Project B begins as an interservice political test

Mitchell used aircraft for forest-fire missions and border patrols to raise aviation's public profile. Record attempts offered another way to keep aircraft in the news. A tentative recollection also links him to an offer to use air power during a mining dispute, while distinguishing that offer from bombing by privately hired aircraft. His exact participation in that episode is left uncertain. Secretary of War Newton Baker and Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels faced mounting pressure for a joint demonstration. Project B emerged in an atmosphere where both services wanted rules that supported their preferred conclusions.