The U.S. Air Force is the youngest American military branch, forming in the 20th century after the invention of the airplane. Tasked with protecting the nation’s skies and supporting ground troops, the Air Force relies on the most technologically advanced military aircraft in the world. Operating those planes are highly trained pilots backed by technically skilled support crews.
The U.S. Air Force is the air combat branch of the U.S. military. In general terms, the Air Force’s job is to prepare and train, and when needed, fight the aerial aspects of any military conflict the U.S. becomes involved in. The Air Force vision statement is: “Global Vigilance, Reach, and Power.” Their mission statement, updated in 2005, is to “deliver sovereign options for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests – to fly and fight in Air, Space, and Cyberspace.”
The Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds are the Air Force’s 3600th Air Demonstration Unit, a particular unit that does aerobatic displays at air shows and special events to promote the U.S. Air Force, aid enlistment, and create a positive public image of the military. Descended from the Sabre Dancers demonstration team, the Thunderbirds were formed in 1953 at Luke Air Force Base, in Litchfield Park, Ariz. Taking their name from a Native American legend common to the area, the team gives dozens of performances every year. In 2007, they provided a fly-over of Dolphin Stadium at the beginning of Super Bowl XLI.
Specifically, the Air Force provides tactical support to ground troops with close air support missions and tactical bombing (flying into combat and eliminating specific enemy units). The Air Force also works to secure air superiority in a given theater – the geographic area in which battle takes place – by eliminating aerial threats, such as another nation’s fighter planes or bombers. Much of the Air Force’s role, however, is strategic. Their efforts are integral in the long-term success of a military campaign. Air Force planes conduct reconnaissance missions, transport troops and supplies, and conduct strategic bombing. Strategic bombing is destroying the enemy’s ability to wage war by attacking factories, supply lines, communications stations, and other infrastructure.
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In this article, we’ll look at the history of the Air Force, how it’s structured, the process of joining and leaving, and life during time served.
Although Union forces operated the U.S. Balloon Corps during the Civil War, using hot-air balloons to spot Confederate troop movements and numbers, a permanent military aeronautical service was not instituted until 1907. That year, the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Signal Corps was created and given the task of studying and implementing the use of military aircraft.
Not long after, the entire air fleet of the U.S. was lost when their only plane crashed [Source: Yenne]. By 1916, the First Aero Squadron had eight jets built by the Curtiss company — they were first used in action against Mexican rebel Pancho Villa. All but two of the aircraft were lost due to weather and mechanical problems.
During World War I, the Aeronautical Division was separated from the Signal Corps and became the U.S. Army Air Service. Because U.S. aircraft manufacturers were behind their European counterparts in the design and production of military planes, most U.S. pilots at the time flew British and French planes, some of which were manufactured in the U.S. under license. Peak wartime strength for the Air Service was 7,889 planes. While the size of the Air Service dropped drastically in the interwar period, military air tactics, strategy, and design were modernized.
Production was ramped up again in 1939 as the conflict was rekindled in Europe.
The Air Service was given greater autonomy while remaining a part of the U.S. Army in 1941 when it was restructured into the U.S. Army Air Forces. The Air Force played an enormous role in WWII – its exploits were crucial to Allied victory in every theater of the war. In 1944, Army Forces reached a historic peak unit strength of 78,757 aircraft with 2,372, 292 men.
An overall reorganization of the U.S. military in 1947 lead to the creation of the U.S. Air Force, finally making it an independent and equal branch of the military within the Department of Defense.
Throughout the Cold War, the Air Force was a vital part of the United States’ nuclear arsenal. While the Navy was in charge of submarine-based atomic weapons, the Air Force’s Strategic Air Command (SAC) had control of both ground-launched Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) and nuclear bombs carried on long-range bombers like the B-52 Stratofortress.
