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The next fight will be shaped by how quickly leaders can frame options and act.
Air University develops leaders to operate inside that reality.
It prepares joint warfighters to assess conditions, frame options and support decisions tied to how the Department of the Air Force executes strategies and plans. Across the enterprise, education, research and doctrine connect directly to decision-making at the operational and strategic levels.
“Air University solves operational problems through professional education and training,” said Col. Robert E. O’Keefe, commandant and dean of the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies at Air University. “That typically is through the lens of airpower, but we also serve other services as well.”
The environment those leaders move into is defined by pace and constraint. Information is available. Time is limited. Decisions are made with incomplete data and within compressed timelines.
Air University is built for that.
“Our education is primarily focused on strategic issues and thinking strategically,” O’Keefe said. “That’s not to say we don’t address operational issues.”
That balance shows up in how leaders connect tactical actions to broader objectives. Strategy and execution don’t stay separate for long, especially when options have to be clear, timely and tied to risk.
“We read very deeply, very widely,” O’Keefe said. “But really where the learning happens is within our Socratic seminar.”
Officers bring in operational experience and test it against theory, history and each other. The focus is not on a single answer. It is on understanding the problem well enough to frame options and move forward.
“We’re not teaching those concepts as doctrine,” O’Keefe said. “We’re teaching them as foundations, as frameworks to look through contemporary problems.”
Air University builds that perspective by bringing together a mix of experience.
“We have folks that come right out of tactical and operational units,” O’Keefe said. “They bring those things into the discussion to put them into a broader context and understand them in the strategic picture.”
“About a quarter of our students come from outside the U.S. Air Force, to include international partners,” he said.
That mix reflects how the Joint Force operates, with different services working the same problem from different angles and under the same time constraints.
Air University operates as an enterprise that includes schools, centers and programs focused on education, research and doctrine. Those elements support a common goal, developing warfighters and addressing problems that emerge in planning, operations and policy.
Graduates move into assignments across the Joint Force, supporting planning efforts, shaping campaign design and helping frame options presented to senior leaders. Those decisions carry risk, often with limited time to adjust once they’re made.
The environment they’re stepping into continues to change. Timelines compress. Problems extend across domains.
Air University prepares them to operate under those conditions before they face them.
| Date Taken: | 04.20.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.20.2026 12:41 |
| Story ID: | 563109 |
| Location: | MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Forging Decision Advantage for the Future Fight, by Billy Blankenship, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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