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Home : Media : Speeches / Testimony

# U.S. Air Force Birthday Ball

By ADM. HARRY B. HARRIS, JR.

                HONOLULU, HAWAII  –              
**Thankyou General (Lori) Robinson, for that motivating introduction.  It’s wonderful to see you tonight.  I'd be honored to be your wingman, anytimeand anyplace.
 
Andto all you Airmen out there, happy birthday! 
 
It’sgreat to be here with you, honoring the most technologically advanced andprofessional Air Force in the history of the world.  And while tonight should be a celebration,thank you for recognizing the profound importance of this date – 9/11 – and  the events which fundamentally changed ourcountry 14 years ago.
 
...Distinguished guest, ladies, and gentlemen. I’m sure, given the choice, instead of hearing a short speech from anold Navy Admiral who’s almost as old as the Air Force itself, most of you’drather hear no speech at all.  So I’mgoing to get on with it, so that you can get on with it.
 
TheUnited States Air Force has a proud and spectacular history.  From the airspace above Verdun, to the outerspace above us, to cyberspace all around us, Airmen have defended our nation withgreat substance and style as well.  "Offwe go into the wild blue yonder" is a clarion call to adventure and thecatchphrase of the coolest song of all the services.
 
TheAir Force has long cornered the market on capturing the imagination of youngboys and girls across America.  As a kid,I grew up with the exploits of Sky Pilot, Sky King, and Steve Canyon.  Some would even say I took 12 O’clock High toheart by attending the Frank Savage School of Leadership.
 
Tonight, we celebrate 68 years of tradition, accomplishment, anddaring-do by the youngest branch of the U.S. military.  When President Harry Truman – love that firstname – signed the National Security Act of 1947 which established theDepartment of the Air Force, it was the formal recognition that air supremacywas critically important for our national security.
 
And today, 68 years later, the United States Air Force has themost technologically advanced systems and platforms and, most importantly, someof the most capable and professional war fighters in the world.And warfighting is what this service is about, a fact that was on cleardisplay just a few years after your creation during the Korean War.  
 
During that conflict, U.S. aviators faced a superior aircraft, theMiG-15, which was a faster and more maneuverable than our F-84 Thunderjets andF-86 Sabres.  But our Air Force aviators dominatedthe skies because of their superior training and tactics.  And our Air Force has dominated the skiesever since.
 
And while we celebrate your 68th birthday as anindividual service, your roots are much older and run far deeper.  It's been over 100 years since LieutenantBenjamin Foulois climbed into a Wright Flyer Type B biplane in what was to bethe U.S. military's first aircraft, named "Signal Corps Airplane Number 1."Since that fateful first flight, the Signal Corps evolved into the Army AirService, which later became the Army Air Corps, which then became the Army AirForces, and finally, the United States Air Force.  
 
Your storied history includes the Lafayette Escadrille, the FlyingTigers, the Doolittle Raid, the Mighty 8th Air Force, the Berlin Airlift, MiGAlley, Thud Ridge, Desert Storm, Bosnia, and the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, andSpace Shuttle programs.  Yours is a lineagestretching back over a century of flying legends – men like Eddie Rickenbacker,Billy Mitchell, Dick Bong, Thomas McGuire, Chuck Yeager, Iven Kinchloe, GeneralWinton Marshall, a Korean War ace who lives right here in Hawaii ... Gus Grissom, Lance Sijan, Bud Day ... and, finally, theonly man besides Tom Selleck, Fig Leaf, and Ron Burgundy who could pull off a massivelymanly mustache, the legendary Robin Olds.

Tomorrow,no one here is going to remember anything I said tonight except that my remarkshad “something to do with Ron Burgundy and Anchorman.”
 
Butmen hold no monopoly on heroism in your storied history.  Women like Jackie Cochran, Nancy HarknessLove, Eileen Collins, and Martha McSally occupy positions of high honor in ournation's pantheon of heroes.
 
Innovationis your middle name – brilliant thinkers like Billy Mitchell, John Worden, JohnBoyd, and Bernard Shreiver changed the way we as a military think and operate.  Air Force test pilots pushed the envelope inthe air and in space – the right stuff.  My father-in-law was an Air Force fighter pilot and testpilot in the 1950s – like most of his colleagues you could always tell he was afighter pilot, you just couldn't tell him much. 
 
For the last 68 years, you've been America’s sentinel, in the air,in space, and cyberspace.  PresidentRoosevelt had it right when he said, “Hitler built a fortress around Europe,but he forgot to put a roof on it."  And we must never forget that during the ColdWar, 13 Air Force reconnaissance aircraft were shot down by the Soviets andtheir proxies.  
 
For68 years, you’ve been the MVP on America’s offense, taking the fight to theenemy, with global power and global reach. 
 
Since9/11, terrorist organizations around the world have seen the darker side of theUnited States Air Force, living in constant fear of your fighters, yourgunships, and your appropriately named Reapers. After 14 years of heavy combat flying in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S.Air Force has much to be proud of.  Youtook the fight to the enemy – and you're still putting warheads on foreheads inour fight against ISIS.  
 