The Air Force’s area of responsibility was extended into space in 1982 when the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) was created. For the most part, AFSPC launches operate and protect satellites for military use, including weather, communications, and GPS satellites. In the future, AFSPC may utilize combat craft capable of entering space – for now, NASA’s space shuttle is occasionally used to launch military payloads.
In 1993, U.S. military policy was changed to allow women to serve in specific combat roles. These roles included flying fighter jets into combat. In 1994, Lt. Jeannie Flynn became the first female fighter pilot in the United States Air Force upon successful completion of her training in the F-15E Eagle.
As of 2006, the Air Force has about 6,000 aircraft, with about 350,000 active personnel and another 250,000 in the Air National Guard and Reserve [source: 2006 USAF Almanac]. In 2003, there were just over 100 female fighter pilots in the Air Force; about two percent of the force’s total fighter pilots.
One notable example is Major Kim Campbell, pilot of an A-10 Thunderbolt II under the Air Force call sign “Killer Chick.” During a 2003 close air support mission over Baghdad, her plane suffered damage from a ground-based attack. Despite the loss of both redundant hydraulic control systems and damage to one engine, Campbell flew for one hour, returning to her base and landing safely using only mechanical control systems.
The Air Force has both a political/civilian/administrative structure and a military structure. The Department of the Air Force is part of the Department of Defense and is headed by the Secretary of the Air Force. That leaves only the Secretary of Defense and the President above the Secretary of the Air Force in the chain of command. Below the Secretary of the Air Force is a Chief of Staff — the heads of the major Air Force commands report to him.
The Air Force is divided into significant commands. Within the United States, the controls are divided by function. Outside the U.S., they are separated by geographic area.
- Air Combat Command – Coordinates and provides all combat airpower.
- Air Education and Training Command – Provides additional training and technical education to all members of the Air Force.
- Air Force Materiel Command – Conducts research and development, testing, and acquisition of new technologies for the Air Force.
- Air Force Reserve Command – Operates the Air Force Reserve.
- Air Force Space Command – Projects U.S. airpower into space.
- Air Force Special Operations Command – Provides rapid response special forces, like air commandos.
- Air Mobility Command – Coordinates and provides the transportation of troops and supplies.
- Pacific Air Forces – Responsible for the Asia-Pacific region.
- U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Responsible for Europe and Africa, coordinates with NATO.
- Air Force Cyberspace Command – The newest Major Command, Cyberspace Command, will be tasked with protecting U.S. communications and commerce from network-based attacks. Not yet operational — in the planning stages as of February 2007 with no definite launch date set.
The Major Commands are divided into 17 Numbered Air Forces (NAFs). The specific roles of the NAFs are subject to frequent reorganization. Within the NAFs are wings, each with 1,000 to 5,000 personnel. A side may be an operational wing, an air-base wing, or a specialized mission wing. An executive arm is often independent with all the support functions necessary to operate. Airbase wings are assigned to specific air force bases and conduct the operations of the bottom.
There can be three to 10 squadrons within a wing. A fleet supports up 24 aircraft and their operational crews, although non-air units are also referred to as squadrons. Fleets can also be further divided into flights, with up to 100 personnel. There are two types of trips: numbered flights and alphabetic flights. Numbered flights are units with unique numbered missions, such as training (in fact, they are typically used only in practice). An alphabetic plane is a small component of a squadron.
During conflicts, the Air Force may divide their forces into Groups or Expeditionary Task Forces. The breakdown of Air Force units is more flexible (and more chaotic) than other military branches in part due to the Air Force’s high mobility, as well as the need to thoroughly integrate their efforts with those of the other armed forces.
The first thing everyone wants to know about joining the Air Force is, “How do I become a pilot?” Only officers in the Air Force become fighter pilots, and they are rare even among the officer corps. The overwhelming majority of Air Force personnel stay on the ground to do their jobs. In facto, only four percent of all Air Force personnel are pilots.
