Colonel Slife chronicles the influence of the late Gen Wilbur L. "Bill" Creech7a leader, visionary, warrior, and mentor7in the areas of equipment and tactics, training, organization, and leader development. His study serves both to explain the context of a turbulent time in our Air Force's history and to reveal where tomorrow's airmen may find answers to some of the difficult challenges facing them today. Colonel Slife, who addresses such controversial topics as the development of the Army's AirLand Battle doctrine and what it meant to airmen, is among the first to describe what historians will surely see in years to come as the revolutionary developments of the late 1970s/early 1980s and General Creech's central role. Creech Blue enlightens the Air Force on its strongly held convictions during that period and challenges the idea that by 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, the Air Force had forgotten how to wage a "strategic" air campaign and was dangerously close to plunging into a costly and lengthy war of attrition had it not been for the vision of a small cadre of thinkers on the Air Staff. In exploring the doctrine and language of the decade leading up to Operation Desert Storm, Colonel Slife reveals that the Air Force was not as shortsighted as many people have argued.

Members of the naval service will find that at all points in their careers they can expect to be involved to some extent in the planning and execution c~fofficial ceremonies and social events. Protocol is a code of established guidelines on proper etiquette and precedence which, when followed, lays the foundation for a successfid event. From this foundation, the host should consider the facets which make a particular situation unique, and fi-om there, use imagination to design a memorable occasion. The most important consideration in planning should always be the comfort of one's guests. A clever hostlhostess is able to reach a proper mixture of protocol and common sense that will enable guests to enjoy themselves completely. If this is accomplished, an event is truly successful.

In 1950, when he commissioned the first edition of The Armed Forces Officer, Secretary of Defense George C. Marshall told its author, S.L.A. Marshall, that "American military officers, of whatever service, should share common ground ethically and morally." In this new edition, the authors methodically explore that common ground, reflecting on the basics of the Profession of Arms, and the officer's special place and distinctive obligations within that profession and especially to the Constitution.

Students will learn about the history of this important position, as well as learning what the main duties of the secretary of defense are. Readers will learn that the secretary of defense oversees the army, navy, air force, and marines, and they will read about what each of these military branches does to keep Americans safe.