Andin this theater, for the past 68 years, Airmen have worked with our close alliesand partners to maintain peace and stability throughout the region.  
 
Forexample, during Talisman Sabre 15, U.S. and Australian C-17s flew 22 hoursstraight from Alaska to Australia and delivered 450 Army paratroopers withextraordinary precision. 
 
Afterthe devastating earthquake hit Nepal back in April, PACAF deployed over 200Airmen in support of Joint Task Force-505. During the operation, Airmen flew over 148 sorties delivering equipmentand supplies and Airmen from the 36th Contingency Response Groupworked with our Nepalese partners in Kathmandu to distribute Humanitarian Aidand validate the airport’s runway structural integrity.
 
DuringCope North 15, our Airmen worked alongside 2,300 military members of our alliesand partners to increase our combat readiness, interoperability, and ability toquickly and effectively respond to a natural disaster.  Airmen are making a real impact to the regionand the nation. 
 
Lastmonth, during Red Flag, U.S., Japanese, Korean, and New Zealand Airmen executeda large-scale airfield seizure scenario, the first in Red Flag’s history.  During the exercise, a U.S. C-130 Hercules assignedto the 36th Airlift Squadron from Yokota Air Base became the first U.S.aircraft ever to airdrop Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members onto U.S. soil.
 
ThePacific theater is deeply embedded in the DNA of the U.S. Air Force.  
 
TheIndo-Asia-Pacific region is center court in the great game of geo-politics inthe 21st Century.  I speak often aboutthe threat from North Korea, the challenge of a rising China, and the criticalimportance of America’s Rebalance to the Pacific.  Our countrymen and women are again looking tous to ensure stability and prosperity in this vital region.  Airmen and Sailors, Soldiers and Marines, standingthe watch together.  And there’s noquestion about it – we’re ready to do what’s necessary to protect our nationalinterests, wherever and whenever they are threatened.
 
Whiletonight’s events largely focus on exploits of the past, remember, the task infront of each of us is to be ready for the next fight.  Ready to fight tonight if need be.
 
Wellfolks, I see I’ve talked too long.  I’mreminded of the man who shot and killed a long-winded speaker.  He went to the sheriff’s office and said,“Sheriff, I’ve just shot me a keynote speaker.” The sheriff turned to the man and said, “Son, you’re in the wrongplace.  You pick up your reward money atthe courthouse.”
 
I’mhoping none of you Fighter Weapons School graduates are thinking aboutcollecting any reward money.  But just incase, let me close with this thought.
 
Thetrue strength of our Joint Force is the people who devote their lives to acause greater than themselves.  All ofyou here have paid your dues, given in many cases the best years of your livesto serve our Nation.  Now, thousands ofyoung Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen stand the watcharound the world.
 
Americais the country she is because of young men and women who are willing to foregowearing a business suit, forego strolling down easy street, and forego livingthe good life, to wear instead the cloth of the nation.  To travel instead along an uncertain roadfraught with peril, to live instead a life on the ragged edge of danger.  To live lives that matter on a fundamentallevel.
 
Now,I’m not a preacher-man, but there's a passage in the good book which definesfor me the spirit that lives in each and every citizen who has ever chosen towear the cloth of the nation.  And it'sappropriate this day of all days.
 
Oneday God was searching for the right man – a man with the right stuff, if youwill.  A man to embark on a dangerousmission and go into a dangerous land:
 
“Whomshall I send?  Who shall go for us?”
 
Andthe prophet responded, “Here am I Lord, send me.”
 
Heream I, send me.  Powerful words.  When our nation was attacked 14 years agotoday, Lady Liberty called out in her pain and anguish “Whom shall I send?  Who shall go for me?”
 
Andeverywhere, Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and civilianscalled out:
 
“HEREAM I AMERICA. SEND ME.”
 
“HEREAM I AMERICA. SEND ME.”
 
Fromthe Atlantic to the Pacific and beyond, America’s sons and daughters answeredthat clarion call, and they continue to answer that call today, serving withgreat flair and greater distinction.
 
OurUnited States Air Force is the finest flying fighting force the world has everknown.  You’re expeditionary, you're fast,tough, hard-charging, courageous, and you're always ready.  You’re envied by many, feared by most, andforever respected by friend and foe alike. None of that’s aspirational or boastful, it's just fact.  
 
Ican assure you, you’ve got the respect of this old Navy Sailor as well.  I know exactly what you’re capable of, and I'mhonored to be your wingman as we protect our great nation together.  I look forward to flying with you into thefuture, as the Joint Force continues to protect our national interests abroad.
 
Indeed,as Curtis Lemay once said, "If we maintain our faith in God, love offreedom, and superior global air power, the future looks good."
 
MayGod bless our men and women who serve on the forward edge of the battle area,the FEBA of freedom.  May God bless andcomfort the families that support us.  MayGod bless the United States Air Force.  Andmay God bless this land of liberty we call America.
 
Happybirthday, Airmen ... Aim High!****                    SHARE                **                    PRINT****