If that were true, we’d also not have the USMC owned by the Navy. Each service is designed around their own set of core capabilities. They don’t exist because the can (in theory) win wars alone.
I think that shows the opposite. The Navy has its Marines because it knows, barring exceptional circumstances, a navy can't win a war alone. The US Airforce not having its own ground troops or being part of the army suggests
it thinks it doesn't need them. Which was a huge idea in WW2 when air power became a thing. IE Canada's whole bag was air power would win the war so we wouldn't need much of an army. (We realized we were wrong pretty quick)
The Navy and USAF are generally the strategic services. One of their core capes is to transport the tactical/operational svcs (USMC/Army). If the Army owns the air service, wouldn’t it make sense for the USMC to own the sea service? The answer is of course no to both, because those svcs do much more
The core point is that the US air force beeing independant speaks to the idea that it can independantly be used. Where as im Brets model the air forces Main Job would be supporting ground troops.
All budget and logistics for the USMC is managed by the Navy. Commandant reports to SECNAV…sounds like practical ownership when it comes to dept-level authorities. 😎
There can be non Douhet reasons to have a separate air force; many countries do.
Achieving air superiority is its own task, though not the same as winning a war.
The Air Force does seem to deprioritize close air support; maybe that task should be given back to the Army.
I mean, there can be, but the creation of the Air Force was an event that happened in history for specific reasons at a specific time and those reasons were strategic bombing and nuclear weapons delivery.
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If you hop back to the arguments in the 1940s, the answer is, "they were promising to achieve independent strategic effects!"
I'm very much onboard with your USAF point though.
Achieving air superiority is its own task, though not the same as winning a war.
The Air Force does seem to deprioritize close air support; maybe that task should be given back to the Army.