"To Hell with the Paperwork:" Deciphering the Culture of the Air Commandos

This thesis adopts an organizational design framework proposed by Vijay Sathe in order to explore the culture of the historic Air Commandos. The organizational culture of the Air Commandos is important because it nurtures the attributes that help define today’s Air Force special operations forces. Throughout this thesis, three overwhelming themes emerge regarding the basic assumptions and beliefs (the organizational culture) of the Air Commandos. Each of the themes provides insight into the internal integration of the Air Commandos and suggests how they negotiated their external environment. The shared beliefs and basic assumptions of the Air Commandos include: Humans are the most critical resources in an organization; innovation, improvisation, and adaptation are more important than advanced technology; successful mission accomplishment is more important than adherence to standard military conventions.