In the black and white TV schedule of the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Western drama series reigned supreme. One of the most popular was ‘Have Gun, Will Travel’, starring Richard Boone as a mercenary in the late 1800s. It helped to popularise the role of the lone gunman and boost the US gun rights culture. Indeed, the term, “have gun, will travel” entered the popular lexicon and has been often quoted since.
A recent example was in the latest issue of the US military monthly, ‘Air Force’, the magazine of the Air Force Association, with the title ‘Have Bombs, Will Travel’, which is grimly indicative of a specific trend in US military thinking after two decades of the failed ‘war on terror’.
It concerns a newly developed way of moving planes and bombs rapidly to sudden hot spots if the US Air Force doesn’t have sufficient bombs in place to do what is thought necessary. It is known as agile combat employment and uses what are normally very sophisticated and powerful aircraft in a secondary role as weapons transporters.
