new organizational model combining the agility, adaptability, and cohesion of a small team with the power and resources of a giant organization. Now, in One Mission, Fussell channels all his experiences, both military and corporate, into powerful strategies for unifying isolated and distrustful teams. This practical guide will help leaders in any field implement the Team of Teams approach to tear down their silos, improve collaboration, and avoid turf wars. By committing to one higher mission, organizations develop an overall capability that far exceeds the sum of their parts.
Analogies at War
From World War I to Operation Desert Storm, American policymakers have repeatedly invoked the "lessons of history" as they contemplated taking their nation to war. Do these historical analogies actually shape policy, or are they primarily tools of political justification? Yuen Foong Khong argues that leaders use analogies not merely to justify policies but also to perform specific cognitive and information-processing tasks essential to political decision-making. Khong identifies what these tasks are and shows how they can be used to explain the U.S. decision to intervene in Vietnam. Relying on interviews with senior officials and on recently declassified documents, the author demonstrates with a precision not attained by previous studies that the three most important analogies of the Vietnam era - Korea, Munich, and Dien Bien Phu - can account for America's Vietnam choices. A special contribution is the author's use of cognitive and social psychology to support his argument about how humans analogize and to explain why policymakers often use analogies poorly.
Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing
Brad Stulberg researches, writes, and coaches on mental health, well-being, and sustainable excellence. He is the bestselling author of The Practice of Groundedness and Master of Change. He regularly contributes to the New York Times, and his work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and the Atlantic, among other outlets. He is on the faculty at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health.
Foreign Affairs: The Path to AI Arms Control: America and China Must Work Together to Avert Catastrophe
This year marks the 78th anniversary of the end of the deadliest war in history and the beginning of the longest period in modern times without great-power war. Because World War I had been followed just two decades later by World War II, the specter of World War III, fought with weapons that had become so destructive they could theoretically threaten all of humankind, hung over the decades of the Cold War that followed. When the United States’ atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki compelled Japan’s immediate unconditional surrender, no one thought it conceivable that the world would see.