AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

AF HANDBOOK 1

SECOND EDITION • FEB 2007
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1



Foreword

With the dawning of the 21st Century, America and 

the Air Force celebrated the Centennial of Flight, born 

of the vision and ingenuity of the Wright Brothers. 

The advent of flight forever changed the world, giving 

us unprecedented access to air and space. From the 

Army Air Corps to the Army Air Forces, aviation 

changed the world and led to the birth of the United 

States Air Force. 

We have a unique heritage and distinguished 

history. Our Air Force became and remains the 

world’s premier air and space power because of our 

professional Airmen, our investment in technology, 

and our ability to operationally integrate our people 

and systems to deliver decisive effects globally for 

Combatant Commanders. 

The Air Force’s core values: Integrity, Service, and 

Excellence are essential to our continued success. 

These core values rest upon four pillars within each 

and every individual Airman—character, honor, 

personal integrity, and patriotism. As America’s 

Airmen, we are expected to exhibit the highest 

standards at all times. Nothing less will suffice. 

Air Force Handbook 1 reminds us of our past, 

reinforces where we are, and enables us to envision the 

future. As you read, take pride in being a member of the 

world’s finest air and space force—second to none. 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 



AIRMAN

This volume was created by

America’s AIRMEN and dedicated to 

future generations of AIRMEN
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1



Foreword ................................................................ 3

Welcome from Secretary Wynne .................. 8

Welcome from General Moseley .................... 10

Welcome from CMSAF McKinley ................... 12

Civilian Air Chiefs.................................................. 14

Secretaries of the Air Force............................... 14

CSAFs of the Air Force ........................................ 15

CMSAFs of the Air Force .................................... 15

We are America’s Airmen .................................. 16

 AIR FORCE HERITAGE 

Historical Perspective ........................................ 18

The First GHQ ........................................................ 33

Airman Leaders Exemplars .............................. 96

Medal of Honor Recipients .............................. 142

Special Medal of Honor Recipients ............... 146

Air Force Top 10 Aces.......................................... 147

Introduction to the CSAF’s Reading List ...... 152

Quotations ............................................................. 153

 NATIONAL 

Air Force Senior Leadership ............................. 159

Commander-in-Chief ......................................... 161

Secretary of Defense .......................................... 162

Oaths of Office ...................................................... 164

 AMERICA’S AIR FORCE

Mission • Vision • Core Values .......................... 167

Core Competencies............................................. 168

CSAF’s 4 Pillars ...................................................... 172

Department of the Air Force ........................... 175

Air Force Organizations ..................................... 178

TABLE OF CONTENTS
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

The Thunderbirds ................................................ 194 

Human Relations Principles ............................. 196

Total Force .............................................................. 200

Career Fields........................................................... 205

 AIR FORCE OPERATIONS

AEF ............................................................................ 220

Worldwide Operations....................................... 230

Distinctive Capabilities ...................................... 232

CONOPs ................................................................... 233

Air and Space Doctrine....................................... 236

 MILITARY

Code of Conduct for Members of the

Armed Forces of the United States .............. 252

Combatant Commands...................................... 254

Chain of Command.............................................. 255

Joint Staff - Air Staff ............................................ 258 

Other Services

Army ......................................................................... 259

Navy ......................................................................... 261

Marine Corps ......................................................... 263

Coast Guard ........................................................... 264

Department of Defense Rank and Insignia

Air Force .................................................................. 268

Army ......................................................................... 270

Navy ......................................................................... 272

Marine Corps ......................................................... 274

Coast Guard ........................................................... 276

Air Force ROTC ...................................................... 278

Air Force Academy .............................................. 279

Customs and Courtesy ...................................... 283

TABLE OF CONTENTS continued
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS continued

AIRMAN

www.AIRMAN.af.mil

 AIR FORCE KNOWLEDGE 

Air Force Systems (by Conflict Era) ........................... 294

Tail Flashes ............................................................. 309 

Air and Space Weapons Systems ................... 315

Air Force Vocabulary ........................................... 338

Pledge of Allegiance ........................................... 354

National Anthem .................................................. 356

US Air Force Hymn............................................... 357

The Air Force Song............................................... 358

High Flight.............................................................. 360
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Welcome

from

Secretary Wynne

As an Airman in the United States Air Force, you 

have taken an oath to support and defend the 

Constitution of the United States. The Nation 

depends on you to embody that oath despite the 

sacrifices and risks you must endure. By living 

up to our Core Values of Integrity First, Service 

Before Self, and Excellence in all we do, each 

Airman recognizes the seriousness of that oath 

and internalizes the level of trust our nation has 

in every member of our Air Force. As an integral 

member of the Joint Team, we are the worldís 

most dominant Air and Space force, and we are 

quickly gaining dominance in the new frontier of 

Cyberspace. Our culture is expeditionary, and 

innovatio n our hallmark. From the earliest days 

of flight, Airmen have continually pushed the 

boundaries of what was possible in Air and Space. 

Today, you stand on the shoulders of giants like 

Billy Mitchell, Hap Arnold, Benjamin O. Davis, 

Bennie Schriever, and John Levitow; Airmen who 

risked their reputations, careers and their lives 

to carry our Air Force to greater heights for the 

Nation. We are counting on you, the individual 

Airman, to embrace this heritage as you lead us to 

a future of limitless horizons.

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1
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Michael W. Wynne is the 21st Secretary of the Air 

Force. In this role, he is responsible for the affairs 

of the Department of the Air Force, including the 

organizing, training, equipping, and providing 

for the welfare of its nearly 370,000 men and 

women on active duty; 180,000 members of the 

Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve; 

160,000 civilians, and their families. As head of 

the Department of the Air Force, Secretary Wynne 

is responsible for its functioning and efficiency, 

the formulation of its policies and programs, 

and the timely implementation of decisions and 

instructions of the President of the United States 

and the Secretary of Defense. With an annual 

budget of approximately $110 billion, he ensures 

the Air Force can meet its current and future 

operational requirements. 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

10

Welcome

from

General Moseley

Congratulations on joining the United States 

Air Force! Your decision to become an 

Airman is an important one, and one that 

will shape the rest of your life. Whether you 

committed to the Air Force for a short time or 

intend to make it a career, you’ll always be an 

Airman. And as an Airman, you should take 

great pride in putting on your uniform and 

daily serving the Nation in these important 

times. We are a Nation and an Air Force at 

war, so we will demand much of you. But I 

have no doubt in your ability to succeed, and 

to lead others in our team to succeed. You 

have joined a special team, one with a rich 

history, abiding core values, and a limitless 

horizon. This handbook will help you begin 

to learn, understand, and internalize the 

heritage, culture and doctrine of Airmen. 

Welcome to the finest Air Force on Earth! 

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11

General T. Michael Moseley is Chief of Staff of 

the U. S. Air Force, Washington, D. C. As Chief, 

he serves as the senior uniformed Air Force officer 

responsible for the organization, training and 

equipage of 710,000 active duty, Guard, Reserve 

and civilian forces serving in the United States 

and overseas. As a member of the Joint Chiefs of 

Staff, the General and other service chiefs function 

as military advisers to the Secretary of Defense, 

National Security Council, and the President.
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

12

Welcome

from

CMSAF McKinley

Welcome to the United States Air Force! 

Whether you come from a small town or a 

big city, joined for patriotic reasons or for 

education and training, and whether you plan 

to stay with us for 4 years or 24, you are now an 

important part of the world’s greatest Air Force.

The USAF has a rich heritage, full of brave 

Airmen with vision and tenacity. As one of us, 

you will be an important part of shaping our 

future. Together as Airmen, we will serve our 

nation proudly. This handbook is designed to 

educate you about our culture and your new 

world as you begin this exciting journey.

Let me encourage you to step out smartly, 

get up to speed quickly, and enthusiastically 

embrace our core values of Integrity, Service 

Before Self, and Excellence. Your Nation is 

counting on you, and so are your fellow Airmen. 

We need your best efforts, and 

 we are glad you’re here!

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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

13

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force (CMSAF) 

Rodney J. McKinley represents the highest enlisted 

level of leadership, and as such, provides direction 

for the enlisted corps and represents their interests, 

as appropriate, to the American public, and to 

those at all levels of government. He serves as 

the personal adviser to the Chief of Staff and the 

Secretary of the Air Force on all issues regarding the 

welfare, readiness, morale, and proper utilization 

and progress of the enlisted force. CMSAF Murray 

became the 15th chief master sergeant appointed 

to the highest noncommissioned officer position 

on 30 June 2006.
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

14

John D. Ryan 1918

F. Trubee Davison 1926-1932

Robert A. Lovett 1941-1946

W. Stuart Symington 1946-1947

W. Stuart Symington 1947-1950

Thomas K. Finletter 1950-1953

Harold E. Talbott 1953-1955

Donald A. Quarles 1955-1957

James H. Douglas, Jr. 1957-1959

Dudley C. Sharp 1959-1961

Eugene M. Zuckert 1961-1965

Harold Brown 1965-1969

Robert C. Seamans, Jr. 1969-1973

John L. McLucas 1973-1975

James W. Plummer (acting) 1975-1976

Thomas C. Reed 1976-1977

John C. Stetson 1977-1979

Hans M. Mark 1979-1981

Verne Orr 1981-1985

Russell A. Rourke 1985-1986

Edward C. Aldridge, Jr. 1986-1988

James F. McGovern (acting) 1988-1989

John J. Welch, Jr. (acting) 1989-1989

Donald B. Rice 1989-1993

Michael B. Donely (acting) 1993-1993

Sheila E. Widnall 1993-1997

F. Whitten Peters (acting) 1997-1999

F. Whitten Peters 1999-2001

Dr. Lawrence J. Delaney (acting) 2001-2001

Dr James G. Roche 2001-2005

Michael W. Wynne 2005-Present

Capt Charles D. Chandler 1907-1910

Capt Arthur S. Cowan 1910-1911

Capt Charles D. Chandler 1911-1912

Lt Henry H. Arnold 1912-1913

Col Samuel Reber 1913-1916

Brig Gen George O. Squier 1916-1917

Lt Col John B. Bennet 1917

Brig Gen Benjamin D. Foulois 1917

Brig Gen Alexander L. Dade 1917-1918

Maj Gen William L. Kenly 1918-1919

Secretaries 

of the Air 

Force

Civilian Air 

Chiefs

Military Air 

Chiefs
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15

Paul W. Airey 3 Apr 67 - 31 Jul 69

Donald L. Harlow 1 Aug 69 - 30 Sep 71

Richard D. Kisling 1 Oct 71 - 30 Sep 73

Thomas N. Barnes 1 Oct 73 - 1 Jul 77

Robert D. Gaylor 1 Aug 77 - 31 Jul 79

James M. McCoy 1 Aug 79 - 31 Jul 81

Arthur L. Andrews 1 Aug 81 - 31 Jul 83

Sam E. Parish 1 Aug 83 - 30 Jun 86

James C. Binnicker 1 Jul 86 - 31 Jul 90

Gary R. Pfingston 1 Aug 90 - 25 Oct 94

David J. Campanale 26 Oct 94 - 4 Nov 96

Eric W. Benken 5 Nov 96 - 30 Jul 99

Frederick Finch 2 Aug 99 - 28 Jun 02

Gerald R. Murray 1 Jul 02 - 30 Jun 06

Rodney J. McKinley 30 Jun 06 - Present

U.S. Air 

Force 

Chiefs of 

Staff

Maj Gen Charles T. Menoher 1919-1921

Maj Gen Mason M. Patrick 1921-1927

Maj Gen James E. Fechet 1927-1931

Maj Gen Benjamin D. Foulois 1931-1935

Maj Gen Oscar Westover 1935-1938

Gen Henry H. Arnold 1938-1946

Gen Carl A. Spaatz 1946-1947

Gen Carl A. Spaatz 1947-1948

Gen Hoyt S. Vandenberg 1948-1953

Gen Nathan F. Twining 1953-1957

Gen Thomas D. White 1957-1961

Gen Curtis E. LeMay 1961-1965

Gen John P. McConnell 1965-1969

Gen John D. Ryan 1969-1973

Gen George S. Brown 1973-1974

Gen David C. Jones 1974-1978

Gen Lew Allen, Jr. 1978-1982

Gen Charles A. Gabriel 1982-1986

Gen Larry D. Welch 1986-1990

Gen Michael J. Dugan 1990-1990

Gen John M Loh (acting) 1990-1990

Gen Merrill A. McPeak 1990-1994

Gen Ronald R. Fogleman 1994-1997

Gen Ralph E. Eberhart (acting) 1997-1997

Gen Michael E. Ryan 1997-2001

Gen John P. Jumper 2001-2005

Gen T. Michael Moseley 2005-Present

CMSgts 

of the Air 

Force

Military Air 

Chiefs cont’d
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

16

We Are America’s Airmen

We are America’s Airmen—a Total Force of 

active, Guard, Reserve, and civilian Patriots. 

We fight and win anywhere our Nation needs 

us. Expeditionary Airmen provide America 

air and space power to protect our nation and 

way of life. 

Our United States Air Force reflects the 

vision of the founders of airpower. We foster 

ingenuity in the development of the world’s 

most professional Airmen. Airmen are the 

heart and soul of our unique fighting force, 

and are identified by a proper noun­—Airmen. 

We will continue to transition new technologies 

into joint warfighting systems and integrate 

our capabilities to produce decisive warfighting 

effects. 

You have joined a team of Airmen who have 

a rich history, and play an unparalleled role 

in the defense of America. Our Air Force is 

the greatest air and space force in the world 

because of the generations of professional 

Airmen who devoted their lives to serving 

their country. Airmen today recognize 

and honor their historic achievements and 

unique contributions to fighting and winning 

America’s wars. 

Whether we are active duty, Guard, Reserve, or 

civilians, first and foremost, we are America’s 

Airmen—confident in our ability to protect 

and defend the United States of America.

AIRMAN HANDBOOK1 

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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

The United States Air Force

Historical Perspective

by

Dr. John T. Farquhar

United States Air Force Academy

Department of History

Contributing Editors

George W. Bradley III

AFSPC Historian
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

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Introduction

As preparation for your entry into the Air Force, this 

section will introduce the Air Force mission and its 

evolution, the machines and technology associated with 

air and space flight, and, most important, the legacy of 

the men and women of the United States Air Force. By 

surveying the history of aviation, you will discover our 

heritage, appreciate Air Force traditions, and understand 

your role in our nation’s defense.

The Dawn of Flight

The dream of flight recurs in myth and legend from 

ancient times, but not until two French brothers, Joseph 

Michel and Jacques Etienne Montgolfier, launched 

a hot-air balloon on 15 Oct 1783, with passenger 

Jean François Pilatre de Rozier, did man first “fly.” The 

military potential of 

aviation was noted in 

1794, when the French 

“Ae ro s t a t i c Co r p s” 

balloons accompanied 

the armies of the French 

Revolution until 1798.

In September 1861, 

a “ B a l l o o n C o r p s ” 

p r o v i d e d a e r i a l 

observ-ation for the 

Union Army during 

the American Civil War. 

However, the early balloons proved fragile, vulnerable 

to weather, and of limited value. 

Aviation languished in the United States, but in Europe, 

balloons, gliders and aerodynamics advanced rapidly. 

By 1853, Britain’s Sir George Cayley created a glider 

with fixed wings, cambered airfoil, and horizontal and 

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

vertical stabilizers. Continuing Cayley’s work, German 

engineer Otto Lilienthal produced flying machines 

similar to today’s hang gliders. From 1891 until his death 

five years later, Lilienthal greatly advanced aerodynamic 

theory. The publicity generated by Lilienthal spurred 

on imaginative people on both sides of the Atlantic, 

including Orville and Wilbur Wright.

With the assistance of American Octave Chanute 

whose book, Progress in Flying Machines, provided 

their foundation in aeronautics, the Wrights furthered 

Lilienthal’s experiments. From 1900 to 1902, the Wrights 

conducted over a thousand glides from Kill Devil Hills 

near Kitty Hawk, NC. After perfecting wing warping, 

elevators and rudders for control and a water-cooled 

engine, they attempted the first powered flight on 14 

Dec 1903. On that try, the aircraft stalled upon takeoff 

and crashed three seconds later. Success came at 1035 

on 17 Dec 1903, when Orville Wright flew 120 feet in 12 

seconds. Alternating pilot duties, the brothers made three 

more flights with Wilbur flying 852 feet and staying aloft 

59 seconds on the fourth attempt. 

American military authorities rejected the Wrights’ 

Flyer, reacting in part to the highly publicized failure of 

Samuel P. Langley’s steam-powered “Aerodrome” in 

October 1903. Although a highly respected scientist and 

Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Langley and the 

Army were subjected to public ridicule and Congressional 

criticism for the “waste” of a $50,000 government grant. 

Only when President Theodore Roosevelt intervened was 

an aeronautical division established in the US Army’s 

Signal Corps on 1 Aug 1907.

The Early Days of the U. S. Air Service 

1907-1917

By December 1907, the new Army Air Service established 

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specifications for an American military aircraft. The 

flying machine had to carry two people, weighing 350 

pounds, and fly for 125 miles at an average speed of 

40 miles per hour (mph). The Air Service received 41 

bids, but only one, submitted by the Wright brothers, 

produced a flyable aircraft. By September 1908, the 

Wright Type A Military Flyer flew for over an hour at a 

maximum altitude of 310 feet, carrying the first military 

observer, Lt Frank P. Lahm. A subsequent test on 17 Sep 

1908 resulted in Lt Thomas E. Selfridge’s death as the 

first military aviation fatality. Still, on 30 Jul 1909, pilot 

Orville Wright and Lt Benjamin D. Foulois flew from Fort 

Myer to Alexandria, VA, at an average speed of 42.6 

mph. On 2 August, the Army accepted the plane and 

awarded the Wrights $25,000, plus a $5,000 bonus.

The US Army Air Service’s early operations were not 

promising. In October 1909, Wilbur Wright trained 

Lts Frank P. Lahm and Frederic E. Humphreys to fly, 

and on 26 Oct, they were the first Army pilots to solo. 

By 5 November, they had crashed the Army’s plane. 

Within weeks, they were transferred out of aviation. 
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

In March 1910, Lt Foulois received orders to become 

the Signal Corps’ pilot. The Chief of the Signal Corps, 

Gen James Allen, told him, “Don’t worry. You’ll learn 

the techniques as you go along . . . just take plenty of 

spare parts and teach yourself to fly.”

US military aviation was falling behind Europe. By the 

end of 1911, the French had produced 353 aviators 

versus 26 American pilots, of whom only eight were 

military. By 1913, France and Germany each had spent 

$22 million on military aviation, Russia $12 million, and 

even Belgium $2 million, compared to just $430,000 

for the United States. 

America’s first combat experience with aviation 

demonstrated the Air Service’s ill preparedness. 

When Francisco “Pancho” Villa’s Mexican forces 

raided Columbus, NM in March 1916, the Army’s 1st 

Aero Squadron accompanied Gen John J. Pershing’s 

expedition. The squadron under the command of 

Capt Foulois sought to provide aerial scouting for 

the ground forces. However, mountain weather, 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

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dust, and extreme temperatures wreaked havoc 

with Foulois’ underpowered, dilapidated Curtis JN-3 

Jennies. After a month of operations, only two JN-3s 

were still flyable. 

The First Air War

During the First World War, 1914-1918, aircraft and 

air warfare evolved. Observation, artillery spotting, 

and reconnaissance emerged as the airplane’s most 

important war missions. By 1915, pursuit aircraft were 

developed to deny enemy use of the air. After early 

attempts to down enemies with handguns, French pilot 

Roland Garros attached steel plates to the propeller of 

his Morane-Saulnier Type L monoplane, enabling him 

to fire a machine gun through the propeller arc. He 

earned wide acclaim as the war’s first “ace.” When engine 

trouble forced Garros to land behind enemy lines on 19 

Apr 1915, the Germans studied his innovation. Dutchborn Anthony 

Fokker then 

created the 

f i r s t t r u e 

fighter plane, 

the Fok ker 

E i n d e c k e r, 

u s i n g a n 

interrupter 

gear to enable a machine gun to fire through the 

propeller. By the end of World War I, Airmen had 

pioneered most of to-day’s aerial missions, in-cluding 

photographic reconnaissance, close air support for 

ground troops, battlefield interdiction, and strategic 

bombardment in both day and night operations. The 

German air service inaugurated long-range strategic 

bombardment as early as 1915 with its massive Zeppelin 

dirigibles. 
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Despite the importance of reconnaissance and 

artillery spotting, fighter pilots captured the public’s 

imagination. Newspapers portrayed the daring, skill, 

and chivalry of the “knights of the air.” Following Roland 

Garros, the French produced such aces as Rene Fonck 

with 75 kills, and Georges Guynemer, who totaled 54 

aerial victories. 

Like the Allies, Germany publicized “aces” as a means 

of fostering public support for the war effort. Germany’s 

first ace, Max Immelmann developed the revolutionary 

technique that bears his name to reverse direction of an 

aircraft in flight. Perhaps the most famous ace of all, 

Manfred von Richtofen flew a scarlet Fokker triplane, 

which earned him the name, “the Red Baron.” Shortly 

after his 80th victory, Richtofen was shot down and 

killed on 21 Apr 1918.

Not to be outdone by the French and Germans, Britain 

exulted in the exploits of fighter pilots. Britain’s leading 

ace, with 73 kills, was Edward “Mick” Mannock, 

who was killed by groundfire while aiding a novice 

wingman. 

A m e r i c a n s 

entered the ranks 

of aerial heroes 

even before the 

United States 

e n t e r e d t h e 

war. The French 

a i r s e r v i c e 

e s t a b l i s h e d 

the Escadrille 

Americaine for American volunteers on 21 Mar 1916. 

Later renamed the Lafayette Escadrille, this squadron 

flew French Nieuport 17 fighters and provided 

valuable exper-ience when the U. S. entered the war. 
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French-born American Raoul Lufbery shot down 17 

German planes before transferring to the American 

Air Service, where he commanded the famous “Hat 

in the Ring” 94th Aero Squadron before his death on 

19 May 1918.

Of the 767 U. S. pilots and 

481 observers in action 

in 1918, Capt Edward 

V. “Eddie” Rickenbacker 

and Lt Frank Luke, Jr. 

a c h i e ve d t h e m o s t 

fame. Rickenbacker 

was a renowned race 

car driver before the war. 

Older than most pilots, 

the 28-year old became 

America’s “Ace of Aces” 

with 26 confirmed kills. 

Frank Luke was the only 

pilot awarded the Medal 

of Honor during the war (Rickenbacker would be 

awarded one in 1931). Known as the “Arizona Balloon 

Buster,” Luke downed 14 German balloons and four 

aircraft in 17 days. His spectacular career ended on 29 

Sep 1918 when, in a solo attack, he shot down three 

enemy balloons and two aircraft before enemy ground 

fire forced him down. Seriously wounded, he died with 

a pistol in his hand.

While he was not an ace, William “Billy” Mitchell 

emerged as one of the outstanding American air 

combat commanders of the war. Mitchell was the 

first Combined Forces Air Component commander as 

he directed British, French, and American airpower. 

Supremely confident about the efficacy of airpower, 

Mitchell sometimes clashed with his superiors, including 
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

aviation pioneer Brig Gen Foulois. Nevertheless, Foulois 

recognized Mitchell’s leadership and recommended 

him for the top combat position, Chief of Air Service, 

First Army. In September 1918, Mitchell massed 1,481 

aircraft of American, French, British, and Italian units to 

support Gen Pershing’s St. Mihiel offensive. Mitchell 

emphasized concentrated, mass attacks to overwhelm 

enemy airpower and punish German ground forces. In 

four days, Allied Airmen flew 3,300 combat sorties and 

dropped 75 tons of explosives. Lauded as a success by 

Gen Pershing, Mitchell refined his tactics during the 

Meuse-Argonne offensive of 26 Sep 1918, where 700 

American aircraft faced 500 German planes. By 1918, 

based upon his outstanding performance directing Air 

Service combat units over the Château-Thierry area, 

the St. Mihiel salient, and the Meuse-Argonne, Mitchell 

earned the Distinguished Service Cross for valor, and 

temporary promotion to brigadier general. 

By the Armistice of 11 Nov 1918, airpower had 

contributed an important role to the Allied victory. 

Although observation, reconnaissance, and artillery 

spotting remained the most significant missions, close 

air support, interdiction, and strategic bombardment 

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27

showed promise. Eclipsing all other roles, the image 

of the glamorous fighter ace with his brightly painted 

aircraft, leather jacket, and flying scarf captured 

public attention. The US Army Air Service claimed 781 

enemy aircraft and 73 balloons destroyed at a cost of 

289 American aircraft and 48 balloons and 569 battle 

casualties.

Controversy and Records, 1920s Airpower

Convinced of airpower’s potential as the primary 

component of national defense and a war-winning 

weapon, Mitchell aggressively promoted his cause to 

create an independent air force. Hoping to make it the 

nation’s “first line of defense,” Mitchell challenged the U. S. 

Navy by arguing that 

bombers rendered 

battleships obsolete. 

R e l u c t a n t l y, t h e 

Navy had agreed 

to allow Mitchell to 

test his Martin MB2 bombers against 

some ex-German 

battleships. On 21 

Jul 1921, Mitchell’s 

Airmen sank the 

27,000-ton battleship 

Ostfriesland. Despite a four-layer armored hull and 

watertight compartments, the battleship sank in 

just 21 minutes, when struck by two 1,000-pound 

bombs. Although Mitchell failed to convince the War 

or Navy Departments, the bombing tests spurred the 

development of carrier-based aviation. 

Frustrated by what he perceived as a lack of progress, 

Mitchell turned up the heat of his public statements. 

When the Navy airship Shenandoah crashed on 5 Sep 

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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

1925, Mitchell issued a press release charging the Navy 

and War Departments with “incompetency, criminal 

negligence, and almost treasonable administration 

of our national defense.” During the ensuing court 

martial, Mitchell attempted to transform the trial into 

a public hearing on airpower. Found guilty of “conduct 

of a nature to bring discredit upon the military service,” 

the court sentenced Mitchell to a five-year suspension 

from the service without pay. On 1 Feb 1926, Col 

Mitchell (he twice served in the temporary grade of 

brigadier general during World War I and in the early 

1920s) resigned from the Air Service to continue the 

fight for an independent air force. Until his death in 

1936, Billy Mitchell fought tenaciously for his vision. He 

placed his indelible stamp on US air combat practice 

and doctrine with his emphasis on massed forces and 

offensive operations. 

Mitchell’s efforts produced some success for the 

fledgling Air Corps. The Air Corps Act of 1926 greatly 

improved the status of aviation within the Army. It 

transformed the Air Service into the Air Corps, provided 

representation on the General Staff, added an Assistant 

Secretary of War for Air, and promised expansion to a 

force of 1,650 officers, 15,000 enlisted men, and 1,800 

serviceable aircraft within five years. However, funding 

never matched the goal established.

Budget cutbacks two years later, reduced the 1918 Air 

Service of 190,000 men to fewer than 20,000. Likewise, 

the $460 million allocated for military aviation in 1919 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

29

fell to $25 million in 1920. Even worse from a technology 

viewpoint, Congress demanded that new military 

aircraft use the surplus Liberty engines produced 

during the World War I buildup. Consequently, 

First World War vintage Curtiss Jennies and Liberty 

DH-4 bombers remained in service until the 1930s, 

despite technological 

advances in airframe 

and engine design.

On the other hand, 

a concerted effort 

to achieve records 

in speed, altitude, 

endurance, and other 

areas helped spur 

aviation advances 

in the 1920s. I n 

S e p t e m b e r 1 9 2 2 , 

Lt James “Jimmy ” 

Doolittle became the 

first man to fly across 

the United States 

in less than a day. 

Seven months later, 

Lts Oakley Kelley and John Macready flew a Fokker 

T-2 on the first non-stop transcontinental flight. On 6 

April 1924, a team of Army pilots departed Seattle in 

four Douglas World Cruisers, christened the Chicago, 

Boston, Seattle, and New Orleans, in an effort to fly 

around the world. Although the Seattle and Boston

were lost to a mountain crash and engine failure, 

respectively, the remaining aircraft completed the 

circuit 175 days later. In 1925, Jimmy Doolittle achieved 

further fame by winning the Schneider Trophy, an 

over-water seaplane race, and established a world 
30

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

seaplane record at 245.71 miles per hour. Although 

less publicized, Doolittle also played a major role in 

the design and testing of instruments for all-weather 

flying, including an altimeter, gyro, artificial horizon, 

and radio aids to navigation. On 24 Sep 1929, Doolittle 

was the first pilot to take off, fly a set course, and land 

on instruments alone.

On New Year’s Day 1929, a team of Airmen, destined for 

fame in World War II, took off in a Fokker C-2 featuring 

a large question mark on the fuselage. The question 

was simple: how long could they stay in the air? Using 

a crude air refueling technique pioneered in 1923, Maj 

Carl “Tooey” Spaatz, Capt Ira Eaker, Lt Harry Halverson, 

Lt Elwood “Pete” Quesada, and SSgt Roy Hooe flew the 

Question Mark 150 hours and 40 minutes with 37 air-toair refuelings, transferring 5,600 gallons of hand-pumped 

fuel to travel 11,000 miles. This endurance test proved 

the unlimited range available with air refueling. The 

quest for world records in the 1920s honed the skills of 

Airmen, advanced aviation technology, and kept military 

aviation in the public limelight.
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

31

ACTS and the Rise of the Bomber: The 

1930s Air Corps

Although technological advances and occasional public 

relations forays continued into the 1930s, the Great 

Depression dominated the decade. The technological 

promise of all-metal construction, monoplane design, 

and advanced power plants met the harsh realities of 

a shoe-string budget forced by reduced tax revenues 

and economic malaise. Toward the latter half of the 

decade, powerful totalitarian states, including Fascist 

Italy, Nazi Germany, nationalist Japan, and Stalin’s Soviet 

Union, threatened western democracies, but powerful 

isolationist sentiment limited the US military response.

Within the Air Corps, leading Airmen emphasized 

doctrinal development through the Air Corps Tactical 

School. Doctrine, the “thinking behind how to fight,” 

provided ideas for technological requirements, aircraft 

procurement, strategy, and tactics. The Air Corps 

Tactical School (ACTS) served as the doctrinal center 

of military aviation from its founding in 1920, as the Air 

Service Field Officer School at Langley Field, VA. In 

1922, it was renamed the Air Service Tactical School, 

before becoming the Air Corps Tactical School in 1926. 

Even before the ACTS moved to Maxwell Field, AL in 

1931, the school attracted the best and brightest Airmen 

to its faculty, including: Harold L. George, Kenneth 

Walker, Donald Wilson, George C. Kenney, Haywood 

S. Hansell, and Muir S. Fairchild. Influenced by Billy 

Mitchell, Italy’s Giulio Douhet, and Britain’s Hugh 

Trenchard, the ACTS faculty emphasized long-range 

strategic bombardment.

According to ACTS lectures, massed bombers would 

penetrate enemy defenses, bypass field armies 

and navies, and strike enemy “vital centers,” whose 

destruction would collapse the enemy’s economy. 
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Proper target selection would destroy both an enemy’s 

capability and will to fight. In an era before radar, 

airpower theorists believed effective air defense would 

be impossible. They looked to high altitude, speed, and 

internal armament for defense. The ACTS idea became 

known as the “industrial web” theory, or High Altitude 

Precision Daylight Bombardment.

Coinciding with ACTS doctrine, the American aviation 

industry introduced a series of advanced bombers 

that encouraged airpower 

advocates. In 1931, the 

Seattle-based Boeing Airplane 

Company introduced the 

B-9, an all-metal, stressed 

skin bomber with retractable 

landing gear and capable of 

188 mph. A few months later, 

the Martin B-10 overshadowed 

the open-cockpit B-9. The 

B-10 also featured an all 

metal, monoplane design 

with retractable landing gear, 

enclosed cockpits, a glazed 

gun turret, variable pitch 

propellers, wing flaps, and 

an internal bomb bay with 

power-driven doors. On 19 

Jul 1934, Col Henry H. “Hap” 

Arnold led a squadron of B-10s from Washington, DC 

to Anchorage, AK, covering 4,000 miles in 25 flying 

hours. Bomber theorists saw this exploit as a validation 

of their ideas. 

The Air Corps was put to the test when President 

Franklin D. Roosevelt cancelled airmail contracts with 

civilian airlines in February 1934. Without a thorough 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

33

analysis of Air Corps capabilities, Brig Gen “Benny” 

Foulois asserted that the Air Corps would pick up the 

slack until contracts were renewed. However, the Air 

Corps underestimated the challenge posed. Army 

Airmen attempted to fly mail routes in open-cockpit 

planes with primitive instruments in one of the worst 

winters recorded. In three months, the Air Corps lost 

66 aircraft and suffered 18 fatalities. The airmail fiasco 

forced Foulois to resign and led to a Congressional 

investigation known as the Baker Board.

The First GHQ • March 1, 1935
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

The Baker Board scrutinized Air Corps operations and 

recommended the creation of a single command for all 

combat aircraft, known as General Headquarters (GHQ) 

Air Force. On 1 Mar 1935, Brig Gen Frank Andrews 

assumed command. Airmen applauded the action as 

a means to consolidate command, centralize doctrine, 

and integrate training. The first combat air forces were 

made up of 17 combat units: 3 wings, 10 groups, and 

4 squadrons. Today’s Air Combat Command traces its 

heritage to GHQ Air Force. Among other measures, 

the GHQ Air Force called for a bomber capable of 

carrying a 2,000-lb. payload for 1,020 miles, at a speed 

of 200 mph. The Martin and Douglas companies 

advanced designs, but it was Boeing’s Model 299 that 

excited the GHQ Air Force staff. In August 1935, the 

four-engine aircraft flew 2,100 miles non-stop from 

Seattle to Dayton, Ohio, averaging 232 mph. The B-17 

“Flying Fortress,” paired with the Norden bombsight, 

revolutionized bombardment and promised to validate 

ACTS theories. 

