Thomas Philip Christie (born May 28, 1934 in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal c ...

) is an American defense analyst who worked for the U.S. government. Christie graduated from Spring Hill College with a B.S. degree in mathematics in May 1955 and from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

with an M.S. degree in applied mathematics in September 1962. Christie served for nine years as director of the operational evaluation division (OED) at the

Institute for Defense Analyses The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is an American non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) – the Systems and Analyses Center (SAC), the Science and Technology Policy Institute ...

, a federally funded research and development center. Christie was responsible for independent analyses of more than two hundred major test and evaluation programs and was also involved in weapons testing. Christie became director of Operational Test and Evaluation in June 2001.

Energy–maneuverability theory

Christie is often associated with John Boyd and other associates of Boyd who were critical of U.S. defense policies. While working with Boyd at Eglin AFB, Christie was deeply involved with the development of the Energy-Maneuverability theory of aerial combat. The work on this theory was not officially sanctioned and Christie and Boyd resorted to "stealing" computer time to compare the performance of U.S. and Soviet military aircraft which resulted in the publication of a two volume report in 1964. Despite the manner in which the Energy-Maneuverability theory was developed, it was accepted by the U.S. military and influenced the design of the successful F-15, F-16 and F-18 fighters.

Awards

Over the years, Christie has received numerous awards and citations including the Presidential Rank, Distinguished Executive Award (1983); the Presidential Rank, Meritorious Executive Award (two awards - 1980 and 1987); the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award (four awards – 1979, 1981, 1983, and 1989); and the Air Force Scientific Achievement Award (two awards – 1965 and 1970).

References

External links

All Guns, No Butter
'' In These Times'', 8 August 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, Thomas P. 1934 births Living people People from Pensacola, Florida Spring Hill College alumni New York University alumni Military strategists United States defense policymaking