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Force presentation plays distinct and varied roles in the four services

• Each of the services uses more than one construct to accomplish six key functions: (1) sizing forces, (2) deploying forces, (3) employing forces, (4) sustaining operational effects, (5) managing force rotations, and (6) articulating service purpose. Force presentation is arguably most central to the Marine Corps and Navy, but neither the Army nor the USAF uses it to articulate service purpose.

The squadron has been the most common USAF force presentation construct for the combat air forces

• The squadron has been the preferred deployment construct for all major conflicts, and although it is central to USAF culture and possesses a familiarity to outside audiences, it is probably not the best vehicle for public outreach.

Force presentation has been largely ignored by airpower theorists and historians

• Force presentation concepts are largely absent from USAF planning documents and the writings of prominent airpower theorists. Histories of the USAF at war also usually ignore organization; rather, they describe the air campaign objectives, planning process, and key participants; identify critical targets; and tell the story of air combat, typically centered around particular individuals and platforms.

USAF aircraft are the most visible and accessible manifestation of airpower

• The modern USAF is an air, space, and cyber force, but news accounts of USAF activities typically focus on the deployment or movement of aircraft. Specialized audiences will care that the USAF presents specialized forces, but the broader public has little use for such hard-to-visualize abstractions.