Dreams Fulfilled? Airpower in World War II 

The European Theater

If the First World War signaled airpower’s promise, the 

Second World War fulfilled the vision. In every aspect of 

aerial combat, airpower served as a force multiplier and 

a vital component of the joint, combined arms campaign. 

Air superiority proved a prerequisite for successful land, 

sea, or air operations.

On 1 Sep 1939, Adolf Hitler launched a massive 

assault on Poland that opened the greatest war in 

history and spawned the term Blitzkrieg, or “lightning 

war.” The German Air Force, the Luftwaffe, employed 

Messerschmitt Me-109 fighters to gain air superiority, 

Heinkel He-111 and Dornier Do-17 twin-engined 

bombers to pound Poland’s capital, Warsaw, and 

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35

Junkers Ju-87 Stuka dive bombers to attack Polish 

ground forces and terrorize refugees. Headed by 

Hermann Göring, the Luftwaffe emphasized speed and 

concentration of forces to crush the enemy. 

In April 1940, German forces surprised neutral Denmark 

and Norway, where Luftwaffe aircraft inflicted significant 

losses on Britain’s Royal Navy, protected inferior German 

naval forces, and airlifted German troops to Norwegian 

airfields. In May, Hitler’s forces invaded the Netherlands 

and Belgium. The speed of the German advance and 

the ruthlessness of the Luftwaffe’s terror bombing of 

Rotterdam shocked the West. German paratroopers 

and glider forces surprised Belgium’s famed Eban Emael 

fortress, considered the strongest in Europe. When 

German forces attacked France, the Luftwaffe gained air 

superiority, masked the movement of German panzers 

through the Ardennes forest, and hindered Allied 

attempts to rally. 

Following the defeat of France in June 1940, the 

victorious Luftwaffe faced Britain’s Royal Air Force 

(RAF) in the Battle of Britain, the first all-air campaign 

in history. On paper, the Luftwaffe appeared to have a 

decisive edge, with 1,232 medium bombers, 406 divebombers, 813 single-engine fighters, 282 twin-engine 

fighters, and 50 long-range reconnaissance aircraft 

manned by experienced crews. Opposing them, Air 

Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding’s Fighter Command 

assembled 704 operational aircraft, including roughly 

400 Hawker Hurricanes, suited for attacking bombers, 

and 200 Supermarine Spitfires, a fighter equal to German 

Messerschmitts. 

Despite the apparent mismatch, the German Air 

Force suffered from serious weaknesses. Substantial 

losses had eroded Luftwaffe strength; in particular, 

the forces in France badly needed rest and refitting. 

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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Equally significant, German training, equipment, and 

experience proved ill suited for a long-range strategic 

air campaign. Although the Me-109 was a superb 

fighter, its short range limited its combat time and 

tactical flexibility over England. The long-range Me110 proved hopelessly outclassed by RAF Spitfires 

and Hurricanes. On the other hand, Dowding’s 

Fighter Command had been preparing for a German 

onslaught since 1937. Using Sir Robert Watson-Watt’s 

innovation, radar, the British created an effective, 

integrated air defense system. Dowding also exploited 

a breakthrough in code breaking, known as the ULTRA 

secret, that gave British intelligence forewarning of 

major attacks and invaluable insight on the status of 

German maintenance and logistics. 

Plagued by poor intelligence, Göring and other 

Luftwaffe leaders miscalculated, leading to a battle 

of attrition won by the RAF. Failing to appreciate the 

value of British radar stations, 

the Germans first attacked 

RAF airfields and then after 

the RAF bombed Berlin 24 

August, switched to a terror 

bombing campaign against 

London. Against German 

losses of 1,733 aircraft, the 

RAF lost 915 planes. By 15 

Sep 1940, Hitler abandoned 

his planned invasion of 

Britain. In tribute to RAF 

Fighter Command, Prime 

Minister Winston Churchill 

stated, “Never in the field 

of human conflict was so much owed by so many to 

so few.”

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37

The fall of France in June 1940 galvanized President 

Franklin Roosevelt’s resolve to fight Nazi tyranny. 

Knowing the isolationist sentiment of many Americans, 

Roosevelt turned to airpower as a major weapon. The 

President called for American industry to build 50,000 

military aircraft. Considering that in 1939, the US Army 

Air Corps numbered roughly 1,800 aircraft and 18,000 

men, this figure stunned air leaders and industrialists 

alike. American industry proved equal to the task, but 

aeronautical designs, blueprints, tools, dies, air frames, 

engines, not to mention factories, skilled workers, and 

the countless other components of an aviation industry 

required time to develop. Air Logisticians such as Maj 

Gen Oliver P. Echols began the most massive aircraft 

procurement program in history. By December 1940, 

the US was building aircraft at a rate of only 800 per 

month. But by 1942, American factories produced 

47,800 aircraft, and by 1944, an astronomical 96,300 

planes. American industrial production emerged as a 

key to Allied victory.

To manage growing American airpower, a major 

reorganization created the United States Army Air 

Forces (USAAF). General “Hap” Arnold was appointed 

Commanding General of the USAAF and Deputy Chief 

of Staff to Gen George C. Marshall. In August 1941, 

a group of ex-ACTS instructors created a doctrinal 

blueprint, Air War Planning Document 1 or AWPD-1, for 

the conduct of a strategic air campaign against the Axis. 

Led by Lt Col Harold “Hal” George, Maj Lawrence Kuter, 

Maj Kenneth Walker, and Capt Haywood “Possum” 

Hansell, the team created the conceptual framework 

for the American air effort in World War II. Reflecting 

1930s ACTS doctrine of using massive force to destroy 

the enemy’s will and capability to fight through longrange strategic bombardment, AWPD-1 called for 239 

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

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38

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

combat groups, 26,416 combat aircraft, including 7,500 

heavy bombers, 37,051 training planes, 150,000 trained 

aircrews, and 2.2 million personnel.

As America entered the war in Dec 1941, the RAF tried 

to persuade the USAAF to switch to night operations, 

like those of RAF Bomber Command. Under Air Marshal 

Sir Arthur Harris, RAF bombing doctrine embraced 

night area bombing of German cities to “dehouse” 

German workers. To USAAF leaders, night bombing 

was ineffective, inefficient, and indiscriminate with 

regard to civilian casualties. After tough negotiations, 

the Casablanca Directive of January 1943 inaugurated 

the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO), codenamed 

Operation PointBlank, combining American precision 

daylight bombing and British night area bombing. 

In February 1942, Brig Gen Ira C. Eaker established the 

Eighth Air Force Bomber Command, flying from bases 

in England, in preparation for the USAAF buildup. 

Maj Gen Carl A. “Tooey” Spaatz assumed command 

of the “Mighty Eighth” in June 1942. On 17 Aug 1942, 

twelve B-17Es, of the 97th Bomb Group, conducted 

the first American operational bombing mission. The 

strike against a railroad marshalling yard in Rouen, 

France, barely penetrated the German defenses, 

but the mission and a series of others known as the 

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

39

“Freshman Raids” showed promise for American 

daylight bombardment.

Three disastrous missions in the late summer and fall of 

1943 demonstrated the flaws of USAAF theories. Eager 

to strike Hitler’s oil supply, 177 North African-based 

Consolidated B-24 Liberators attacked oil refineries at 

Ploesti, Romania, on 1 Aug 1943. The raid required a 

2,700-mile flight, much of it low-level to avoid radar 

detection, accurate open-water navigation, good 

weather, and surprise to be successful since Ploesti was 

one of the most heavily defended targets in Europe. 

But a combination of bad weather, human error, 

and bad luck scattered the bomber formations and 

resulted in a hellish nightmare for the surviving crews. 

As the carefully prepared plan imploded, bombers 

improvised and struck targets of opportunity in the 

face of determined fighter opposition and hundreds 

of anti-aircraft guns. The attacking force lost 54 B-24s, 

41 of them in combat. Of the 177 aircraft, only 30 

emerged unscathed. Although the strike reduced 

oil-refining capacity by 40%, within a few days a new 

facility opened negating the damage.

After finally assembling enough trained crews to 

strike deep into Germany, Eighth Air Force planners 

targeted German ball bearing factories in an effort 

to destroy a “vital center” in the enemy’s industrial 

web. They devised an ambitious double raid upon 

the Messerschmitt aircraft factory at Regensburg 

and the top-priority Schweinfurt ball bearing plants. 

The plan called for a wave of the Third Air Division to 

fight through German fighters and hit Regensburg 

and then surprise the enemy by proceeding to North 

Africa to land. Thirty minutes later, a second bomber 

wave would strike Schweinfurt, while German fighters 

were on the ground rearming and refueling. On 17 
40

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Aug 1943, Brig Gen Curtis E. LeMay’s Third Air Division 

launched the first wave. Thick fog delayed the second 

wave and prevented fighter escorts from taking off. 

When the fog lifted, almost the entire German fighter 

force pounced upon the ill-fated First Air Division. The 

Eighth Air Force staggered with the loss of 60 out of 

361 B-17s and 600 trained aircrew, more casualties 

in one day than the previous six months. To make 

matters worse, the Schweinfurt ball bearing plants 

required reattack.

Known as “Black Thursday,” the 14 Oct 1943 mission 

against Schweinfurt effectively ended the USAAF’s 

unescorted bombing campaign. Determined to 

destroy the top priority target, Gen Eaker ordered 

291 B-17s back into the gauntlet of German fighters. 

This time, bombing accuracy improved significantly 

and the mission severely damaged the factories, but 

another 60 bombers were shot down, seven more were 

destroyed upon landing in England, and 138 B-17s 

suffered battle damage.

While warplanners devoted the bulk of American airpower 

to daylight strategic bombing, in October 1943, heavily 

modified and mission unique bombers flown by the Special 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

41

Flight Section of the 12th Air Force’s 5th Bombardment 

Wing signaled the introduction of sustained Army Air Force 

special operations in the European Theater. Along 

with the England-based “Carpetbaggers” of the 801st 

Bombardment Group (S), these units provided clandestine 

support for allied partisans and guerilla units in occupied 

territories, and rescued hundreds of downed aircrews 

trapped behind enemy lines. 

Some technological and production breakthroughs 

reversed the course of the air war over the winter of 1943-

1944. During the initial campaigns, effective long-range 

escort fighters appeared to be technically impossible. 

In order to carry the fuel necessary for long-range flight, 

fighters required at least twin engines, but the increased 

size sacrificed speed and maneuverability. The long-range 

Lockheed P-38 Lightning offered a partial solution, but 

the P-38’s performance lagged at high altitudes. In mid1943, the USAAF introduced 75-gallon, and later 108-

gallon, drop tanks that extended the combat radius of 

the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter from 175 miles to 

280 miles and 325 miles respectively. The P-47’s extended 

range proved an important step, but only a partial answer 

to the escort problem.
42

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

42

The Tuskegee Airmen

Colonel Alan L. Gropman, USAF (Ret)
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

43

The North American P-51 Mustang revolutionized the 

air war over Europe. Designed in only 100 days during 

the spring of 1940, the Mustang was to supplement 

the RAF’s Spitfire. The initial Allison engine for the P-51 

proved inadequate, but when the Spitfire’s Rolls-Royce 

Merlin engine replaced the original power plant, the 

results stunned aviators. At 440 mph the P-51B was 

faster, and could out turn and out dive the latest models 

of Me-109 and the new Focke-Wulf FW-190. With a 

basic range of 500 miles, augmentable to 850 miles, the 

Mustang flew farther than a B-17 with normal payload. 

Introduced in December 1943, the P-51 had to wait until 

late February 1944 before weather permitted full flight 

operations. It was a technological marvel: a plane with a 

bomber’s range and a fighter’s performance. The all-black 

Tuskegee Airmen distinguished themselves flying “Red 

Tail” painted P-51 

Mustangs on 200 

escort missions into 

Germany-without 

losing a single 

friendly bomber to 

an enemy fighter. 

I n 1 9 4 1 , 

P r e s i d e n t 

Fr a n k l i n D. 

R o o s e v e l t 

directed the Army Air Corps to accept black 

Americans into aviation cadet training. The Air 

Corps, like all other components of the United 

43
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

States armed forces, decided to segregate black 

aviators into all-black squadrons. By the end of 

World War II, nearly a thousand black Americans 

had earned their wings as Army flyers. Fired by 

a determination to prove their patriotism, valor, 

and skill in combat, these black aviators, forever 

called the Tuskegee Airmen, struck a significant 

blow against racism in America. 

The first Tuskegee Airmen to fight were 

members of the 99th Fighter Squadron, a unit 

commanded by black West Point graduate and 

future Air Force general officer, Col Benjamin O. 

Davis, Jr. Over Anzio on 27 Jan 1944, pilots from 

the 99th, flying obsolete P-40s, downed nine 

superior Focke-Wulf 190s. As the 99th continued 

scoring kills, the 332nd Fighter Group, another 

unit manned by Tuskegee Airmen, arrived in 

Italy with obsolete P-39 ground-attack fighters. 

In the spring of 1944, these segregated units 

transitioned to P-47 Thunderbolts, then a month 

later to P-51 Mustangs, and began flying bomberescort missions. 

The 332d flew escort missions from 9 Jun 1944 until 

the German surrender in the spring of 1945. By a 

large margin, the Tuskegee Airmen destroyed more 

aircraft than they lost. They shot down 111 enemy 

aircraft in air-to-air combat, losing 66 of their own 

aircraft to all causes, including seven shot down. On 

200 escort missions, they never lost a single friendly 

bomber to an enemy fighter.

Tuskegee Airmen fulfilled their mission uniquely 

well. No other fighter group that had stayed in 

the hunt half as long could claim no bomber 

44 losses to enemy fight-ers. While the 332d Fighter 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

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46

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Group fought in Europe, the segregated 477th 

Bomb Group, manned by Tuskegee Airmen, was 

activated in 1944, at Selfridge Field, MI. Relocated 

several times during the next 18 months and 

slowed in its preparations for war because training 

was sacrificed to maintain segre-gation, the 477th 

achieved operational readiness too late to be 

shipped overseas. 

Nevertheless, by their performance, the Tuskegee 

Airmen struck a significant blow to the poison 

of racism in America. They demolished bigotry 

by their actions in the skies over North Africa, the 

Mediterranean, Sicily, Italy, Austria, Yugoslavia, 

France, Romania, and Germany. With that record 

they dispelled myths, opened eyes, rewrote history, 

and prepared the United States Air Force to be the 

first armed service to integrate racially. 

The P-47 and P-51 team seized air superiority from the 

Luftwaffe in the spring of 1944. Complementing the 

technological improvements, Allied factories poured 

out large numbers of new aircraft, and stateside 

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1
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47

training bases mass-produced well-trained air crews. 

At the helm of the Eighth’s Fighter Command, Brig 

Gen William E. Kepner maximized his advantage by 

introducing new tactics. No longer would fighters 

be required to “stick to the bombers.” Numerical 

superiority permitted fighter sweeps and aggressive 

scouting; superior range allowed strafing of German 

airfields and attacking targets of opportunity. 

Armed with new aircraft, tactics, and superior numbers, 

Spaatz, Doolittle, and Kepner launched Operation 

Argument with the objective of winning air superiority 

and crippling Germany’s aircraft industry. Between 

20 and 25 Feb 1944, the Eighth Air Force flew 3,300 

heavy bomber sorties, the Fifteenth Air Force added 

500 missions from Italy, and RAF Bomber Command 

flew 2,750 night attacks aimed at German aircraft 

manufacturing plants; protecting them were nearly 

4,000 fighter sorties. At a cost of 226 American 

bombers, 114 

British heavies, 

and 41 USAAF 

f i g h t e r s , 

O p e r a t i o n 

Argument broke 

the Luftwaffe’s

b a c k b y 

d e s t r o y i n g 

355 fighters, 

damaging 155, 

and killing 400 

fighter pilots. 

Although the Luftwaffe replaced aircraft losses, it could 

not replace the 2,262 experienced pilots killed in the 5 

months preceding D-Day, the invasion of Normandy.

By 6 Jun 1944, Allied air forces dominated the skies 

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

of Europe. On the first day of the invasion, the Allies 

directed 8,722 USAAF and 5,676 RAF sorties against 

German defenses in France. In response, the once 

vaunted Luftwaffe could send fewer than 100 sorties 

airborne and only 2 German aircraft inflicted damage on 

the invasion beaches. In essence, American and British 

air forces won where 

the Luftwaffe had lost; 

Allied bombers and 

fighters trumped the 

Germans’ integrated 

air defense network.

T h e C o m b i n e d 

Bomber Offensive 

(CBO) devastated 

Germany following the Normandy invasion. 

Approximately 75% of the CBO’s 1.5 million tons of 

bombs were dropped after June 1944. In contrast to the 

horrific losses experienced at Schweinfurt, Regensburg, 

and Ploesti in 1943, American losses fell to “acceptable” 

rates. By 1945, some raids reported negligible losses: 

1 bomber lost out of 1,094 sent to Kassel; 5 out of 

1,310 at Chemnitz-Magdeburg; and 0 out of 1,219 

at Nuremburg. At 

its peak, the USAAF 

and RAF massed 7,904 

heavy bombers in the 

theater and 28,000 

combat planes total. 

By 16 Apr 1945, Gen 

Spaatz declared the 

strategic air war against Germany ended since all 

significant targets were considered destroyed.

From 1942 to 1945, the CBO constituted the longest, 

bloodiest, and greatest sustained air campaign in 

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

49

history. According to the US Strategic Bombing Survey, 

the Allies flew 1,693,565 combat sorties and dropped 

1,554,463 tons of bombs that killed an estimated 

305,000 Germans, wounded 780,000, and destroyed 

3,600,000 buildings—20% of the nation’s total. 

Airpower emerged as a dominant weapon in Western 

Europe during 

World War II.

Air War in the 

Pacific

A m e r i c a ’ s 

f i r s t co m b at 

e x p e r i e n c e 

in the Pacific 

T h e a t e r o f 

World War II 

occurred before a declaration of war. In early 1941, 

Claire Lee Chennault, ex-ACTS instructor, organized 

the American Volunteer Group, known as the “Flying 

Tigers,” to aid Nationalist China against Japanese 

in-vaders. Famous for painted shark’s teeth on their 

Curtis P-40 Warhawks, the Flying Tigers amassed an 

impressive 286 confirmed victories against 12 pilots 

lost in action before being disbanded in July 1942.

On 7 Dec 1941, “a date which will live in infamy,” 

Japanese naval airpower dealt a devastating blow to 

the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. Two waves of 350 

Japanese aircraft sank or heavily damaged all 8 US 

battleships. Excessively concerned over the prospect 

of sabotage, the US Army ground commander ordered 

USAAF aircraft parked in tight rows, that made prime 

targets for Japanese aviators. To make matters worse, a 

few hours later, Japanese for-ces caught US aircraft on 

the ground refueling in the Philippines and destroyed 

B-17s and assorted fighters.

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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

As Japanese forces appeared invincible during the first 

6 months of 1942, President Roosevelt desperately 

wanted an offensive strike against the Japanese home 

islands to boost sagging morale. On 18 Apr 1942, Lt Col 

James “Jimmy” Doolittle led 16 North American B-25 

Mitchell medium bombers from the carrier USS Hornet

to drop bombs on various targets over Tokyo, Kobe, 

and Nagoya before crews bailed out or crash-landed 

in China. The Doolittle Raid inflicted little damage, 

but the gesture shocked the Japanese military and 

naval leaders and cheered the American public. Upon 

his return to the United States in May 1942, Jimmy 

Doolittle received the Medal of Honor and promotion 

to brigadier general.

Naval aviation played a vital role in the Pacific War. 

Under the leadership of Adms Chester Nimitz, Frank 

“Jack” Fletcher, Raymond Spruance, and William “Bull” 

Halsey, US carrier aviation proved the value of airpower 

at sea. The Battle of Coral Sea, fought between 4-8 May 

1942, marked the first naval battle fought entirely by air. 

At the Battle of Midway, on 4 Jun 1942, US Navy pilots 

sank four Japanese 

carriers and turned 

the tide of the war in 

the Pacific. 

The primary USAAF 

contribution to the 

Pacific counterattack 

was made by the 

F i f t h A i r F o r c e 

attached to G en 

Douglas MacArthur’s 

Southwest Pacific 

Theater. While Adm Nimitz’s carrier task forces struck 

from the Central Pacific, MacArthur’s command thrust 

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51

across New Guinea toward the Philippines. The Fifth Air 

Force operated from primitive bases with second string 

aircraft, a 10,000-mile supply chain, and low priority for 

equipment, fuel, and personnel due to a “Europe First” 

strategy. 

In July 1942, Maj Gen George C. Kenney assumed 

command of the Fifth Air Force. Kenney maximized the 

combat power of a resource-poor command. In a theater 

where range dominated employment decisions, Kenney 

used the Lockheed P-38 Lightning with locally developed 

150-gallon drop tanks. Kenney encouraged an ingenious 

subordinate, Maj 

Pa u l “ Pa p p y ” 

Gunn, to mount 

quad .50-caliber 

machine guns in 

the nose of A-20 

and B-25 aircraft, 

creating deadly 

attack planes. 

Other Fifth Air 

Force innovations 

i n c l u d e d 

parachutes attached to fragmentation bombs and lowlevel “skip” bombing techniques. 

Even less of a priority than Kenney’s Fifth Air Force, Allied 

forces in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater faced 

logistical challenges at the end of the war’s longest 

supply chain. Called to transport vital supplies across 

the Himalayas, Air Transport Command crews, flying 

C-46s and C-47s, braved perilous weather conditions as 

they delivered 650,000 tons of supplies to Chinese and 

American forces. Flying the “Hump” was among the 

most hazardous military air operations of World War II. 

Architect of the enterprise, William H. Tunner developed 

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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

many maintenance and cargo-handling techniques that 

later proved invaluable during the Berlin Airlift.

In addition to Air Transport Command efforts in the 

China-Burma-India Theater, the 1st Air Commando 

Group (1ACG), lead by Lt Colonels Phillip G. Cochran 

and John R. Allison, provided assistance to British 

“Chindit” forces, conducting long-range penetration 

missions against the Japanese during Operation THURSDAY. 

America’s first Air Commandos demonstrated that air 

power could support unconventional warfare any place, 

any time. The 1 ACG also demonstrated its ingenuity, 

conducting the first helicopter combat rescue.

As Allied soldiers, sailors, and Marines pushed back 

the borders of the Japanese empire, Airmen sought 

to destroy Japan through strategic bombardment. 

Gen Arnold hoped 

to avoid a costly land 

invasion of Japan 

and clinch victory 

through airpower 

alone. In November 

1939, Air Corps 

leaders selected the 

primary instrument 

of the campaign, the 

Boeing XB-29. With 

a pressurized crew compartment, remotely con-trolled 

guns, and new radial engines, the B-29 was an aircraft of 

unprecedented size and capability. The USAAF ordered 

1,664 before the prototype had even flown. The rush to 

produce the plane led to substantial technical problems. 

Nevertheless, by April 1944, B-29s appeared in the CBI to 

conduct Operation Matterhorn.

At first, crews of the 20th Bomber Command attempted 

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enemy cities with incendiary bombs. 

From March to August 1945, American 

firebomb raids destroyed 66 Japanese 

cities and burned 178 square miles of 

urban landscape. Civilian casualties 

were severe; in one raid against Tokyo, 

an estimated 80,000 people perished.

With a successful atomic test on 18 

Jul 1945, the Allied powers issued 

an ultimatum on 26 July calling 

for the Japanese government to 

to reproduce the high-altitude daylight precision 

bombing of the USAAF doctrine with disappointing 

results. Flying from bases in China with logistical 

staging from India, 20th Bomber Command faced 

engine problems amplified by distance and weather. 

By October 1944, B-29 operations shifted to Saipan, 

significantly reducing supply lines. An ex-ACTS 

instructor, Haywood S. Hansell, renewed efforts for 

a daylight precision bombing campaign. Impatient 

with its results in January 1945, Gen Arnold replaced 

Hansell with Maj Gen Curtis E. LeMay, a proven combat 

commander from the European theater. 

By March, LeMay drastically altered B-29 tactics. To 

avoid the jet stream and high-altitude engine problems, 

LeMay ordered low-altitude, night attacks with bombers 

stripped of defensive machine guns, reduced fuel loads, 

and increased bomb loads. Much like the RAF, LeMay’s 

B-29s relied on darkness for protection and pummeled 
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Air Force Independence and the Cold War

With victory in World War II, the American public 

returned to “normal life.” Airpower and military 

affairs in general decreased in importance. From a 

wartime strength of over 79,000 aircraft and 2,411,294 

personnel, by May 1947 air forces dwindled to 24,000 

aircraft and just 304,000 personnel. Nevertheless, 

airpower’s impact on warfare led to the realization of 

Billy Mitchell’s dream. On 26 Jul 1947, President Harry 

S. Truman signed into law the National Security Act 

of 1947, which provided for a separate Department 

of the Air Force. On 18 Sep 1947, Stuart Symington 

became the first Secretary of the Air Force and 

officially established the United States Air Force as 

an independent, coequal service. Under Gen Carl A. 

Spaatz’s leadership as the first Air Force Chief of Staff 

and that of his successor, Gen Hoyt S. Vandenberg, the 

Air Force clarified roles and missions and organized for 

a growing Cold War. 

Technological breakthroughs with jet aircraft changed 

the face of aviation at the same time. Although the Bell 

XP-59 Airacomet first flew on 1 Oct 1942, the Lockheed 
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57

P-80 (later redesignated F-80) entered service in 

December 1945 as the first operational jet fighter 

for the Air Force. On 14 Oct 1947, Charles “Chuck” 

Yeager seized headlines as the first man to break the 

sound barrier. His 

Bell X-1 “Glamorous 

Glennis” reached 

Mach 1.06 at 43,000 

feet after a launch 

from a B-29 mother 

ship. Towards the 

end of World War II, 

German technological advances such as the V-2 rocket 

caught the attention of Army Air Forces leaders such as 

General Henry “Hap” Arnold. General Arnold initiated 

several studies of the possible ramifications of the new 

technologies, including one on space operations by 

his long-time friend, scientist Theodore von Karman. 

Von Karman’s Nov 1945 report, “Toward New Horizons”, 

concluded that “the satellite is a definite possibility.” 

In early 1946, Maj Gen Curtis E. LeMay asked Project 

RAND to study the feasibility of using satellites for 
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

reconnaissance, weather forecasting, communications, 

and navigation; the 321-page report was delivered in 

May 1946. The report titled, “Preliminary Design of 

an Experimental World-Circling Spaceship” not only 

suggested that satellites were possible but explored 

the feasibility of the United States placing a 500 pound 

satellite into orbit by 1951. This event served as the 

basis for Air Force involvement in space operations and 

would mark the beginnings of the transition to an air 

and space force. 

Th e B e r l i n C r i s i s 

awakened Americans 

t o t h e C o l d Wa r 

between the United 

States and the Union 

of Soviet Socialist 

Republics. On 24 

Jun 1948, the Soviets 

closed railroad and 

road corridors to 

the two-and-a-half 

million residents of 

West Berlin, deep 

within Communist 

East Germany. United 

States Air Forces in 

E u r o p e ( U S A F E ) 

commander, Maj Gen Curtis E. LeMay, organized a 

makeshift airlift of food, medicine, and coal. USAFE C-47 

and C-54 cargo aircraft established a precise schedule 

of flights every 3 minutes, 24 hours a day. After the first 

month, Maj Gen William H. Tunner assumed control of 

an expanded effort that would average 300 American 

and 100 British aircraft, applying expertise from flying 

the “Hump” during World War II. On 15 Apr 1949, 1,398 

aircraft delivered a one-day record—12,941 tons of 
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supplies. By 1949, the Soviets recognized the airlift’s 

success and lifted the blockade. Operation Vittles

massed 277,804 flights and delivered 2,325,000 tons 

of supplies. This nonviolent use of airpower defused 

a potentially disastrous confrontation.

The 1948 Berlin Crisis and the Soviet explosion of an 

atomic device in 1949 dramatized the Air Force’s lack of 

war readiness. As new Commander-in-Chief, Strategic 

Air Command (SAC), now Lt Gen LeMay emphasized 

rigorous training, exacting performance standards, and 

immediate readiness. In the late 1940s, SAC incorporated 

the B-50, a more powerful version of the B-29, and the 

massive Convair B-36 Peacemaker, the first bomber with 

intercontinental range. In the early 1950s, SAC upgraded 

to an all-jet bomber force with the Boeing B-47 Stratojet 

and the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. Behind the scenes, the 

Air Force conducted a highly secret, but extensive, program 

of electronic reconnaissance around the periphery of the 

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and covert 

overflights to assess Communist air defenses.

As the Air Force attempted to increase readiness, the 

armed forces moved to the forefront of social change. On 

26 Jul 1948, President Truman signed Executive Order 

9981, ending formal racial discrimination and fostering 

equal opportunity. Proponents of the move looked to 

the valor of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. 

Under the leadership of Col Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (who 

later advanced to four-star general), all-black fighter and 

bomber squadrons proved capable and highly effective. The 

exploits of the 673 fighter pilots, 253 bomber pilots, and 

132 navigators produced by Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute 

paved the way for diversity in our Air Force. 

On 25 Jun 1950, Communist North Korean forces 

unleashed a massive in-vasion of US-backed South 

Korea. Three days later, American B-26 bombers 
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attacked advancing North Korean troops in the first 

major flare-up of the Cold War. Over the next 6 weeks, 

Far East Air Forces (FEAF), commanded by Lt Gen George 

E. Stratemeyer, gained air superiority and assisted 

United Nations forces in halting the North Korean 

assault. The initial phase of the Korean War illustrated 

the dangers of unprepared forces as American Airmen 

struggled to relearn close air support and interdiction 

skills. Adding to their problems, the limited range of the 

jet F-80s prevented 

a d e q u a t e “ t i m e 

over target ” for 

tactical operations. 

Concurrently, five 

groups (about 100 

aircraft) of FEAF 

Bomber Command 

B-29s conducted 

strategic operations 

t o d e s t r o y t h e 

enemy’s will and capacity to fight. Although United 

Nations (UN) air forces controlled the skies and destroyed 

North Korea’s industrial base, multiple limitations 

frustrated hopes of decisive victory.

Gen Douglas MacArthur’s amphibious assault at Inchon 

and successive operations shattered the North Korean 

Army, but the UN advance into North Korea led to 

Communist Chinese inter-vention. The entry of a halfmillion Chinese troops in Nov 1950 drastically changed 

the war. Within weeks, advanced Soviet-made MiG-15 

fighters appeared. Flown by North Korean, Chinese, 

and Soviet pilots, the MiG-15 outclassed American F-51, 

F-80, and F-84 aircraft in performance. In this context, 

Lt Russell Brown, flying an F-80C, shot down a MiG-15 in 

the world’s first all-jet air battle on 8 November 1950. To 

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answer the speed and altitude superiority of the enemy 

aircraft, Air Force leaders rushed the North American F86 Sabre into action. The F-86 matched the MiG’s speed 

and proved a more stable gun platform. As the war 

settled into stalemate on 

the ground, F-86s battled 

over “MiG Alley” where 

their superior training 

and experience prevailed. 

At a cost of 76 Sabres 

lost to MiGs (and 142 to 

other causes), F-86 pilots 

destroyed 792 MiGs and 

18 other enemy aircraft.

During the Korean War, Air 

Force Rescue medically 

evacuated over 9600 

wounded soldiers and 

rescued nearly 1000 personnel shot down behind 

enemy lines. Meanwhile, US Air Force Special Operations 

(SOF) Air Resupply and 

Communication Wings 

executed unconventional 

warfare and counterinsurgency operations 

against enemy forces. 

In the Korean War, a new 

group of Air Force pilots 

entered the pantheon 

of fighter aces. The F86 pilots established a 

remarkable 10:1 kill ratio. 

Capt Joseph McConnell, a B-24 navigator in World War 

II, led the pack with a score of 16, closely followed by 

Capt James Jabara who tallied 15 kills. Jabara gained 
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recognition as the world’s first jet ace. Unlike the mass 

squadron formations often flown in World War II, Korean 

War pilots devised new tactics based on flights of only 

four F-86s. 

Despite success in the air war, the Korean War frustrated 

American airpower. Accustomed to the heroic effort 

of World War II, Air Force leaders struggled with 

political, technological, and resource limitations inherent 

in the Cold War. Worried that the conflict in Korea 

foreshadowed a Soviet invasion of Europe, American 

policy makers limited operations in Asia in order to build 

up North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces. 

Although it did not “feel” like a win, UN forces repelled 

two Communist invasions of South Korea and American 

airpower secured the skies against enemy air attack.

After the Korean conflict, Air Force missile and space 

capabilities continued to develop and grow rapidly. 

