Billy Mitchell

“If a nation is to have an air force at all, it must be an offensive force.”

“An attack from the air can be defended against only by a superior air force.”

“Superiority in the air is the first necessity for the successful conduct of a modern war.”

“In the development of air power, one has to look ahead and not backward and figure out what is going to happen, not too much what has happened.”

“The day is not far distant when the Air Force of the United States will be the first line of defense of the country.”

“Air power is the most difficult of all forms of military force to measure or even to express in precise terms.”

“The only defense against aircraft is other aircraft.”

“These proceedings are the result of the incompetency, criminal negligence, and almost treasonable administration of our national defense by the Navy and War Departments.”

“Great results cannot be obtained without great risks.”

“The future of our nation is in the air.”

“Control of the air means control of the surface.”

“We must have an air force that is second to none.”

“All nations are now in point-blank range of each other.”

“Look forward, not back.”