{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/114923"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/114923","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"A Shield in the Sky: The Vertical Geopolitics of Transcontinental Air Defense","abstract":"Traditional military descriptions of conflict tend to focus on the movement of soldiers and armies across battlefields. When the airplane emerged, it forced military theorists to contend with a new, vertical, dimension of conflict. In America, the United States Air Force assumed an important role in this vertical dimension as the country's delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons. However, at the same time that politicians, academics, and military officials debated the offensive uses for aircraft a second debate occurred describing how best to use military means to defend the North American continent. Those who advocated for a defensive system to protect North American, including the President Eisenhower, strongly advocated for a continent-wide test of the new air defense system. That test was conducted once a year between 1960 and 1962 during which all civilian air travel across the U.S. and Canada was suspended. The tests were called the \"Sky Shield\" exercises. This research shows how a prevailing mood of fear and vulnerability gave air defense proponents the political capital to build a continental air defense network and test it during the Sky Shield exercises. Further, it describes the enduring legacy of this domestically-focused Cold War defense program. The research finds that America's approach to Cold War continental defense was strong when it was aligned with the White House's nuclear strategy, but when successive political leaders changed nuclear strategies that decision negatively influenced continental defense programs. This research is useful because it examines a relatively under-explored area of Cold War defense programs. Traditionally these studies focus on offensive capabilities far from American shores. This study instead examines homeland defense and how it changed during the Cold War as a function of changing nuclear programs and changing threats to the United States.","abstract_html":"Traditional military descriptions of conflict tend to focus on the movement of soldiers and armies across battlefields. When the airplane emerged, it forced military theorists to contend with a new, vertical, dimension of conflict. In America, the United States Air Force assumed an important role in this vertical dimension as the country's delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons. However, at the same time that politicians, academics, and military officials debated the offensive uses for aircraft a second debate occurred describing how best to use military means to defend the North American continent. Those who advocated for a defensive system to protect North American, including the President Eisenhower, strongly advocated for a continent-wide test of the new air defense system. That test was conducted once a year between 1960 and 1962 during which all civilian air travel across the U.S. and Canada was suspended. The tests were called the "Sky Shield" exercises. This research shows how a prevailing mood of fear and vulnerability gave air defense proponents the political capital to build a continental air defense network and test it during the Sky Shield exercises. Further, it describes the enduring legacy of this domestically-focused Cold War defense program. The research finds that America's approach to Cold War continental defense was strong when it was aligned with the White House's nuclear strategy, but when successive political leaders changed nuclear strategies that decision negatively influenced continental defense programs. This research is useful because it examines a relatively under-explored area of Cold War defense programs. Traditionally these studies focus on offensive capabilities far from American shores. This study instead examines homeland defense and how it changed during the Cold War as a function of changing nuclear programs and changing threats to the United States.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Davitch, James Michael"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Planning, Governance, and Globalization","degree_department":"Public Administration/Public Affairs","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Toal, Gerard"],"committee_members":["Laslie, Brian","Levinson, Chad","Peters, Joel"],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-05-04","date_published":"2023-05-04","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:20Z","subjects":["Vertical Geopolitics","Sky Shield Exercise","NORAD","Air Defense","Aerial Surveillance","Continental Defense","Cold War"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:36550"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:36550","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/114923","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Toal, Gerard"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Laslie, Brian","Levinson, Chad","Peters, Joel"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Public Administration/Public Affairs"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Davitch, James Michael"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2023-05-05T08:00:28Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-05-05T08:00:28Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2023-05-04"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Planning, Governance, and Globalization"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Vertical Geopolitics","Sky Shield Exercise","NORAD","Air Defense","Aerial Surveillance","Continental Defense","Cold War"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:36550"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/114923"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Traditional military descriptions of conflict tend to focus on the movement of soldiers and armies across battlefields. When the airplane emerged, it forced military theorists to contend with a new, vertical, dimension of conflict. In America, the United States Air Force assumed an important role in this vertical dimension as the country's delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons. However, at the same time that politicians, academics, and military officials debated the offensive uses for aircraft a second debate occurred describing how best to use military means to defend the North American continent. Those who advocated for a defensive system to protect North American, including the President Eisenhower, strongly advocated for a continent-wide test of the new air defense system. That test was conducted once a year between 1960 and 1962 during which all civilian air travel across the U.S. and Canada was suspended. The tests were called the \"Sky Shield\" exercises. This research shows how a prevailing mood of fear and vulnerability gave air defense proponents the political capital to build a continental air defense network and test it during the Sky Shield exercises. Further, it describes the enduring legacy of this domestically-focused Cold War defense program. The research finds that America's approach to Cold War continental defense was strong when it was aligned with the White House's nuclear strategy, but when successive political leaders changed nuclear strategies that decision negatively influenced continental defense programs. This research is useful because it examines a relatively under-explored area of Cold War defense programs. Traditionally these studies focus on offensive capabilities far from American shores. This study instead examines homeland defense and how it changed during the Cold War as a function of changing nuclear programs and changing threats to the United States."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Shield in the Sky: The Vertical Geopolitics of Transcontinental Air Defense"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Toal, Gerard"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Laslie, Brian","Levinson, Chad","Peters, Joel"],"dc:contributor.department":["Public Administration/Public Affairs"],"dc:creator":["Davitch, James Michael"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2023-05-05T08:00:28Z"],"dc:date.available":["2023-05-05T08:00:28Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2023-05-04"],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["Traditional military descriptions of conflict tend to focus on the movement of soldiers and armies across battlefields. When the airplane emerged, it forced military theorists to contend with a new, vertical, dimension of conflict. In America, the United States Air Force assumed an important role in this vertical dimension as the country's delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons. However, at the same time that politicians, academics, and military officials debated the offensive uses for aircraft a second debate occurred describing how best to use military means to defend the North American continent. Those who advocated for a defensive system to protect North American, including the President Eisenhower, strongly advocated for a continent-wide test of the new air defense system. That test was conducted once a year between 1960 and 1962 during which all civilian air travel across the U.S. and Canada was suspended. The tests were called the \"Sky Shield\" exercises. This research shows how a prevailing mood of fear and vulnerability gave air defense proponents the political capital to build a continental air defense network and test it during the Sky Shield exercises. Further, it describes the enduring legacy of this domestically-focused Cold War defense program. The research finds that America's approach to Cold War continental defense was strong when it was aligned with the White House's nuclear strategy, but when successive political leaders changed nuclear strategies that decision negatively influenced continental defense programs. This research is useful because it examines a relatively under-explored area of Cold War defense programs. Traditionally these studies focus on offensive capabilities far from American shores. This study instead examines homeland defense and how it changed during the Cold War as a function of changing nuclear programs and changing threats to the United States."],"dc:description.degree":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:36550"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/114923"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Vertical Geopolitics","Sky Shield Exercise","NORAD","Air Defense","Aerial Surveillance","Continental Defense","Cold War"],"dc:title":["A Shield in the Sky: The Vertical Geopolitics of Transcontinental Air Defense"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Planning, Governance, and Globalization"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:20Z"}