In late 1953, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for 

Research and Development, Trevor Gardner convened 

a group of experts known as the Teapot Committee to 

examine the field of long-range missiles. The committee’s 

10 Feb 1954 report recommended accelerating the 

development of an intercontinental ballistic missile 

(ICBM). Following this recommendation, on 1 Jul 1954 

the Air Research and Development Command (ARDC) 

established the Western Development Division (WDD) in 

Inglewood, CA, to develop and field ICBMs. On 2 Aug 

1954, Brig Gen Bernard Schriever assumed command 

of the new organization . 

Concurrent with efforts to develop long-range 

missiles, the US also pursued space-based technology 

that could provide accurate information on Soviet 

military intentions. On 27 Nov 1954, Air Force senior 

leaders followed the recommendation of the RAND 

Corporation’s “Project Feed Back Report” by issuing 

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63

Weapon System requirement No. 5, which directed 

the development of an electro-optical reconnaissance 

satellite, that later became weapon system 117L (WS 

117L). The scope of WS 117L eventually broadened 

to include other space-based missions such as 

meteorology, missile warning and multispectral 

imaging. 

On 4 Oct 1957, the course of missile and satellite 

development changed when the Soviet Union 

successfully launched the Sputnik I satellite into earth 

orbit. The Soviet’s success marked the beginning 

of the space age. It also 

sparked the ‘space race’ 

between the United States 

and Soviet Union. From 

that moment on, Over the 

next two decades, the Air 

Force played a major role 

in the development of the 

nation’s space programs—

marking the Air Force as 

America’s air and space 

force. In response, President 

Eisenhower accelerated US 

civil and military space 

efforts that would prove 

crucial throughout the Cold 

War. 

However, a new Soviet 

threat emerged with the launch of Sputnik I on 4 Oct 

1957. In response, President Eisenhower accelerated US 

civil and military space efforts that would prove crucial 

throughout the Cold War. Through the 1970’s the Army, 

Navy, and Air Force expanded space technologies, 

many of them classified, to provide communication, 

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meteorology, navigation and reconnaissance support 

to national decision makers. From August 1959 

through May 1972, for instance, the highly classified 

CORONA program gave the nation its first eyes in 

space. Declassified in 1995, CORONA was a collective 

effort by the Air Force and 

the Central Intelligence 

Agency, the two founding 

partners of the National 

Reconnaissance Office 

(NRO).

In 1958, the Air Force drew 

up plans for a manned 

militar y presence in 

space, but President 

Eisenhower reser ved 

manned missions for the 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Agency (NASA); 

however, the Air Force’s 

plan formed the basis of 

the MERCURY, GEMINI, 

and APOLLO programs. 

The Atlas rocket, which 

began as a US Army Air Corps ballistic missile program 

in Oct 1945, was chosen to launch the MERCURY 

missions. The Titan-II booster, which also began as 

a ballistic missile program, launched the GEMINI 

astronauts; in fact, the Air Force and its contractors 

planned, built and launched all of the Titan-II rockets 

in Project GEMINI.

In 1960, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) 

was formed to take charge of highly classified 

reconnaissance satellites. President Eisenhower 

undertook several initiatives to help prevent a 
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65

surprise nuclear attack against the US, including 

establishing the classified CORONA satellite photo 

reconnaissance program. This system, known publicly 

as the DISCOVERER research program, achieved its first 

successful launch—DISCOVERER XIII—on 10 Aug 1960. 

CORONA employed a payload capsule that jettisoned 

from the orbiter, returned to earth by parachute, and 

was captured by an aircraft. DISCOVERER XIV, launched 

one week after the recovery of DISCOVERER XIII’s 

capsule, took over 3,000 feet of reconnaissance film 

from space, and heralded the beginning of the US’s 

space-based photo reconnaissance capability.

The Air Force concentrated on unmanned missions to 

fulfill national security needs. Space reconnaissance 

satellites, for instance, supported strategic deterrence 

throughout the Cold War by providing invaluable 

k n o w l e d g e o f 

the Soviet Union’s 

nuclear inventory, 

and by ver ifying 

arms control treaty 

compliance. Space 

systems also provided 

early warning of 

any missile attack 

on North America, 

a n d w o r l d w i d e 

communications for 

strategic command 

and control.

Vietnam, 1961-1973

After 8 years, where 

the Air Force emphasized building America’s strategic 

nuclear forces, “national wars of liberation” backed by 

the Soviet Union confronted the administration of 
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

President John F. Kennedy. In response to increased 

Communist efforts in Laos and South Vietnam, in April 

1961, President Kennedy ordered Operation Farmgate, 

the covert deployment of the 4400th Combat Crew 

Training Squad-ron (nicknamed “Jungle Jim”) to train 

the South Vietnamese Air Force. Flying North American 

T-28 Trojans, Douglas A-26 Invaders, and Douglas A-1E 

Skyraiders, American pilots launched attack missions 

under the guise of 

“combat training.” 

F o l l o w i n g t h e 

G u l f o f To n k i n 

I n c i d e n t o n 2 

Aug 1964, where 

North Vietnamese 

t o r p e d o b o a t s 

attacked the USS 

Maddox and USS 

C . Tu r n e r J o y, 

President Lyndon 

B. Johnson raised 

t h e s h r o u d o f 

secrecy and ordered an orchestrated air attack as a 

“show of force.” By December 1964, North American 

F-100 Super Sabres, McDonnell RF-101 Voodoos, and 

Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs, with Boeing KC-135 

Stratotanker support, conducted Operation Barrel

Roll, attacking Communist forces in Laos.

Faced with a de-teriorating pol-itical and military 

situation in South Vietnam, President Johnson ordered 

Operation RollingThunder as a sign of American support to 

South Vietnam and a signal of US resolve. Beginning on 

2 Mar 1965, RollingThunder was “a program of measured 

and limited air action against selected military targets 

in North Vietnam remaining south of the 19th Parallel.” 

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Closely managed by the White House, Rolling Thunder

sought to apply incrementally announced military 

power to influence North Vietnamese will to wage war. 

However, the US underestimated the enemy’s resiliency 

and determination. Air Force leaders, chafed at rules 

of engagement that negated the speed, surprise, 

and flexibility of massed airpower. They saw periodic 

“bombing pauses,” intended to signal American 

intentions, as allowing enemy recovery. During 1965, 

North Vietnamese air defenses, including Sovietmade SA-2 surface-to-air missiles (SAM), multiplied; 

Hanoi established an advanced radar-controlled air 

defense system that combined SAMs, anti-aircraft 

artillery (AAA), and Soviet-produced MiG-17 and MiG21 interceptors. Consequently, US losses mounted 

without any visible effect from the air campaign. By the 

fall of 1968, Air Force tactical aircraft had flown 166,000 

sorties over North Vietnam and Navy attack aircraft had 

added 144,500. In the process, the enemy downed 

526 Air Force aircraft, with SAMs accounting for 54, 

MiGs destroying 42, 

and AAA claiming 

t h e r e m a i n d e r. 

Personnel losses 

w e r e e q u a l l y 

heavy—of the 745 

Air Force crewmen 

shot down over 

North Vietnam, 145 

were rescued, 255 

were confirmed 

killed, 222 became prisoners, and 123 were classified 

missing in action (MIA). Air Force leadership found 

these results intolerable for an air campaign with 

virtually complete air superiority. 

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Complementing the operations over North Vietnam, 

the air war over South Vietnam demonstrated the 

full spectrum of airpower. Air Force aircraft and 

helicopters provided close air support, interdiction, 

reconnaissance, airlift, tanker support, and searchand-rescue capabilities. Air Force resources ranged 

from one-man Cessna O-1 Bird Dogs, used by forward 

air controllers to mark enemy targets for strikers, to 

mammoth B-52Ds modified to drop as many as 27 

750-lb. bombs and 84 500-lb. bombs for Arc Light

interdiction missions. Vintage World War II aircraft, like 

AC-47 “Puff the Magic Dragon” gunships, joined the 

state-of-the-art General Dynamics F-111 with its swingwing design and advanced terrain-following radar. 

The siege of Khe Sanh in January 1968 displayed 

the potential of Air 

Force close air support. 

With 6,000 US Marines 

surrounded by 20,000 

N o r t h V i e t n a m e s e 

troops protected by 

hilly, covered terrain, 

Gen William Momyer 

responded with massive 

firepower in Operation 

Niagara. A flight of three 

B-52 struck the enemy 

every 90 minutes for 

most of the 77-day siege. 

Preventing the enemy 

from overrunning the base, American aircraft dropped 

100,000 tons of bombs, two-thirds from B-52s.

Following President Johnson’s 1968 bombing halt, 

newly elected President Richard M. Nixon began a 

phased withdrawal from the frustrating conflict. From a 
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peak of 536,000 US troops in 1968, American personnel 

numbered fewer than 100,000 by 1972. When the 

North Vietnamese launched the Easter Offensive 

in Spring 1972, Nixon resolved to achieve “Peace 

with Honor.” With added ground troops a political 

impossibility, Nixon relied on Operation Linebacker to 

blunt the Communist attack.

In contrast to Ro l l i n g Th u n d e r, Nixon did not 

micromanage 

m i l i t a r y 

f o r c e s a n d 

s i g n i f i c a n t l y 

re d u c e d t h e 

r e s t r i c t i o n s 

placed on war 

fighting. New 

television- and 

l a s e r- g u i d e d 

“smart” bombs 

d r a m a t i c a l l y 

increased strike accuracy and heralded the arrival of 

precision-guided munitions (PGM). On 13 May 1972, 

16 McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantoms hit the Than Hoa 

bridge with 24 smart bombs and wrecked a target that 

had eluded American Airmen for years. From April to 

October 1972, Air Force and Navy air-craft dropped 

155,548 tons of bombs on North Vietnamese troops. 

Line-backer also provided the first aces of the war. On 

28 Aug 1972, Capt Steve Ritchie shot down his fifth 

MiG-21. Within weeks, two F-4 weapons systems 

officers joined the ranks of aces: Capt Charles De 

Bellevue with six kills and Capt Jeffrey Feinstein with 

five. When North Vietnamese negotiators accepted 

specific peace conditions, President Nixon terminated 

the air campaign. 
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In December 1972, North Vietnamese intransigence 

over the final peace agreement prompted President 

Nixon to initiate Linebacker II, an intense 11-day air 

campaign to pressure enemy compliance. From 18 to 

29 December, American aircraft pounded military and 

industrial targets in North Vietnam. For the first time, 

the White House authorized B-52 strikes near Hanoi. 

In less than 2 weeks, 729 B-52 sorties dropped 15,000 

tons of bombs and fighter-bombers added another 

5,000 tons. Despite the loss of 26 aircraft, including 

15 B-52s, airpower broke the impasse. Peace talks 

resumed 8 Jan 1973, 

and a comprehensive 

cease-fire was signed 

on 23 January.

A i r p o w e r 

demonstrated its 

versatility and wideranging impact in 

Vietnam, and also its 

limitations. Despite 

a n i m p r e s s i v e 

showing militarily, 

the United States did 

not “win decisively” 

in Vietnam, but withdrew from the conflict. Although 

the Air Force flew over 5 million sorties and dropped 

6 million tons of bombs, North Vietnamese forces 

eventually conquered South Vietnam in April 1975. 

Airpower could not prevent the collapse of the South 

Vietnamese government and the American will to 

fight.

The Cold War Concluded

President Kennedy’s flexible-response nuclear 

war-fighting doctrine of the early 1960s lacked the 
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technology to match its vision of many options 

adapted to meet the varieties of Cold War crises. 

Advances in geodesy and cartography and the 

integrated circuit developed in the early 1960s for 

missile and satellite guidance systems, significantly 

improved missile accuracy. Decreased circular error 

probable (CEP) (the radius of a circle in which at least 50 

percent of the targeted missiles would hit) meant that 

warheads could be smaller. Because they were smaller 

and lighter, more warheads could be mounted to each 

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) and Submarine 

Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs). In the early 1970s, the 

DoD developed 

m u l t i p l e 

independently 

t a r g e t a b l e 

reentry vehicles 

(MIRVs), allowing 

three or more 

w a r h e a d s o n 

each ICBM and 

SLBM. The Air 

Force’s arsenal 

did not rise above 

1,054 Titan and 

Minuteman ICBMs; many now carried 3 MIRVs as opposed 

to earlier models that carried a single warhead.

Although Secretary of Defense McNamara introduced 

“counterforce” targeting in 1962, the improvement 

in CEP and dramatic increases in the number of 

nuclear warheads in the American arsenal of the 1970s 

encouraged the Air Force to return to the more traditional 

practice of bombing precise military targets, instead of 

countervalue cities. Counter-force targeting identified 

en-emy military and industrial chokepoints—command 

centers, military industries and bases, and ICBM silos. 
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What-ever the targets selected, in the 1960s political 

leaders adopted a doctrine for deterring nuclear war 

known as “assured destruction,” the capability to destroy 

an aggressor as a viable society, even after a well-planned 

and executed surprise attack on American forces. The 

Cuban missile crisis in Oct 1962, is widely recognized 

as the height of Cold War tension between the US and 

the USSR. This doctrine held that superpower strategic 

nuclear forces would be sized and protected to survive a 

nuclear attack and then to retaliate with sufficient force 

to ensure a level of destruction unacceptable to the other 

side. With such retaliatory destruction assured against 

an aggressor, no rational Soviet or American leader 

would consider starting a nuclear war. Over the next 

two decades the Air Force developed more capable 

satellite systems such as the Missile Defense Alarm 

System (MIDAS)—the first attempt at providing spacebased detection and warning of long-range missile 

attacks. MIDAS 7, launched on 9 May 1963, proved the 

concept of infrared (IR) sensing from a nearly circular 

2,000-mile orbit. The need for accurate information 

on Soviet nuclear testing led to the development of 

a space-based system that could specifically detect 

nuclear explosions. On 2 Sep 1959, the DoD directed 

the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to 

undertake the development of the Vela Hotel nuclear 

detection program, which was a low-cost, automated 

nuclear detection satellite constellation. The first pair 

of Vela satellites was launched from Cape Canaveral, 

Florida, on 16 Oct 1963 and detected a nuclear blast 

the very next day. 

Air Force leadership’s vision for weather satellites 

was realized with the development of a dedicated 

military weather satellite system known initially as the 

Defense Satellite Applications Program (DSAP). The 

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initial DSAP military weather satellites were relatively 

unsophisticated, weighing about 430 pounds. One of 

the earliest Air Force satellite communication systems 

was the Initial Defense Satellite Communications 

Program (IDSCP). The first IDSCP satellite was launched 

on 16 June 1966. Another Cold War capability 

provided by early satellites was navigation. Although 

the Navy rather than the Air Force produced the first 

working satellite navigation system (Transit), an early 

Air Force navigation satellite program was designed 

to p rov i d e p re c i s e 

time and navigation 

information in three 

dimensions. Later, a 

joint Air Force and Navy 

program would result 

in what became known 

as the NAVSTAR Global 

Positioning System. The 

expansive spending, 

on both US and Soviet 

sides, for weapons 

and their supporting 

systems eventually led 

to an escalating and 

apparently unlimited strategic arms race, until 1972.

On 26 May 1972, the US and the USSR signed the AntiBallistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, which limited both sides to 

two ABM sites each, to protect the national capital and 

an ICBM complex. The treaty reinforced the continued 

effectiveness of assured destruction in deterring war in 

the face of new, destabilizing ABM weapons. SALT I, the 

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty which was signed at 

the same time, limited the numbers of nuclear weapons, 

with the objective of obtaining a verified freeze on the 

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numerical growth and destabilizing characteristics of 

each side’s strategic nuclear forces.

The Nixon administration adopted counterforce 

targeting, beginning with Single Integrated Operational 

Plan (SIOP) 5 of 1974. The Carter administration 

expanded it with Presidential Directive 59 and SIOP 5D. 

Counterforce, however, offered an option to assured 

destruction of a limited, prolonged nuclear war, based 

on accurate attacks with limited collateral damage, 

while maintaining a credible second strike capability. 

Increased defense spending of the early 1980s brought 

more mature space and missile programs, most of 

which are still in service, as replacements for the early 

space systems developed in the 1960s and 1970s. 

These included the Defense Support Program (early 

warning), the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program 

(weather), the Defense Satellite Communications 

System (communications), and the Global Positioning 

System (navigation). Concurrent with these various 

satellite constellations, the Air Force also developed 

the ground-based infrastructure to support, augment 

and complement the space-based portions of the 

systems. Among the ground-based missions were: 

ballistic missile warning (the Ballistic Missile Early 

Warning System, or BMEWS); surveillance of orbiting 

space objects (provided initially by systems such as 

Baker-Nunn cameras); and satellite command and 

control (by the Air Force Satellite Control Network, 

or AFSCN). In addition, the Air Force developed the 

launch support bases necessary to get satellites into 

space – one at Cape Canaveral, FL and the other at 

Vandenberg AFB, CA. The launch bases provided 

support not only for DoD sponsored systems but also 

NASA, other US government agencies, and commercial 

requirements. 

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In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Air Force leaders sensed 

the time had come to substantially reorganize the way the 

service managed its space systems. On 21 Jun 1982, Air 

Force Chief of Staff General Lew Allen appeared with Under 

Secretary of the Air Force Pete Aldridge to announce the 

formation of Space Command, which would be activated 

on 1 Sep 1982. Air Force Space Command’s responsibilities 

grew quickly over the 

ensuing decade as it 

absorbed programs 

from Aerospace Defense 

Command, Air Force 

Systems Command, 

a n d S t r a t e g i c A i r 

Command. Eventually 

the command’s missions 

included missile warning, 

space sur veillance, 

satellite control, space 

defense, space support 

to operational forces, 

and launch operations. 

The organizational 

changes that led to the 

establishment of Space 

Command reflected a 

growth in the use of 

space systems in support 

of joint operations worldwide. 

In an address on 23 Mar 1983, President Ronald 

Reagan proposed replacing the doctrine of assured 

destruction with one of assured survival, in the form of 

the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). SDI was to focus on 

the development and deployment of a combination of 

defensive systems such as space-based lasers, particle 

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beams, railguns, and fast ground-launched missiles, 

among other weapons, to intercept Soviet ICBMs during 

their ascent through the Earth’s outer atmosphere 

and their ballistic path in space. While the ABM Treaty 

restricted various methods of testing SDI weapon 

systems, the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet 

Union removed the justification for the level of research 

and development associated with this project, although 

research continued at a much-reduced level under the 

Ballistic Missile Defense Organization.

Beginning in March 1985, Soviet Communist Party 

General-Secretary Mikhail 

Gorbachev ini-tiated major 

changes in Soviet-American 

relations. The Inter-mediate 

Range Nu-clear Forces Treaty, 

in December 1987, eliminated 

m e d i u m - r a n g e n u c l e a r 

missiles, including US Air 

Force ground-launched cruise 

missiles (GLCMs). Gorbachev’s 

announcement in May 1988 

that the Soviet Union, after 9 

years of inconclusive combat, 

would begin withdrawing 

from the war in Afghanistan, 

indicated a major reduction 

in Cold War tensions, but it 

provided only a hint of the 

rapid changes to come. Relatively free and open 

Russian national elections in March 1989 followed 

by a coal miners strike in July shook the foundations 

of Communist rule. East Germany opened the Berlin 

Wall in November, which led to German reunification 

in October 1990. A coup against Gorbachev in August 

1991 by Boris Yeltsin led to the dissolution of the Soviet 
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Union and its replacement by the Commonwealth of 

Independent States on 25 Dec 1991.

This chain of events brought major changes to 

American nuclear strategy. Under the Strategic Arms 

Reduction Treaty (START) I, signed by the United 

States and the Soviet Union in July 1991, the Air 

Force would be involved in reducing to a level of 

6,000 total warheads on deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and 

heavy bombers. START II, signed in January 1993, 

would reduce (upon entry into force) total deployed 

warheads to a range of up to 3,500 nautical miles (NMs). 

The resulting force structure (determined during the 

Nuclear Posture Review process overseen within his 

department by then Secretary of Defense Les Aspin), 

would ultimately lead to the deployment of 500 singlewarhead Minuteman III ICBMs, 66 B-52H, and 20 B-2 

heavy bombers. Ninety-four B-1 heavy bombers would 

be reoriented to a conventional role by 2003, in addition 

to all Peacekeeper ICBMs being removed from active 

inventory through the elimination of their associated 

silo launchers. The Air Force, by presidential direction 

in September 1991, notified Strategic Air Command 

(SAC) to remove heavy bombers from alert status. SAC 

was subsequently inactivated several months later in 

June 1992. US Strategic Command replaced Strategic 
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Air Command, controlling all remaining Air Force and 

Navy strategic nuclear forces.

Rebuilding the conventional Air Force after Vietnam 

began with personnel changes. The Vietnam-era Air 

Force included many Airmen who had entered its 

ranks in World War II. President 

Nixon ended the draft in 1973 

in favor of an “all volunteer” 

American military. The Air Force 

attracted recruits as best it could, 

but encountered problems with 

the racial friction and alcohol 

and drug abuse that reflected 

America’s social problems. 

Enough Vietnam career veterans 

remained, however, to direct 

the new service and institute 

changes, one of the most noticeable of which was more 

realistic, and thus more dangerous, combat training. In 

combat simulations, Air Force pilots flew as aggressors 

employing enemy tactics. By 1975, their training had 

evolved into Red Flag at the US Air Force Weapons and 

Tactics Center at Nellis AFB, NV, where crews flew both 

individual sorties and formations in realistic situations, 

gaining experience before they entered actual combat. 

Colonel Richard “Moody” Suter is the father of Red 

Flag. As a major, working in the Pentagon in 1975, 

he took his vision and saw it through to fruition. Red 

Flag revolutionized Air Force training. General Robert 

Rutherford said, “He probably saved a lot of lives and 

made us the premier air Force in the world.” “More than 

anybody else, I’ve ever know in the Air Force, he had a 

creative energy and innovative approach you just don’t 

see,” said Gen. Joseph Ralston.

Suter flew more than 200 combat missions in Vietnam, 
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was the first F-15 Eagle squadron commander, and an 

innovative genius. In addition to Red Flag, he’s credited 

with founding the Air Force aggressor squadron, 

and the Warrior Preparation Center at Einsiedlerhof 

Air Station, Germany, used to train senior battle 

commanders in the art of war. Another Suter legacy is 

his driving force behind setting up Checkmate, the Air 

Force’s think tank for wartime scenarios. 

After his death in January 1996, the Warrior Preparation 

Center command section building and Red Flag 

Building 201 at Nellis AFB, Nevada was named in his 

honor.

The vulnerability of air bases to enemy attack and 

sabotage had long been the Achilles heel of landbased air power. In Western Europe, living under the 

threat of a massive Warsaw Pact air offensive and 

land invasion, the US Air Force spearheaded an active 

program to improve the survivability and readiness of 

air bases. The effort was marked by the construction 

of thousands of reinforced concrete aircraft shelters 

and other hardened facilities, alternate runways, rapid 

repair elements, chemical weapons protection, and a 

host of other defensive measures.
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The Air Force’s post-Vietnam rebuilding also involved 

applying improved technology. The battle for control 

of the skies over North Vietnam underscored the need 

for a dogfighting aircraft that featured maneuverability 

before speed—one armed with missiles and cannon. 

Begun in the late 1960s and operational in the mid1970s, the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon filled 

this need. The struggle against radar-guided antiaircraft 

artillery and SAMs in Vietnam encouraged the Air Force 

to pursue stealth technology utilizing special paints, 

materials, and designs that reduced or eliminated 

an aircraft’s radar, thermal, and electronic signatures. 

O p e r a t i o n a l 

b y O c t o b e r 

1 9 8 0 , t h e F -

117 Nighthawk 

stealth fighter 

f e a t u r e d 

d e t e c t i o n 

avoidance.

O t h e r 

Vietnam War 

technologies included PGMs and bombs. From April 

1972 to January 1973, the United States used over 

4,000 of these early “smart weapons” in Vietnam 

to knock down bridges and destroy enemy tanks. 

Continued development of laser-guided bombs 

and electro-optically-guided missiles offered the 

prospects of pinpoint, precision bombing on which 

traditional Air Force doctrine rested—the destruction 

of chokepoints in an enemy nation’s industrial web 

with economy of force and without collateral damage. 

These technologies, which afforded a strike precision 

far beyond that available to earlier airpower thinkers, 

sparked a revision of the traditional doctrine of 

strategic bombing. This revision took two forms. First, 
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the Air Force, to overcome numerically superior Warsaw 

Pact forces, cooperated with the Army in updating 

the tactical doctrine of AirLand Battle promulgated in 

Field Manual 100-5 in 1982. The Air Force would make 

deep air attacks on an enemy army to isolate it on the 

battlefield, conduct battlefield air interdiction (BAI) to 

disrupt the movement of secondary forces to the front, 

and provide close air support (CAS) to Army ground 

forces. The Air Force procured the A-10 Thunderbolt 

II CAS attack-bomber in the 1970s to support such 

missions.

Operation RICE BOWL, the attempt to rescue American 

hostages from the United States embassy in Iran, 

ended in disaster at the Desert One refueling site in 

April 1980. Subsequent inquiries eventually led to 

the reorganization and revitalization of United States 

and Air Force special operations forces. Participation 

in three crises in the 1980s allowed the Air Force to 

test new ideas and technologies. Operation URGENT 

FURY (October 1983) rescued American students 
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and restored order on the island of Grenada. In 

this operation the Air Force primarily transported 

troops and cargo, but discovered problems with 

command, control, planning, and intraservice and 

interservice coordination. President Reagan called 

on England-based F-111s to strike against Libya on 

19 Apr 1986, in support of his policies to counter 

state terrorism. Operation ELDORADO CANYON exposed 

continuing difficulties with target identification and 

intelligence, punctuated by some inaccurate bombing. 

Finally, Operation JUST CAUSE in 1989 again tested air 

operations, this time in Panama. The Air Force provided 

the airlift for troops and supplies, although the F- 117 

Nighthawk stealth fighter made its debut when it and 

an AC-130 Spectre gunship intimidated Panamanian 

troops loyal to the dictator Manuel Noriega.

DESERT STORM: The Air Campaign Against Iraq, 1990-

1991

On 2 Aug 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ordered 

over 100,000 troops to invade oil-rich Kuwait, claimed 

as Iraq’s 19th province. International condemnation 

followed and on 6 August the UN authorized an 
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economic embargo. The same day, President George 

H. W. Bush announced Operation Desert Shield, the 

deployment of US air and ground units to defend Saudi 

Arabia and Persian Gulf states. Within 18 hours of the 

order, Air Force Military Airlift Command (MAC) C-141 

and C-5 transports delivered elements of the Army’s 

82d Airborne Division and the Air Force’s 1st Tactical 

Fighter Wing (whose 48 F-15Cs flew direct).

Operation Desert Shield eclipsed the Berlin Airlift as the 

greatest air deployment in history. From 7 Aug to 8 

Nov 1990, MAC cargo planes delivered defensive forces 

and from 9 Nov to Jan 1991 brought materiel for a 

counter-offensive. The “air bridge” spanned over 7,000 

miles and included 20,500 strategic airlift missions. 

Desert Shield validated Air Force large capacity, heavy 

carriers: the Lockheed C-5A Galaxy and the Lockheed 

C-141A Starlifter. In total, the “heavies” carried 534,000 

passengers and 542,000 tons of cargo during the Gulf 

War.

The Persian Gulf War represents the first, extensive and 

broad-based employment of space support capabilities. 

Coalition forces employed over 60 military satellites and 

others from the commercial and civil sectors during the 

conflict. DMSP provided dedicated meteorological support 

to forces in theater, which helped provide safe, highly 

effective planning and application of combat power in a 

harsh environment characterized by sandstorms and oil 

fires. Satellite-based systems delivered over 90 percent 

of all communications to and from theater due to the sheer 

volume and the lack of ground-based infrastructure in that 

part of the world. At the height of the conflict, 700,000 

phone calls and 152,000 messages per day flowed in and 

out of theater over satellite links. 

At 0100, 17 Jan 1991, three Air Force Special Operations 

MH-53J PAVE LOW helicopters led nine Army Apaches on 
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the first strike mission of Operation Desert Storm. Within 

hours, the world watched live television coverage of Iraqi 

skies filled with AAA fire, but with no apparent effect. 

Lockheed F-117A Nighthawks struck heavily defended 

targets with unprecedented precision. Under Horner’s 

command, 2,700 aircraft from 14 countries and services 

implemented the master attack plan. The coalition effort 

overwhelmed the Iraqi air defense system with speed, 

surprise, precision, and mass. A flight of seven B-52Gs 

flew non stop from Barksdale AFB LA to strike Iraqi power 

stations and communications facilities with Air Launched 

Cruise Missiles (ALCMs). With a round-trip duration of 35 

hours, the 14,000-mile raid was the longest combat mission 

in history and proof of the USAF’s “Global Reach.”

The first week of Desert Storm emphasized air supremacy 

and destroying the enemy’s command and control system. 

Capt Jon K. “JB” Kelk, flying an F-15C, scored the first airto-air kill by downing an Iraqi MiG-29. All total, coalition 

aircraft shot down 41 Iraqi aircraft with Capt Thomas N. 

“Vegas” Dietz and Lt Robert W. “Digs” Hehemann each 

credited with three kills. Additionally, Allied air forces 

destroyed 375 enemy aircraft and 594 hardened bunkers 

on the ground. Faced with coalition air dominance, 148 

Iraqi aircraft fled to neighboring Iran, preferring internment 

to destruction.

The air campaign then “prepared” the battlefield by 

isolating Iraqi ground units, interdicting supplies, and 

reducing enemy combat power. Fairchild Republic A10 Thunderbolt IIs (“Warthogs”) and F-15Es introduced 

a new term, “tank plinking,” as they destroyed the 

enemy’s armored forces. General Dynamics F-111F 

“Aardvarks” dropped 4,600 of the 8,000 PGMs of the 

war. EF-111A electronic warfare aircraft provided 

tactical jamming, while combined RC-135 Rivet Joint, 
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E-8 Joint STARS, and E-3 AWACS aircraft added 

intelligence and command and control. Perhaps the 

most spectacular element, B-52s shattered Iraqi Army 

morale by massive bomb drops upon the enemy’s forces. 

When one Iraqi commander asserted that he surrendered 

because of B-52 strikes, his interrogator pointed out that 

his position had never been attacked by the Buff. “That 

is true, but I saw one that had been attacked,” stated the 

Iraqi commander.

Not all aspects of the air campaign were successful. 

Early in the campaign, Saddam Hussein ordered 

launches of modified Soviet Scud missiles against 

Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Persian Gulf states. On 

18 Jan 1991, USAF A-10s, F-16s, and F-15Es with LowAltitude Navigation and Targeting Infra-red for Night 

(LANTIRN) pods commenced the “Great Scud Hunt.” 

Despite 2,767 sorties (22% of the strategic air phase), 
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air patrols did not destroy a significant number of the 

missiles. Iraqi camouflage, decoys, and employment 

tactics frustrated the effort. The enemy launched 

a total of 88 Scuds, including one that struck a US 

Army Reserve unit at Dhahran that killed 28 soldiers 

and wounded 98. The anti-Scud effort did limit Scud 

launches after the first 2 weeks of fighting and reduced 

the political impact of the weapon.

The Desert Storm air campaign demonstrated airpower’s 

impact on a conventional battlefield. Air Force space 

assets provided precision positioning and navigation to 

joint and coalition forces with the combat debut of the 

Global Positioning System (GPS). Allied forces employed 

GPS satellites for a variety of purposes: precision 

weapons delivery, artillery spotting, and maneuvering 

of large troop formations—such as Gen Schwarzkopf’s 

famous left hook through the featureless Iraqi desert. 

Space forces also provided the coalition and allies with 

advanced warning of Iraqi SCUD launches. DSP gave 

timely warning of the launch of Iraqi Scud missiles 

to US forces in theater and allowed Patriot batteries 

in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait sufficient time to 
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engage the incoming Iraqi IRBMs. Space forces had a 

major political impact on the war with this capability 

by influencing Israel to remain neutral thereby 

preserving the integrity of the allied coalition. Over 

the course of the 44-day air campaign, the coalition 

flew 118,661 sorties, of which the Air Force flew 60%. 

The US-led coalition’s 1991 Persian Gulf War brought 

military space operations to the entire Joint community. 

The Persian Gulf War was the first conflict to highlight 

the force enhancement capabilities of space-based 

communications, intelligence, navigation, missile 

warning and weather satellites to US warfighters. 

Desert Storm also demonstrated the impact of PGMs upon 

modern war. Although PGMs accounted for only 8% of 

the 88,500 tons of bombs dropped, they achieved 80% 

of the known targets destroyed. While coalition ground 

forces delivered Gen Schwartzkopf’s famous “Hail Mary” 

outflanking maneuver that applied the final blow to the 

Iraqi military forces, airpower had set the stage for victory. 

As the Gulf War Air Power Survey stated:

It was not the number of Iraqi tanks or artillery pieces 
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destroyed, or the number of Iraqi soldiers killed that 

mattered. It was the effectiveness of the air campaign in 

breaking apart the organizational structure and cohesion 

of enemy military forces and in reaching the mind of the 

Iraqi soldier that counted.

