CENTRE FOR AIR POWER STUDIES

Since the end of the Cold War in 1991 both NATO and the many individual Air Forces of European nations have reflected on their changing circumstances and priorities and have devised new strategies for remaining credible and effective. With the emergence of new strategic ideas within the EU, and with a burgeoning EU sense of confidence that it can itself address issues of defence and security, a distinctly European expression of air power is surfacing.

Although scholars and senior military officers are analysing these issues they have not yet begun to influence the thinking of officer cadets and junior officers, the leaders of tomorrow who will really need to make sense of what it is to be both a European and an Air Force officer.

This conference aims to bring together officer cadets from every Air Force college and academy throughout Europe, along with officer cadets from the US, and to have them discuss and debate ideas on European air power. Through lectures and break-out workshops and tutorials during the first two days (6 / 7 October), the conference should foster a genuine spirit of collegiality and co-operation. The benefits of having officer cadets from different nations discussing air power, and sharing their own national perspectives, is enormously beneficial. The conference organisers hope that, in their own small way, they can help the officer cadets not only to learn more about other nations’ air forces, but also perhaps to develop life-long empathetic bonds of understanding and friendship.

Air Force colleges and academies are therefore each invited to send delegations of up to twenty officer cadets to the conference. Ideally, the academies should each send accompanying staff to facilitate their logistics and their integration into the conference. They should also consider sending an academic as a conference lecturer and tutorial mentor.

Ramstein was chosen as the ideal location for the conference for two reasons. First, it is centrally located within Europe and not too distant from any European Air Force college. Second, as the home of a NATO regional air component HQ, it ideally represents the harmonious co-operation of many European Air Forces.

The conference organisers are grateful for the full support of Air Marshal David Walker, CBE, AFC, RAF, Deputy Air Commander, Allied Air Component Command Headquarters Ramstein, who has agreed to host officer cadet delegations from throughout Europe.

Key themes for analysis and discussion at the conference will include:

• NATO’s current and future responsibilities as a guardian of European security
• NATO’s air power concepts and strategies
• The emergence of indigenous European ideas on defence, security and especially air power
• The activities and aspirations of individual European Air Forces
• The co-operative efforts of European Air Forces both inside and outside the EU and NATO frameworks.

The third and final day of the Conference (8 October) will be an applied air power study day that will be chaired by Air Marshal David Walker, RAF. The air power study day will be based on vignette play and will involve the officer cadets forming air command planning teams to plan responses to a host of scenarios ranging from high intensity operations in the contemporary operational environment to crisis response operations. The day will culminate with the planning teams briefing the NATO’s 4* Air Expeditionary Commander.

The organisers of this first Europe-wide conference for Air Force officer cadets are the Royal Air Force College and its King’s College London academic partner. All other European Air Force colleges and academies are invited to contribute to the organising of the conference as well as to its delivery. The organisers hope that future conferences may in time fall under the auspices of the EUAFA.

Questions of an academic nature can be sent to the Conference Convenor:

Dr Joel Hayward

Dean of the Royal Air Force College

Royal Air Force College

Cranwell

Lincolnshire NG34 8HB

United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 (0) 1400 268020

Email: jhayward-kcl@cranwell.raf.mod.uk

Colleges and academies wanting to contribute to the organisation of this conference and to the sending of officer cadet delegations, or to ask questions about costs and logistics, should contact the organisers at the following address:

Major Quentin Wilkins

Project Officer

European Air Power Conference

Royal Air Force College

Cranwell

Lincolnshire NG34 8HB

United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 (0) 1400 266326

Email: qwilkins@cranwell.raf.mod.uk