Oh, was he?
Atually, yeas he was.
Deptula was a LtCol at the time, Wardens deputy in Checkmate (XOXX).
Here is what happened:
In DC Warden made the case for his “five rings” strategic campaign and when he and Deptula were dispatched to the desert to meet/brief Horner, Horner and Warden just didn’t get along.
Horner, always the old Cold Warrior, never did get the point about bombing for effect not just to blow things up. Horner plopped a map down and started to ask Warden f he would bomb this area or that, attack this bridge or that one, and Warden would reply (correctly); “It depends upon the strategic effect you are looking for.”
Why blow up each tank when you can drop a select few bridges and stop the enemy from ever getting to the fight. Kind of like “truck parks” in Viet Nam. Horner grew up thinking that is how best to use airpower because anything strategic had to mean “nukes.” Horner never got the point and kept his head buried in Viet Nam.
Warden never did get the insight to know he was talking to an old “in-the-box” thinker that would not tolerate a new way of thinking. Warden’s ego over-ran his mouth and he was kicked-out of theater by Horner.
Soooo. . . .Warner was kicked out of theater and Deptula remained behind and did the real planning work with the MAAP planners and other key staff. Eventually, Deptula won the day and he is the the true guy behind the success of the air campaign.
Warden may have been a great strategist but he was lousy at selling his idea beyond the Beltway.
Horner is an ego of the first order and never would accept a challenge to his narrow thinking mind. . .and vice-versa with Warden.
However, Deptula knew how to maneuver the staff and eventually Horner started to say HE was the great mind behind the air campaign when in fact, if he had his way, the strategic plans would never have been developed or implemented, and then yes, we would have had a tremendously costly ground war.