Operation Allied Force

The breakup of Yugoslavia proved to be the North Atlantic 

Treaty Organization’s (NATO) greatest challenge in the 

1990s. Militant Serbian nationalism and a policy of “ethnic 

cleansing” promoted by Yugoslavian President Slobodan 

Milosevic created a crisis in Kosovo in 1999. Meanwhile, 

Albanian separatists in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) 

fanned the flames of violence. After diplomatic talks 

broke down, NATO worried about potential genocidal civil 

war and destabilization throughout the Balkans. As NATO 

debated intervention in early 1999, President Milosevic 

unleashed a ruthless offensive designed to crush the KLA 

and drive ethnic Albanians out of Kosovo. Faced with a 

massive humanitarian crisis, NATO turned to airpower.
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After DESERT STORM in early 1992, General Merrill McPeak, 

Chief of Staff of the Air Force, revised the mission of 

the Air Force: “to defend the United States through 

control and exploitation of air and space.” Resultant 

organizational changes permitted the Air Force to 

attain an unprecedented level of integration between 

air and space capabilities, by the time the Air War over 

Serbia (AWOS) commenced in 1999. During AWOS, 

AFSPC deployed nearly 150 space professionals to nine 

different locations in theater. During the conflict, multisource Tactical System/Combat Track I modifications 

to five B-52s and two B-1s allowed near real-time 

information to be flowed to the cockpits. The spaceenabled information included threats, target updates, 

imagery, and secure communications with the wing 

operations center. GPS satellites provided terminal 

guidance data for Joint Direct Attack Munitions 

(JDAMs), Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missiles 

(CALCM) and Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) 

deliveries. This conflict was the first operational 

employment of JDAM, demonstrating precision 

adverse weather delivery of multiple weapons against 

multiple aim points on a single pass. 

Optimistic policymakers looked to NATO’s successful 

2-week Operation Deliberate Force in 1995 that brought 

relative peace to Bosnia. On 24 Mar 1999, President Bill 

Clinton commenced Operation Allied Force (OAF), 

announcing three objectives: demonstrate NATO’s 

opposition to aggression; deter Milosevic from escalating 

attacks on civilians; and damage Serbia’s capability to 

wage war against Kosovo. Milosevic and Serbian forces 

presented US and NATO forces with an opponent with a 

capacity for skilled propaganda and utter ruthlessness. The 

ensuing 78-day battle would be directed against both the 

Serbian military and Milosevic’s propaganda efforts.

From 24 Mar to 9 Jun 1999, NATO air forces walked a 

political tightrope. In over 38,000 sorties, 13 of NATO’s 19 

nations attempted to pressure Milosevic, to destroy Serbian 
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The Global War on Terrorism: 

Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and 

Iraqi Freedom

On 11 September 2001, nineteen terrorists from Al Qaeda, 

an Islamic extremist group, highjacked four airliners and 

crashed them into New York City’s World Trade Center, 

the Pentagon, and a remote field in Pennsylvania, killing 

about 3,000 people in all. In response, President George 

W. Bush declared a global war on terrorism. Operation 

Noble Eagle immediately focused on protecting the US 

homeland from both internal and external air attacks—of 

the nature used on 9-11. US Air Force fighter, tanker, and 

surveillance air assets provide up to 24-hour intercept 

response coverage for virtually the entire U.S in the 

form of ground alert and airborne combat air patrols 

over designated locations. 

Operation En d u r i n g Fre e d o m (OEF) focused an 

international coalition, with forces from the United 

Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, 

Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Jordan, the 

Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, 

Russia, Spain, Turkey, and other nations, to remove 

Afghanistan’s Taliban government which sponsored Al 

Qaeda terrorism and provided a safe haven for Osama 

bin Laden, its leader.

On 7 October 2001, fifteen US Air Force bombers 

joined 25 US Navy carrier-strike aircraft and 50 US and 

British sea-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles in the 

first wave of OEF military operations. In the opening 

days of the campaign, joint-service airpower destroyed 

Taliban air defenses, command centers, and other fixed 

targets and protected humanitarian relief missions to 

the Afghan people. In contrast to Desert Storm and 

Allied Force, Taliban and Al Qaeda forces presented few 

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fixed targets suitable for air attack. Instead, Air Force 

assets provided flexible, “time-critical targeting.” USAF 

B-1 and B-52 bombers carrying GPS-guided Joint Direct 

Attack Munitions (JDAMs) proceeded to engagement 

zones, where ground-based forces directed attacks. 

GPS-guided munitions were employed with great 

accuracy, enabling air planners to reduce the number 

of air sorties required to destroy a particular objective. 

Combat operations in Afghanistan began with small 

groups of elite American military forces deployed to 

support anti-Taliban Afghani fighters. A number of 

the deployed troops carried 2.75-pound Precision 

Lightweight GPS Receivers (PLGRs) and satellite-based 

communications devices. Air Force combat controllers, 

such as MSgt Bart Decker were some of approximately 

300 Army, Navy, and Air Force special operations 

personnel, augmenting the Afghan Northern Alliance. 

On 13 November 2001, Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, fell 

to coalition forces.

The defeat of the Taliban government showcased 

the capabilities of high-tech weapons, global 

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communications, and high-quality training. Spacebased communications satellite constellations 

such as DSCS III, upgraded Milstar, and the Global 

Broadcast System (GBS), provided allied forces with 

an array of reliable, improved, high-speed, secure 

and non-secure, longrange communications 

options. The amount 

of intelligence and 

other data relayed 

through space was 

unprecedented. DMSP 

satellites provided 

timely meteorological 

information in support 

of the air campaign; the 

space-based weather 

information was also 

invaluable to ground 

forces that often had to 

endure a harsh climate. 

As space becomes a 

more integral part of 

the military tool kit in 

both peace and war, the demand for more and better 

space capabilities will increase and the ability to reach 

orbit will be critical. To meet this need, the Air Force 

developed a new family of expendable launch systems, 

the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles or EELV. In 

addition, NASA and the Air Force have undertaken joint 

efforts to explore improved Reusable Launch Vehicle 

technology. Across the spectrum of space capabilities, 

new technology and innovative applications are 

leading to significantly advanced systems. The Air Force 

has proceeded with the development of a replacement 

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for its DSP program, the Space Based Infrared System 

(SBIRS), which will provide unprecedented missile 

detection and tracking capability. Overall Air Force 

space systems played an even more significant role 

in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM than they had during 

Operations DESERT STORM and ALLIED FORCE. 

Afghanistan challenged coalition forces with its rugged 

terrain, complex political relationships, and distance 

from operating bases (Navy aircraft flew 700 miles 

one way from carriers and Air Force bombers ventured 

2,500 miles one way from Diego Garcia). Air Force KC135 tankers, C-17 and C-130 air lifters, RED HORSE Civil 

Engineering teams, space-based Global Positioning 

System (GPS) and intelligence-gathering satellites, and 

other support functions proved the unsung heroes 

of the campaign. Their effectiveness reduced the 

casualties of combat troops. In the first 18 months of 

OEF, the Air Force flew more than 85,000 sorties (75% 

of the total effort), dropped 30,750 munitions, delivered 

487,000 tons of cargo, and provided 3,025 Intelligence, 

Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. On 

19 Mar 2003 a coalition of American and allied forces 

entered Iraq to end regime of Saddam Hussein and to 

free the Iraqi people beginning Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. 

One key innovation occurred early in this ongoing 

campaign when the CENTCOM Commander designated 

the Combined Forces Air Component Commander 

(CFACC) the Space Coordinator. Throughout the war 

space experts issued a Space Tasking Order (STO) that 

ensured space resources were ready to support combat 

operations. Space assets were refined to provide 

maximum capabilities to Allied forces. In a summary 

of space support during the conflict, Brigadier General 

Larry D. James, the senior space officer assigned to 

the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) during 

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the war, said, “I think we have truly integrated air and 

space operations better than ever before to achieve 

the battlefield effects we wanted—shorten the kill 

chain and be able to respond dynamically to what was 

going on out there.” As noted by former Chief of Staff 

of the Air Force Michael E. Ryan in Jan 2000, “Never 

again can Airmen apply airpower without the seamless 

integration of space assets into their operational art, 

mind-set and culture.”

Although the remnants of Al Qaeda eluded capture, 

President Bush voiced the resolve of America: “Our war 

against terror is a contest of will in which perseverance 

is power. Whatever the duration of this struggle, and 

whatever the difficulties, we will not permit the triumph 

of violence in the affairs of men—free people will set 

the course of history” (28 January 2003).
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Conclusion

From Kitty Hawk to Kosovo, the record of air 

and space power emphasizes powerful themes. 

The interplay of doctrine, technology, tactics, and 

strategy must be sustained by training, logistics, 

supply, and support infrastructure. Although 

history may not provide hard and fast lessons, 

it offers inspiration, insight, and examples to 

spur your thinking. Today’s Airmen draw from 

a proud heritage of sacrifice, valor, and success. 

Just as our predecessors triumphed over the 

challenges at St. Mihiel, Schweinfurt, and MiG 

Alley, you will face new challenges with courage, 

skill, innovation, and perseverance. 

All Airmen who have

gone before

wish you the best in your

Air Force experience

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AIRMAN EXEMPLARS

The Airmen

WHO follow

are A

representative sample

of the diverse team

of Airmen

whose exceptional

 contributions

shaped and influenced

our Air Force

and

continue to

inspire Airmen...
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Orville and Wilbur Wright

The Wright brothers, bicycle manufacturers from 

Dayton, OH, achieved the first powered, sustained, 

and controlled flight of an airplane in 1903, beginning 

the age of heavier-than-air aviation. Wilbur was born 

on 16 Apr 1867, near Millville, IN, and Orville was 

born on 19 Aug1871, in Dayton, OH. They became 

interested in mechanical flight 

after reading about O tto 

Lilienthal’s successful glider 

experiments in Germany during 

the mid-1890s. In contrast 

to other experimenters, the 

Wrights concentrated their 

efforts on determining a threedimensional system of control, 

using an elevator and twisting 

the wings, called warping, in 

combination with a vertical 

rudder. A series of biplane 

gliders in 1902 led to a perfectly 

controllable glider capable of generating sufficient 

lift. Subsequently, the brothers designed and 

built a relatively lightweight gasoline engine and 

revolutionary, highly efficient propellers for the 1903 

flyer. On 17 Dec 1903, this aircraft achieved four 

manned flights at Kitty Hawk, NC. In 1904 and 1905, 

the Wright brothers conducted experiments at Huffman 

Prairie near Dayton and introduced a new improved 

aircraft each year. The 1905 Wright flyer is generally 

recognized as the first practical airplane. It could turn, 

bank, fly figure eights, and remain aloft for over 30 

minutes. Still it was not until 1907 that the Signal Corps 
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established an Aviation Section and issued a bid for a 

military airplane. Tests of the Wright military machine 

began at Ft. Myer, VA, in 1908. A crash on 17 September, 

however, seriously injured Orville, killed his passenger 

Lt Thomas E. Selfridge, and temporarily interrupted 

the tests. A new machine accepted in the fall of 1909 

became, Signal Corps No. 1, the US Army’s first airplane. 

Subsequently the Wright brothers trained several US 

Army pilots—among them Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, future 

commander of the US Army Air Forces during World War 

II. The Wright Aircraft Company sold the Army several 

airplanes. The Wrights, however, remained wedded to 

the wing warping system of control and their airplanes 

became increasingly inferior and uncompetitive, while 

those of their rivals, especially Glenn Curtiss, improved 

rapidly in performance. On 30 May 1912, Wilbur died 

of typhoid fever. Orville Wright later sold the Wright 

Company and assumed a less active role in aviation. 

He remained, however, the “father” of flying and highly 

honored individual until his death on 30 Jan 1948. 
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Col William “Billy” Mitchell

Col Billy Mitchell was an airpower visionary who saw 

the airplane dominating warfare and called for an air 

force independent of the US Army. 

Born of wealthy American parents in Nice, France, on 

29 Dec 1879, he grew up in Wisconsin. Educated at 

Racine College and at Columbian College, now George 

Washington University in Washington, DC, he abandoned 

college in 1898, at the beginning 

of the Spanish-American War, 

to enlist in the volunteers. His 

father, a US Senator, applied 

influence, and he received a 

commission. Intelligent, able, 

and aggressive, Mitchell was the 

youngest captain ever selected to 

join the General Staff, in 1912. 

In 1915, Mitchell joined the 

Aviation Section of the Signal 

Corps and the following year 

he learned to fly, taking private 

lessons. During much of 1918, 

he commanded most of the US air combat units at 

the front. To a doctrine of the offensive, borrowed 

from the British, he added the use of aircraft in mass 

to overwhelm the enemy. In particular, in September 

he massed over 1,500 US and Allied aircraft in support 

of the St. Mihiel offensive by the US First Army. In 

April 1921, Brig Gen Mitchell became Assistant to the 

Chief of the Air Service. His outspoken advocacy of 

a separate air force, critical remarks about the poor 

quality of the Air Service, and his criticism of superiors 

caused considerable controversy. Worse was his 

methodology, which relied on appeals to Congress 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

101

and the public outside the chain of command, often in 

violation of direct orders. His claims that the airplane 

could sink battleships ultimately led to bombing trials 

in June 1921. During these trials, the 1st Provisional 

Air Brigade under Mitchell’s leadership sank the former 

German battleship Ostfriesland, probably the high 

point of Mitchell’s military career.

Maj Gen Mason Patrick, appointed commander of the 

Air Service following the bombing trials, was able to 

keep Mitchell out of trouble for a time, but in 1925 

further activities led the War Department to refuse to 

reappoint him as Assistant Chief. Mitchell reverted to 

his permanent rank of colonel—the brigadier rank was 

temporary—and was assigned to Fort Sam Houston.

Even from Texas, Mitchell used the press to continue 

to advocate an independent air force. After the Navy’s 

dirigible Shenandoah was destroyed in a storm, he charged 

them with “incompetency.” President Coolidge personally 

ordered Mitchell’s court-martial. He was found guilty of 

insubordination. On 1 Feb 1926, he resigned from the Army. 

Mitchell died on 19 Feb 1936.
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Maj Gen Benjamin D. “Benny” Foulois

Maj Gen Foulois was a pioneer aviator and the first 

commander of an American air unit in the field. He was 

born in Connecticut on 9 Dec 1879. He enlisted in the 

Army at the time of the Spanish-American War and was 

commissioned during his service in the Philippines in 

1901. In 1907, Foulois entered the Aviation Section of 

the Signal Corps. In 1908 and 1909, Foulois participated 

in the acceptance tests of the 

Army’s first semi-rigid dirigible 

and its first airplane, a Wright 

flyer designated Signal Corps 

(SC) No. 1. In 1910, Foulois took 

SC No. 1 to Fort Sam Houston, 

TX, where he conducted tests 

to demonstrate its military 

usefulness. He remained in 

aviation until his retirement 

in 1935. In subsequent years, 

Foulois participated in all 

aspects of early US Army 

aviation, and in 1915 completed 

the organization of the Army’s first operational unit, 

the 1st Aero Squadron. Foulois commanded the 

squadron during the Mexican Punitive Expedition in 

1916-1917—the first deployment of a US Army air 

unit into the field. Following the Punitive Expedition, 

Foulois went to Washington, DC where he played a 

major role in planning and implementing the $640 

million aviation program begun following US entry 

into World War I. Foulois was promoted to brigadier 

general and named Chief of the Air Service for the 

American Expeditionary Force in November 1917. He 

was unsuccessful, however, and was replaced by Mason 
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103

M. Patrick in May 1918. Foulois’s subsequent work, 

especially as Patrick’s assistant, however, played a major 

role in Air Service success during the war.

In 1927, he moved to Washington DC to become 

Assistant Chief of the Air Service, and in 1931 was 

promoted to major general and named Chief of the Air 

Corps. Foulois proved a less-than-effective Air Corps 

leader. Always a hands-on individual, he tried to spend 

more time in the cockpit and less in the office. A firm 

advocate of strategic bombardment and an independent 

air force, his testimony before Congress was usually 

blunt and straightforward.

In 1934, Foulois agreed on short notice that the Air Corps 

could fly the US mail. The service proved ill-equipped for 

the effort and subsequently damaged Foulois’ reputation. 

However, through his efforts, the Air Corps received 

its first B-17 heavy bombers and organized General 

Headquarters (GHQ) Air Force in 1935, a significant 

step toward independence for the Air Force. Gen Foulois 

retired on 31 Dec 1935 and died on 25 Apr 1967.
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

General of the Air Force

Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold

General Arnold was an aviation pioneer and is generally 

recognized as the father of the modern US Air Force. 

He commanded the US Army Air Forces during World 

War II. Arnold was born in Gladwyne, PA, on 25 Jun 

1886 and graduated from West Point in 1907. Originally 

an infantryman, he became a flyer in 1911. His career 

paralleled the early development of US military 

aviation. In April 1911, the Signal Corps sent Arnold 

to Dayton, OH, where Wilbur and Orville Wright taught 

him to fly. In 1912, he won the 

first Mackay Trophy for making 

the most meritorious military 

flight of the year. Promoted 

to temporary colonel, Arnold 

spent almost all of World War 

I as the highest-ranking flying 

officer in Washington DC, and 

he would apply the lessons 

he learned during the Great 

War to the development of 

the US Army Air Forces during 

World War II. Arnold began 

his rise to command of the 

Army Air Corps during the 

interwar years, by serving in Air Service headquarters 

in Washington DC, and in several of the most important 

operational flying commands in the field. Promotion to 

lieutenant colonel came in 1931 and with it command 

of March Field CA. In 1934, he took command of the 

“western zone” of the US while the Air Corps made its 

disastrous attempt to fly the US mail. In 1934, Arnold 

again won the Mackay Trophy by leading a flight of 10 
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105

B-10 bombers from Washington DC to Fairbanks, AK. 

On 29 Sep 1938, Arnold became Chief of the Air Corps. 

On 30 Jun 1941, he became Commanding General of 

the US Army Air Forces (USAAF).

Gen Arnold commanded America’s aerial war effort in 

World War II. Under his direction the USAAF expanded 

from 22,000 officers and men with 3,900 planes to 

nearly 2,500,000 men and 75,000 aircraft at the height 

of the war. Throughout the war he remained committed 

to strategic bombardment and to laying the foundation 

for an independent air force following the war. He 

exercised direct command over the B-29s of Twentieth 

Air Force in 1944 and 1945 during their assault on 

Japan. Supervising the air war on a global scale proved 

a strenuous task. Arnold had a severe heart attack that 

led to his retirement on 30 Jun. 

On 7 May 1949, Congress appointed Arnold the first and 

only five-star General of the Air Force. (He became a 

five-star General of the Army in 1944). Hap Arnold died 

at his home in Sonoma, CA, on 15 Jan 1950. 
106

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Gen Carl A. “Tooey” Spaatz

General Spaatz, first Chief of Staff of the U. S. Air 

Force, was born on 28 Jun 1891, in Boyertown, PA. 

He graduated from West Point in 1914 and entered 

the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps in October 

1915. He won his wings in 1916. During World War I, 

Spaatz served in France. He flew in combat for only 

3 weeks, but managed to shoot down three German 

planes. Carl Spaatz was one of 

the pioneering aviators of the 

interwar years. For nearly 1 

week, between 1 - 7 Jan 1929, 

Spaatz and several other officers 

kept the Question Mark, a Fokker 

tri-motor, aloft over California. 

During the 151-hour flight, 

the Question Mark received 

some 37 air-to-air refuelings, 

nine at night. In June 1933, he 

was sent to Washington DC, as 

Chief of the Air Corps Training 

and Operations Division. While 

attending the Command and General Staff School 

at Fort Leavenworth KS, in September 1935, he was 

promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1936, Spaatz was 

sent to the 2d Bomb Wing at Langley Field VA, as 

executive officer. He returned to Washington in 1939 

to serve as Assistant Executive Officer to the Chief of the 

Air Corps. In November 1939, he pinned on his eagles 

and went to England as a military observer. In October 

1940, Spaatz returned to Washington to receive his first 

star and assume the position of Assistant to the Chief 

of the Air Corps.

After the war began, Spaatz advanced rapidly through 
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107

a succession of jobs. He commanded Eighth Air Force 

before becoming Commander of the Northwest African 

Air Forces. On 6 Jan 1944, Lt Gen Spaatz was given 

command of US Strategic Air Forces in Europe with the 

task of “softening up” Hitler’s “Fortress Europe” before 

the Allied invasion in June. Gen Spaatz pinned on his 

fourth star in March 1945, as he took over US Strategic 

Air Forces in the Pacific Theater. He supervised the 

final strategic bombing of Japan, including the atomic 

bomb missions against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 

August 1945.

In February 1946, Spaatz became Commanding General 

of the Army Air Forces and in September 1947, President 

Harry S. Truman appointed him Chief of Staff of the new 

United States Air Force. He retired on 30 Jun 1948. In 

retirement he was Chairman of the Civil Air Patrol and 

Chairman of the Board of the Air Force Association 

from 1940 to 1951. Gen Spaatz was a leading advocate 

of an Air Force Academy. He died in Washington DC, 

on 14 Jul 1974. 
108

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Lt Gen Frank Maxwell Andrews

General Andrews is considered by many to be one 

of the founding fathers of our modern Air Force and 

commander of the first combat air force. At the time of 

his death in an aircraft accident near Iceland on 3 May 

1943, Lt Gen Frank M. Andrews was one of the most 

promising Army Air Forces generals. Born in Nashville, 

TN, on 3 Feb 1884, he graduated from West Point in 

1906 and entered the cavalry. 

Andrews served at several posts 

from the Philippines to Vermont 

before joining the Aviation 

Division in August 1917 for 

duty in Washington, DC, at 

the Office of the Chief Signal 

Officer. In 1918, he was assigned 

to the Army General Staff ’s 

plans division. He was sent to 

Germany in August 1920 for 3 

years of public relations and civil 

affairs duties. Andrews returned 

to Kelly Field TX in 1923 to serve 

as an executive officer and, eventually, Commandant 

of Flying. After attending the Air Corps Tactical School, 

he was assigned to 2d Wing Headquarters, Langley 

Field VA as a staff officer. Andrews completed the Army 

War College in May 1933, and subsequently became 

Commander, 1st Pursuit Group at Selfridge Field MI. In 

October 1934, he returned to Washington for a second 

tour with the General Staff.

In March 1935, Brig Gen Andrews became the 

commander of the newly created General Headquarters 

Air Force (GHQAF). In August 1939, he became the 
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109

Army’s Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and 

Training. Early in 1940, Andrews pinned on his second 

star and in September 1941 was named commanding 

general of the Caribbean Defense Command.

Andrews’ third star came shortly after America entered 

World War II. Andrews became Commander, US Forces 

in the Middle East and, in February 1943, was named 

Commander, US Forces in the European Theater. His 

career might have rivaled that of Eisenhower or Arnold, 

had he not died in the aircraft accident in 1943. In June 

1949, Andrews AFB in Maryland was named in his 

honor.
110

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Gen Ira Clarence Eaker

Ira Eaker, aviation pioneer and articulate advocate of 

aerospace power, was born in Field Creek, TX, on 13 Apr 

1896. In 1917, he graduated from Southeastern State 

Teachers College. After commissioning as a lieutenant 

in the Army reserve, he attended flight school. His 

first assignment was to the Philippines, where Eaker 

did graduate work at the University of the Philippines 

before returning to Mitchel 

Field, New York in 1922. While 

serving in New York, he studied 

law at Columbia University.

Gen Eaker was a daring and 

innovative aviation pioneer. 

He was one of the pilots in the 

Pan-American goodwill tour of 

1926 and 1927. Additionally, 

he flew in the first extended 

aerial refueling experiment in 

1929, keeping a plane aloft for 

151 hours.

In the mid-thirties, as war clouds 

gathered over Europe, Ira Eaker returned to Washington, 

DC, to serve in the office of the Chief of the Air Corps. In 

1940, as a lieutenant colonel, he became commander 

of the 20th Pursuit Group at Hamilton Field. In January 

1942, shortly after the United States entered World 

War II, Eaker took command of the 8th Bomber 

Command and was promoted to brigadier general. A 

strong advocate of daylight strategic bombardment, 

he convinced Prime Minister Winston Churchill that it 

had merit. Eaker directed the daylight campaigns that 
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111

pounded the German military and industrial base of 

Nazi-occupied Europe and Germany.

In September 1943, after promotion to lieutenant general, 

he served as commander of the Mediterranean Allied Air 

Forces. After the war, until he retired from the Army in 

August 1947, Gen Eaker was Deputy Commander of the 

USAAF and Chief of the Air Staff.

In 1947, Gen Eaker joined the aerospace industry 

to become vice president of Hughes Tool Company, 

and, from 1957 to 1961, served as a vice president of 

Douglas Aircraft. In retirement, Gen Eaker remained 

active as a writer. His columns and articles appear in 

numerous newspapers and several military journals. 

President Reagan promoted him to four-star general 

on 10 April 1985. He died 6 Aug 1987.
112

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Maj Gen Oliver P. Echols

Logistics play a vital role in warfare. Oliver P. Echols, a 

pioneer logistician who coordinated the rapid expansion 

of America’s air arsenal during World War II, was born 

in Charlottesville, VA, on 4 Mar 1892.

Echols attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and 

the University of Virginia, graduating in 1913. Shortly 

after graduation he enlisted in the US Army. He was 

commissioned in 1916, then went 

to Europe with the Air Service 

in July 1917. He commanded 

the 1st Observation Group and 

later became chief of aviation 

for the 1st Army Corps. During 

World War I, Echols saw action in 

several battles including those 

of the Chateau-Thierry, Aisne, 

St. Mihiel, and in the MeuseArgonne offensive.

After the war, following several 

flying assignments, Echols served 

in the Air Corps Experimental 

Engineering Section from 1927 to 1930. The following 

year he became chief of the Air Corps Procurement 

Section. After graduating from the Air Corps Tactical 

School in 1932, Echols returned to the procurement 

field as Chief Engineer of the Air Corps Materiel Division. 

In 1938, he advanced to the assistant chief’s position. 

Echols won his first star in October 1940 and became 

chief of the division. Throughout World War II, Gen Echols 

coordinated the most massive aircraft procurement 

program in history, as Chief, AAF Materiel Division. In 

1947, Maj Gen Echols retired to become president of 

the Aircraft Industries Association. He died on 15 May 

1954.
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113

This pioneer in passenger care would later successfully 

combine her two careers (one of the first airline flight 

attendants and Air Force flight nurse) and become the most 

decorated woman in US military history. Keil became one 

of the first stewardesses hired by United Airlines when the 

United States entered World War II. She was later accepted 

into the Army Air Forces and by the summer of 1943, she 

was in England pulling wounded 

and frostbitten crewmen out of 

B-17s returning from bombing 

raids over Europe. On 06 June 

1944, she climbed aboard a 

C-47, D-Day had come with her 

heading for Normandy to collect 

the wounded. During the war, 

Keil made 250 evacuation flights, 

23 of them transatlantic. 

After World War II ended, Keil 

returned to United Airlines as 

an assistant chief stewardess. In 

1950, she returned to duty as an 

Air Force flight nurse and flew to Korea. During the next 16 

months, Keil flew 175 air evacuations out of Korea, logging 

1,400 hours of flight time, while assigned to the 801st 

Medical Air Evacuation Transportation Squadron. 

By rough calculation, the retired Army Air Forces captain 

tended to more than 10,000 wounded soldiers, sailors and 

Marines in the air. She was awarded 19 medals, including 

a European Theater medal with four battle stars, a Korean 

service medal with seven battle stars, four air medals and a 

Presidential Citation from the Republic of Korea.

Honored several times by her hometown of Covina Hills, 

Calif., she is still active with the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Capt Lillian K. Keil
114

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Gen George Churchill Kenney

The USAAF produced a number of great operational air 

commanders in World War II. Although such leaders as 

Spaatz, Eaker, LeMay, and Doolittle richly deserve the 

acclaim they have received, some historians and airmen 

would rank George C. Kenney first among equals for 

his ability to overcome severe organizational, logistical, 

personnel, technical, and strategic difficulties.

Kenney distinguished himself in 

World War I, flying 75 missions, 

downing two German planes, 

and receiving the Distinguished 

Service Cross and Silver Star.

His experience in the Army Air 

Corps between the wars gave 

him the kind of exceptional 

background that enabled him 

to command air forces with 

such success during World War 

II. He was the quintessential Air 

Corps officer in the sense that 

his experience encompassed a 

broad range of functions, from maintenance, supply, 

and production to strategy, tactics, and operations. 

He gained a reputation as a technical and tactical 

innovator.

In the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II, as 

commander of the Allied Air Forces and the Fifth Air 

Force, Kenney was MacArthur’s Airman. He created 

clear lines of authority and instituted new supply and 

maintenance programs. Confident without being 

cocky, he commanded with authority and won the 

respect and admiration of his men. Perhaps the most 
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115

daring and innovative commander of the war, Kenney 

gained Gen Douglas MacArthur’s confidence because 

he knew how to run combat air forces and produced 

results quickly.

With the end of the war in the Pacific, Gen Arnold cabled 

Kenney: “It may truthfully be said that no air commander 

ever did so much with so little.” MacArthur wrote: “Of 

all the commanders of our major Air Forces engaged in 

World War II, none surpassed General Kenney in those 

three great essentials of successful combat leadershipaggressive vision, mastery over air strategy and tactics, 

and the ability to exact the maximum in fighting quality 

from both men and equipment.” He died 9 Aug 1977.
116

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Gen James Harold Doolittle

In a career of long usefulness, Jimmy Doolittle was 

an air leader, aeronautical engineer, airplane racer, 

businessman, general, oil company executive, special 

assistant to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and holder of 

the Medal of Honor. Doolittle was born on 14 Dec 1896, 

in Alameda, CA. After a year at the California School 

of Mines he joined the Signal Corps Reserve in 1917 

and earned his wings in 1918. 

The next 4 years saw a variety 

of assignments in the aviation 

section of the Signal Corps 

during which he demonstrated 

exceptional ability as a pilot 

and as a daredevil. He also 

continued his education by 

earning a degree from the 

University of California in 1922, 

an M.A. from MIT in 1924, and a 

Ph.D. in 1925.

His aviation accomplishments 

b e c a m e l e g e n d a r y . I n 

September 1922, he flew a DH-4 coast-to-coast in 22 

hours, 35 minutes with only one refueling stop. In 1925 

he won the Schneider Cup race, setting a speed record 

for seaplanes at 245.713 mph. He helped develop fogflying equipment in 1928, which led to widespread use 

of the artificial horizontal and directional gyroscopes. 

He made the first “blind” flight completely dependent 

on instruments, for which he won the Harmon Trophy. 

He served as Army advisor on the building of Floyd 

Bennett Field in New York.

Doolittle resigned his regular commission in 1930 to 

become manager of Shell Oil’s aviation department. 
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117

As part of his duties with Shell Oil, he helped develop 

high octane gasoline and sold the Air Corps on the 

development of high-compression engines using 

that fuel.

Gen Hap Arnold brought Doolittle back to active duty in 

1940 to troubleshoot engine and aircraft development, 

but he is best remembered for leading the 18 Apr 1942 

B-25 raid on Tokyo launched from the deck of the aircraft 

carrier Hornet. Though all 16 aircraft were lost, the 

raid restored American morale and damaged Japanese 

confidence in victory. It won Doolittle the Medal of 

Honor and promotion to brigadier general.

Promoted to major general in November 1942, he 

commanded Twelfth Air Force in North Africa, and in 

January 1944 he took command of Eighth Air Force in 

England. He was promoted to lieutenant general on 13 

Mar 1944. 

After World War II, Doolittle returned to civilian life as 

vice president of Shell Oil. He was promoted to the rank 

of General on the Air Force Retired List in June 1985. 

He died on 27 Sep 1993.
118

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Maj Gen Claire Lee Chennault

Known affectionately as “Old Leather Face,” Claire 

Lee Chennault, famed leader of the Flying Tigers, was 

born in Commerce, TX, on 6 Sep 1890. He grew up in 

Louisiana and attended Louisiana State University before 

joining the US Army.

Chennault was commissioned a first lieutenant in 

November 1917 and earned his wings at Kelly Field 

TX, in 1919. During the 1920s, 

Chennault earned a reputation 

as a talented “stick and rudder 

man” and an absolute master 

of pursuit (fighter) tactics. Capt 

Chennault graduated from 

the Air Corps Tactical School 

(ACTS) in 1931, then remained 

at the school as an instructor, 

eventually becoming head of 

the Pursuit Section. During 

the 1930s, instructors at the 

ACTS such as Harold George, 

Robert Olds, and Kenneth 

Walker developed a doctrine of high altitude, daylight, 

precision bombing of key enemy industrial and military 

targets using heavy bombers. In contrast, Chennault 

argued an opposing viewpoint that denied bomber 

ascendancy, stressed the importance of pursuit 

aviation, and advocated a system of air defense based 

upon early warning of an enemy attack. Technology 

in the 1930s was not in Chennault’s favor. Bombers 

like the B-10 and B-17 became larger and faster, and 

pursuits fell increasingly behind. Forced to retired 

in 1937 for health reasons, Chennault went to China 
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119

shortly thereafter to train pilots for the Chinese Air 

Force.

In 1941, Chennault recruited American military pilots and 

organized the American Volunteer Group (AVG) under 

a carefully hidden Roosevelt Administration program 

to provide an air force for Chinese leader Chiang Kaishek. Chennault trained three squadrons of “Flying 

Tigers” in tactics he had developed that took advantage 

of the strengths of his Curtiss P-40s and exploited enemy 

weaknesses. 

Though the AVG did not enter combat until after Pearl 

Harbor, the unit gained fame for its victorious exploits 

during the first 6 months of World War II. In April 1942, 

the US Army Air Forces recalled Chennault to active duty 

in the grade of major general as Commander, Fourteenth 

Air Force, in China. In that capacity he fought two wars: 

one against the Japanese, and another against the supply 

and equipment problems in isolated China.

