PITTSFIELD, Maine — When fighter pilot and military theorist Col. John Boyd died in 1997, a group of his friends got together to discuss his theories on military strategy, many of which have been adopted all over the world.
“We all held a conference to capture his ideas,” retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Michael D. Wyly of Pittsfield said recently, referring to a group of Boyd’s friends in the military who gathered two decades ago in California. “He had a huge influence.”
Wyly announced another conference this week at Maine Central Institute, hosted by the Burns W. Knowlton Jr. American Legion Post No. 32, that ends with a “What’s Next For America” citizen’s forum at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Pittsfield Community Theatre.
Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly, who enlisted in 1970 and retired in January after serving as Commander of the United States Southern Command, will be on hand for the forum and discussions, according to Wyly, who served with Kelly in the 1990s.
“John Boyd may be the most remarkable unsung hero in all of American military history,” writer Robert Corum said of his book, “Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed The Art of War.”
“His manual of fighter tactics changed the way every air force in the world flies and fights,” Corum wrote in a post about his book. “He discovered a physical theory that forever altered the way fighter planes were designed. Later in life, he developed a theory of military strategy that has been adopted throughout the world and even applied to business models for maximizing efficiency.”
It is those strategies that Wyly hopes the group will use to create new resolutions for how the military should operate, which will be sent to the new administration in Washington in January. Military personnel and civilians from all over the country arrived Wednesday for the opening of the conference at Maine Central Institute.
“We’ll be talking about everything from defense strategy, what is wrong here in America, to national security and our policies. We are going to discuss the whole range of the current situations, ISIS, and ask questions like, ‘Do you think we should be on the ground there or taking a defensive stance?’ or training.”
The forums on Saturday and Sunday are open to the public. The price of admission is by donation. The Pittsfield Community Theatre located at 137 Main St. For more information contact Michael D. Wyly at 341-0675.