Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War

by Robert Coram

“Where do you think you’re going?” asked Sweeney. “Sir, your aide said we had twenty minutes. We’ve used up our time.” “Continue the brief.” “Yes, Sir.” Sweeney turned to his aide. “Cancel my appointments for today.” He glared at Boyd. “What you’re saying can’t be right.” “I believe it to be correct, sir.” “Who else have you briefed on this? What was their reaction?” Boyd told Sweeney whom he had briefed and said their reaction was “the same as yours, General.” Sweeney turned to one of his staff members and said, “Get my intelligence guy on this. And call those people in Foreign Tech and make sure these numbers are right.” A few minutes later Sweeney’s intelligence specialist returned and said, “They have a copy of Major Boyd’s brief, Sir. They say his data is correct.” “How many airplanes did you run this on?” Sweeney asked. “All of them, Sir. I’ve just shown you the interesting ones so far. But I’ll be glad to run them all for you.” “Continue.”