For the Gulf War, Macgregor criticizes airpower advocates for selectively using TV news to advance their themes. He also quotes several surveys that highlight the inefficiency of airpower during Desert Storm. Evidently, airpower had devastated that Iraqi tank unit's combat effectiveness and morale. Lieutenant Colonel Macgregor is not totally anti-airpower. Early failure in World War II and the relearned lessons of the Vietnam War prove that airpower must be orchestrated by one conductor.
Centralized control prevents fratricide and the wasting of weapons.
The cascading effects that properly applied airpower can deliver upon an enemy must not be parceled away by a landcentric point of view. Breaking the Phalanx is a thought-provoking book. Macgregor's ideas for modernizing the Army are truly revolutionary. The author may not fully appreciate the strategic effects of airpower, but his book is worth reading by military officers. The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University.