In October 1945, Gen Chennault retired again, and in 1946 

became president of the China-based Civil Air Transport 

Company and assisted Chiang Kai-shek’s losing fight 

against Chinese Communist forces. On 18 Jul 1958, the 

US Air Force promoted Chennault to the honorary rank of 

lieutenant general. He died 9 days later, on 27 Jul 1958. 
120

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Gen Curtis Emerson LeMay

Curtis E. LeMay, who made the Strategic Air Command 

the world’s premier force, was born on 15 Nov 1906. He 

attended Ohio State University and was commissioned 

through the ROTC program in 1928. His military career 

began in September 1928 with flight training at March 

Field CA.

Gen LeMay flew pursuit planes until 1937, when 

he transferred to the 2d 

Bomb Group at Langley Field 

VA. He gained a reputation 

as an outstanding pilot and 

an exceptional navigator. 

Accordingly, in late 1937 and 

early 1938, he served as lead 

navigator for two mass flights of 

B-17s to South America.

LeMay was promoted to captain 

in January 1940, major in March 

1941, and lieutenant colonel in 

January 1942. He pinned on 

eagles 3 months later, when he 

took command of the 305th Bombardment Group at 

Muroc, CA. Later that year his group joined the Eighth 

Air Force in England. LeMay’s no-nonsense approach to 

combat won him his first and second stars in September 

1943 and March 1944, respectively. In August 1944, he 

assumed command of the 20th Bomber Command in 

the Pacific. His B-29s were charged with destroying 

Japan’s war-making potential.

After the war, LeMay served at the Pentagon before his 

promotion and assignment as Commander, US Forces 
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121

in Europe, in October 1947. His success at directing 

the airlift of supplies to Berlin in 1948 made him the 

choice for Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Air Command 

(SAC), in October 1948.

LeMay made SAC the world’s most powerful nuclear 

force. In the days before the deployment of guided 

missiles, LeMay developed SAC’s policy of constant 

alert, keeping some bombers aloft at all times, ready to 

respond to a Soviet attack.

In 1957, Gen LeMay became Air Force Vice Chief 

of Staff and in June 1961 rose to Chief of Staff. He 

held that post until his retirement in February 1965. 

In 1968 he became the vice presidential candidate on 

the American Independent Party ticket with Alabama’s 

Governor George C. Wallace. After defeat in the 

November election, LeMay returned to private life as 

chairman of the board of an electronics firm. He died 

on 1 Oct 1990.
122

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Lt Gen William H. Tunner

Known as the outstanding practitioner of air logistics 

and air mobility in US Air Force history, Lt Gen William H. 

Tunner was born in Elizabeth, NJ, in 1906. He graduated 

from the US Military Academy in 1928, entered the Air 

Corps, and during the 1930s earned a reputation as an 

excellent pilot and hardworking, intelligence officer. 

Early during World War II, Tunner 

helped create the US Army Air 

Forces’ Ferrying Command. At 

the time that Ferrying Command 

became Air Transport Command 

(ATC), it was delivering 10,000 

aircraft monthly from factories 

at home to theaters of operation 

around the world.

In 1944, Tunner took com-mand 

of the “Hump” airlift operation 

supplying China from India 

over some of the world’s highest 

mountain ranges. The often 

appalling terrain and weather, 

and the shortages of equipment, facilities, and aircraft 

made the “Hump” a difficult operation. Tunner refined 

and standardized every element of flying the “Hump,” 

instituted assembly-line maintenance, systemized 

cargo-handling procedures, emphasized flight safety, 

and imbued the operation with a driving commitment 

to increased tonnage. In July 1945 alone, ATC delivered 

71,042 tons of cargo. In June 1948, ATC and the Naval 

Air Transport Service merged, becoming the Military Air 

Transport Service (MATS), and Tunner took command of 

its Atlantic Division. On 24 Jun 1948, the Soviet Union 
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123

blockaded the surface routes between Berlin and the 

Western zones of occupation in Germany. Allied leaders 

ordered an airlift to supply Berlin on 26 Jun. On 28 Jul, 

Tunner took command of the airlift, Operation Vittles. 

Tunner developed an intricate bridge of aircraft that 

flowed in and out of Berlin through narrow corridors in a 

steady stream. The Soviet Union lifted the blockade on 12 

May 1949. Operation Vittles delivered 2.3 million tons of 

cargo to Berlin. Under Tunner, the Berlin Airlift emerged as 

an enterprise of epic proportions that demonstrated the 

peaceful use of airpower as a political instrument.

When the Korean War broke out in June 1950, Gen Tunner 

took command of Combat Cargo Command (Provisional). 

Tunner showed how one fleet of cargo aircraft was 

sufficiently flexible to handle airborne assault, airdropped 

resupply, and airland movement of cargo and personnel in 

a combat theater. In the mid-1950s, Tunner commanded 

the US Air Forces in Europe.

In 1958, he took command of the Military Air Transport 

Service, where he was noted for his advocacy of large, 

jet-powered military transports to support the Air Force’s 

global mission. Gen Tunner retired in May 1960; he died 

6 Apr 1983. 
124

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Gen Charles P. Cabell

Gen Cabell was a pioneer in the field of air intelligence. 

He was born in Dallas, TX, in 1903. He graduated 

from the US Military Academy 12 Jun 1925, and was 

commissioned in the Field Artillery. After serving there 

for five years, he was then assigned to the Air Corps 

Primary Flying School at Brooks Field TX from which 

he graduated in February 1931. Next, he completed 

the observation course at Kelly 

Field TX and remained there as 

a flying instructor.

Lt Cabell joined the 7th 

Obser vation Squadron at 

France Field, Panama Canal 

Zone, as adjutant in October 

1931. He subsequently served 

as commanding officer of the 

44th Observation Squadron, 

the 24th Pursuit Squadron, 

and the 74th Pursuit Squadron, 

successively, at Albrook Field.

In September 1938 he entered 

the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field AL 

from which he graduated in June 1939. The following 

June, Maj Cabell was assigned to the Photographic 

Laboratory at Wright Field OH. After a period as 

an observer with the Royal Air Force in the United 

Kingdom, he was transferred to Washington DC, in 

April 1941 for duty in the Office of the Chief of Air 

Corps, as chief of the Photo Unit. In February 1942, 

Lt Colonel Cabell was made assistant executive for 

technical planning and coordination. The following 
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125

month, he became chief of the advisory council to the 

commanding general of the Army Air Forces.

From June to October 1943, Cabell attended the first 

course at the Army and Navy Staff College. He was 

assigned to the Eighth Air Force in the European Theater 

in October, and in December, assumed command of 

the 45th Combat Bombardment Wing. In April 1944, 

Brig Gen Cabell became director of plans for the US 

Strategic Air Force in Europe, and 3 months later was 

made director of operations and intelligence for the 

Mediterranean Allied Air Forces with headquarters at 

Caserta, Italy.

Gen Cabell was assigned to Air Force headquarters where 

he became chief of the Strategy and Policy Division in 

the Office of the Assistant Chief of Air Staff for Plans. 

In December, he was assigned with the Military Staff 

Committee of the United Nations. He became chief of 

Air Intelligence Requirements Division in the office of 

the Director of Intelligence in Nov 1947. On 15 May 

1948, he was appointed Director of Intelligence, US Air 

Force. On 1 Nov 1951 he was named director of the Joint 

Staff. He became deputy director of Central Intelligence 

on 23 Apr 1953. Gen Cabell retired 31 Jan 1962; he 

died 25 May 1971. 
126

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Gen Bernard A. Schriever

Born in Germany on 14 Sep 1910, Bernard A. Schriever 

is recognized as the architect of the Air Force’s ballistic 

missile and military space programs. He came to 

America in 1917 and was naturalized in 1923. Raised in 

San Antonio, TX, he graduated from Texas A&M in 1931 

with a BS degree in engineering. He was commissioned 

in the Field Artillery, but in July 1932 began flight training 

at Randolph Field and earned his 

wings and commission in the Air 

Corps in June 1933 at Kelly Field. 

He was assigned as a bomber 

pilot at March and Hamilton 

Fields, CA.

He participated in the ill-fated 

Army airmail fiasco during the 

winter of 1934. He went to 

Panama for duty at Albrook Field 

and in September 1937 left the 

Air Corps to fly as a commercial 

pilot. Schriever returned to 

active duty in October 1938 with 

the 7th Bomb Group at Hamilton and a year later became 

a test pilot at Wright Field, where he also attended the Air 

Corps Engineering School, graduating in July 1941. He 

then earned an MS degree in aeronautical engineering 

at Stanford University.

Schriever distinguished himself during World War II flying 

combat missions in the Pacific theater. He took part in 

the Bismarck Archipelago, Leyte, Luzon, Papua, North 

Solomon, South Philippine and Ryukyu campaigns. After 

the war, Schriever, now a colonel, went to Headquarters 

Army Air Forces as chief of scientific liaison in the Materiel 

directorate. In June 1950, he graduated from the National 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

127

War College and returned to the Pentagon. In June 1953 he 

was promoted to brigadier general. Schriever began his long 

association with Air Research and Development Command, 

later Systems Command, in June 1954 as assistant to the 

commander. Then, he was appointed to head the Western 

Development Division to organize and form what later 

became the Air Force’s ballistic missiles and space divisions 

that produced the Atlas, Titan, Thor, and Minuteman. He also 

produced the launchers and space systems that supported 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 

and other government agencies.

In Apr 1959, Schriever was named to head Air Research 

and Development Command. Two years later, he was 

promoted to four-star rank head of the new Air Force Systems 

Command (AFSC). 

He brought his systems approach to AFSC and applied it to 

major aeronautics and space programs. Schriever established 

437L, an anti-satellite system as part of his efforts to extend 

the Air Force’s mission into space. He personally headed the 

Manned Orbiting Laboratory Project. He retired in August 

1966. He is the only living person to have an Air Force base, 

formerly Falcon AFB, CO named for him. 
128

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Col Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran

Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran was born in 1910 in 

Pensacola, FL. She was the first female pilot to break 

the sound barrier, 18 May 1953. 

After taking flying lessons at Roosevelt Field on Long 

Island in 1932, she obtained her license in two and a half 

weeks, bought a plane, and began taking additional flying 

lessons from Ted Marshall, a Navy pilot.

In 1934, after obtaining a 

commercial pilot’s license, she 

entered the MacRobertson Race 

from London to Melbourne, 

Australia. Although she didn’t 

win the 12,000 mile race, she 

won the first leg.

In 1935, she founded a cosmetic 

company and used the business 

to help finance the races she 

entered. Next, she entered the 

Bendy, a cross-country race 

from Los Angeles to Cleveland. 

No woman had ever competed 

in this prestigious race. Cochran and Amelia Earhart 

were denied their initial applications to compete 

because of their gender. But they protested and were 

allowed to compete. Cochran’s plane had mechanical 

problems, but Earhart came in fifth. Cochran later 

won first place in the women’s division of the Bendix 

and third place overall in 1937 and first place in 1938. 

In 1938, Cochran flew from New York to Miami in a 

record-breaking 4 hours and 12 minutes. In 1939, she 

set a new altitude and international speed record and 

became the first woman to make a blind landing. In 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

129

1940, she broke the 2,000 kilometer international 

speed record. She received the Clifford Burke Harmon 

Trophy as the outstanding woman flier in the world in 

1938, 1939, and 1940. 

During World War II, she organized 25 women to fly for 

Great Britain and became the first woman to fly a bomber 

across the Atlantic. She received the Distinguished 

Service Medal for her services during the War.

In 1943, she was appointed to the staff of the US Army 

Air Forces and director of the Women’s Air force Service 

Pilots (WASP). She also set nine international speed, 

distance, and altitude jet records.

In 1971, she was inducted into the National Aviation Hall 

of Fame, “for outstanding contributions to aviation by 

her devotion to the advancement of the role of women in 

all of its aspects, and by establishing new performance 

records that advanced aeronautics.” In 1975, she became 

the first woman to be honored at the US Air Force 

Academy with a permanent display of her memorabilia. 

“Jackie” Cochran died on 7 Aug 1980.
130

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Gen Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr.

Gen Davis was the commander of the famed World War 

II “Tuskegee Airmen.” At the time of his retirement in 

1970, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., was the senior black officer 

in the armed forces. He was born in Washington, DC, 

on 18 Dec 1912, the son of Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., the 

first black general in the US Army.

After attending Case Western Reserve University 

and the University of Chicago, 

Benjamin Davis, Jr., graduated 

from West Point in 1936. 

Commissioned an infantry 

officer, Davis was an ROTC 

instructor at Tuskegee Institute 

from 1938 to 1941, when he 

became one of the first blacks 

admitted to pilot training.

Davis advanced rapidly in rank, 

making first lieutenant in June 

1939, captain in September 

1940, and major and lieutenant 

colonel in the same month, 

May 1942. In early 1942, soon after the US entered the 

war, Davis organized the 19th Fighter Squadron, an all 

black unit that saw action over North Africa, Sicily, and 

Italy. The following year, he organized the 332d Fighter 

Group, which flew in Italy, Germany, and the Balkans. 

In May 1944, Davis became a colonel.

After World War II, he commanded Dogman Field 

KY, from 1945 to 1946, and the 332d Fighter Wing at 

Lockbourne Field OH. After graduating from the Air 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

131

War College in 1950, he was named Chief, Fighter 

Development Branch, Headquarters USAF.

Davis went to the Far East in 1953 to command the 

51st Fighter Interceptor Wing in Korea. He pinned on 

his first star in October 1954. Next he became Director 

of Operations at Headquarters, Far East Air Forces, in 

Tokyo.

Gen Davis went to Ramstein, Germany, in 1957 as Chief 

of Staff, Twelfth Air Force. In June 1959, he became the 

first black officer in any service to hold two-star rank. 

From 1959 to 1961, he was Deputy Chief for Operations, 

USAFE. In 1961, Davis became Director of Manpower 

and Organization at Headquarters USAF, where he served 

until 1965. He then pinned on his third star and became 

Chief of Staff for US Forces and the United Nations 

Command in Korea. From 1968 until his retirement in 

1970, Gen Davis was Deputy Commander, US Strike 

Command, at McDill AFB, FL. 

Benjamin Davis was active after military retirement. In 

1970, he organized a special force of “sky marshals” 

to help combat aircraft hijacking. In July 1971, he was 

appointed Assistant Secretary of Transportation. He held 

that position until he retired in 1975. In a White House 

ceremony on 8 Dec 1998, President Clinton promoted him 

to the rank of general. The general died on 4 Jul 2002.
132

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Gen Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr.

Gen James distinguished himself as a combat leader in 

three wars, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Gen Daniel 

“Chappie” James, Jr., was born in Pensacola, FL, in 1920. 

After graduating from high school in the spring of 1937, 

James continued his studies at Tuskegee Institute, AL. 

Then, with war on the horizon, James enrolled in the 

government’s Civilian Pilot Training Program, which 

was opened for the first time 

to African Americans. From the 

beginning of World War II until 

1943, James served as a civilian 

flight instructor at Tuskegee 

Army Airfield. In July 1943, he 

was commissioned as a second 

lieutenant upon the successful 

completion of his flight training. 

James became one of the famed 

Tuskegee Airmen.

James completed fighter pilot 

training in Selfridge Field MI. 

Thereafter, he was assigned to 

various army air bases in the US to the war’s end and 

did not see combat in World War II. In September 1949, 

James became a flight commander of the 12th Fighter 

Bomber Squadron, 18th Fighter Wing, at Clark Field in 

the Philippines.

In the skies over Korea, James experienced his first 

combat, while piloting F-51 and F-80 aircraft. In all, he 

flew more than 100 combat missions. In mid-1951, James 

was reassigned to the US, where he continued flying as a 

jet fighter pilot while flight operations officer in the 58th 

Fighter Interceptor Squadron. In April 1953, he assumed 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

133

command of the 60th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron.

James’s career continued to rise when he was assigned 

to Air Force headquarters as a staff officer, Air Defense 

Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff (DCS) for 

Operations. In July 1960, James went to Great Britain, 

where he held numerous leadership positions in 81st 

Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW), among them commanding 

the 92d Tactical Fighter Squadron, Royal Air Force 

Bentwaters, England. He later became the deputy 

commander for operations of the 81st TFW. 

James next saw combat during the Vietnam War. In June 

1967, he became the vice commander of the 8th TFW 

under commander Colonel Robin Olds. He flew 80 

combat missions over North Vietnam. In the summer of 

1969, James became the commander of a fighter wing at 

Wheelus, Libya.

In September 1974, he served as the vice commander 

at Headquarters Military Airlift Command. He was 

promoted to four-star general on 1 Sep 1975 as he took 

command of the North American Air Defense Command 

(NORAD) and US Air Defense Command (ADCOM). 

James then served as special assistant to the Chief of Staff 

of the Air Force in December 1977. 

After a long and distinguished career, he retired 1 Feb 

1978 and died 25 Feb 1978. 
134

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Airman First Class John Lee Levitow, an AC-47 gunship 

loadmaster, became the lowest ranking Airman ever 

to receive the Medal of Honor for exceptional heroism 

during wartime. Born in Hartford, CT, Levitow attended 

Glastonbury High School. First, he was trained in the civil 

engineering career field, and later cross-trained into the 

loadmaster career field. After flying with C-130s out of 

McGuire Air Force Base, NJ, he 

was sent to Vietnam. 

On 24 Feb 1969, A1C Levitow 

w a s h a n d l i n g M a r k 2 4 

magnesium flares aboard 

“Spooky 71” when his pilot 

threw the AC-47 and its eightman crew into a turn to engage 

Viet Cong whose muzzle flashes 

were visible outside Long Binh 

Army Base. The aircraft, an 

armed version of the C-47 

Skytrain transport, had been 

flying a night mission in the Tan Son Nhut Air Base area 

when Long Binh came under attack 

Suddenly, Spooky 71 was jarred by a tremendous explosion 

and bathed in a blinding flash of light. A North Vietnamese 

Army 82-millimeter mortar shell had landed on top of the 

right wing and exploded inside the wing frame. The blast 

raked the fuselage with flying shrapnel. Everyone in the 

back of Spooky 71 was wounded. Despite his wounds, 

Levitow came to the rescue of a fellow crewmember who 

was perilously close to the open cargo door. As he dragged 

his buddy back toward the center of the cabin, Levitow 

saw something even worse: a loose, burning 27 pound 

magnesium flare had been knocked free in the fuselage and 

Airman First Class John Lee Levitow
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

135

was rolling amid ammunition cans that contained 19,000 

rounds of live ammunition. 

Through a haze of pain and shock, Levitow, with 40 

shrapnel wounds in his legs, side and back, realized he was 

the closest crewmember to the flare. Fighting a 30–degree 

bank, Levitow crawled to the flare, but was unable to grasp 

it to pick it up. He threw himself bodily upon the burning 

flare. Hugging it to his body, he dragged himself back to 

the rear of the aircraft, leaving a trail of blood behind. Not 

knowing how long the flare had been burning, he hurled 

it through the open cargo door. At that instant, the flare 

separated and ignited in the air, but clear of the aircraft. 

When the aircraft finally returned to the base, the extent 

of the damage became apparent. The AC-47 had more 

than 3,500 holes in the wings and fuselage, one measuring 

more than 3 feet long. Levitow spent about two-and-a-half 

months in a hospital and upon his recovery was sent back 

to Vietnam for another tour of duty. He was returned to the 

United States to receive the Medal of Honor from President 

Nixon in ceremonies at the White House on Armed Forces 

Day, May 14, 1970. 

He was promoted to sergeant before his discharge from the 

Air Force fours years later. On 22 Jan 1998, in Long Beach, 

CA, Air Mobility Command struck a resounding chord for 

the Air Force enlisted by naming of a C-17 Globemaster 

II, “The Spirit of John Levitow.” 

Levitow worked for the state of Connecticut designing 

veterans programs until his death on 8 Nov 2000 after a 

lengthy battle with cancer. He was buried 17 Nov 2000 at 

Arlington National Cemetery with military honors. 

In his memory, the Levitow Honor Graduate Award 

is presented to the top professional military education 

graduate from Air Force Airman Leadership Schools. The 

737th Training Group headquarters building at Lackland 

AFB, TX, has been named in his honor.
136

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Staff Sergeant William H. Pitsenbarger

On 11 Apr 1966, a 21-year-old known as “Pits” to his 

friends was killed while defending wounded comrades 

in arms. For his bravery and sacrifice, pararescueman, 

Staff Sergeant William H. Pisenbargar was posthumously 

awarded the nation’s highest military decorations, the 

Medal of Honor and the Air Force Cross, becoming the first 

enlisted Airman to receive both medals posthumously. 

Pitsenbarger was born in 1945 and grew up in Piqua, OH, 

a small town near Dayton, OH. After he graduated from 

high school, he joined the Air 

Force on New Year’s Eve 1962. 

After completing pararescue 

training in 1965, he received 

orders to report to Detachment 

6, 38th Air Rescue and Recovery 

Squadron at Bien Hoa Air Base 

near Saigon, Republic of South 

Vietnam. His unit, composed of 

five aircrews, flew three HH-43F 

Kaman “Huskie” helicopters. 

His commander, Maj. Maurice 

Kessler, once referred to 

Pitsenbarger as “One of a special 

breed. Alert and always ready to go on any mission.” 

Pitsenbarger flew almost 300 rescue missions while 

in Vietnam, routinely risking his life rescuing downed 

soldiers and Airmen. 

On 11 Apr 1966, Airman Pitsenbarger was aboard a rescue 

helicopter responding to a call for evacuation of casualties 

incurred in an ongoing firefight between elements of the 

United States Army’s 1st Infantry Division and a sizeable 

enemy force approximately 35 miles east of Saigon. Upon 

reaching the site of the ambush, and with complete disregard 

for his own safety, he descended from the helicopter. On the 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

137

ground, he organized and coordinated rescue efforts, cared 

for the wounded, prepared casualties for evacuation, and 

insured that the recovery operation continued in a smooth 

and orderly fashion—several times refusing evacuation 

himself. 

After some of the wounded men had been flown to an aid 

station, the two Air Force helicopters returned for second 

loads. At that point, one of the rescue helicopters was hit by 

a burst of enemy small arms fire as it lowered a litter basket 

to Pitsenbarger. When its engine began to lose power, the 

pilot realized he had to get the helicopter away from the area 

as soon as possible. Instead of climbing into the litter basket 

so he could leave with the helicopter, Pitsenbarger chose to 

remain with the Army troops under enemy attack and gave 

a “wave-off” to the helicopter, which flew away to safety. 

With heavy mortar and small-arms fire, the helicopters 

couldn’t return to rescue the rescuer.

As the battle raged on, he repeatedly exposed himself to 

enemy fire to care for the wounded, pull them out of the 

line of fire, and return fire whenever he could, during which 

time he was wounded three times. When the others began 

running low on ammunition, he gathered ammo clips from 

the dead and distributed them to those still alive. Then, 

he joined the others with a rifle to hold off the Viet Cong. 

Pitsenbarger was killed by Viet Cong snipers later that night. 

When his body was recovered the next day, one hand still 

held a rifle and the other clutched a medical kit.

Although Pitsenbarger didn’t escape alive, nine other men 

did, thanks to his courage and devotion to duty. On 8 Dec 

2000, the Airman’s father, William F. Pitsenbarger, and his 

wife, Alice, accepted the Medal of Honor from Secretary 

of the Air Force Whit Peters. The audience included battle 

survivors, hundreds of pararescue airmen, a congressional 

representative and the Air Force Chief of Staff. He was 

also posthumously promoted to staff sergeant. The US 

Navy also named an Air Force munitions preposition ship 

the MV A1C William H. Pitsenbarger. 
138

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Col Eileen M. Collins

Col Collins is the first female to command a space 

shuttle mission. An officer in the Air Force and astronaut 

with NASA, Col Eileen M. Collins was born in November 

1956, in Elmira, NY. She earned a BA in mathematics 

and economics at Syracuse University in 1978; an 

MS in operations research from Stanford University 

in 1986; and an MA in space systems management 

from Webster University in 

1989. Collins graduated from 

Air Force Undergraduate Pilot 

Training at Vance AFB OK in 

1979. Subsequently, she served 

as a T-38 instructor pilot at 

Vance, and in 1983 became 

a C-141 aircraft commander 

and instructor pilot at Travis 

AFB, CA. From 1986 to 1989, 

she was an assistant professor 

in mathematics and a T-41 

instructor pilot at the US Air 

Force Academy. Col Collins 

has logged over 5,000 hours in 30 different types of 

aircraft. 

In January 1990, NASA selected Colonel Collins for 

the astronaut program while she was attending the 

Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, CA. She 

became an astronaut in July 1991. Initially, NASA 

assigned Col Collins to orbiter engineering support. 

Subsequently, she also served on the astronaut support 

team responsible for orbiter prelaunch checkout, 

final launch configuration, crew ingress/egress, and 

landing/ recovery. She also worked in Mission Control 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

139

as a spacecraft communicator. In addition to these 

duties, Col Collins also served as the Astronaut Office 

Spacecraft Systems Branch Chief, Chief Information 

Officer, Shuttle Branch Chief, and Astronaut Safety 

Branch Chief.

A veteran of three space flights, Collins has logged over 

537 hours in space. STS-63 was the first flight of the 

new joint Russian-American Space Program. Mission 

highlights included the rendezvous with the Russian 

Space Station Mir, the deployment and retrieval of an 

astronomy satellite, and a space walk. On this mission, 

Col Collins became the first female pilot of a space 

shuttle.

She flew on STS-84 aboard the Atlantis from 15 to 24 

May 1997, NASA’s sixth Shuttle mission to rendezvous 

and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. During this 

flight, the crew transferred nearly four tons of supplies 

and experimental equipment. 

During STS-93, flown by the shuttle Columbia, 22-27 

Jul 1999, she became the first woman to command a 

shuttle mission. This mission featured deployment of the 

Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Col Collins remains with 

NASA and is assigned to command STS-114, planned 

for launch in 2005.
140

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Born on 27 Mar 1975, Senior Airman Jason D. 

Cunningham was awarded the Air Force Cross for 

extraordinary heroism in military operations.The 

President of the United States of America, awarded 

the Air Force Cross to Senior Airman Cunningham 

for operations against an opposing armed force 

while serving as a pararescueman near the village of 

Marzak in the Paktia Province of 

Afghanistan on 4 Mar 2002. 

On that proud day, Airman 

Cunningham was the primary 

Air Force Combat Search and 

Rescue medic assigned to a Quick 

Reaction Force tasked to recover 

t wo American ser vicemen 

evading capture in austere terrain 

occupied by massed Al Qaida and 

Taliban forces. 

Shortly before landing, his MH47E helicopter received accurate 

rocket-propelled grenade and 

small arms fire, severely disabling 

the aircraft and causing it to crash land. The assault 

force formed a hasty defense and immediately suffered 

three fatalities and five critical casualties. 

Despite effective enemy fire, and at great risk to his 

own life, Airman Cunningham remained in the burning 

fuselage of the aircraft in order to treat the wounded. As 

he moved his patients to a more secure location, mortar 

rounds began to impact within fifty feet of his position. 

Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

141

Disregarding this extreme danger, he continued the 

movement and exposed himself to enemy fire on seven 

separate occasions. 

When the second casualty collection point was also 

compromised, Airman Cunningham braved an intense 

small arms and rocket-propelled grenade attack while 

repositioning the critically wounded to a third collection 

point. Even after he was mortally wounded and his 

condition quickly deteriorating, he continued to direct 

patient movement and transferred care to another medic. 

In the end, his distinct efforts led to the successful 

delivery of ten gravely wounded Americans to life-saving 

medical treatment. 
142

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Medal of Honor

Recipients

Bleckley, 2d Lt

Erwin R.

Wichita, KS

6 Oct 1918

Goetller, 1st Lt 

Harold E.

Chicago, IL

6 Oct 1918

Luke, 2d Lt 

Frank Jr.

Phoenix, AZ

29 Sep 1918

Rickenbacker, 1st Lt

Edward V.

Columbus, OH

25 Sep 1918

Baker, Lt Col

Addison E.

Chicago, IL

1 Aug 1943

Bong, Maj

Richard I.

Poplar, WI

10 Oct - 15 Nov 

1944

Carswell, Maj

Horace S. Jr.

Fort Worth, TX

26 Oct 1944

Castle, Brig Gen

Frederick W.

Manila, 

Philippines

24 Dec 1944
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

143

Cheli, Maj Ralph

San Francisco, CA

18 Aug 1943

Craw, Col

Demas T.

Traverse City, MI

8 Nov 1942

Doolittle, Lt Col 

James H.

Alameda, CA

18 Apr 1942

Erwin, SSgt 

Henry E.

Adamsville, AL

12 Apr 1945

Femoyer, 2d Lt 

Robert E.

Huntington, WV

2 Nov 1944

Gott, 1st Lt 

Donald J.

Arnett, OK

9 Nov 1944

Hamilton, Maj 

Pierpont M.

Tuxedo Park, NY

8 Nov 1942

Howard, Lt Col 

James H.

Canton, China

11 Jan 1944

Hughes, 2d Lt

Lloyd H.

Alexandria, LA

1 Aug 1943

Jerstad, Maj 

John L.

Racine, WI

1 Aug 1943

Johnson, Col

Leon W.

Columbia, MO

1 Aug 1943

Kane, Col. 

John R.

McGregor, TX

1 Aug 1943

Kearby, Col Neel E.

Wichita Falls, TX

11 Oct 1943

Kingsley, 2d Lt

David R.

Portland, OR

23 Jun 1944

Knight, 1st Lt

Raymond L.

Houston, TX

25 Apr 1945

Lawley, 1st Lt

William R. Jr.

Leeds, AL

20 Feb 1944
144

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Lindsey, Capt 

Darrell R.

Jefferson, IA

9 Aug 1944

Mathies, Sgt 

Archibald

Scotland

20 Feb 1944

Mathis, 1st Lt. 

Jack W.

San Angelo, TX

18 Mar 1943

McGuire. Maj 

Thomas B. Jr.

Ridgewood, NJ

25-26 Dec 1944

Metzger, 2d Lt 

William E. Jr.

Lima, OH

9 Nov 1944

Michael, 1st Lt 

Edward S.

Chicago, IL

11 Apr 1944

Morgan, 2d Lt 

John C.

Vernon, TX

28 Jul 1943

Pease, Capt 

Harl Jr.

Plymouth, NH

7 Aug 1942

Pucket, 1st Lt

Donald D.

Longmont, CO

9 Jul 1944

Sarnoski, 2d Lt 

Joseph R.

Simpson, PA

16 Jun 1943

Shomo, Maj 

William A.

Jeannette, PA

11 Jan 1945

Smith, Sgt 

Maynard H.

Garo, MI

1 May 1943

Truemper, 2d Lt 

Walter E.

Aurora, IL

20 Feb 1944

Vance, Lt Col 

Leon R. Jr.

Enid, OK

5 Jun 1944

Vosler, TSgt 

Forrest L.

Lyndonville, NY

20 Dec 1943

Walker, Brig 

Gen Kenneth N.

Cerritos, NM

5 Jan 1943
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

145

Wilkins, Maj 

Raymond H.

Portsmouth, Va.

2 Nov 1943

Zeamer, Maj 

Jay Jr.

Carlisle, PA

16 Jun 1943

Davis, Maj 

George A. Jr.

Dublin, TX

10 Feb 1952

Loring, Maj 

Charles J. Jr.

Portland, ME

22 Nov 1952

Sebille, Maj 

Louis J.

Harbor Beach, MI

5 Aug 1950

Walmsley, Capt 

John S. Jr.

Baltimore, MD

14 Sep 1951

Bennett, Capt

Steven L.

Palestine, TX 

29 Jun 1972

Day, Maj George E.

Sioux City, IA

Conspicuous gallantry

while POW

26 Aug 1967

Dethlefsen, Maj 

Merlyn H.

Greenville, IA

10 Mar 1967

Fisher, Maj 

Bernard F.

San Bernardino, CA

10 Mar 1966

Fleming, 1st Lt

James P.

Sedalia, MO

26 Nov 1968

Jackson Lt Col

Joe M.

Newman, GA

12 May 1968

Jones, Col. 

William A. III

Warsaw, VA

1 Sep 1968

Levitow, A1C

John L.

South Windsor, CT

24 Feb 1969

Pitsenbarger, 

A1C William H

Piqua, OH

11 Apr 1966

Sijan, Capt Lance P.

Milwaukee, WI Conspicuous gallantry while POW

9 Nov 1967
146

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Special Medal of Honor Recipients

Col W.C. 

“Billy”

Mitchell 

29 Dec 1879

Nice, France

...for 

outstanding 

pioneer 

service and 

foresight in 

the field of 

American 

military 

aviation...

Special Gold

8 Aug 1946

Posthumus Award 

Lt Gen Ira C. 

Eaker

13 Apr 1896

Field Creek, TX

...for 

contributing 

immeasurably 

to the 

development 

of aviation 

and to the 

security of his 

country...

Special Gold

10 Oct 1978

Brig Gen 

Charles 

Elwood Yeager

13 Feb 1923

Myra, WV

...for conspicuous 

gallantry and 

total disregard 

for his personal 

safety as pilot of 

the first fasterthan-sound 

flight.

Broke sound 

barrier

14 Oct 1947...

Special Silver

23 Dec 1975

Col Charles A. 

Lindbergh 

4 Feb 1902

Detroit, MI

...for 

displaying 

heroic 

courage and 

skill as pilot 

and navigator 

of the first 

nonstop, 

transatlantic 

flight...

