After the POS Presidential Election in late 2023, there has been ongoing communication between the POS Leadership and a “Group” of POS members. The Group has expressed some disagreement with the current purpose, vision, and direction of the POS. Specifically, they suggest that the POS Charter be amended to include expansion of membership to all individuals previously and currently involved in DoD LO Programs. Also, they would like to change the reference of the POS as a “social” group and would prefer the POS become more proactive in facilitating the consulting, mentoring, and educating through experience and lessons learned with government and industry.
As a candidate for President of the POS, I was clear in stating that I was committed to “Preserving and Maintaining the POS Charter…” which included governing in accordance with the Charter approved on 10 November 2007. My position was based on the following:
The Group has expressed their concern that the current path of the Charter would result in a “Doolittle Raiders” organizational outcome; that is, it ceases to exist with the last member or some other criteria, such as the departure of the first B-2 Wing from Whiteman AFB. The concern is the forum for the transfer of expertise and lessons learned is lost. John Griffin was one of the first to address this concern suggesting the creation of a new professional organization, such as “Association of Stealth Professionals,” dedicated to the “follow-on” stealth innovators and practitioners after 17 December 1993. A relationship between this new organization and the POS could be explored and developed with time. Unfortunately, the Group has not engaged in any discussion of an associate organization. As always, pioneers that meet the membership criteria are welcome to join the POS.
- The Pioneers of Stealth represents those individuals that were the true pioneers applying stealth low observable technology to military aviation. Webster defines pioneer as, “a person or group that originates or helps open up a new line of thought or activity or a new method or technical development.” Expanding the membership is inconsistent with the POS name and purpose; we are the pioneers.
- There is an important, but often overlooked, distinction between what the folks who are qualified to be Pioneers of Stealth (based on their involvement in the four programs (Have Blue/F-117/Tacit Blue/B-2) managed through ASD/XRJ from 1974 to 17 December 1993), and the folks who have worked on other LO programs. The Pioneers were tasked to achieve an operational capability as quickly as possible by managing the programs, as directed by Dr. Perry, outside of the DOD Acquisition System with minimally populated teams while operating in a covert security environment. They achieved a tactical operational capability by the fall of 1983 and delivered the first of the strategic capability on December 17, 1993. These Pioneers did this by assuming personal and professional responsibility and authorities for making decisions in collaboration with industry partners, which is a responsibility normally reserved for higher governmental and corporate authorities. This management environment slowly went away after 1993.
- As a result of two highly successful technology demonstration and flight test programs, Have Blue and Tacit Blue, and the low observable combat aircraft, F-117A and B-2, not one DoD crew member has ever been lost due to enemy combat fire and defensive actions in a stealth aircraft. The Pioneers of Stealth will always retain the “legacy” measured by the unknown number of aircraft crew members saved as a result of exploiting low observables (stealth) for survivability and mission accomplishment objectives.
- The inclusion of other DoD elements beyond the US Air Force dilutes the significant contribution that the US Air Force and their industry partners made to the creation and advancement of LO technology to this Nation.
- Since inception, the POS members have been active in promoting, mentoring, and educating; however, on an individual basis, not as an group or organization entity. For one, the nature of LO technology and associated programs intuitively necessitates the aspect of national security and the requisite restrictions. Empowering a professional organization with managing and maintaining security clearances and accesses on an individual basis is problematic at best.
- The first meeting of the then-to-be Pioneers of Stealth group was in 1990 in Dayton, OH. It was a “social” event to celebrate Bill Elsner’s birthday and was attended by government and industry co-workers and spouses. The event was a success and has been repeated biannually for the last 33 years, with exception of 2021 COVID time frame. That year the POS decided to develop and erect a monument dedicated to the thousands of individuals who were the pioneers of stealth. We refer to ourselves as a social group while demonstrating the capacity to honor all pioneers.
In conclusion, the legacy and durability of the contributions made by the thousands of pioneers of stealth was the first successful application of LO technology to military aviation as represented by Have Blue, F-117A, Tacit Blue, and B-2. Bill Sweetman expressed it well in his article, The B-21 Raider: Designed For Low Risk, when he stated, “But a lesson to be drawn from the B-21’s appearance is that the designers of the B-2 did an amazing good job “inventing to schedule” while existing materials and subsystems were inadequate and produced a basic vehicle architecture that was still considered the best choice almost 40 years later.”
Regards,
John R. Summerlot
John R. Summerlot
President, Pioneers of Stealth
