Portal:United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force Portal The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. Initially born as the United States Army Air Corps, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947. It was the last branch of the US military to be formed. The USAF is the largest, most technologically advanced air force in the world, with about 5,573 manned aircraft in service (3,990 USAF; 1,213 Air National Guard; and 370 Air Force Reserve); approximately 180 Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles, 2130 Air-Launched Cruise Missiles, and 450 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles; and has 327,452 personnel on active duty, 115,299 in the Selected and Individual Ready Reserves, and 106,700 in the Air National Guard. In addition, the Air Force employs 171,313 civilian personnel including indirect hire of foreign nationals. The Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force who heads administrative affairs. The Department of the Air Force is a division of the Department of Defense, headed by the Secretary of Defense. The highest ranking military officer in the Department of the Air Force is the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Picture Spotlight After the Storm A rainbow over a line of KC-135 Stratotanker and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Morón Air Base, Spain.
Photo credit:Air Force Photo Article Spotlight Air Force One is the call sign for any USAF aircraft carrying the President of the United States (POTUS). The first aircraft dedicated to presidential airlift was a specially outfitted C-54 Skymaster nicknamed Sacred Cow served Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. The name 'Air Force One' was first used in 1953 after an incident in which Dwight D. Eisenhower's aircraft shared a call sign with a commercial flight. A number of different airframes have been used for presidential transport, including a C-118 Liftmaster, C-121 Constellation, and a C-137 Stratoliner. Currently Air Force One is most commonly a modified Boeing 747-200B designated as VC-25 by the Air Force. Did You Know... ... that the United States Air Force Marathon is held annually at Wright Patterson Air Force Base on the Saturday nearest to the Air Force's birthday of 18 September. Events include a 26.2 mile marathon, a half marathon, a wheelchair race, a four-person relay, and a 5k race. Aerospace Vehicle Spotlight The AH-56 Cheyenne was a four-bladed, single-engine attack helicopter developed by Lockheed for the United States Army's Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) program to produce the Army's first, dedicated attack helicopter. Lockheed designed the AH-56 utilizing a rigid-rotor and configured the aircraft as a compound helicopter; with low-mounted wings and a tail-mounted thrusting propeller. It was armed with a 30 mm cannon in a belly turret and either a 7.62 mm minigun or a 40 mm grenade launcher in a nose turret, as well as six wing hardpoints capable of mounting 2.75 inch (70 mm) rocket launchers and TOW missiles. The compound helicopter design was intended to provide a 212-knot dash capability in order to serve as an armed escort to the Army's transport helicopters, such as the UH-1 Iroquois. Biography Spotlight Lieutenant Colonel Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (1926–1967) was one of the Mercury Seven astronauts. Grissom was born and raised in Mitchell, Indiana. He enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1944 and served briefly as a clerk before being discharged at the end of World War II. Grissom used the G.I. Bill to attend college. After college Grissom re-entered the Air Force and attended pilot training. He went on to fly F-86 Sabres with the 334th Fighter Squadron in the Korean War before becoming a test pilot in 1957. In 1959 Grissom was one of seven pilots selected into Project Mercury. He piloted the Mercury-Redstone 4 (or Liberty 7) mission becoming the second American to fly into suborbital space. Grissom next commanded the Gemini 3 mission, becoming the first American to fly into space twice. Grissom was transferred into the Apollo Program and given command of the Apollo 1 mission. Grissom, and the other two Apollo 1 astronauts, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, died when the command module caught fire during a training exercise on 27 January 1967. Grissom was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and two Air Medals for his service in the Korean War and two NASA Distinguished Service Medal and Congressional Space Medal of Honor for his time with the space program. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. USAF News
Air Force medics partner with Iraqi Ministry of Defense hospital Summary: Air Force Theater Hospital personnel are conducting medical training for Iraqi forces from the Ministry of Defense Hospital. The two nations developed the American-Iraqi Air Medical Evacuation and Medical Provider Training Course and the first phase of the training focused on causality evacuation and burn care. The first course trained 11 Iraqis in patient transport techniques and hands-on burn treatment. Courses will be held every two weeks and the focus of subsequent courses will vary. The program is part of the U.S. drawdown plan and has a goal of ensuring that Iraqi medical personnel are capable of conducting trauma care without U.S. assistance. Quotes "I never doubted, not ever, that we would succeed."
Grigorian, Gary C., "Major General William Tunner: A Study in Creative and Innovative Leadership During the Berlin Airlift", in McBride, Sharon, The Challenges of Leadership and Command, Air University, pp. 57 USAF Topics
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