Special Gold

4 May 1928

Thorsness, Maj 

Leo K.

Walnut Grove, MN

19 Apr 1967

Wilbanks, Capt 

Hilliard A.

Cornelia, GA

24 Feb 1967

Young, Capt 

Gerald O.

Chicago, IL

9 Nov 1967
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

147

Air Force Top 10 Aces

World War I Aces

Name Rank Victories

Rickenbacker, Edward V., Capt 26

Luke, Frank, Jr., 2d Lt 18

Vaughn, George A. 1st Lt 13

Kindley, Field E., 1st Lt 12

Springs, Elliott W. 1st Lt 12

Landis, Reed G. 1st Lt 10

Swaab, Jacques M. 1st Lt 10

Baer, Paul P. 1st Lt 9 

Cassady, Thomas G. 1st Lt 9 

Hamilton, Lloyd A. 1st Lt 9

World War II Aces

Bong, Richard I. Maj 40

McGuire, Thomas B., Jr, Maj 38

Gabreski, Francis S. Lt Col 28 

Johnson, Robert S. Capt 27

MacDonald, Charles H. Col 27

Preddy, George E. Maj 26.83

Meyer, John C. Lt Col 24 

Schilling, David C. Col 22.5

Johnson, Gerald R. Lt Col 22

Kearby, Neel E. Col 22

Korean War Aces

McConnell, Joseph C., Jr. Capt 16

Jabara, James Maj 15

Fernandez, Manuel J. Capt 14.50

Davis, George A., Jr. Maj 14

Baker, Royal N. Col 13

Blesse, Frederick C. Maj 10

Fischer, Harold E. 1st Lt 10

Garrison, Vermont Lt Col 10

Johnson, James K. Col 10

Moore, Lonnie R. Capt 10

Vietnam War Aces

DeBellevue, Charles B Capt 6 

Feinstein, Jeffrey S Capt 5 

Ritchie, Richard S. Capt 5
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The enlisted member of the Total Force represent the 

backbone of the Air Force. The Senior NCOs, NCOs 

and Airmen that comprise the enlisted force have 

made and continue to make invaluable contributions 

to the success of America’s Air Force. Their stories 

that follow illustrate the dedication, courage, and 

valor with which the enlisted forces serves each and 

everyday and inspire all Airmen.

The Enlisted Force

Staff Sergeant Archibald Mathies 

The final Medal of Honor earned by a US Army Air 

Force (USAAF) enlisted man in the European Theater 

was awarded posthumously to Scotland native Staff 

Sergeant “Archie” Mathies of the 351st 

Bomber Group. Serving as engineer 

and ball turret gunner, on 20 Feb 1944, 

Mathies’ aircraft was severely damaged 

in a frontal attack by enemy fighters 

over Leipzig, Germany. The attack killed 

the copilot and wounded the pilot, 

rendering him unconscious. Sergeant 

Carl Moore, the plane’s top turret 

gunner, managed to pull the aircraft 

from its spin, and he and Mathies 

managed to fly the aircraft back to 

England. Surviving crewmembers were 

ordered to bailout. All but Mathies and 

the navigator, Lieutenant Walter Truemper, complied. 

Demonstrating unsurpassed courage and heroism, 

the pair refused to abandon their unconscious 

crewmate—the pilot. On the third attempt to land, 

the aircraft crashed, killing all aboard. 
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Staff Sergeant Henry E. Erwin

On 12 Apr 1945, Staff Sergeant “Red” Erwin of the 29th 

Bombardment Group earned the USAAF enlisted corps’ 

final Medal of Honor in the Pacific Theater for action 

during World War II. The 23-year old 

Adamsville, AL, native served as a radio 

operator aboard a B-29 attacking a 

chemical plant at Koriyama, Japan. 

As the aircraft began its bomb run 

and encountered enemy fighter 

opposition, the phosphorescent flare 

Erwin prepared to release ignited 

prematurely and began to burn 

through the floor of the aircraft. 

Already blinded and badly injured by 

the flare, he cradled the 1300-degree 

Fahrenheit flare and hurled it through the copilot’s 

window. Badly burned and not expected to survive, 

Erwin received the Medal of Honor from General Curtis 

LeMay just over a week after the Koriyama mission. 

However, Erwin did survive the incident, as well as 

dozens of subsequent operations. 

CMSgt Wayne L. Fisk

CMSgt Fisk served four tours of duty in SEA as a 

pararescueman (PJ) and is widely recognized as the 

last American serviceman to engage Communist forces 

in ground combat in Southeast Asia, during the USS 

Mayaguez rescue operation—earning his second Silver 

Star. In May 1975, Fisk was a member of the assault 

force that successfully recovered the merchant ship 

Mayaguez seized by Cambodian forces, its crew, and the 

entrapped United States Marines from the island of Koh 

Tang. CMSgt Fisk earned his first Silver Star earlier as 

a participant in the attempted rescue of POWs—thought 
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to be held at the Son Tay prison camp. He was also a 

member of the USAF primary recovery team for Apollo 

space missions VIII, IX, and X. 

CMSgt Richard L. Etchberger

CMSgt Etchberger was serving in Laos when Peoples 

Army of Vietnam forces overran his radar site 11 

Mar 1968. Under heavy fire, he 

continued to defend his comrades, 

call in air strikes, and direct an 

air evacuation. When a rescue 

helicopter arrived, the chief put 

himself in the line of fire while 

placing three other Airmen in rescue 

slings. He was fatally wounded by 

enemy ground fire as he was finally 

being rescued. His fierce defense 

culminated in the supreme sacrifice 

of his life, saved not only the lives of 

his three comrades but provided for 

the successful evacuation of the remaining survivors 

of the base. For extradordinary heroism, superb 

leadership, and aggressiveness CMSgt Etchberger was 

posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross. 

TSgt Timothy A. Wilkinson

TSgt Wilkinson was awarded the Air Force Cross for 

extraordinary heroism in military operations against an 

opposing armed force as a 24th Special Tactics Squadron 

Pararescueman in the vicinity of the Olympic Hotel, 

Mogadishu, Somalia, from 03 – 04 Oct 1993. When 

US UH-60 helicopter had been shot down by a rocket 

propelled grenade (RPG), TSgt Wilkinson conducted a 

fast rope insertion into the crash site and came under 

extremely heavy enemy fire from 3 directions. He 
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repeatedly exposed himself to intense small arms fire 

and grenades to clear debris, provide emergency medical 

treatment to survivors, and extract dead and wounded 

members of the downed helicopter. On his own initiative, 

he broke cover on 3 separate occasions while under 

intense fire to locate and provide medical treatment to 3 

US Army Ranger casualties. TSgt Wilkinson’s medical 

skills and uncommon valor saved the lives of multiple 

gravely wounded American soldiers in the longest 

sustained fire fight (18 hours) involving United States 

combat forces in over 20 years. 
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Chief of Staff’s Reading List

The Chief of Staff provides a list of recommended 

reading that promotes a broad understanding of where 

we’ve been as an Air Force, the challenges and demands 

we face today, and a clear vision to the future. 

The reading list is a dynamic list to remain relevant to 

changing times and situations. Their selection does 

not imply the Chief of Staff’s or the US Air Force’s 

endorsement of the authors’ views or interpretations. 

These books are made available to you through our 

institutional schools at Air University, each Air Force 

library, bookstores, and through on-line services. The 

most recent reading list can be accessed at: 

www.af.mil/library/

csafreading/ 

Each Airman should develop 

strong reading habits to further 

their intellectual development. 

One of the best ways we each 

can serve our nation is to 

continue our growth toward 

increased responsibility and 

the leadership challenges 

that come with it. We owe it 

to ourselves to continue our 

professional development to 

continue to hone our quality 

edge.

C H I E F O F S T A F F

U N IT E D S T A T E S A IR F O R C E

AIRMAN
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Quotations

CHARACTER

“Duty then is the sublimest word in the English 

language. You should do your duty in all things. You 

can never do more. You should never wish to do less.”

General Robert E. Lee

“The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free 

country reliable in battle is not to be gained by 

harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, 

such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to 

make an army. It is possible to impart instruction 

and to give commands in such a manner and such a 

tone of voice as to inspire in the soldier no feeling 

but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite 

manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong 

resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or 

the other of dealing with subordinates springs from a 

corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. 

He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot 

fail to inspire in them respect for himself, while he 

who feels and hence manifests, disrespect toward 

others, especially his subordinates, cannot fail to 

inspire hatred against himself.”

Maj Gen John M. Schofield,

to the graduating class of 1879 at West Point
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“Character is much easier kept than recovered.”

Thomas Paine, 1783

“The foundation of leadership is character.”

General Alexander M. Patch

“Boldness governed by superior intellect is the mark 

of a hero.”

Karl Von Clausewitz, On War

“The most important thing I learned is that soldiers 

watch what their leaders do. You give them classes 

and lecture them forever, but it is your personal 

example they will follow.”

General Colin J. Powell, Chairman, JCS

“Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses 

men most.”

Greek Historian Thucydides

“Discipline is that trait of character which renders 

punishment unnecessary.”

Anonymous
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HONOR

“Nobody can acquire honor by doing what is wrong.”

President Thomas Jefferson

“You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, 

because it is better to perish than live as slaves.”

Winston Churchill, after the Battle of Britain

“If I lose mine honor, I lose myself.”

William Shakespeare,

1607 Anthony & Cleopatra

PERSONAL INTEGRITY

“He who permits himself to tell a lie once finds it much 

easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it 

becomes habitual; he tells a lie without attending to it, 

and truths without the world believing it.”

President Thomas Jefferson

“Integrity is the fundamental premise for military service 

in a free society. Without integrity, the moral pillars of our 

military strength, public trust, and self-respect are lost.”

General Charles A. Gabriel,

Chief of Staff, USAF
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“A [person] has integrity if his interest in the good 

of the service is at all times greater than his personal 

pride, and when he holds himself to the same line 

of duty when unobserved as he would follow if his 

superiors were present.”

General S.L.A. Marshall

PATRIOTISM

“Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words 

reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can 

be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to 

build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain 

faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to 

create hope when hope becomes forlorn.”

General of the Army Douglas MacArthur

“What you have chosen to do for your country by 

devoting your life to the service of your country is the 

greatest contribution that any[one] can make.”

President John F. Kennedy

“An officer’s ultimate commanding loyalty at all times 

is to his country, and to his service or to his superiors.”

General of the Army George C. Marshall
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Air Force Senior Leadership

President of the

United States 

of America

George W. Bush

Secretary of Defense

Honorable Donald Rumsfeld

Secretary of 

the Air Force

Michael W. Wynne

Air Force 

Chief of Staff

General T. Michael Moseley
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George W. Bush is the 43rd President of the United 

States. He was sworn into office January 20, 2001. 

He is Commander-In-Chief of U. S. Armed Forces.

President Bush was born on July 6, 1946, in New 

Haven, CT. The son of President George Herbert 

Walker Bush, George W. Bush grew up in Midland 

and Houston, TX. He received a bachelor’s degree 

from Yale University in 1968, then served as an F102 fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. 

President Bush received a Master of Business 

Administration from Harvard Business School in 

1975. 

President Bush served as the 46th Governor of the 

State of Texas, from January 17, 1995 to December 

21, 2000, resigning as governor in the middle of 

his second term to become President of the United 

States. 

President Bush is married to Laura Welch Bush, a 

former teacher and librarian, and they have twin 

daughters, Barbara and Jenna.
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Donald H. Rumsfeld was sworn in as the 21st Secretary 

of Defense on January 20, 2001. Secretary Rumsfeld 

is responsible for directing the actions of the Defense 

Department. Under his leadership, the department 

has developed a new defense strategy and replaced 

the old model for sizing forces with a newer approach 

more relevant to the 21st century. Secretary Rumsfeld 

proposed, and the President approved, a significant 

reorganization of the worldwide command structure, 

known as the Unified Command Plan, that resulted in 

the establishment of the U. S. Northern Command and 

the U. S. Strategic Command, the latter charged with the 

responsibilities formerly held by the Strategic and Space 

Commands which were disestablished. 
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Oath of Office

I, (Full Name), having been appointed a (Rank) in 

the United States Air Force, do solemnly swear (or 

affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution 

of the United States against all enemies, foreign and 

domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to 

the same; that I take this obligation freely, without 

any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and 

that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of 

the office upon which I am about to enter, SO HELP 

ME GOD.

Oath of Enlistment

I, (state your full name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) 

that I will support and defend the Constitution of 

the United States against all enemies, foreign and 

domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance 

to the same, and that I will obey the orders of the 

President of the United States and the orders of the 

officers appointed over me according to regulations 

and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, SO HELP 

ME GOD.

Civilian Oath

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and 

defend the Constitution of the United States against 

all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear 

true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this 

obligation freely, without any mental reservation or 

purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully 

discharge the duties of the office on which I am about 

to enter: SO HELP ME GOD.
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Institutional

Values
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USAF Mission Statement

To Defend the United States 

 and Protect its Interests 

 Through Air & Space Power

Core Values

Integrity First • Service Before Self 

Excellence in All We Do

USAF Vision Statement

Global Vigilance, Reach, and Power

The Air Force core values are the bedrock foundation 

of the Air Force. The core values are a statement of 

those institutional values and principles of conduct that 

provide the moral framework within which military 

activities take place. The professional Air Force ethic 

consists of three fundamental and enduring values of 

integrity, service, and excellence. This ethic is the set 

of values that guide the way Air Force members live 

and perform. Success hinges on the incorporation of 

these values. In today’s time-compressed, dynamic, and 

dangerous modern battlespace an Airman does not have 

the luxury of examining each issue at leisure. He or she 

must fully internalize these values so as to know how to 

automatically act in all situations—to maintain integrity 

first, service before self, and to perform with excellence 

in all we do and encourage it in others. 
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To sustain our dominance, the Air Force must 

develop professional Airmen, invest in warfighting 

technology, and integrate people and systems 

together to produce decisive joint warfighting 

capabilities. 

DEVELOPING AIRMEN

At the heart of combat capability are the professional 

Airmen who voluntarily serve our nation in the Air 

Force. America’s Airmen turn ideas, tools, tactics, 

techniques, and procedures into global mobility, 

power projection, and battlespace effects. The Air 

Force is committed to the ongoing management 

and development of all Airmen to define, renew, 

develop, and sustain the Total Force. In the Air 

Force, the capabilities we derive from diversity are 

vital to mission excellence and at the core of our 

strategy to maximize our combat capabilities. In 

this new era, successful military operations demand 

much greater agility, adaptability, and versatility to 

achieve and sustain success. This requires a force 

comprised of the best our nation has to offer, from 

every segment of society, trained and ready to go. 

Our focus is building a force that consists of men and 

women who possess keener international insight, 

foreign language proficiency, and wide-ranging 

Core Competencies
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cultural acumen. Diversity of life experiences, 

education, culture and background are essential to 

help us achieve the asymmetric advantage we need 

to defend America’s interests wherever threatened. 

Our strength comes from the collective application 

of our diverse talents, and is a critical component of 

the air and space dominance we enjoy today. We 

must enthusiastically reach out to all segments of 

society to ensure the Air Force offers a welcoming 

career to the best and brightest of American society, 

regardless of their background. By doing so, we 

attract people from all segments of society and 

tap into the limitless talents resident in our diverse 

population. This ensures the Air Force and the nation 

will always have Airmen fit to fight and ready to win 

America’s wars. 

TECHNOLOGY TO WARFIGHTING

The Air Force uses a capabilities-based approach to 

war planning to focus technology investments on 

those needed to provide air and space expeditionary 

capabilities to support the joint warfighter. The 

Air Force is committed to leveraging America’s 

technological competitive advantage to continually 

transform the Air Force, thus assuring our dominance 

in air and space power. The Capabilities Review and 

Risk Assessment (CRRA) process guides the effort 

to analyze the span of joint tasks Airmen may be 

asked to perform and define the effects Airmen 

need to produce. 
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INTEGRATING OPERATIONS

The Air Force excels at providing communications, 

intelligence, air mobility, precision strike, and 

space capabilities that enable joint operations. Our 

Airmen apply a capabilities-based approach to war 

planning to integrate these and other capabilities 

into a cohesive system that creates war-winning 

effects. Integration takes place at three levels. At 

the joint strategic level, integration occurs between 

US Government agencies and the coalition. 

Integration also takes place within the Air Force 

at an organizational level. At its most basic level, 

integration takes place at the machine-to-machine 

level to achieve universal information sharing which 

facilitates true integration at every level. 

The Air Force provides integrated capabilities 

to combatant commanders according the Air 

Expeditionary Force Presence Policy (AEFPP), the 

Air Force portion of DoD’s Joint Presence Policy. 

There are ten AEFs, and each AEF provides a 

portfolio of capabilities and force modules. At any 

given time, two AEFs are postured to immediately 

provide these capabilities. The other eight are in 

various stages of rest, training, spin-up, or standby. 

The AEF is how the Air Force organizes, trains, 

equips, and sustains responsive air and space forces 

to meet defense strategy requirements outlined in the 

Strategic Planning Guidance. 
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Our portfolio of advantages provides dividends 

on the battlefield. We bring to bear a diversified 

collection of capabilities, which answer the needs of 

a spectrum of combat and humanitarian operations. 

As one would with any investment, we will monitor, 

maintain, and adjust our investments as needed to 

reflect the demands of a dynamic environment. 

Transformational initiatives in the way we organize, 

train and equip reflect such adjustments­—changes 

that will result in significant gains for our force, for 

the joint team, and for our nation. 

The success of the Air Force resides in the trained 

and ready Airmen who employ the technology of 

warfighting through integrated operations with our 

joint and coalition partners. This is our heritage and 

our future. This is America’s Air Force.
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Our Air Force’s proud history of accomplishments traces 

directly to the quality of people who make up the total Air 

Force team. At every base, wing, and deployed location, 

our Airmen rise to challenges every day demonstrating 

their loyalty and dedication. All Airmen are glad you 

have decided to join this prestigious team. 

It is essential that all Airmen understand their 

responsibilities concerning character, honor, personal 

integrity and patriotism required of each member of the 

Air Force team. These concepts provide the basis of our 

Air Force core values. 

Character comprises the emotional, intellectual, 

and moral qualities that distinguish one group from 

another—and the judgment to discern them. Character 

is not merely knowing the right thing to do, but also 

having the firm conviction and the courage to act upon 

such knowledge. This conviction requires solid moral 

fiber and ethical strength to do what is right even if no 

one will witness your actions. Our actions over time 

define our character, which in turn defines our lasting 

reputation. When we make the wrong choices, both our 

character and our reputation are damaged. 

Honor means having a keen sense of ethical and moral 

conduct. For Airmen, honor encompasses our sense of 

loyalty and duty — hallmarks of how we serve the nation. 

The 4 Pillars:

Character • Honor • Personal Integrity • Patriotism
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Our oaths of office remind us of our highest loyalty — the 

constitution and all that it stands for. Our loyalty belongs 

to the American people, our chain of command, the Air 

Force, our fellow Airmen and lastly to our self. Anything 

otherwise is misplaced loyalty, which is unacceptable in 

our Air Force. Serving with honor means Airmen always 

do their duty — great and small. Honor means having the 

moral and sometimes physical courage to do our duty in 

the face of danger or adverse circumstances, no matter the 

consequences. 

Personal Integrity is the ability to hold together and properly 

regulate all of the elements of a personality. It is our “moral 

compass.” It is the inner voice, the voice of self-discipline 

and self-control, the basis for the individual trust imperative 

for our Air Force, and a foundation for our organizational 

integrity. Honesty is a trademark of the profession of arms and 

Airmen everywhere—our word is our bond. We do not lie, 

nor do we tolerate those who do. No deviation is acceptable. 

Airmen with integrity are responsible and accountable for 

their behavior, words, and deeds. Airmen are fair, just, and 

respectful of themselves and others, never bringing discredit 

upon themselves, the unit, the Air Force, or the nation. 

Patriotism is each Airman’s love and devotion to country. 

Patriotism is why we serve. From our patriotism flows our 

obligation to be good stewards of our nation’s resources 

— especially the most precious, our people — and to be good 

citizens. Airmen work with the other services to form a joint 

team to ensure America and its ideals continue for generations 

to come. Patriotism inspires us to live up to the standards 

and ideals of America’s Airmen, even under prolonged and 

difficult circumstances. 

The responsibility of enforcing core values does not fall 

solely to senior leaders and commanders. Every Airman 
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must embrace and reflect these values, both on and offduty. Our Air Force is judged by the actions of each and 

every Airman. Your personal and professional standards 

will be imitated. We must reflect these fundamental values 

in our daily conduct and help develop those attitudes in 

others. If you see a fellow Airman cut corners and don’t say 

anything, you have condoned that action. Failing to correct 

or report instances when the rules are broken, selectively 

enforcing rules, or turning a blind-eye to marginal behavior 

or performance can perpetuate negative attitudes that can 

infect an organization. 

We are all responsible for each other. It is essential that we 

share a collective sense of mission, values, and culture. If 

we don’t, we become part of the problem, and jeopardize 

the mission and the lives of our men and women. Every 

member of the Air Force must embrace our core values as 

the guiding light that drives what we do. I challenge each of 

you to apply this philosophy in your service to the Air Force 

and this great nation. 
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Primary Functions of the Air Force.

The Department of the Air Force is separately 

organized under the Secretary of the Air Force. It 

operates under the authority, direction, and control 

of the Secretary of Defense. In general, the Air 

Force includes aviation forces both combat and 

service not otherwise assigned to other services. 

It is organized, trained, and equipped primarily 

for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive 

air and space operations. It is responsible for the 

preparation of the air forces necessary for the 

effective prosecution of war except as otherwise 

assigned and, in accordance with integrated joint 

mobilization plans, for the expansion of the 

peacetime components of the Air Force to meet 

the needs of war. The Air Force consists of the 

Regular Air Force, the Air National Guard while 

Department of the Air Force

OVERVIEW

The Department of the Air Force is comprised of the 

Office of the Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF), the 

Air Staff, and field units.
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in the service of the United States, the Air Force 

Reserve, and civilian employees making the Total 

Force.

 

Some of the Major Functions of the Air Force

• Organize, train, equip, and provide forces for the 

conduct of prompt and sustained combat operations 

in the air and space—specifically, forces to defend 

the United States against air attack, gain and maintain 

general air supremacy, defeat enemy air forces, 

conduct space operations, control vital air areas, and 

establish local air superiority;

• Organize, train, equip, and provide forces for 

appropriate air and missile defense and space 

control operations, including forces for the strategic 

defense of the United States, in accordance with joint 

doctrines;

• Organize, train, equip, and provide forces for strategic 

air and missile warfare; organize, equip, and provide 

forces for joint amphibious, space, and airborne 

operations;

• Organize, train, equip, and provide forces for close 

air support and air logistic support to the Army and 

other forces, including airlift, air support, resupply of 

airborne operations, aerial photography, tactical air 

reconnaissance, and air interdiction of enemy land 

forces and communications;

• Organize, train, equip, and provide forces for air 

transport for the Armed Forces;

• Develop doctrines, procedures, and equipment for air 

defense from land areas;

• Furnish launch and space support for the Department 

of Defense;

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177

• Organize, train, equip, and furnish land-based tanker 

forces for the in-flight refueling support of strategic 

operations and deployments of aircraft of the Armed 

Forces and Air Force tactical operations;

• Organize, train, equip, and furnish forces to operate 

air lines of communications; and

• Organize, train, equip, and furnish forces for the 

support and conduct of special operations.

Collateral Functions of the Air Force include:

• Surface sea surveillance and antisurface ship warfare 

through air operations,

• Antisubmarine warfare and antiair warfare operations 

to protect sea lines of communications,

• Aerial minelaying operations, and 

• Air-to-air refueling in support of naval campaigns.

 

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AIR FORCE ORGANIZATIONS

Department of the Air Force

SECAF.

The Office of the SECAF includes the Secretary, Under 

Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, General Counsel, the 

Inspector General, Air Reserve Forces Policy Committee, 

and other offices and positions established by law or the 

SECAF. The Office of the SECAF has responsibility for 

acquisition and auditing, comptroller issues (including 

financial management), inspector general matters, 

legislative affairs, and public affairs.

Air Staff.

The Air Staff primarily consists of 

military advisors to 

the CSAF and the 

SECAF. This includes 

the Chief of Staff, 

Vice Chief of Staff, 

and Assistant Vice 

Chief of Staff, the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force 

(CMSAF), five deputy chiefs of staff (DCS), the US Air 

Force Surgeon General, the Judge Advocate General, 

the Chief of the Air Force Reserve, and additional 

military and civilian personnel as the SECAF deems 

necessary. 
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Field Units. 

The Department of the Air Force field units are Major 

Commands (MAJCOMs), field operating agencies 

(FOA), and direct reporting units (DRU). 

MAJCOMs.

The Air Force is organized on a functional basis in the 

United States and on a geographical basis overseas. A 

MAJCOM represents a major Air Force subdivision 

having a specific portion of the Air Force mission. 

Each MAJCOM is directly subordinate to HQ USAF. 

MAJCOMs are interrelated and complementary, 

providing offensive, defensive, and support elements. 

An operational command consists (in whole or in part) 

of strategic, tactical, space, or defense forces; or of 

flying forces that directly support such forces. A support 

command may provide supplies, weapon systems, 

support systems, operational support equipment, combat 

materiel, maintenance, surface transportation, education 

and training, or special services and other supported 

organizations. The MAJCOMs in the US Air Force are 

as follows:
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Air Combat Command (ACC ).

ACC, headquartered at Langley AFB 

VA, was activated 1 Jun 1992. This 

MAJCOM is the primary provider of 

air combat forces to America’s unified 

combatant commands. 

Mission. ACC operates fighters, bombers, reconnaissance, 

battle management, and theater airlift aircraft, as well as 

command, control, communications, and intelligence 

systems. As a force provider, ACC organizes, trains, 

equips, and maintains combat-ready forces for rapid 

deployment and employment while ensuring strategic 

air defense forces are ready to meet the challenges of 

peacetime air sovereignty and wartime air defense. ACC 

provides nuclear forces for US Strategic Command and 

theater air forces for the five geographic unified commands 

(US Joint Forces Command, US European Command, 

US Pacific Command, US Central Command, and US 

Southern Command). ACC also provides air defense 

forces to the NORAD. 

Air Mobility Command (AMC).

AMC, headquartered at Scott AFB 

IL, was created 1 Jun 1992. AMC 

provides America’s Global Reach. 

This rapid, flexible, and responsive air 

mobility promotes stability in regions 

by keeping America’s capability and 

character highly visible.
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Mission. AMC’s primary mission is rapid global 

mobility and sustainment for America’s Armed Forces. 

The command also plays a crucial role in providing 

humanitarian support at home and around the world. 

AMC’s active duty, ANG, AFR, and civilians provide 

tactical and strategic airlift and aerial refueling for all 

of America’s Armed Forces. Many special duty and 

operational support aircraft and stateside aeromedical 

evacuation missions are also assigned to AMC. On 1 

April 1997, stateside-based C-130E/H and C-21 aircraft 

returned to AMC’s stewardship. 

Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). AFSPC, created 1 Sep 1982, is 

headquartered at Peterson AFB CO. 

AFSPC defends America through its 

space and intercontinental ballistic 

missile (ICBM) operations, vital 

force elements in projecting global 

reach and global power. AFSPC is a 

key factor in implementing the AEF 

organizational structure. 

Mission. AFSPC assures access to and exploitation of 

space and space-based capabilities for the war fighter. 

The command is a “cradle-to-grave” organization that 

develops, operates, and supports space systems. The men 

and women of AFSPC provide missile warning; global 

navigation and weather; satellite communications; space 

surveillance; spacelift; satellite command and control; 

and strategic nuclear deterrence for deployed forces 

and the Nation.
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Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). PACAF, 

headquartered at Hickam AFB, HI, 

organizes, trains, and equips combatready forces to meet wartime and 

contingency taskings as the principle 

air, space, and information component 

of US Pacific Command (PACOM).

Mission. PACAF’s primary mission is to provide ready 

air, space, and information power to promote US interests 

in the Asia-Pacific region during peacetime, through 

crisis, and in war. The forward presence of PACAF 

forces ensures stability in the region, dissuades and 

deters potential adversaries, and overcomes the tyranny 

of distance that characterizes the entire Pacific theater of 

operations. PACAF’s area of responsibility includes over 

50% of the Earth’s surface extending from the west coast 

of the United States to the east coast of Africa and from 

the Arctic to Antarctica-more than 105 million square 

miles. The area is home to nearly 2.5 billion people 

living in 43 countries and 30 territories.
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US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).

USAFE, headquartered at Ramstein AB 

GE, commands, deploys, and sustains 

air and space expeditionary forces to 

execute the full spectrum of military 

operations. USAFE is responsible for 

organizing, training, and equipping its 

assigned forces. USAFE is the principal air component of the unified US 

European Command (USEUCOM) 

and provides air forces for USEUCOMdirected operations. 

The USAFE Commander is dual-hatted 

and as North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Air Commander 

Ramstein, he also commands Component Command-Air Headquarters 

Ramstein, one of two air component 

commands in the NATO area of responsibility. As part of this alliance, USAFE 

provides air forces for both NATO air 

components known as Component 

Command-Air Ramstein and Component Command-Air Izmir. 

Mission. USAFE supports US military plans and operations 

in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and most 

of Africa. As witnessed in the command’s support of 

contingency and humanitarian operations throughout 

Europe and Africa, USAFE remains a highly responsive 

combat command with a rapidly deployable expeditionary 

force. The USAFE mission is to command, deploy, and 

sustain air and space expeditionary forces to execute the 
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full spectrum of military operations for America and its 

allies. In peacetime, USAFE organizes, trains, equips, and 

sustains forces to produce specific capabilities needed to act 

unilaterally or in concert with coalition partners to enhance 

the security of NATO and its partners or to advance US 

interests. During wartime conditions, USAFE’s role is to 

provide expeditionary forces, usually as part of an integrated 

joint force to achieve US national, NATO, and/or coalition 

objectives. The command’s resources perform a broad range 

of air and space power functions: counterair; counterland; 

counterinformation; command and control; airlift; air 

refueling; intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR); 

and weather services. Assets from other MAJCOMs, the 

ANG, or from other US military components may provide 

augmentation to USAFE forces. 

Air Education and Training Command (AETC). AETC, headquartered 

at Randolph AFB TX, was established 

1 Jul 1993 with the realignment of Air 

Training Command and Air University. AETC is responsible for the free 

world’s largest training system. 

Mission. AETC recruits new people into the US Air 

Force and provides them with military, technical, and 

flying training. AETC also provides precommissioning, 

professional military, and continuing education. During 

their careers, every Air Force officer and enlisted 

person receives education and training administered 

by AETC. 
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Air Force Materiel Command 

(AFMC). AFMC, headquartered at 

Wright-Patterson AFB OH, was created 1 Jul 1992. The command was 

formed through the reorganization of 

Air Force Logistics Command and Air 

Force Systems Command. 

Mission. AFMC’s mission: Deliver war-winning... 

• Technology • Acquisition Support • Sustainment...

expeditionary capabilities to the warfighter. 

Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). AFSOC, headquartered at Hurlburt Field FL, was 

established 22 May 1990. AFSOC 

is the Air Force component of US 

Special Operations Command.

Mission. AFSOC is America’s specialized air power...a step 

ahead in a changing world, providing combat search and 

rescue, and delivering special operations power anytime, 

anywhere. AFSOC provides AF special operations and 

CSAR forces for worldwide deployment and assignment 

to regional unified commands. AFSOC core tasks are 

grouped into seven mission areas: shaping the battlefield; 

information operations; precision engagement; SOF 

mobility; agile combat support; aerospace interface; and 

personnel recovery/recovery operations. 
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Air Force R eser ve Command 

(AFRC). The AFRC, headquartered 

at Robins AFB GA, became a MAJCOM of the Air Force on 17 Feb 1997. 

Previously, the AFR was an FOA.

Mission. AFRC’s mission is to provide citizen Airmen to 

defend the United States and protect its interests through 

air and space power. AFRC Vision: Citizen Airmen fully 

engaged in global vigilance, reach, and power.

Air National Guard (ANG). The ANG 

is administered by the National Guard 

Bureau, a joint bureau of the departments 

of the Army and Air Force, located in 

the Pentagon, Washington DC. It is 

one of the seven Reserve components 

of the United States Armed Forces that 

augment the active components in the 

perfommance of their missions. 

NOTE: The ANG is not a MAJ-COM, 

but is a very important component of 

the Total Force in offensive, defensive, 

and relief operations.

Mission. The ANG has both a federal and state mission. 

The dual mission, a provision of the US Constitution 

and the statute, results in each guardsman holding 

membership in his or her state National Guard and in 

the National Guard of the United States.
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Federal Mission. The ANG’s federal mission is to 

maintain well-trained and well-equipped units available 

for prompt mobilization during war and to provide 

assistance during national emergencies (such as natural 

disasters or civil disturbances). During peacetime, the 

combat-ready units and support units are assigned to most 

Air Force MAJCOMs to carry out missions compatible 

with training, mobilization readiness, and contingency 

operations. The ANG provides almost half of the Air 

Force’s tactical airlift support, combat communications 

functions, aeromedical evacuations, and aerial refueling. 

In addition, the ANG has total responsibility for air 

defense of the entire United States. 

