John Boyd, Revisited

Readers of my previous article on the subject of Colonel John Richard Boyd, USAF, may recall that at the time of its writing I’d not had time to read the three major works on Boyd that are currently available – those by Coram, Hammond, and Osinga.  I’ve since read the works by Coram and Hammond, and am partway through the work by Osinga.

Both the Coram and Hammond works are excellent.  What I’d been lead to believe about the works seems to have been correct. As a popular biography, the Coram work is probably the better of the two.  The Hammond work may be of more interest if you want to put Boyd and his work into historical perspective within DoD (though Coram’s work is also helpful for that). If you want to learn more about Boyd, I’d recommend starting with Coram’s work and then proceeding to Hammond’s.  But you won’t go wrong if you reverse the order. If you only have limited time or funds, you should probably go with Coram’s work.

Osinga’s work is more along the lines of a senior- or grad-school level discussion of Boyd’s major later works (Creation and Destruction, Patterns . . . , and Discourse . . . .)  Though I’m only about 1/3 of the way through that work – and it’s definitely not an “easy read” – it’s probably the best if you want to understand both the man’s ideas and some of the thought process that went into creating them.   Be forewarned you might have to read it more than once – and do some additional reading in sources it suggests.

I also discovered one additional major, if indirect, accomplishment of Boyd’s.  Boyd’s final (and least-known) acolyte, Col Jim Burton, USAF, was responsible for instituting realistic live-fire testing for the Army’s Bradly Fighting Vehicle (BFV).   The Army apparently “rigged” the Bradley’s initial live-fire testing to ensure success through a variety of shameful means.  Realistic testing, which Burton forced with Boyd’s guidance and help, showed that the initial design for the Bradley (e.g., without the inner Kevlar lining) would have been a disaster in combat.  Though it cost Burton dearly – he was forced to retire early and was denied appointment as the initial DoD Director, Operational Test and Evaluation – this decision has doubtless saved US lives during the past 2+ decades of conflict.

If you know anyone who’s ever served in an Army Bradley unit, you might tell them they should consider leaving a small pebble on the grave of the Air Force officer buried at Section 60, Grave 3660, Arlington National Cemetery, the next time they visit.  When they ask why, have them read the paragraph above.  I think they’ll “get it” then.

Happy New Year, all.

Note:  the material about the Bradley, Burton, and the Army is contained in Chapter 29 of Coram’s bio.  Previous Boyd article has full ID info for the book, including ISBN.

In a just world, people would have gone to jail for those shameful, fraudulent acts.  Instead, we have yet more proof that “no good deed goes unpunished.”

Category: Historical