There is much truth in the adage, “we stand on the shoulders of giants” depending, of course, on which giants we choose to stand. Consider one little-known giant, the late Colonel John Richard Boyd, United States Air Force. He lived but an eye blink in history from 1927 to 1997, a mere drop in the ocean of time. Apart from his tombstone in Arlington National Cemetery, an obscure training hall on an Air Force base in Nevada, and a small, silent display at the Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia., his name remains unfamiliar to most Americans and to most of the world. A Google search only turns up a few related pages while his original concepts and ideas generate a few more pages of links. John Boyd served in the Air Force for about 30 years yet never rose above the rank of colonel, a clue to the mystery of his obscurity. Just how could such an uncelebrated soldier of field officer rank and modest pay, and one who had never published a single book or led a great army into battle be considered a “giant” in the history of leadership, competition, and ideas?
His life story is so implausible as to be considered fantasy. From the most humble of roots and with nothing more than a workingman’s education John Boyd’s life has impacted and will continue to impact current and future generations throughout the world. On a scale from worldwide conflict to the first decisions made at the crossroads of a single life, his work and ideas have proven to be timeless and effective, impacting the personal lives and professional careers of numerable people. First and foremost, Boyd was the model of personal integrity and principle in a system that thrived on “going along to get along” as proposed by perhaps the greatest politician in Texas history, the late, Sam Rayburn. Boyd simply refused to compromise his principles from when he was a young man until his death. The primary reason he never rose above the rank of colonel was his absolute refusal to compromise his mission in order to advance his career. He never chose convenience over honor, accommodation over purpose. As a low ranking airman he dared to go toe to toe with officers that far out ranked him, even causing one of them to suffer a heart attack as a result of an “interaction” with a principled and determined Boyd.
By the end of his life he had many nicknames: “Forty Second Boyd”, “Genghis John”, and “The Ghetto Colonel”, the first from having never lost a dogfight in air combat training. No, not once. He would give any and all challengers the tactical advantage at the beginning of the engagement and within forty seconds Boyd would be in a superior, “shoot down” position with the challenger in his gun sights. He was the fighter pilot’s fighter pilot, and one of their greatest instructors. He later went on to write his only “book” of any kind, (Boyd understood today’s doctrine becomes tomorrow’s dogma) a training manual on air fighting that to this day remains the standard for air forces throughout the world. Thus, at Nellis Air Force base, USAF Weapons School, stands Boyd Hall, sadly, but a footnote in Air Force history. He became known as “Genghis John” because of his unrelenting, scorched earth tactics at reforming the United States military-industrial complex. Yes, you read that correctly. With the help of only a handful of acolytes he dared to challenge one of the largest, most powerful, and wealthy bureaucracies in the history of the world, the Leviathan of leviathans. With his hard head and brilliant mind he battled most of the nation’s largest aerospace corporations and their legions of lobbyists and aeronautical designers while at the same time conducing all out guerrilla war with the U.S. Departments of Defense who together were dead set on maintaining the status quo of throwing billions of dollars down self serving rat-holes of waste, graft, and inefficiency. They never either swayed or corrupted John Boyd. His holy mission was to do it right, tight, and light for the benefit of his country, his Air Force, and the soldiers in the line of fire. The warriors of the U.S. Marine Corps honored him, the other branches of service, the Pentagon, and most of the U.S. Congress considered him to their domestic enemy for threatening their palaces of pork. But for a brief and glorious period of time Boyd and his band of brothers reigned triumphant when in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s they were instrumental in the creation of the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon, far cries from the billion dollar aero Edsels proposed by the MIC, the hog trough feeders who for decades had wallowed in the fat of taxpayer dollars, wasting billions to create the wrong tools for the wrong fight. For the most part the establishment hated Boyd and fought him at every level, yet he prevailed. He knew how to fight, what to fight for, and, most importantly WHO to fight for. The F-16 has proven to be the greatest and most cost effective fighter plane in history, the modern, Roman short sword of the skies. Likewise, many of Boyd’s ideas were integrated into the F-15 Eagle which entered U.S. service in 1978 and still flies and fights around the world today, a superior legend among fighters. Both bore the stamp of Boyd. Later he moved on to develop theories of tactics and strategy that influence organizations throughout the world. Finally, John Boyd retired from the Air Force but did so as he lived his entire life: on his own terms. By the time of his retirement many in the Pentagon realized his value as a brilliant thinker and strategist, but Boyd being Boyd thought he could be more independent and valuable as a civilian consultant, beholden to no one. His condition for remaining connected to the Pentagon was to receive the smallest measure of pay that would still allow him access to government data for his theoretical research. Such a request was unheard of, “the smallest measure of pay”. To this day I’m not sure there is a translation of that phrase within the MIC. He chose to live out his life modestly and independent of all influence that might compromise his principles. His ideas and theories on conflict management, team building, competition, and winning in general will have a positive impact on the world for generations. For a brief moment in time when John Richard Boyd joined the fight for what is right, tight, and light even the Leviathan took a knee.
Originally published in Beaumont Business Journal, Heat And Humanity Column
