Gen Wilbur L. "Bill" Creech was a leader, a visionary, a warrior, and a mentor. Just as Gen Curtis E. LeMay shaped the Air Force of the Cold War through his development of Strategic Air Command in the 1950s, General Creech shaped the Air Force of today through his actions as the commander of Tactical Air Command (TAC) from 1978 until 1984. Under the leadership of General Creech, TAC-and the Tactical Air Forces (TAF) writ large-underwent a transformation that, in large measure, built the Air Force that has fought so brilliantly in campaigns from Operation Desert Storm to the present global war on terrorism. In Creech Blue, Lt Col James C. Slife chronicles the influence General Creech had in the areas of equipment and tactics, training, organization, and leader development. His study is among the first to describe what, to historians in years to come, will surely be seen as the revolutionary developments of the late 1970s and early 1980s and General Creech's central role. While not a biography, Creech Blue is certainly biographical and captures the general's professional convictions in so many areas. General Creech's career spanned three and a half decades, which attests to how his experiences prepared him to assume command of TAC at the pivotal time that he did. As a young fighter pilot in Korea, he worked closely with Army maneuver units on the ground and was involved in the first all-jet aerial dogfight. These experiences helped shape his thoughts on the role of technology in warfare. Afterwards, General Creech was an aerial-demonstration pilot and an instructor at the Air Force Fighter Weapons School. In these assignments, he learned the value of disciplined flying and the need for tactics appropriate to the enemy. As aide-de-camp to TAC commander Gen Walter "Cam" Sweeney, General Creech learned much about the value of relationships at the highest levels of our service while also experiencing firsthand the destructive nature of interservice squabbles. In Vietnam he reinforced his ideas on the value of technology, particularly the need for an ability to fight at night. Twice a wing commander in Europe during the height of the Cold War, General Creech developed his strongly held convictions on how organization and leadership can set the stage for a unit's success. As commander of Air Force Systems Command Center and as assistant vice-chief of staff, he learned much about systems development and acquisition that would serve him well in the years to come. When General Creech assumed command of TAC in May 1978, there was no one more prepared to lead the TAF into a new era. Creech Blue serves as a first corrective to much that has been published in the last decade as our service has become more intellectually and doctrinally aware. Colonel Slife addresses such controversial topics as the development of the Army's AirLand Battle doctrine and what it meant to Airmen. As the TAC commander during this period, General Creech was intimately involved in the development of AirLand Battle doctrine; contrary to popular opinion, he entered into these discussions with the Army with his eyes wide open. Another central issue of the time was the powerful movement within many government and media circles to "reform" the Defense Department. While others are given much credit for moving the debate forward, little has been written on why the Air Force was institutionally resistant to many of the reformers' proposals. Given his position at the time, General Creech was often the spokesman for the Air Force's programs and frequently found himself at odds with the reform movement. This study enlightens the Air Force on its 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.
About the Author: Lt Col James C. Slife, a senior pilot with 2,300 flight hours, primarily in the MH-53 helicopter, is director of operations, 20th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida. He earned a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, in 1989. He also holds a master of arts degree in organizational management from George Washington University. After undergraduate pilot training (helicopter) in 1990 at Fort Rucker, Alabama, Colonel Slife remained at Fort Rucker as an instructor pilot. In late 1991 he transferred to Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, where he transitioned to the MH-53J Pave Low helicopter. In 1992 he was assigned to Hurlburt Field, Florida, and participated in operations in the Persian Gulf, the Balkans, and the Caribbean. Colonel Slife left Hurlburt Field as an instructor pilot and was assigned to the Air Staff, where he served in broadening assignments within the following offices: Air Force Director of Legislative Liaison and the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower, Installations, Reserve Affairs, and the Environment. In 1997 he went to Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, as an MH-53J/M pilot. As a squadron assistant director of operations and flight examiner, Colonel Slife participated in operations in the Balkans and Africa before completing Air Command and Staff College in 2001 and the School of Advanced Airpower Studies (now the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies) in 2002-both based at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Colonel Slife and his wife, Gwendolyn, have four children: Sarah, John, Paul, and Rebecca.