“Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War,” is a captivating and informative biography of Colonel John Boyd, a brilliant and innovative military strategist who made a significant impact on modern warfare. A brilliant jet fighter pilot, forward-thinking academic, and a creative military strategist, he was a talented but wildly eccentric individual. Boyd was a leading figure in the post-Vietnam War military reform movement, the author of the first manual on jet aerial combat, the primary designer of the F-15 and the F-16 jet fighters, and the architect of the wildly successful American military strategy in the Persian Gulf War, among other accomplishments. Robert Coram does a fantastic job of bringing Boyd’s complex and multifaceted personality to life, highlighting his brilliant mind, his fierce determination, and his unwavering commitment to his principles. The book delves into Boyd’s unconventional approach to military strategy, which emphasized speed, agility, and adaptability over brute force, and how he used his ideas to revolutionize the way the United States military fights wars.
The three sections in Coram’s book are: Fighter Pilot, Engineer, and Scholar. Coram lets the reader know in the prologue that, like Boyd, he won’t cater to imagery. Coram writes that Boyd was more than just a run-of-the-mill fighter ace, he was an exception-to-the rule: an asymmetric-thinking fighter pilot. Those familiar with U.S. Air Force culture may confidently state the following two fights: First, fighter pilots are recognized for their testosterone, not their brains, and second, those with stars dictate military policy. But in 1959, when he was just a young Captain, Boyd was the first to define the elusive and enigmatic methodologies of air-to-air combat. His “Aerial Attack Study,” which he produced, became official Air Force doctrine and the benchmark for air combat, first in the United States and later, once declassified, for air forces globally.
One of the most compelling aspects of the book is the way it shows how Boyd’s ideas were initially met with resistance and skepticism from his colleagues, but ultimately gained widespread acceptance and became the foundation of modern military doctrine. It’s a testament to Boyd’s persistence and conviction that he was able to overcome the obstacles in his path and leave a lasting legacy. It traces his journey from his early days as a fighter pilot to his later years as a military strategist and consultant. Along the way, we see Boyd’s fierce intelligence and determination as he battles to have his ideas accepted by the military establishment. Boyd was also a boisterous, aggressive, and iconoclastic man who was not beyond insulting his military and civilian superiors at the Pentagon. He made enemies (and intensely devoted acolytes) wherever he went. Boyd’s 24 years in the Air Force (1951–1975) were challenging professionally, and his weird, erratic nature created significant emotional issues for his wife and kids.
One of the strengths of this book is Coram’s writing style. He presents the information in an engaging and easy-to-follow manner, making it an enjoyable read even for those with little background knowledge in military strategy. He also provides a perspective on Boyd that others often neglected to highlight: the way that he approached solving different problems. He found a method to change it, and as a result, every fighter plane in the world—not just those made in America—now has a different design and continues to do so. Boyd distilled took information for a lot of different campaigns and military treatises throughout the years, researched some of it, and actually came up with a different way to strategize, and to do war fighting; a process that pivots into modern business. Boyd creates a mathematical framework for fighter tactics while also mentally assaulting people around him. He then uses this framework to transform Air Force training and tactics. John Boyd was the person who, to put it simply, formalized the technique of airborne combat and developed the idea of energy maneuverability. However, John Boyd was the one who simplified combat strategy to mathematics and charts—a notion that was initially derided. However, Boyd’s work has now become so fundamental and basic that few people are even aware of its origins or the person who first proposed the idea of energy maneuverability.
Boyd’s continual theoretical examinations and discourses gave rise to the enlightening and practical OODA Loop and “Patterns of Conflict” briefings. Through sheer guts and perseverance, one guy has rarely produced such significant contributions and brought about such significant change. In the end, Boyd’s ideas not only affected military aviation but also the fundamental battle strategy of the U.S. Marine Corps after young officers accepted his “maneuver warfare” doctrines. Boyd interestingly contrasted military tactics, which focus on dispersing enemy teams, with leadership, which fosters teams on your side. Boyd’s thoughts and publications on military strategy continue to have an impact today, especially his idea of the “OODA (Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action) Loop,” which is still used by all branches of the armed forces as well as many business strategists.
Overall, “Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War” is a must-read for anyone interested in military history or the development of modern warfare. It’s a well-written and engaging book that offers a fascinating look at the life and career of one of the most influential military strategists of the 20th century. It offers a unique look at the life and career of an important but little-known figure in military history, and it provides valuable insights into the OODA loop and its impact on modern warfare. A cautionary tale regarding innovation and sustainable pace is also included in this book. It supports the idea that innovation results from extremely extensive understanding of a subject combined with an obsession with finding a solution. It calls into question once more whether innovative thinking and sustainable working methods can coexist. There is little doubt that this is a case study where intensive scholarship collides with psychological instability to produce both significant effects and significant collateral damage. Coram’s superb biography is thoroughly investigated and well-written, even down to revealing the minute details of some of Boyd’s views. Boyd’s often self-defeating abrasiveness and the neglect and mistreatment of his patient wife and children are not avoided by Coram, who supports Boyd and claims that he “contributed as much to fighter aviation as any man in the history of the Air Force.”[6] The book illuminates the challenging task facing those attempting to impose novel habits of thought on a deeply ingrained bureaucracy. It details the sacrifices John Boyd made in his unwavering effort to alter mind patterns, both personally and professionally.
The OODA Network on The OODA Loop and John Boyd
- John Boyd on Patterns of Conflict and the OODA Loop: Deep insights in Boyd’s own words.
- Chet Richards on John Boyd and Applying the OODA Loop to Business: OODAcast interview of one of John Boyd’s friends and acolytes.
- The OODA Loop Explained: The real story about the ultimate model for decision-making in competitive environments