All enlisted personnel goes through a six-week basic training program at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Like all military basic training programs, this one teaches the enlistees the military’s way of doing things, puts them through grueling physical challenges, and gives them the core skills they will need to function in the Air Force. From basic training, Airmen move on to Tech Training, conducted at several Air Force bases around the United States. The Tech Training programs start the Airmen down their career path, teaching them the technical skills necessary to work in medical services, air traffic control, aircraft repair, computers, and networking, or many other possible career tracks. It is possible to receive additional technical training later in one’s Air Force career.
Those who want to join the Air Force as an officer (and possibly someday fly a fighter jet) have several choices. Officer Training School (OTS) is a more extended, stricter version of basic training – graduates are commissioned at the rank of Second Lieutenant. Enlisted personnel may be eligible for OTS. The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program gives potential officers the chance to train while attending college, receiving their commission when they graduate. The Air Force Academy is the most prestigious avenue to becoming an Air Force officer. The application requires a Congressional nomination. Cadets endure four years of extremely rigorous physical and academic training before graduating and becoming commissioned officers.
Back to the question of becoming a pilot — all officers attend a technical training school, just like enlisted personnel. Officers who want to become pilots will put in a request to attend pilot training. However, a lot of people want to be pilots, and not everyone gets that opportunity. Competition is fierce, and only the top candidates will ever make it through flight school.
Captain Audra Goldfuss, weather officer with the 7th Air Force in Osan, South Korea, gave us a glimpse into daily life in the Air Force. There are Air Force bases scattered throughout the United States, with several in Europe and Asia. Personnel is moved every year or two based on the needs of the Air Force (specific requests for locations are taken into account, but are granted a much lower priority than where the Air Force wants you). Goldfuss has been stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona before being transferred to Korea.
A typical day starts very early, at 0400 hours, or 4:00 a.m. That gives Goldfuss enough time to get into uniform, polish her boots, and make sure her hair meets military regulations before arriving to work at 0530. As a weather officer, she has then briefed on the previous 12 hours of weather throughout the theater that Osan Air Force Base is responsible for: the Korean Peninsula, Japan, Hawaii, Guam, and parts of China. From there, she goes to a Top Secret briefing room, where she reports to the general in charge of the base. Goldfuss explains that the weather itself isn’t top secret, but a high-security clearance is required “because of how it impacts the aircraft we fly.”
Reflecting the Air Force’s focus on continuing education, Goldfuss spends a lot of time taking online military education courses and learning German (she knows her next assignment will take her to an Air Force Base in Germany). Base personnel also take part in combat exercises. “We pretend we’re at war, so we practice as if bombs are dropping, guns are firing, all hell is breaking loose. My job during these times is to give weather for specific locations, help out with Personnel Recovery missions, and keep people informed of weather all over the theater.”
Life on an Air Force Base gives Air Force officers and enlisted troops a variety of ways to spend their free time.
Everything they need is on the base itself, so just about anything is within walking distance. This includes basics like a grocery store and other shopping options, as well as exercise centers, movie theaters, golf courses, restaurants, schools, and churches.
As members of a U.S. military organization, all Air Force personnel are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Dismissal from the Air Force can take a variety of forms, from an honorable discharge to a court-martial, depending on the circumstances surrounding the termination.
Air Force Reserve
The Air Force Reserve is an active element of the Air Force, participating in missions, maintenance, and support. It is used to supplement active Air Force units, not held in reserve for specific call-ups, although the Air Force can call up certain ready reservists when they’re needed. Most Air Force reservists put in far more than one weekend a month and two weekends per year are repairing and maintaining the Air Force’s aircraft.
Air Force veterans and retirees are eligible for a host of benefits ranging from burial in state cemeteries, health and life insurance, low-interest loans for mortgages or small businesses, and veterans’ health care. The full suite of benefits available may depend on the nature of the veteran’s dismissal – usually, honorable discharge or retirement is necessary for access to all benefits. A search for answers to specific questions about veterans’ benefits begins at the National Archive: Sources for Veterans Information, Aid, and Benefits.
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