Robert M . Webster Robert Morris Webster ( October 19 , 1892 – March 1 , 1972 ) was a United States Air Force major general who was an early advocate of daylight precision bombing as a war - winning strategy . A rated command pilot , he commanded a number of large air units during and after World War II and served as a senior military representative of the United States in foreign relations . Early career . Webster was born in Boston on October 19 , 1892 . He enlisted as a flying cadet on February 21 , 1918 . He attended the School of Military Aeronautics at Princeton University from March to June 1918 and was then assigned to Chanute Field , Illinois . He attended the Aerial Gunnery School at Carlstrom Field , Florida from October 1918 to February 1919 . Webster was trained at the Instructors School at Kelly Field , Texas and was then assigned to the District Ordnance Office in Bridgeport , Connecticut , as an Army Reserve officer . Webster was commissioned lieutenant in the United States Army Air Service in July 1920 . In January 1921 , Webster went to the Long Island Air Reserve Depot in New York . In March , he returned to Carlstrom Field , then moved to Brooks Field , Texas , in July 1922 . After the formation of the United States Army Air Corps ( USAAC ) in July , Webster was assigned to the Philippines in October 1926 — he served with the Second Observation Squadron at Nichols Field , and a month later was assigned to the Fourth Composite Group there . In December 1928 , Webster became an instructor with the Connecticut National Guard at Hartford . Air Corps Tactical School . Webster entered the Air Corps Tactical School ( ACTS ) at Maxwell Field , Alabama , in August 1933 . He graduated the following June and remained to serve as an instructor at the rank of captain . Webster taught within the Air Force Section of the school . For the next three years , Webster worked with other ACTS instructors — Harold L . George , Donald Wilson , Muir S . Fairchild , Haywood S . Hansell and Laurence S . Kuter — to determine how best to use precision bombing techniques that were under development to destroy small , vital enemy targets during the opening phase of a war , so as to hinder the enemy ' s potential to wage a lengthy war . Fairchild and Webster studied the interconnections between various industrial sectors of the United States to determine the most vulnerable nodes relative to attacking an enemy ' s industrial base . The two men compiled a list of critical targets that could incapacitate an enemy ; targets that were organized with regard to available weapons . Webster wrote to a number of New York city and state agencies such as the National Board of Fire Underwriters , the Consolidated Gas Company and the New York City Board of Water Supply to determine the vulnerabilities of a large metropolitan area such as New York City . The resulting concept of points of vulnerability was called the industrial web theory . Along with other young Air Corps officers Donald Wilson , Robert Olds , Kenneth Walker , Claire Chennault , and Harold L . George , Webster risked his career by advocating an independent Air Force in a speech he presented to the Howell Commission in 1934 . Webster said : Webster further asserted to the commission that " Ground officers were not aware of the fact that a properly organized attack , once launched in the air , cannot be stopped . " The Howell Commission was impressed by the testimony of Webster and the young officers , and they drew up plans for the activation of GHQ Air Force , an interim solution one step closer to an independent air force . On March 7 , 1936 , Webster was raised to the rank of major and was assigned chief of the Bombardment Section , ACTS , replacing Major Odas Moon who had been relieved of the position five weeks earlier . For the school year 1936 – 1937 Webster was named chief of the Air Force Section . Webster entered the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas in August 1937 , was graduated the next June , and assigned in Washington , D . C . , as chief of the Training Section in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps . World War II . United States became directly involved in World War II in December 1941 while Webster was stationed in Washington . Webster continued to work there to organize the massive training programs undertaken by the United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) . Remaining in the nation ' s capital , in March 1942 Webster joined the Operations Division of the War Department General Staff . Webster was named commanding general of the First Air Support Command at Mitchel Field , New York , in August 1942 . On October 2 , 1942 , Webster took command of the unit . In April 1943 , Webster assumed command of the 42nd Bomb Wing , a unit without men or aircraft . In the Mediterranean Theater of Operations , Webster supervised the incorporation of air groups in August . He took official command on August 24 , 1943 . Webster commanded the unit during its participation in the Allied invasion of Italy . In July 1944 , he was appointed commander of the Allied Forces in Sardinia , Italy , and deputy commander of the 12th Air Force . Going to France in March 1945 , Webster assumed command of the First Tactical Air Force , a provisional unit made up of both Free French and American units . In July 1945 , Webster joined the Air Transport Command , and in August assumed command of its European Division in Paris , France . The day after Victory in Europe Day , Webster joined with General Ned Sohramm and men of the 6th Army Group and the First Tactical Air Force ( provisional ) at a Roman Catholic cathedral in Heidelberg , Germany , to celebrate victory . Post - war career . In July 1946 , Webster was named deputy commander of Air Transport Command , based at Gravelly Point , Virginia . On September 20 , 1946 he assumed command . On February 10 , 1947 , Webster addressed the National War College with a lecture about the planning of air transportation for war . On July 16 , 1947 , Webster was transferred to Fort Slocum , New York , where he became commanding general of the First Air Force . During this time , the United States Air Force ( USAF ) was chartered from the former USAAF . Webster assumed command of the Eastern Air Defense Force , a part of the Continental Air Command , at Mitchel Air Force Base in New York , in September 1949 . In this role , Webster presented the Amelia Earhart Scholarship to Virginia L . Sweet , a WASP aviator , in late 1949 . In June 1950 , Webster was appointed chief of the Air Section , Joint Brazil - U . S . Military Commission , at Rio de Janeiro , Brazil . Moving to USAF Headquarters , Washington , D . C . , on January 22 , 1953 , Webster was designated Air Force and Steering and Coordinating Member for Military Representation , U . S . Sections , of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense , Canada - U . S . ( relieved April 30 , 1954 ) and the Joint Mexico - U . S . Defense Commission . The following month he received additional duty as director of the U . S . Defense Planning Group ; Senior USAF Delegate to the U . S . Delegation of the Inter - American Defense Board ; and Senior USAF Delegate on the Joint Brazil - U . S . Defense Commission . Webster retired from the USAF on October 31 , 1954 . Webster died on March 1 , 1972 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery . His wife , Flora Bitzer Webster , was buried in the same plot in 1978 . Recognition . His decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster , Legion of Merit , Silver Star , and Air Medal with oak leaf cluster .