John Ashley Warden III | |
|---|---|
 Colonel Warden as Commandant of the Air Command and Staff College (1992) | |
| Born | December 21, 1943 McKinney, Texas |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service |  United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1965–1995 |
| Rank |  Colonel |
| Unit | 334th Tactical Fighter Squadron 23rd Tactical Air Support 401st TFW Pentagon Eglin AFB Moody AFB Decimomannu AFB National War College 36th TFW Pentagon |
| Commands | Air Command and Staff College 36th TFW |
| Battles / wars | Vietnam War Gulf War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit Distinguished Flying Cross Air Medal (11) |
| Relations | Brigadier General John A. Warden, US Army Colonel Pete Warden, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel John A. Warden IV, U.S. Air Force |
| Other work | CEO Venturist Inc., Montgomery, Alabama |
John Ashley Warden III (born December 21, 1943) is a retired colonel in the United States Air Force. Warden is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. His Air Force career spanned 30 years, from 1965 to 1995, and included tours in Vietnam, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Korea, as well as many assignments within the continental United States. Warden completed a number of assignments in the Pentagon, was a Special Assistant for Policy Studies and National Security Affairs to the Vice President of the United States, and was Commandant of the Air Command and Staff College.
John Warden has been called "the leading air power theorist in the U.S. Air Force in the second half of the twentieth century".[1] He has also been called "one of the most creative airmen of our times. John Warden is not just a creative airman; he is one of America's premier strategic thinkers".[1]
"Warden's career was marked with brilliance and controversy, and to this day his name inspires both warm affection and cold contempt in the defense establishment. He was, and still is a controversial and influential figure in the defense establishment in general, and the U.S. Air Force in particular".[1]
His impact on the future of air power in the United States Air Force is still being assessed, but "several distinguished military historians, officers, and other experts have concluded that Warden defined the very terms of reference for the 1991 Desert Storm military strategy and thereby introduced a new approach to the conduct of war".[2][3][4]
- ^ a b c Olsen 2007
- ^ Atkinson, Rick (1994), Crusade: The Untold Story of the Gulf War, London: Harper Collins
- ^ Gordon, Michael R.; General Bernard E. Trainor (1995), The Generals War: The Inside Story of the Conflict in the Gulf, New York: Little, Brown & Company
- ^ "Triumph Without Victory: The Unreported History of the Persian Gulf War", U.S. News & World Report, New York: Random House, 1992