State Mission. When ANG units are not mobilized or 

under federal control, they report to the governor of their 

respective state, territory (Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin 

Islands), or the commanding general of the District 

of Columbia National Guard. The adjutant general of 

the state or territory supervises each of the 54 National 

Guard organizations. Under state law, the ANG provides 

protection of life and property and preserves peace, order, 

and public safety. 

Field Operating Agency (FOA). 

FOAs are subdivisions of the Air Force directly 

subordinate to a headquarters US Air Force functional 

manager. A FOA performs field activities beyond the 

scope of the MAJCOMs. The activities are specialized 

or associated with an Air Force-wide mission and do not 

include functions performed in management headquarters 

(such as AMC), unless specifically directed by a DoD 

authority. Two examples are the Air Force Personnel 

Center (AFPC) under the DCS, Personnel, and the Air 
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Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) under the 

Inspector General. Similar organizations at MAJCOM 

level are called MAJCOM FOAs.

Direct Reporting Unit (DRU). 

DRUs are Air Force subdivisions directly subordinate 

to the CSAF. A DRU performs a mission that does not 

fit into any of the MAJCOMs. A DRU has many of the 

same administrative and organizational responsibilities 

as a MAJCOM. Two examples are the USAF Academy 

and the Air Force Doctrine Center.

Lower Levels of Command.

Below the MAJCOMs are the following levels, in 

descending order: Numbered Air Force (NAF), wing, 

group, squadron, and flight.

Numbered Air Force (NAF).

The NAF is a level of command directly under a 

MAJCOM. NAFs are tactical echelons that provide 

operational leadership and supervision. They are not 

management headquarters and do not have complete 

functional staffs. Many NAFs are responsible for 

MAJCOM operations in a specific geographic region 

or theater of operations. The number of personnel 

assigned varies, but should not exceed 99 manpower 

authorizations without an Air Staff waiver. A NAF is 

assigned subordinate units, such as wings, groups, and 

squadrons. 
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Wing.

The wing is a level of command below the NAF. A 

wing has approximately 1,000 to 5,000 personnel and a 

distinct mission with significant scope. It is responsible 

for maintaining the installation and may have several 

squadrons in more than one dependent group. A wing 

may be an operational wing, an air base wing, or a 

specialized mission wing. 

Operational Wing. An operational wing is one 

that has an operations group and related operational 

mission activity assigned to it. When an operational 

wing performs the primary mission of the base, it 

usually maintains and operates the base. In addition, an 

operational wing is capable of self-support in functional 

areas like maintenance, supply, and munitions, as needed. 

When an operational wing is a tenant organization, the 

host command provides it with varying degrees of base 

and logistics support.

Air Base Wing. An air base wing performs a support 

function rather than an operational mission. It maintains 

and operates a base. An air base wing often provides 

functional support to a MAJCOM headquarters.

Specialized Mission Wing. A specialized mission wing 

performs a specialized mission and usually does not 

have aircraft or missiles assigned to it. Examples include 

intelligence wings, training wings, and so on. This wing 

may be either a host or a tenant wing, depending on 

whether it maintains and operates the base.
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Group.

A group is a level of command below the wing. Like the 

NAF, it is a tactical echelon with minimal staff support. 

A group usually has two or more subordinate units. A 

dependent group is a mission, logistics, support, medical, 

or large functional unit, such as a civil engineer group. 

Such groups may possess small supporting staff elements, 

such as standardization and evaluation or quality control, 

that are organized as sections. An independent group has 

the same functions and responsibilities as a like-type 

wing, but its scope and size do not warrant wing-level 

designation. A group has approximately 500 to 2,000 

personnel.

Squadron.

The squadron is the basic unit in the Air Force. A 

squadron may be either a mission unit, such as an 

operational flying squadron, or a functional unit, such 

as a civil engineer, services, security forces, or logistics 

readiness squadron. Squadrons vary in size according 

to responsibility. A squadron has approximately 50 to 

750 personnel.

Flight.

If internal subdivision is required, a flight may consist 

of sections, then elements. A flight may be either a 

numbered, alpha, or functional flight.
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Numbered Flight. A numbered flight is the lowest 

level unit in the Air Force. A flight incorporates smaller 

elements into an organized unit. Its administrative 

characteristics, such as strength reporting, are like those 

of a squadron.

Alpha Flight. Alpha flights are part of a squadron 

(usually a mission squadron) and composed of several 

elements that perform identical missions. Because 

an alpha flight is not a unit, it is not subject to unit 

reporting.

Functional Flight. Functional flights are usually part 

of a squadron and composed of elements that perform 

specific missions. Because a functional flight is not a 

unit, it is not subject to unit reporting.

Air Reserve Components (ARC).

Components.

The Air National Guard (ANG) and Air Force Reserve 

(AFR) form a significant part of our air and space 

capability. Together they are called the ARC. Forces 

are drawn from the ARC when circumstances require 

the active force to rapidly expand. AFPD 10-3, Air 

Reserve Component Forces, establishes policy to fully 

integrate the ANG, AFR, and active Air Force into a 

single Total Force.

Staffing and Equipping.

ARC forces are staffed and trained to meet the same 

training standards and readiness levels as active component 

forces and are supplied with the same equipment on an 

equal priority. Equipment may not be withdrawn, diverted, 

or reassigned to the active force for other commitments 
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without the SECDEF’s written approval. To ensure 

responsiveness and combat readiness, ARC forces are 

continuously evaluated and modernized.

Use.

Under the Total Force policy established by DoD in 

1973, both active and reserve assets are considered parts 

of a single US military resource. All aspects of active 

and reserve forces are considered when determining an 

appropriate force mix. Factors include contribution of 

forces to national security, availability of forces in view 

of time, statutory or regulatory constraints, and the cost to 

equip and maintain forces. Considerations unique to ANG 

units include their dual state and federal missions.

Organization.

ANG and AFR units are organized parallel to similar 

active force units with one exception. ARC units are 

sometimes separated to take advantage of state or 

regional demographics and cannot be centralized at 

major, multi-squadron bases, as would be the case with 

active duty resources. This exception is beneficial because 

it implements a strong relationship with the civilian 

community and builds public support for the Air Force 

as a whole.

Jurisdiction.

Command jurisdiction for nonmobilized ANG units is 

vested in the governor of the state, commonwealth, or 

possession, or in the President, who in essence is the 

governor of the District of Columbia. The President 

delegates authority to the Secretary of the Army to carry 

out the powers of the President as “governor” of the District 

of Columbia. Command of nonmobilized AFR units is 

exercised through the Commander, Air Force Reserve, 
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who, in turn, is responsible to the CSAF. Command of 

nonmobilized AFR individual mobilization augmentees 

(IMA) is exercised through the unit of assignment. 

When the President authorizes involuntary activation, 

the SECAF delegates authority to gaining MAJCOM 

commanders who order ANG and AFR forces to active 

duty. When activated, operational command of ARC 

forces transfers to the gaining MAJCOM commander who 

is also responsible for establishing training resources for 

all assigned ARC forces.
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The Thunderbirds are the US Air Force’s air demonstration 

squadron. The Thunderbirds demonstrate to the American 

taxpayer and people around the world the awesome capabilities 

of the United States Air Force and the quality and professionalism 

of the people who make up the most dominant air and space 

force in the world. Representing the more than 693,000 men 

and women that make up the Active Duty, Guard and Reserve 

Air Force, the Thunderbirds are your Ambassadors in Blue...the 

face of America’s Air Force. Every time the Thunderbirds come 

to town, they are charged with showcasing the vigilance, talent 

and spirit found in our fellow Airmen serving a most noble call 

to duty. The team is 130 Airmen strong, bringing together 29 

career fields working in unison to accomplish one mission. The 

squadron’s goal is to make those who witness their demonstration 

proud of this great nation’s armed forces, and to inspire the next 

generation of Airmen. 

A Thunderbird performance highlights the skills and 

training indicative of all Air Force members. The hour-long 

demonstration brings together years of training and a lifetime 

of dreaming, to show off what the Air Force is all about. The 

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ground ceremony, along with the sharp movements and rhythm 

of the crew chiefs, showcases the utmost professionalism and 

esprit shared by our enlisted corps. As the jets take to the skies, 

the maneuvers demonstrate the full spectrum of skills all fighter 

pilots possess, from the loops, rolls and formation flight required 

of a novice pilot to the advanced maneuvers of a fully qualified 

combat aviator. A Thunderbirds air demonstration is a mix of 

six Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, performing 

formation flying and solo routines. The four-aircraft Diamond 

Formation demonstrates the training and precision mastered by 

all Air Force pilots, as well as the gracefulness of the F-16. The 

two solos highlight the maximum capabilities and sheer power 

of the Air Force’s frontline fighters. 

The Thunderbirds
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Human Relations Principles

All members of America’s Air Force are entitled to 

a positive work environment free from any form of 

harassment. As a matter of policy and tradition, Air 

Force leadership promote an environment free from 

personal, social, or institutional barriers that prevent 

service members from rising to the highest level of 

responsibility possible. Service members shall be 

evaluated only on individual merit, fitness, and capability. 

Unlawful discrimination against persons or groups based 

on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin is contrary 

to good order and discipline and is counterproductive 

to combat readiness and mission accomplishment. The 

Air Force standard is zero tolerance for any form of 

unlawful discriminatory behavior, sexual harassment 

or sexual violence. 

Developing Airmen: We encourage any talented and 

motivated people outside of the Air Force to join our 

team. The Air Force needs the collective talents that all 

Americans possess. A diverse talent pool provides the 

Air Force a team capable of coping with virtually any 

situation anywhere on the globe. Unless we inclusively 

develop and mentor all of our Airmen, over time we could 

lose the heart of our combat capability. 

Technology-to-Warfighting: Technological realities 

require us to constantly seek Airmen who are innovative, 

out-of-the-box thinkers, and problem-solvers. We need to 

continually attract future Airmen who can apply practical 

principles in a complex and dynamic environment. Our 

Airmen must have the ability to translate technical tools 

into combat capability. Cutting edge technology alone 
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is not enough to win America’s wars—it takes dedicated 

Airmen to exploit any new technology. 

Integrating Operations: Cultural competence is set of 

skills, knowledge, and experiences that allow individuals 

to increase their understanding and appreciation 

of cultural differences, similarities within, among, 

and between individuals, groups, organizations, and 

functional communities. Warfighting in the 21st Century 

will increasingly involve joint and coalitions operations, 

which require Airmen to relate to others across multicultural boundaries. Airmen who can operate beyond 

their own cultural perspective will be the most successful 

in our diverse Air Force. 

Applying Human Relations Principles begins with 

individual “willingness.” Airmen must actively engage 

in the process of continual self-awareness. Airmen 

must be aware of personal assumptions, values, 

bias, capabilities and limitations. This process also 

involves Airmen keeping an open mind by learning and 

understanding of other cultures. Air Force members 

must attempt to understand others, situations, and 

organizational systems from multiple viewpoints and 

perspectives. Demonstrates that the leader understands 

and values the fact that a diverse Air Force embodies 

different perspectives and approaches pursuing mission 

excellence. The Air Force expects its Airmen to:

• Bring members of diverse backgrounds and 

experiences together in ways that improve the 

performance of all members

• Encourage and facilitate diverse ideas and perspectives 

in team interactions

• Challenge the policies, practices, and processes that 

limit the growth and development of potential leaders 

from all groups
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• Create an expectation of high standards of performance 

from all members

• Stimulate personal development to leverage the 

maximum abilities of all members

• Be equipped and equip others with the ability to 

understand and utilize the unique strengths and 

perspectives of all members

• Share responsibility and opportunity with all 

members. 

To achieve these goals Airmen adhere to these human 

relations principles:

Respect: Consideration and appreciation for another’s 

beliefs, opinions, and feelings

Dignity: Treating all people in a manner that reflects 

their worth as a human being

Courage: Courage to do always do the right thing for the 

right reasons, no matter the internal or external pressures 

to the contrary.

To the world’s greatest Air Force we must be a diverse 

team representative of the society we serve and defend. 

America’s Air Force must have a culturally skilled and 

knowledgeable workforce capable of executing the 

Air Force mission globally. Our Air Force team needs 

leaders and followers equipped with language skills, 

international expertise, and cultural awareness to meet 

this objective. The 21st Century Air Expeditionary Force 

requires all Airmen to be responsible for applying and 

adhering to these principles. 
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Total Force
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201

The total force is comprised of Active, Air National 

Guard, and Air Force Reserve (military and civilian 

members) seamlessly integrated in air and space 

operations. The Air National Guard and Air Force 

Reserve work side by side in all facets of operations 

to accomplish the Air Force mission. Integrated total 

force units consist of personnel—all assigned to the 

same wing or squadron—in different work status. An 

integrated unit consists of two or more components of 

Active, Guard, Reserve, and civilian. One example is 

the 116th Air Control Wing which operates the JSTARS 

aircraft at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. The 116th 

employs an “integrated wing” with both Air Force and 

Air National Guard personnel. 
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The Director, Air National Guard leads over 104,000 

Guard members in more than 88 flying units and 200 

geographically separated units throughout the United 

States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, 

and the Virgin Islands from headquarters in Arlington, 

Virginia. 

The Chief, Air Force Reserve is headquartered at the 

Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and serves as principal 

adviser on Reserve matters to the Air Force Chief of 

Staff. As Commander of Air Force Reserve Command, 

located at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, he has full 

responsibility for the supervision of all US Air Force 

Reserve units around the world. The Air Force Reserve 

Command is comprised of over 73,000 personnel in 35 

flying wings equipped with 447 assigned aircraft and nine 

associate units that share aircraft with an active-duty unit. 

There also four space operations squadrons that share the 

satellite control mission with the active force and more 

than 620 mission support units. 

“I encourage you, the men and women of today’s 

Air Force-Active, Guard, Reserve and civilian—to 

think creatively, to develop new efforts and new 

approaches. Together we can enhance the efficiency, 

the flexibility, and the capability of 

 our 21st Century Air Force.”

General John P. Jumper, USAF
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Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol)

The Air Force Auxiliary, also known as the Civil 

Air Patrol (CAP), serves in a dual capacity as both 

a Federally chartered non-profit corporation and the 

volunteer civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force 

established under public law. 

The Auxiliary is made up of over 64,500 CAP members 

who volunteer their time, services, and resources to 

conduct three primary missions: Flight Operations, Cadet 

Programs and Aerospace Education.

CAP is referred to as the auxiliary only when employed 

by the Air Force and this distinction is currently being 

incorporated into policy and doctrine. 

In accordance with public law, the auxiliary accomplishes 

missions in support of local, state and federal agencies on 

behalf of the Air Force. These missions include: search 

and rescue initiatives, as well as disaster response and 

homeland security operations that provide an Air Force 

presence in communities across the nation, a vital link 

between the Air Force and the population at large. 

The Air Force Auxiliary is an official part of the Air 

Force team and is considered an instrumental part of 

our “Air Force Family.” Although Auxiliary uniforms 

are similar to AF uniforms, the displayed rank does not 

confer Officer or NCO status, or any Air Force protocol 

requirements. However, all Air Force personnel are 
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“After the German surrender, one of Hitler’s high-ranking 

naval officers was asked why the Nazi U-boats had been 

withdrawn from US coastal waters early in 1943. The 

answer was exploded in a curt guttural: ‘It was because 

of those damned little red and yellow planes!’”

— From Robert E. Neprud’s Flying Minute Men

Heritage Quote

responsible for developing and maintaining a strong, 

positive relationship between the Air Force and our 

Auxiliary. Presently, plans are underway to expand the 

role that CAP plays in homeland security. 
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Career Fields

Occupational Badges
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Weapons Director

Astronaut

Pilot

Navigator/Observer
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Flight Nurse

Flight Surgeon

Enlisted Aircrew

Officer Aircrew Member
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Missile with 

Operations Designator 

Acquisition &

Financial 

Management

Air Traffic Control

Missile
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Band

Chaplain Service

Support

Civil Engineer

Command & Control
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Explosive Ordnance 

Disposal

Communications &

Information

Force Protection

Commander
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Historian

Intelligence

Judge Advocate

Information 

Management
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Manpower & 

Personnel

Logistics Plans

Maintenance

Logistics Readiness
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Operations Support

Firefighter

Parachutist

Meteorologist
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Readiness

Public Affairs

Services

Paralegal
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Space/Missile

Weapons Director

Supply Fuels

Transportation
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Dental Corps

Nurse Corps Enlisted Medical

Medical 

Service Corps

Medical Corps

Chaplain Jewish Chaplain Buddhist

Biomedical 

Science Corps
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Chaplain Christian Chaplain Muslim

Berets

Combat 

Control Team

Weather

Parachutist

Security 

Forces

Tactical Air 

Control Party

Pararescue

Specialized Headgear
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Linguists/FAOs

Arabic

Chinese (Mandarin) 

French 

German

Greek

Italian 

Japanese

Korean

 Persian

Persian-Fars i

Portuguese

Russian

Serbian-Croatian

Spanish

What is a Foreign Area Officer (FAO)?

Cadre of officers who possess foreign language 

competency and regional expertise essential for 

effective interaction with foreign governments, 

militaries and organizations, enabling the Air 

Force to respond quickly and effectively to 

Global Engagement needs worldwide.

What is the purpose of the FAO Program?

FAOs play a critical engagement role advising 

regional commanders, supporting force 

protection programs, establishing cooperative 

relationships with host nation partners and 

supporting the full range of Global Engagement 

activities from humanitarian relief operations 

to coalition building in support of major theatre 

warfare.
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Air and Space

Expeditionary Force

Air and Space Expeditionary Force (AEF)

Since the end of the Cold War, the Air Force has 

seen an exponential increase in worldwide taskings. 

Meeting this challenge required significant changes 

in the way the Air Force trains, organizes, and 

deploys to support Combantant Commanders and 

Joint Force Commander requirements. The AEF 

has been critical in transforming the Air Force from 

a threat-based, forward-deployed Cold War forceto 

a flexible capabilities-based force able to conduct 

a wide range of operations throughout the world 

in today’s high operational tempo environment. 

The expeditionary mindset embraces the unique 

characteristics of air and space power-range, 

speed, flexibility, and precision. 

Expeditionary Capabilities

The AEF divides Air Force Combat Air Forces, 

Mobility Air Forces resources and Expeditionary 

Combat Support resources across ten AEFs (five 

AEF pairs). In addition to the forces assigned to 

the AEFs, key enabling forces such as Stealth, 

Space, and cruise missile capabilities are either 

on-call or always available to augment the 10 

AEFs. The AEFs are the mechanism through 

which the Air Force makes forces available to 

meet the combatant commander requirements 

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for rotational or crisis response forces. The Air 

Force has the ability to keep up to two AEFs 

deployed at all times. In times of crisis the AEF 

is able to surge to increase deployable capability 

to 4 AEFs for up to one AEF cycle (20 months). 

When expeditionary air and space forces are 

needed anywhere in the world the Air Force uses 

capabilities from the two on-call AEFs to create an 

Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force (AETF) 

which pulls special resources from the AEFs 

and combines them in “capabilities packages” to 

meet the combatant commander’s requirement. 

An AETF may be as small as a single Air and 

Space Expeditionary Group (AEG) or as large 

as a numbered expeditionary air force comprised 

of multiple Air and Space Expeditionary Wings 

(AEW). These AEF rotational forces and forward 

permanent-based forces underpin the Air Force 

ability to provide global AEF presence. Airmen 

from across the Air Force contribute to these 

expeditionary capabilities as deployable members 

assigned to an AEF. 

AEF Rotation

The AEF uses a 20-month cycle with all 10 AEFs 

“on-line” to support worldwide requirements at 

all times. Over the 20 month AEF cycle each 

AEF pair has a 4-month designated “eligibility” 

period. During this period, the two AEFs are 

either deployed or on alert for daily, worldwide 

expeditionary taskings. The remaining eight 

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AEFs are in various stages of recovery, training, 

or preparatory spin-up. Additionally, forces 

from AEFs 2, 4, 8, and 9, make-up an AETF 

permanently forward deployed in the Republic of 

Korea designated as 7th Expeditionary Air Force. 

Other AETFs are designated and, when activated, 

will be sourced from the alert AEF pair. While Air 

Force combat forces cycle through deployment 

eligibility periods, they sustain wartime readiness 

throughout the 20-month AEF cycle. The normal 

14-month training period concentrates on unit 

missions and basic proficiency events. The 2-3 

month deployment “spin-up” period focuses unit 

activities on area of responsibility (AOR) specific 

events required (if known) for the 4-month on 

call or deployment eligibility period that follows. 

Following the deployment or on call period, units 

enter the major command (MAJCOM) defined 
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recovery period. During the recovery period, 

units restore stocks of consumables and munitions 

expended in preparation for the next AEF 

“eligibility” cycle. While personnel may change 

units or a unit may change AEFs from one cycle 

to another, the AEF cycle provides the Air Force 

and Airman with a predictable cycle for planning 

purposes. The AEF cycle thus precludes the 

need for “tiered” readiness by allowing Air Force 

combat forces to remain current and qualified for 

any contingency or operational plan. The first AEF 

cycle began on 1 October 1999 and lasted through 

30 November 2000. 

Surge Operations

At times the requirements for air and space forces 

will be greater than can be supplied by the two 

on-call AEFs. When directed by the Secretary of
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Defense to provide forces above this sustainable 

limit the AEF enters “surge” operations. During 

surge up to 4 AEFs can be deployed simultaneously 

for up to a year. To accomplish this surge mission 

AEF members may be required to deploy for 6 

months. Surge operations above 4 AEFs and 

longer than a year are possible, however this 

constitutes a “maximum surge” that requires a 

post surge reconstitution period during which the 

AEF is unable to maintain the entire AEF force at 

normal levels of readiness.

Future AEFs

The Air Force will continue to improve its 

expeditionary capabilities as it becomes lighter, 

leaner and more lethal. The Air Force is already 

responsive, but it will become even more so with 

transformation efforts underway. An AEF will 

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be able to deploy in 48 hours, fast enough to curb 

many crises before they escalate. The Air Force 

vision is to be able to rapidly deploy up to 5 AEFs 

in 15 days, providing Joint Force commanders 

expanded operational options. Additionally, the 

Air Force will expand and improve the organic 

capabilities of each individual AEF. For example, 

the size of the battlespace an AEF can control will 

expand and the AEF will enhance its ability to 

do real-time, adaptive targeting to dominate this 

“expanded” battlespace. The number of targets 

one AEF can engage in a day will dramatically 

increase. Long-range and stealthy assets will 

be leveraged to ensure access to any target and 

rapid neutralization of enemy air defenses to 

allow joint and combined forces to operate in a 

permissive environment. Focus will be placed 

on the expeditionary combat support capabilities 

that underpin the ability to operate anywhere. 

Effective, efficient logistics will be key to 

sustaining expeditionary forces. The harnessing of 

information technology, rapid transportation, and 

the strengths of both organic and industrial logistics 

base will ensure responsive, dependable, precise 

support. Finally, the skill sets and discipline of our 

Airmen will be the focus of constant improvement 

to ensure our Air Force remains the best in the 

world. The AEF cycle provides a more predictable 

and stable environment in which to train, re-fit, and 

equip to ensure necessary Air Force support for 

the Joint Force Commander can be sustained. In 

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addition, AEF scheduling makes it easier and more 

feasible for the Air Force Reserve Component 

forces to bring their essential contributions to 

bear by allowing them to plan definitive absences 

from their civilian employment. This is a critical 

advantage of the AEF, as Air Reserve Component 

forces comprise nearly a quarter of the forces 

assigned to AEFs and a larger percentage for some 

mission areas. The mission of the Air Force is to 

fly, fight, and win America’s wars. We execute 

that mission by employing our best resources 

through the AEF. Although weapon systems and 

mission support requirements have changed over 

time, there has been one constant — professional, 

dedicated young Airmen, like you! When your 

Nation calls, we will call upon you to join us in 

defending our homeland and interests around the 

world. This means you will deploy to a friendly 

or hostile environment with other Airmen to help 

us fulfill our mission. To maximize operational 

efficiency and to minimize your time away from 

home we created the AEF. 

AEF 20-Month Rotational Cycle.

What does this mean to you? It means during 

your scheduled deployment period expect you 

will be deployed so be prepared to deploy at a 

moment’s notice. Your commander will provide 

you an AEF identification card displaying your 

assigned AEF and eligibility period. It is your 

responsibility to ensure you are trained and 
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prepared to deploy prior to your eligibility 

period. This also requires you to make sure your 

family and personal matters are taken care of 

even if you do not have orders to deploy. If you 

are not tasked to deploy at the beginning of the 

eligibility period, you must remain prepared to 

deploy throughout your assigned period. This 

means you should not plan to take leave or 

be away from your duty station for extended 

periods of time, and what is planned at your 

home unit does not depend on you, you are 

available to complete day-to-day duties, but 

the job does not depend on your being therebecause you may not be. When you deploy you 

will join other Airmen already deployed to the 

area of operations (AOR). Figure 2 delineates the 

Air Force’s command and control (C2) construct 

in a deployed environment. Each Airman, like 

at home station, is assigned to an Expeditionary 

Air Force unit that is responsible for their welfare. 
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Figure 2

The Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force 

commander (whether an AEG, AEW, or NEAF) 

presents a “single” Air Force face to the Joint Force 

Commander. In this joint role the commander is 

the Commander, Air Force Forces (COMAFFOR). 

This construct preserves the principle of unity 

of command. 

Air Force Command and Control (Deployed)

Airmen today, whether active duty, guard, or 

reserve are deployed around the world to further 

our national objectives. This service to country 

has given us the freedom of the skies for many 

decades and our flag flies high-the AEF is our 

way of life! 

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Air Force Operations Worldwide 200
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04
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Distinctive Capabilities

Our distinctive capabilities represent the 

combination of professional knowledge, air and 

space power expertise, and technological fluency 

that, when applied, produces superior military 

capabilities or effects. They are the basic areas of 

expertise that the Air Force brings to any activity 

across the spectrum of military operations, whether 

as a single Service or in conjunction with other 

Services in joint operations. 

Air and Space Superiority:

The ability to control what moves through air and space to ensure 

freedom of action for joint and combined forces 

Information Superiority:

The ability to control and exploit information to the Nations’ 

advantage to ensure decision dominance

Global Attack:

The ability to engage targets anywhere, anytime to hold any 

adversary at risk

Precision Engagement:

The ability to deliver desired effects with minimal risk and 

collateral damage to deny sanctuary to the adversary

Rapid Global Mobility:

The ability to rapidly position forces anywhere in the world to 

ensure unprecedented responsiveness

Agile Combat Support:

The ability to sustain responsive, 

persistent, and effective combat operations 

anywhere in the world
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CONOPS

The Air Force has written six concepts of 

operations (CONOPS) that support capabilitiesbased planning and the joint vision of combat 

operations. The CONOPS help analyze the span of 

joint tasks the Air Force might be asked to perform 

and define the effects the Air Force can produce. 

Most important, they help the Air Force identify 

the capabilities an expeditionary force will need 

to accomplish its mission, creating a framework 

that enables us to shape our portfolio. 
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• Homeland Security CONOPS leverages Air 

Force capabilities with joint and interagency 

efforts to prevent, protect, and respond to 

threats against our homeland-within or beyond 

US territories. 

• Space and Command, Control, Communications, 

Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and 

Reconnaissance CONOPS (Space and 

C4ISR) harnesses the integration of manned, 

unmanned, and space systems to provide 

persistent situation awareness and executable 

decision-quality information to the Joint Force 

Commander (JFC).

• Global Mobility CONOPS provides Combatant 

Commanders with the planning, command and 

control, and operations capabilities to enable 

timely and effective projection, employment, 

and sustainment of US power in support of 

US global interests-precision delivery for 

operational effect. 

• Global Strike CONOPS employs joint 

power-projection capabilities to engage antiaccess and high-value targets, gain access to 

denied battlespace, and maintain battlespace 

access for required joint/coalition follow-on 

operations. 

• Global Persistent Attack CONOPS provides 

a spectrum of capabilities from major combat 

to peacekeeping and sustainment operations. 

Global Persistent Attack assumes that once 
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access conditions are established (i.e. through 

Global Strike), there will be a need for 

persistent and sustained operations to maintain 

air, space, and information dominance. 

• Nuclear Response CONOPS provides 

the deterrent “umbrella” under which 

conventional forces 

o p e r a t e, a n d, i f 

deterrence fails, 

avails a scalable 

response. 

This effects-bas-ed 

focus and capab i l i t i e s - b a s e d 

CONOPS provides: 

• A r t i c u l a t i o n 

o f o p e r a t i o n a l 

capa-bilities that 

w i l l p r e v a i l i n 

conflicts and avert 

t e c h n o l o g i c a l 

surprises;

• An operational risk and capabilities-based 

programmatic decision-making focus;

• Budgeting guidance to the Air Force Major 

Commands for fulfilling capabilities-based 

solutions to satisfy warfighter requirements;

• Warfighter risk management insights for longrange planning. 
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Air & Space Doctrine

What is Doctrine?

Air and Space Doctrine is a statement of 

officially sanctioned beliefs, warfighting 

principles, and terminology that describes and 

guides the proper use of air and space forces 

in military operations. It is what we Airmen 

have come to understand as a common frame 

of reference on the best way to prepare and 

employ air and space forces. Subsequently, 

operational doctrine shapes the manner in 

which the Air Force organizes, trains, equips, 

and sustains its forces. 

Doctrine prepares us for future uncertainties 

and provides a common set of understandings 

on which Airmen base their decisions. Doctrine 

consists of the fundamental principles by which 

military forces guide their actions in support 

of national objectives; it is the linchpin of 

successful military operations. It also provides 

us with common terminology, conveying 

precision in expressing our ideas. 

In application, doctrine should be used with 

judgment. It must never be dismissed out of 

hand or through ignorance of its principles, 

nor should it be employed blindly without due 

regard for the mission and situation at hand. 

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On the other hand, following doctrine to the letter 

is not the fundamental intent. Good doctrine is 

somewhat akin to a good “commander’s intent:” 

it provides sufficient information on what to do, 

but does not specifically say how to do it. 

Know the enemy and know yourself; 

in a hundred battles you will 

never be in peril.

SunTzu, offensive strategy

Doctrine explains why air and space power is 

different from other forms of military power, how 

it should be organized and employed, and why it’s 

best to do things certain ways. Doctrine is also 

an educational tool that captures those “bits of 

handed-down wisdom,” as well as recent thinking 

on expeditionary organization and emerging 

operational concepts. By bringing all these ideas 

together in a coherent fashion, doctrine captures 

our Service’s identity. 

Joint doctrine, as it applies to air and space power 

in joint operations, describes the best way to 

integrate and employ air and space forces with 

land and maritime forces in military action. Joint 

doctrine is published in the joint publication 

system. 

In the current evolving environment of expeditionary operations and the emerging arena of 

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homeland security, doctrine provides an informed 

starting point for the many decisions Airmen must 

make in what seems to be a continuous series of 

deployments. We no longer face the challenge of 

starting with a blank sheet of paper. With doctrine, 

Airmen have a good outline of the basic issues: 

What is my mission? 

 How should I approach it?

How should my organization look, 

and why?

What are my lines of authority within 

my organization and 

 within the joint force?

What degrees of control do I have over 

my forces?

How am I supported? 

 Who do I call for more support?

From one operation to the next, many things are 

actually constant. Doctrine, properly applied, 

often can provide a 70-, 80-, or even 90- percent 

solution to most questions, allowing leaders to 

focus on the remainder, which usually involves 

tailoring for the specific operation.
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Levels of Air and Space Doctrine

Basic doctrine

States the most fundamental and enduring 

beliefs that describe and guide the proper 

use, presentation, and organization of air and 

space forces in military action. It describes 

the “elemental 

properties” of air 

and space power 

a n d p r o v i d e s 

t h e A i r m a n ’ s 

perspective. Air 

Force Doctrine 

Document (AFDD) 

1 is the Airman’s 

basic doctrine.

Operational 

doctrine

C o n t a i n e d i n 

A F D D 2 - s e r i e s 

p u b l i c a t i o n s 

describes more 

detailed organ-ization of air and space forces 

and applies the principles of basic doctrine to 

military actions. Air Force operational tactics, 

techniques, and procedures (AFOTTP) describe 

how operations centers and other command and 

control nodes function and how they plan and 

employ air, space, and information capabilities 

to achieve desired effects and objectives at the 
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operational level of war.

Tactical doctrine

Describes the proper employment of specific 

Air Force assets, individually or in concert with 

other assets, to accomplish detailed objectives. 

Tactical doctrine is codified as tactics, techniques, 

and procedures (TTP) in Air Force TTP-3 series 

manuals. Because tactical doctrine is closely 

associated with employment of technology, change 

may occur more rapidly than to the other levels of 

doctrine. Also, due to their sensitive nature, these 

documents are usually classified.

Summary

Air and space doctrine is an accumulation of 

knowledge gained primarily from the study and 

analysis of experience, which may include actual 

combat or contingency operations, as well as 

experiments or exercises. As such, doctrine reflects 

what has worked best with full consideration of 

what has worked poorly. In those less frequent 

instances in which experience is lacking or difficult 

to acquire (as in, for example, nuclear operations), 

doctrine may be developed through analysis of 

exercises, wargames, and experiments.

Doctrine development is never complete. Any 

given Air Force Doctrine Document is a snapshot 

in time, a reflection of the thinking at the time of 

its creation. Innovation has always been key to 

sound doctrinal development and must continue 
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to play a central role. Doctrine will evolve as new 

experiences and advances in technology point 

the way to the operations of the future.

