# "Air Policing"



## AWP (Jun 22, 2014)

Sadly, words written in 1924 have a lot of value today. We just don't learn....



> “The problem of controlling the tribal territory…has always needed special treatment by reason of the psychology, social organization and mode of life of the tribesmen and the nature of the country they inhabit.”
> “Hesitation or delay in dealing with uncivilized enemies are invariably interpreted as signs of weakness.”
> The British and Indian soldiers patrolling the dangerous hills of Waziristan, however, and the airmen who came to assist them didn’t have time to think about grand strategies. *They had their hands full defending against attacks on their convoys, forts, and patrols, some of them waged by the very militias the British had formed and armed to aid in their conquest of Afghanistan.* To defend the British colonial territory, the RAF devised a new form of frontier warfare, which its strategists called “air policing.”


 
http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/the-bombing-of-waziristan-162104725/


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## Grunt (Jun 22, 2014)

Proof positive that history repeats itself and that in the long run...things never really change.


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## pardus (Jun 22, 2014)

That was a great fucking article! Awesome piece of history in one of the most interesting parts of the world.


This is great... 



> if escape was out of the question, some advice was given, with typical British understatement: “It will be wisest to surrender with good grace and a bold demeanour, preferably to the older and more important-looking men among the crowd; the younger element is liable to be hot-headed and unpleasant.”



As an aside, I personally found this very interesting indeed.



> The Westland Wapiti (a North American Indian word for “elk”)



In New Zealand we have Elk, imported from the USA. We call them Wapiti, not Elk. I always assumed it was a Maori name. You learn something everyday!


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## SpitfireV (Jun 25, 2014)

It does sound very Maori. Cool.


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## AWP (Jul 6, 2014)

I'm reading _The Bombers and the Bombed_ by Richard Overy. In it he states that the doctrine/ policy of air policing led to the RAF's strategic bombing policy during WWII. Overy cited the concept of a "moral effect" and material destruction by "coercive bombing" which could lead to a civilization's collapse. The belief that this was effective lived on until WWII and was embraced by most of the RAF's senior leadership and planners.

Interestingly, the UK calls its current mission to (where else) "Baltic Air Policing."


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## DA SWO (Jul 6, 2014)

Freefalling said:


> I'm reading _The Bombers and the Bombed_ by Richard Overy. In it he states that the doctrine/ policy of air policing led to the RAF's strategic bombing policy during WWII. Overy cited the concept of a "moral effect" and material destruction by "coercive bombing" which could lead to a civilization's collapse. The belief that this was effective lived on until WWII and was embraced by most of the RAF's senior leadership and planners.
> 
> Interestingly, the UK calls its current mission to (where else) "Baltic Air Policing."


I believe the baltic Air Policing was a NATO term devised so to sound less "Militaristic".
LOL.

Reading the Pre-WW II theories about Aerial Bombardment always amused me.
We assume our side will not crack from the attacks, but the other side will capitulate to avoid prolonged bombardment.
Interesting concepts.


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## AWP (Jul 6, 2014)

SOWT said:


> I believe the baltic Air Policing was a NATO term devised so to sound less "Militaristic".
> LOL.
> 
> Reading the Pre-WW II theories about Aerial Bombardment always amused me.
> ...


 
Probably, I just found it interesting that it is in use.

You hit it on the head. The RAF chiefs were convinced that the German people would snap and productivity would plummet, bringing the country to a standstill. When it was pointed out that the British didn't do this during the Blitz, it was written off as a character flaw in the German people. A number of early raids were against the forests of Germany. The theory was that the game would be displaced and in turn it would flee to local farms and eat the crops, also bringing the country to a standstill. Ironically, they learned the most about bombing from studying the German Blitz against England. That event did more to shape British thought and doctrine regarding strategic bombing than any other event in WWII.


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