Philip Shackelford, "Survival Instincts: Communications Intelligence and Service Autonomy in the U.S. Air Force"

Based on the author’s forthcoming book, Rise of the Mavericks: The U.S. Air Force Security Service and the Cold War, this presentation explores efforts undertaken by the Army Air Forces and newly independent U.S. Air Force to overcome dependence on the U.S. Army in matters of intelligence.  As World War II ended and the Cold War began, Air Force leaders understood that an effective cryptologic capability would be crucial for maintaining and enhancing the Air Force as a strategic and decisive component of America’s national defense. Successfully deploying air-atomic strategy in the event of a future war would require reliable information on the capabilities, intentions—and potential targets—of an opposing force, in particular the Soviet Union. Communications intelligence would be a critical source of this information, and Air Force leaders were adamant that their service not remain dependent on other service structures for this capability. The Air Force Security Service rose to the occasion, quickly establishing itself as one of the preeminent communications intelligence agencies in the United States.

Rise of the Mavericks fills a gap in the military and intelligence history literature and further complicates the literature surrounding the history of the NSA, which too often ignores or hastily addresses the contributions and role of the service COMINT agencies during the early Cold War period. The book explains how Air Force Security Service personnel were viewed as mavericks by other U.S. military and government organizations. Airmen lived up to this characterization by creating and developing an independent communications intelligence capability while persistently resisting the controlling efforts of the Armed Forces Security Agency and the National Security Agency.

As a military historian, Philip Shackelford brings a unique focus on organizational culture and development to the history of communications intelligence, national security, and the U.S. Air Force. His research explores the rise of the U.S. Air Force Security Service, its Cold War History, and the relationships the command developed with other military and government agencies. Philip has presented this research during several recent meetings of the Society for Military History, the 2022 annual conference of the North American Society for Intelligence History, and an invited lecture for the faculty forum at the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College. His book, Rise of the Mavericks, is the first work of academic scholarship exclusively focused on the U.S. Air Force Security Service and its history. Philip currently serves as the Library Director at South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado, Arkansas. He is a Past-President of the Arkansas Library Association, and is committed to supporting the Arkansas library community in a variety of other capacities, including a recent term as Secretary of ARKLink (a statewide consortium of academic libraries), and as an Associate Editor for the Arkansas Libraries journal. Philip is also the creator, producer, and host of the weekly podcast show The Modern Scholar Podcast, which features conversations with librarians, scholars, and community leaders who are performing cutting-edge work and share the same passion for educating, encouraging, and empowering those around them.

Follow Philip on Twitter: @pshackel

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