David Deptula

David A. Deptula
BornDayton, Ohio
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Air Force
Years of service1976–2010
RankLieutenant general
Commands33d Operations Group (F-15); C/JTF Commander, Operation Northern Watch; Combined Air Operations Center--Operation Enduring Freedom; Joint Force Air Component Commander--Operation Unified Assistance; Vice Commander Pacific Air Forces; JTF Commander--Operation Deep Freeze; Kenny Warfighting Headquarters (13th Air Force)
Battles/wars

David A. Deptula is the Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Power Studies,[1] and a senior scholar at the U.S. Air Force Academy's Center for Character and Leadership Development. He transitioned from the U.S. Air Force in 2010 at the rank of Lieutenant General after more than 34 years of service. Deptula was commissioned in 1974 as a distinguished graduate from The University of Virginia Air Force ROTC program, and remained to complete a master's degree in 1976. During his military career he took part in operations, planning, and joint warfighting at unit, major command, service headquarters and combatant command levels,[2] and also served on two congressional commissions[3][4] outlining America's future defense posture.[5][6] He was a principal author of the original Air Force White Paper "Global Reach—Global Power".[7][8] In the early 1990s he was instrumental in the formation and development of the concept later known as "effects-based operations", having successfully applied it in building the attack plans for the Operation Desert Storm air campaign.[9][10][11][12] He has been cited as having "... fostered the most significant change in the conduct of aerial warfare since Billy Mitchell...Deptula’s framework influenced the successful air campaigns in Operations Allied Force, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom. Today, joint targeting cells and Air Force doctrine reflect Deptula's theory of airpower and the changing nature of warfare."[13] Deptula is one of 12 airmen singled out in Airpower Pioneers: From Billy Mitchell to Dave Deptula.[14] He is also the subject of a more detailed review of his contributions to the development of airpower in America's Airman: David Deptula and the Airpower Moment.[15]

  1. ^ "Mitchell Institute – Air Force Association". Afa.org. 1918-09-12. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
  2. ^ "Official Biography Lieutenant General David A. Deptula, USAF".
  3. ^ "1995 Roles and Missions Commission". Fas.org. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
  4. ^ "Report of the National Defense Panel". Fas.org. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
  5. ^ Air Power Australia (2014-01-27). "Lt Gen David A. Deptula (Ret'd)". Ausairpower.net. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
  6. ^ John Pike (2001-03-28). "Reliable Military News and Military Information". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
  7. ^ Olsen (2003), p. 86
  8. ^ Global Reach—Global Power: Air Force Strategic Vision, Past And Future Barbara J. Faulkenberry, School Of Advanced Airpower Studies, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, June 1995, p. 27.
  9. ^ Putney (2005), p. 53
  10. ^ Olsen (2003), pp. 58–59
  11. ^ John Pike (2006-06-20). "Theater leaders discuss different methods of war". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
  12. ^ "Air Force Magazine : Journal of the Air Force Association" (PDF). Airforcemag.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
  13. ^ Merrick E. Krause (June 2015). "Airpower in Modern War". Air and Space Power Journal. 29: 46.
  14. ^ Olsen, John Andreas, Airpower Pioneers: From Billy Mitchell to Dave Deptula, U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2023.
  15. ^ Jackson, Abraham, America's Airman: David Deptula and the Airpower Moment, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, Air University, Montgomery, Alabama, 2011.