Air power engineer: Major General Mason Patrick and the United States Air Service, 1917-1927

The years between 1917 and 1928 were critical in the history of the United States Air Service in the doctrinal development of air warfare, leadership issues, and the future independence of America's military air arm. Major General Mason M. Patrick, a West Point graduate schooled as an engineer, was called upon twice within this period by his friend, General John J. Pershing, to lead the fledgling Air Service during turbulent times.;Initially, Pershing called upon Patrick to lead and reorganize the Air Service in the midst of World War I. Pershing called upon Patrick in 1921 again to take over command of the Air Service in the midst of Brigadier General "Billy" Mitchell's often strident campaign for Air Service independence.;While much has been written about Mitchell, Patrick has been all but ignored. Our ignorance of Patrick's accomplishments has led to an unqualified and uncritical acceptance of the pronouncements and attainments of his second in command: Billy Mitchell. In reality, due to Patrick's astute political judgment and close association with the Army's General Staff, he ensured the economic and doctrinal survival of the United States Air Service at a time when it faced critical internal and external pressures.;Mason Patrick was an exceptionally able administrator who controlled Billy Mitchell when others could (or would) not. In the beginning, Patrick was not a fervent air power advocate. But in the end, Patrick accomplished much more than Mitchell as he matured and grew in his appreciation of what military aviation could accomplish.;Patrick's tenure as Chief of the Air Service and Air Corps proved to be one of strategic brilliance: the pivotal turning point on the road to Air Force independence.