“Communicating in the Air Force”: the National Society for the Study of Communication, the Journal of Communication , and U.S. military education, 1950–1962

This article explores the intertwined history of the National Society for the Study of Communication (NSSC), its Journal of Communication, and U.S. Air Force educational programs. Founded in 1950 (and renamed the International Communication Association in 1969), NSSC developed a close partnership with the Air Force’s Air University in its early days. The growth of the academic society and the expansion of communication courses in military education programs were then mutually reinforcing: NSSC leaders—including several Air Force officers and civilian consultants—helped define and refine military communication curricula. Air University resources supported NSSC projects, most notably the Journal of Communication. Drawing on extensive archival research and a close reading of the Journal’s content during its first decade, this article argues that these collaborations not only nurtured NSSC’s institutional development, but also shaped a specific conception of communication emphasizing vocational training, efficiency, and the transmission of command.