War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with John Coyle, 1986
Description:
John Coyle was a United States Naval Operations Analyst. In the interview he discusses the nuclear weapons and war plans of the U.S. Navy and Air Force. He begins by describing the development of naval weapons in the late 1950s, and the subsequent changes in naval nuclear targeting policy. A notable event described is the Woods Hole (Massachusetts) summer study group convened to discuss naval missile programs. He explains the occasionally "preposterous" ineffectiveness of the Strategic Air Command's (SAC) war plan, and argues for a retaliatory capability over a preemptive counterforce strike. He describes the tensions between the Air Force and Navy war plans, and their effect on deterrence. (The Air Force's plans of the late 1950s undoubtedly contained a first-strike component, in his opinion.) He also explains the analytical calculations made to decide the Navy's missile requirements. He ends by describing the military procurement process, specifically the "boot strap" or circular method of proposals used by the Air Force, in which an initial request for aircraft to carry weapons was followed by separate requests for weapons to fill their aircraft.
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