Description
This paper conducts an analysis of the 1st Air Commando Group (ACG) and its operations in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater from August 1943 to May 1944. History lends credence to the fact that this small unorthodox group of airmen, envisioned from the simple idea of “what if” and fashioned in a mere few months time into a cohesive and viable fighting force, breathed life into the stagnant Allied effort of removing the Japanese from the China-Burma-India theater. The question is, how? How could such a small unit, which was forced upon the traditional military structure in the CBI theater, accomplish the seemingly impossible where others before had failed?The author maintains that the success of the 1st Air Commando Group was the result of key factors which when combined formed a “magic elixir” boosting the ailing Allied effort in this theater. Those key factors were strong leadership, efficient organization including the hiring of the “right” people, unit training, joint training to promote teamwork, and, tactics and innovation.This analysis gathered supporting information from primary source documents stored at the USAF Historical Research Agency (USAFHRA) as well as utilizing secondary sources for background information.