At the very heart of warfare lies doctrine.

War is a matter of vital importance to the 

State; the province of life or death; [and 

war] the road to survial or ruin. It is 

mandatory that it be thoroughly studied.

-SunTzu, estimates

NATURE OF WAR

Three enduring truths describe the nature of war: 

War is an instrument of policy.

War is a complex and chaotic human 

endeavor.

War is a clash of opposing wills.

PRINCIPLES AND TENETS

Throughout the history of conflict, military leaders 

have noted certain principles that tended to produce 

military victory. Known as the principles of war, 

they are “those aspects of warfare that are universally 

true and relevant.” As members of the joint team, it 

is imperative that all Airmen appreciate how these 

principles apply to all forces and fully understand 

how they pertain to air and space forces. 

The nine principles of war—unity of command, 
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objective, offensive, mass, maneuver, economy 

of force, security, surprise, and simplicity—are 

guidelines that Airmen can use to form and select 

courses of action and concepts of operation. 

1. Unity of Command: Ensure unity of effort 

for every objective under one responsible 

commander.

2. Objective: Direct 

military operations 

toward a defined and 

attainable goal that 

contributes to strategic, 

operational, or tactical 

aims.

3. Offensive: Act rather 

than react and dictate 

the time, place, purpose, 

scope, intensity, and 

pace of operations. 

The initiative must be 

seized, retained, and 

fully exploited.

4. Mass: Concentrate combat power at the decisive 

time and place.

5. Maneuver: Place the enemy in a position of 

disadvantage through the flexible application of 

combat power.

6. Economy of Force: Create usable mass by using 

minimum usable mass by using minimum of 
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combat power on secondary objectives. Make 

fullest use of all forces available. Best mix of 

combat power.

7. Security: Protect friendly forces and their 

operations from enemy actions which could 

provide the enemy with unexpected advantage.

8. Surprise: Strike the enemy at a time or place or 

in a manner for which he is unprepared.

9. Simplicity: Avoid unnecessary complexity in 

preparing, planning, and conducting military 

operations.

While the principles of war provide general 

guidance on the application of military forces, the 

tenets provide specific considerations for air and 

space forces. They reflect the specific lessons of 

air and space operations over history. 

The tenets state that air and space power:

Should be centrally controlled and decentrally 

executed

Is flexible and versatile

Produces synergistic effects

Offers a unique form of persistence

Must achieve concentration of purpose

Must be prioritized

Must be balanced

As with the principles of war, these tenets require 

informed judgment in application.
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Operational Functions of 

 Air and Space Power 

The principles of war provide a foundation of 

warfighting principles universally held by the joint 

community. The tenets of air and space power 

refine these further by adding context, from the 

airman’s perspective, about how air and space 

power should best be applied. The functions of 

air and space power take this discussion to the 

next level of granularity, by describing the actual 

operational constructs Airmen use to apply air and 

space power to achieve objectives. 

Strategic Attack (SA) is defined as those 

operations intended to directly achieve strategic 

effects by striking at the enemy’s centers of 

gravity (COG). These operations are designed 

to achieve their objectives without first having to 

engage the adversary’s fielded military forces in 

extended operations at the operational and tactical 

levels of war. 

Counterair consists of operations to attain and 

maintain a desired degree of air superiority by the 

destruction or neutralization of enemy forces.

Offensive Counterair (OCA) consists of 

operations to destroy, neutralize, disrupt, or 

limit enemy air and missile power as close to its 

source as possible and at a time and place of our 

choosing.
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Defensive Counterair (DCA) concentrates on 

defeating the enemy’s offensive plan and on 

inflicting unacceptable losses on attacking enemy 

forces.

Counterspace involves those operations conducted 

to attain and maintain a desired degree of space 

superiority by the destruction or neutralization of 

enemy forces.

Offensive Counterspace (OCS) destroy, or 

neutralize, an adversary’s space system or the 

information they provide at a time and place of our 

choosing through attacks on the space, terrestrial, 

or link elements of space systems.

Defensive Counterspace (DCS) consists of active 

and passive actions to protect our space-related 

capabilities from enemy attack or interference.

Counterland involves those operations conducted 

to attain and maintain a desired degree of 

superiority over surface operations by the 

destruction or neutralization of enemy surface 

forces.

Interdiction is a form of air maneuver. It consists 

of operations to divert, disrupt, delay, or destroy 

the enemy’s surface military potential before it can 

be used effectively against friendly forces.

Close Air Support (CAS) consists of air operations 

against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly 

forces; further, these operations require detailed 

integration of each air mission with the fire and 

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movement of those forces. CAS provides direct 

support to help friendly surface forces carry out 

their assigned tasks. 

Countersea functions are an extension of Air 

Force functions into a maritime environment.

Information Operations(IO) are actions taken to 

influence, affect, or defend information, systems, 

and/or decision-making to create effects across 

the battlespace.

I n f l u e n c e 

O p e r a t i o n s

employ capabilities to affect 

b e h a v i o r s , 

p r o - t e c t 

o p e r a t i o n s, 

communicate 

commander’s 

i n te n t , a n d 

p r o - j e c t 

a c c u r a t e 

information to achieve desired effects across 

the cognitive battlespace. The elements of 

influence operations are counterpropaganda 

operations, psychological operations, military 

deception, operations security, counterintelligence 

operations, and public affairs operations.

Electronic warfare operations are those military 

actions involving the use of electromagnetic and 
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directed energy to control the electromagnetic 

spectrum or to attack the enemy across the 

electromagnetic battlespace.

Network warfare operations are the integrated 

planning and employment of military capabilities 

to achieve desired effects across the digital 

battlespace.

Combat Support encompasses the essential 

capabilities, functions, activities, and tasks necessary 

to create and sustain air and space forces. It includes 

the procurement, maintenance, distribution, and 

replacement of personnel and materiel.

Agile Combat Support (ACS) is the timely 

concentration, employment, and sustainment of US 

military power anywhere—at our initiative, speed, 

and tempo—that our adversaries cannot match.

Expeditionary Combat Support (ECS) comprises 

the expeditionary subset of ACS and includes the 

essential capabilities, functions, activities, and tasks 

necessary to employ and sustain all elements of 

aviation and ground combat operations forces in a 

deployed location.

Command and Control (C2) is the exercise of 

authority and direction by a properly designated 

commander over assigned and attached forces 

in the accomplishment of an assigned mission. 

C2 includes both the process by which the 

commander decides what action is to be taken 

and the systems that facilitate planning, execution, 
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and monitoring of those actions.

Airlift is the transportation of personnel and 

materiel through the air, which can be applied 

across the entire range of military operations to 

achieve or support objectives and can achieve 

tactical through strategic effects. 

Air Refueling is the in-flight transfer of fuel 

between tanker and receiver aircraft.

Spacelift delivers satellites, payloads, and materiel 

to space. Assured access to space is a key element 

of U. S. national space policy. 

Special Operations are the use of special airpower 

operations (denied territory mobility, surgical 

firepower, and special tactics) to conduct the following 

special operations functions: unconventional 

warfare, direct action, special reconnaissance, 

counterterrorism, foreign internal defense, 

psychological operations, and counterproliferation. 

Intelligence is the product resulting from the 

collection, processing, integration, analysis, 

evaluation, and interpretation of available information 

concerning foreign countries or areas.

Surveillance is the function of systematically 

observing air, space, surface, or subsurface 

areas, places, persons, or things, by visual, aural, 

electronic, photographic, or other means. It is 

a continuing process, not oriented to a specific 
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target. 

Reconnaissance complements surveillance by 

obtaining specific information about the activities 

and resources of an enemy or potential enemy 

through visual observation or other detection 

methods; or by securing data concerning the 

meteorological, hydrographic, or geographic 

characteristics of a particular area. 

Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) is performed 

by Air Force rescue forces to recover isolated 

personnel during war or military operations other 

than war (MOOTW). Accomplished with a mix 

of dedicated and augmenting assets, personnel 

recovery (PR) is the umbrella term for operations 

focusing on recovering captured, missing, or 

isolated personnel from danger. 

Navigation and Positioning provide accurate 

location and time of reference globally in support 

of strategic, operational, and tactical operations. 

Weather Services provided by the Air Force 

supply timely and accurate environmental 

information, including both space environment 

and atmospheric weather, to Air Force and Army 

commanders for their objectives and plans at the 

strategic, operational, and tactical levels.
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Code of Conduct for

Members of the Armed Forces

of the United States

The Articles of the Code.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower first published 

the Code of Conduct for members of the Armed 

Forces of the United States on 17 August 1955. In 

March 1988, President Ronald Reagan amended 

the code with gender-neutral language.

ARTICLE I.

I am an American, fighting in the forces which 

guard my country and our way of life. I am 

prepared to give my life in their defense.

ARTICLE II.

I will never surrender of my own free will. If in 

command, I will never surrender the members of my 

command while they still have the means to resist.
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ARTICLE III.

If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all 

means available. I will make every effort to escape 

and aid others to escape. I will accept neither 

parole nor special favors from the enemy.

ARTICLE IV.

If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with 

my fellow prisoners. I will give no information 

or take part in any action which might be harmful 

to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take 

command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders 

of those appointed over me and will back them 

up in every way.

ARTICLE V.

When questioned, should I become a prisoner of 

war, I am required to give name, rank, service 

number, and date of birth. I will evade answering 

further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will 

make no oral or written statements disloyal to my 

country and its allies or harmful to their cause.

ARTICLE VI.

I will never forget that I am an American, fighting 

for freedom, responsible for my actions, and 

dedicated to the principles which made my country 

free. I will trust in my God and in the United 

States of America.
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Combatant Commands

Unified and specified combatant commands were 

first described in the National Security Act (NSA) 

of 1947 and the statutory definition of the combatant 

commands has not changed since then.

• Unified Combatant Command. A military 

command which has a broad, continuing 

mission under a single commander and which is 

composed of forces from two or more military 

departments.

• Specified Combatant Command. A military 

command which has a broad, continuing mission 

and which is normally composed of forces from 

one military department. There are currently no 

specified commands, but the option to create 

such a command still exists.

• The term combatant command means a unified 

or specified command. Its commander is known 

as a combatant commander (COCOM). 

OPERATIONAL CONTROL of US combat forces 

are assigned to the nation’s Unified Combatant 

Commands. The chain of command runs from the 

President to the Secretary of Defense to the Unified 

Commanders. Orders and other communications 

from the President or Secretary are transmitted 

through the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

 A Unified Combatant Command is normally 

organized on a geographical basis, although there are 

two organized by function. The number of unified 

combatant commands is not fixed by law or regulation 

and may vary from time to time.
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REGIONAL COMBATANT COMMANDS

US European Command (EUCOM)

Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany 

US Pacific Command (PACOM) 

Honolulu, Hawaii 

US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)

Miami, Florida 

US Central Command (CENTCOM)

MacDill Air Force Base, Florida 

US Northern Command (NORTHCOM)

Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado 

FUNCTIONAL COMMANDS

US Joint Forces Command (JFCOM)

Norfolk, Virginia

US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) MacDill 

Air Force Base, Florida 

US Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) Scott Air 

Force Base, Illinois 

US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) 

Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska 

Operational Chain of Command

PRESIDENT

SECDEF

CJCS

COMBATANT COMMANDERS

Direct Command

Advisory Role
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Joint Staff - Air Force Staff

Directorates

J-1 Manpower & Personnel A-1

 

J-2 Intelligence A-2

 

J-3 Operations A-3

 

J-4 Logistics A-4

 

J-5 Strategic Plans & Policy A-5

 

J-6 Command, Control, A-6

 Communications, &

 Computer Systems 

 

J-7 Operational Plans & A-7

 Force Development 

 

J-8 Force Structure A-8

Resources and Assessment

 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

259

Functions of Other Services

The Department of the Army is responsible 

for the preparation of land forces necessary for 

the effective prosecution of war and military 

operations short of war, and, in accordance 

with integrated joint mobilization plans, for the 

expansion of the peacetime components of the 

Army to meet the needs of war. The Army, within 

the Department of the Army, includes land combat 

and service forces and any organic aviation and 

water transport assigned.

Some of the Major Functions of 

 THE ARMY are to: 

• organize, train, and equip forces for the conduct 

of prompt and sustained combat operations on 

land—specifically, forces to defeat enemy land 

forces and to seize, occupy, and defend land 

areas;

• organize, train, equip, and provide forces for 

appropriate air and missile defense and space 

control operations, and for the support and 

conduct of special operations;

�

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260

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

• develop airborne doctrine, procedures, and 

equipment that are of common interest to Army 

and Marine Corps;

• organize, equip, and provide Army forces for 

joint amphibious, airborne, and space operations 

and train such forces, in accordance with joint 

doctrines;

• organize, equip, and provide forces for the 

support and conduct of special operations;

• organize, equip, and provide forces for 

the support and conduct of psychological 

operations;

• furnish forces for the occupation of territories 

abroad;

• conduct the authorized civil works program, 

including projects for improvement of 

navigation, flood control, beach erosion control, 

and other water resource developments in the 

United States.

A collateral function of the Army is to train forces to 

interdict enemy sea and air power and communications 

through operations on or from land.
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

261

The Department of the Navy is responsible for 

the preparation of the Navy and Marine Corps 

forces necessary for the effective prosecution 

of war and military operations short of war and, 

under the integrated joint mobilization plans, for 

the expansion of the peacetime component of the 

Navy and Marine Corps to meet the needs of war. 

Within the Department of the Navy, the Navy 

includes naval combat and service forces and such 

aviation as may be organic. 

Some of the Major Functions of 

 THE NAVY & MARINE CORPS are to: 

• organize, equip, and furnish naval forces, 

including naval close air support and space 

forces, for the conduct of joint amphibious 

operations;

• organize, train, equip, and provide forces for 

strategic nuclear warfare to support strategic 

deterrence;

• organize, train, equip, and provide forces 

for reconnaissance, antisubmarine warfare, 

protection of shipping, aerial refueling and 

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262

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

minelaying, and controlled minefield operations; 

furnish the afloat forces for strategic sealift;

• furnish air support essential for naval operations;

• organize, train, equip, and provide forces for 

appropriate air and missile defense and space 

control operations, including forces required for 

the strategic defense of the United States, under 

joint doctrines;

• organize, train, equip, and furnish forces to operate 

sea lines of communication; and

• organize, train, equip, and furnish forces for the 

support and conduct of special operations. 

Some collateral functions of the Navy and Marine 

Corps are to:

• interdict enemy land power, airpower, and 

communications through operations at sea;

• furnish close air and naval support for land 

operations;

• prepare to participate in the overall air and space 

effort; and 

• establish military government pending transfer of 

this responsibility. 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

263

Specific responsibilities of the Department of 

the Navy toward the Marine Corps include the 

maintenance of not less than three combat divisions 

and three air wings and such other land combat, 

aviation, and other services as may be organic 

therein.

Some of the Major Functions of 

 THE MARINE CORPS are to:

• organize, train, and equip Fleet Marine Forces 

of combined arms, together with supporting 

air components, for service with the fleet in the 

seizure or defense of advanced naval bases and 

for the conduct of such land operations as may be 

essential to the prosecution of a naval campaign;

• furnish security detachments and organizations for 

service on naval vessels of the Navy;

• furnish security detachments for protection of 

naval property at naval stations and bases;

• perform other duties as the President may direct; 

and

• develop landing force doctrines, tactics, techniques, 

and equipment that are of common interest to the 

Army and Marine Corps.

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264

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The Coast Guard is a military Service and a 

branch of the Armed Forces of the United States 

at all times. It is a Service in the Department of 

Homeland Security except when operating as part 

of the Navy on declaration of war or when the 

President directs.

Some of the Major Functions of 

 THE COAST GUARD are to:

• enforce or assist in enforcement of the law with 

power to arrest, search, and seize persons and 

property suspected of violations of Federal law, 

including drug interdiction;

• administer laws and enforce regulations for the 

promotion of safety of life and property on and 

under the high seas and waters subject to US 

jurisdiction;

• coordinate marine environmental protection 

response;

• enforce port safety and security;

• enforce commercial vessel safety standards and 

regulations;

• regulate and control ship movement and 

anchorage;

• acquire, maintain, and repair short-range aids to 

navigation;

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

265

• establish, operate, and maintain radio navigation;

• develop, establish, maintain, and operate polar and 

US icebreaking facilities;

• organize, equip, and furnish forces for maritime 

search and rescue;

• engage in oceanographic research; and,

• maintain a state of readiness to function as a 

specialized Service in the Navy.

Some of the Major Wartime Functions of 

 THE COAST GUARD are to:

• continue peacetime missions;

• plan and coordinate US coastal defense for the Fleet 

Commanders through assignment as commanders 

of US Maritime Defense Zone Atlantic and Pacific; 

and

• perform naval wartime missions of inshore 

undersea warfare, mine countermeasures, harbor 

defense, ocean escort, etc., occurring in the US 

littoral sea.

• enforce or assist in enforcement of the law with 

power to arrest, search, and seize persons and 

property suspected of violations of Federal law, 

including drug interdiction;

• administer laws and enforce regulations for the 

promotion of safety of life and property on and 

under the high seas and waters subject to US 

jurisdiction;

• coordinate marine environmental protection 

response;

• enforce port safety and security;

• enforce commercial vessel safety standards and 

regulations;

• regulate and control ship movement and 

anchorage;
266

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

• acquire, maintain, and repair short-range aids to 

navigation;

• establish, operate, and maintain radio navigation;

• develop, establish, maintain, and operate polar and 

US icebreaking facilities;

• organize, equip, and furnish forces for maritime 

search and rescue;

• engage in oceanographic research; and,

• maintain a state of readiness to function as a 

specialized Service in the Navy.
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268

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

DoD Military Rank and Insignia

Air Force Ranks

ENLISTED

E-6

TECHNICAL 

SERGEANT

(TSgt)

E-7

MASTER 

SERGEANT

(MSgt)

E-7

FIRST 

SERGEANT

(MSgt)

E-1

AIRMAN 

BASIC

(AB)

E-2

AIRMAN

(AMN)

E-3

AIRMAN

FIRST CLASS

(A1C)

E-9

CHIEF

MASTER

SERGEANT

(CMSgt)

E-9

FIRST 

SERGEANT

(CMSgt)

E-9

COMMAND 

CHIEF

MASTER 

SERGEANT

(CCM)

E-8

SENIOR

MASTER

SERGEANT

(SMSgt)

E-8

FIRST 

SERGEANT

(SMSgt)

E-4

SENIOR

AIRMAN

(SrA)

E-5

STAFF 

SERGEANT

(SSgt)

CHIEF MASTER 

SERGEANT

OF THE

AIR FORCE

(CMSAF)

NO 

INSIGNIA
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

269

OFFICER

O-5

LIEUTENANT

COLONEL

(Lt Col)

O-6

COLONEL

(Col)

O-7

BRIGADIER

GENERAL

(Brig Gen)

O-1

SECOND 

LIEUTENANT

(2d Lt)

O-2

FIRST

LIEUTENANT

(1st Lt)

O-3

CAPTAIN

(Capt)

O-9

LIEUTENANT

GENERAL

(Lt Gen)

O-10

GENERAL

(Gen)

GENERAL

OF THE 

AIR FORCE

O-8

MAJOR 

GENERAL

(Maj Gen)

O-4

MAJOR

(Maj)
270

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Army Ranks

ENLISTED

E-5

SERGEANT

(SGT)

E-6

STAFF 

SERGEANT

(SSG)

E-7

SERGEANT 

FIRST 

CLASS

(SFC)

E-1

PRIVATE

(PV1)

E-2

PRIVATE

(PV2)

E-3

PRIVATE 

FIRST 

CLASS

(PFC)

E-8

MASTER 

SERGEANT

(MSG)

E-4

SPECALIST

(SPC)

E-9

SERGEANT 

MAJOR

(SGM)

E-9

COMMAND

SERGEANT

MAJOR

(CSM)

SERGEANT 

MAJOR OF THE 

ARMY

(SMA)

E-8

FIRST 

SERGEANT

(1SG)

NO 

INSIGNIA E-4

CORPORAL

(CPL)
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

271

OFFICER

O-6

COLONEL

(COL)

O-7

BRIGADIER 

GENERAL

(BG)

O-8

MAJOR

GENERAL

(MG)

O-1

SECOND 

LIEUTENANT

(2LT)

O-2

FIRST

LIEUTENANT

(1LT)

O-3

CAPTAIN

(CPT)

GENERAL OF 

THE ARMY

(GA)

O-10

GENERAL

(GEN)

O-5

LIEUTENANT

COLONEL

(LTC)

O-4

MAJOR

(MAJ)

O-9

LIEUTENANT

GENERAL

(LG)
272

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Navy Ranks

ENLISTED

E-6

PETTY 

OFFICER

FIRST CLASS

(PO1)

E-7

CHIEF PETTY 

OFFICER

(CPO)

E-8

SENIOR CHIEF 

PETTY OFFICER

(SCPO)

E-1

SEAMAN 

RECRUIT

(SR)

E-2

SEAMAN 

APPRENTICE

(SA)

E-3

SEAMAN

(SN)

E-9

MASTER 

CHIEF PETTY 

OFFICER

(MCPO)

E-4

PETTY 

OFFICER

THIRD CLASS

(PO3)

E-9

FORCE or FLEET

COMMAND 

MASTER CHIEF 

PETTY OFFICER

(FORMC) 

MASTER CHIEF 

PETTY OFFICER

OF THE NAVY

(MCPON)

E-5

PETTY 

OFFICER

SECOND 

CLASS

(PO2)

NO 

INSIGNIA
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

273

OFFICER

O-5

COMMANDER

(CDR)

O-6

CAPTAIN

(CAPT)

O-7

REAR ADMIRAL

LOWER HALF

(RADM)(L)

O-1

ENSIGN

(ENS)

O-2

LIEUTENANT

JUNIOR GRADE

(LTJG)

O-3

LIEUTENANT

(LT)

O-9

VICE ADMIRAL

(VADM)

FLEET 

ADMIRAL

(FADM)

O-10

ADMIRAL

(ADM)

O-8

REAR ADMIRAL

UPPER HALF

(RADM)(U)

O-4

LIEUTENANT 

COMMANDER

(LCDR)
274

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Marine Corps Ranks

ENLISTED

E-6

STAFF

SERGEANT

(SSgt)

E-7

GUNNERY

SERGEANT

(GySgt)

E-8

MASTER

SERGEANT

(MSgt)

E-1

PRIVATE

(Pvt)

E-2

PRIVATE 

FIRST 

(PFC)

E-3

LANCE 

CORPORAL

(LCpl)

E-8

FIRST

SERGEANT

(1stSgt)

E-4

CORPORAL

(Cpl)

E-9

MASTER

GUNNERY

SERGEANT

(MGySgt)

E-9

SERGEANT

MAJOR

(SgtMaj)

E-5

SERGEANT

(Sgt)

SERGEANT 

MAJOR OF THE 

MARINE CORPS

(SgtMajMC)

NO 

INSIGNIA
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

275

OFFICER

O-6

COLONEL

(Col)

O-7

BRIGADIER

GENERAL

(BGen)

O-8

MAJOR

GENERAL

(MajGen)

O-1

SECOND 

LIEUTENANT

(2ndLt)

O-2

FIRST

LIEUTENANT

(1stLt)

O-3

CAPTAIN

(Capt)

W-1

WARRANT 

OFFICER

(W0)

W-3

CHIEF

WARRANT 

OFFICER

(CWO3)

W-5

CHIEF

WARRANT 

OFFICER

(CWO5)

W-4

CHIEF

WARRANT 

OFFICER

(CWO4)

W-2

CHIEF

WARRANT 

OFFICER

(CWO2)

O-9

LIEUTENANT

GENERAL

(LtGen)

O-4

MAJOR

(Maj)

O-10

GENERAL

(Gen)

O-5

LIEUTENANT

COLONEL

(LtCol)
276

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Coast Guard Ranks

ENLISTED

E-5

PETTY

OFFICER

SECOND CLASS

(PO2)

E-6

PETTY

OFFICER

FIRST CLASS

(PO1)

E-7

CHIEF PETTY 

OFFICER

(CPO)

E-1

SEAMAN 

RECRUIT

(SR)

E-2

SEAMAN

APPRENTICE

(SA)

E-3

SEAMAN

(SN)

E-8

SENIOR CHIEF 

PETTY 

OFFICER

(SCPO)

E-4

PETTY 

OFFICER

THIRD CLASS

(PO3)

E-9

MASTER 

CHIEF PETTY 

OFFICER

(MCPO)

E-9

COMMAND 

MASTER 

CHIEF 

(CMC)

MASTER CHIEF 

PETTY 

OFFICER OF THE 

COAST GUARD

(MCPO-CG)
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

277

OFFICER

O-5

COMMANDER

(CDR)

O-6

CAPTAIN

(CAPT)

O-7

REAR ADMIRAL

LOWER HALF

(RADM)(L)

O-1

ENSIGN

(ENS)

O-2

LIEUTENANT

JUNIOR GRADE

(LTJG)

O-3

LIEUTENANT

(LT)

0-9

VICE ADMIRAL

(VADM)

O-10

ADMIRAL

(ADM)

O-8

REAR ADMIRAL

UPPER HALF

(RADM)(U)

O-4

LIEUTENANT 

COMMANDER

(LCDR)
278

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Cadet

Amn1C

Air Force Jr. ROTC, ROTC,

OTS and Cadet Rank

Cadet

1st Lt

Cadet

2nd Lt

Cadet

Capt

Cadet

Major

Cadet

LtCol

Cadet

Colonel

Cadet

Amn

Cadet

SrAmn

Cadet

SSgt

Cadet

TSgt

Cadet

MSgt

Cadet

SMSgt

Cadet

CMSgt

OT 4th

Class

OT 3rd

Class

OT 2

Lt

OT 1

Lt

OT

Capt

OT

Major

OT

Lt Col

OT

Col

OT Rank Insignia
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

279

Cadet Solo Cadet Sr. Aviation 

Instructor

Cadet Flight 

Cadet Soaring 

Instructor Pilot Parachutist Air Assault

Comm/Athletic

Pin 

Comm/Dean’s

Pin 

Superintendent’s

Pin 

Air Force Academy Cadet Badges and Rank

Bulldog Badge

Recondo Badge

Athletic Pin 

Dean’s Pin 

Dean/Athletic Pin 

Commandant’s 

Pin
280

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Cadet MSgt-Group 

Staff-Jr 

Cadet SSgt-Group 

Color Bearer-Soph 

Cadet 3rd Class-Soph 

Cadet 4th Class 

Freshman 

Cadet SSgt-Soph Flag 

Bearer-Color Bearer 

Cadet MSgt-Jr 

Cadet SSgt-Soph 

Cadet TSgt-Jr

Cadet 2nd Class-Jr

Basic Cadet

No Shoulder Board

Cadet SMSgtSuperintendent

Cadet CMSgt-Group 

Staff-Jr 

Cadet MSgt-Wg Staff-Jr
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

281

Cadet Capt-Sr 

Cadet 1st Lt-Sr 

Cadet 2Lt-Sr 

Cadet Capt-Flt/CC-Sr

Cadet CMSgt-Group 

Superintendent-Jr 

Cadet 1st Class-Sr

Cadet CMSgt-Wg 

Superintendent-Jr 

Cadet Col-Vice Wg 

Commander-Sr 

Cadet Col-Wg 

Commander-Sr 

Cadet Col-Group/CC-Sr 

Cadet LtCol-Sr 

Cadet Major-Sr 

Cadet Major-Athletic

Team Captain-Sr 

Cadet LtCol-Wg 

Honor Chairman-Sr
282

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283

CUSTOMS AND COURTESY

Respect for the Flag

Use the following procedures when showing 

respect to the flag and the national anthem:

All personnel in uniform and outside must face the 

flag and salute during the raising and lowering of 

the flag. Upon the first note of the national anthem 

or “To the Colors,” all personnel in uniform who 

aren’t in formation should stand and face the flag 

(or the sound of the music if the flag is not visible) 

and salute. Hold the salute until the last note of the 

music is played. 

All vehicles in motion should come to a stop at the 

first note of the music and the occupants should sit 

quietly until the music ends. 

When in civilian clothes, face the flag (or the sound 

of the music if the flag is not visible) and stand at 

attention with the right hand over the heart.

If indoors during retreat or reveille, there’s no need 

to stand or salute. However, everyone must stand 

during the playing of the national anthem before 

a showing of a movie while in the base theater. 

When listening to a radio or watching television, 

no specific action is necessary. Additionally, a 

folded flag is considered cased; therefore, it is not 

necessary to salute or continue saluting.
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Saluting

The salute is a courteous exchange of greetings, 

with the junior member always saluting the 

senior member or Medal of Honor recipient 

first. A salute is also rendered to the flag as a 

sign of respect. Any Airman, noncommissioned 

officer, or officer recognizing a need to salute or 

a need to return one may do so anywhere at any 

time. When returning or 

rendering an individual 

salute, the head and eyes 

are turned toward the 

flag or person saluted. 

Wh en in ranks, the 

position of attention 

is maintained unless 

otherwise directed. The 

following guidance is 

offered on exchanging 

salutes:

Outdoors. Salutes are 

e x - c h a n g e d u p o n 

recognition between 

officers or war-rant 

officers and enlisted 

members of the Armed Forces when they are 

in uniform. Saluting out-doors means salutes 

are exchanged when the persons involved are 

outside of a building. For example, if a person 

is on a porch, a covered sidewalk, a bus stop, a 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

285

covered or open entryway, or a reviewing stand, 

the salute will be exchanged with a person on 

the sidewalk outside of the structure or with a 

person approaching or in the same structure. 

This applies both on and off military installations. 

The junior member should initiate the salute in 

time to allow the senior officer to return it. To 

prescribe an exact distance for all circumstances 

is not practical; however, good judgment should 

dictate when salutes are exchanged. A superior 

carrying articles in both hands need not return 

the salute, but he or she should nod in return or 

verbally acknowledge the salute. If the junior 

member is carrying articles in both hands, verbal 

greetings should be exchanged. Also, use the 

same procedures when greeting an officer of a 

foreign nation. 

In Formation. Members do not salute or 

return a salute unless given the command to do 

so. Normally the person in charge salutes and 

acknowledges salutes for the whole formation.

In Groups—Not in Formation. When a senior 

officer approaches, the first individual noticing the 

officer calls the group to attention. All members 

face the officer and salute. If the officer addresses 

an individual or the group, all remain at attention 

(unless otherwise ordered) until the end of the 

conversation, at which time they salute the officer.

In Public Gatherings. Salutes between individuals 

are not required in public gatherings, such as 
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

sporting events or meetings, or when a salute 

would be inappropriate or impractical.

In Moving Military Vehicles. Exchange of 

salutes between military pedestrians (including 

gate sentries) and officers in moving military 

vehicles is not mandatory. However, when officer 

passengers are readily identifiable (for example, 

officers in appropriately marked vehicles), the 

salute must be rendered. 

In the Presence of Civilians. Persons in uniform 

may salute civilians. The President of the United 

States, as Commander in Chief of the Armed 

Forces, is always accorded the honor of a salute. 

In a Work Detail. In a work detail, individual 

workers do not salute. The person in charge salutes 

for the entire detail.

Indoors. Except for formal reporting, salutes are 

not rendered.

Military Etiquette

Etiquette is defined as common, everyday courtesy. 

The military world, like the civilian world, 

functions more smoothly and pleasantly when 

members practice good manners. 

Simple things like saying “please”and “thank 

you” help the organization run smoother because 

people respond more enthusiastically when asked 

in a courteous manner to do something. They also 

appreciate knowing their efforts are recognized 

when told “thank you.”
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

287

One of the most valuable habits anyone can 

develop is to be on time. Granted, there are 

times when a person cannot avoid being late. 

If this happens, it is best to call ahead to let the 

people know you’ll be late or to reschedule the 

appointment. Do not 

keep others waiting.

Address civil service 

employees properly. 

A s a r u l e , a d d r e s s 

t h e m a p p ro p r i ate l y 

as “Mr,” “Mrs,” “Miss,” or 

“Ms” and a last name, 

unless requested to 

do otherwise. Always 

a d d r e s s a s u p e r i o r 

formally. This is especially 

important in most foreign 

countries where use of 

first names on the job is 

much more limited than 

in the United States.

Don’t gossip. A discussion of others’ personal 

habits, problems, and activities, real or rumored, 

often results in quarrels and disputes among 

people who work together. The morale of any 

unit may suffer because of feuds that arise from 

gossip. The best policy is to not gossip and to 

discourage others from gossiping. 

Use proper telephone etiquette. Always be polite 
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

and identify yourself and your organization. 

When an individual is not available to take a 

call, ask: “May I take a message?” or “Is there 

something I may help you with?” If a call is to 

be returned, write down the individual’s name, 

organization, telephone number, the message, 

date and time, and then pass this information 

along to the intended recipient. 

Do not lean or sit on desks. Also, do not lean back 

in a chair or put feet on desks. This type of conduct 

doesn’t present a professional military image. 

In general, use common sense and be considerate 

of other people and insist your subordinates do 

the same. 

Courtesies to Other Services. The collective 

efforts of the Air Force, Army, and Navy, Marines, 

and Coast Guard provide for the defense of 

the country against aggression. All Services 

are part of the military team; therefore, extend 

the same military courtesies to members of the 

other Services. While it is natural that friendly 

rivalries exist between the Services, military 

courtesies among Services remain the same. Thus, 

the members of the other Services are as much 

comrades-in-arms as are any Airmen. 

This is equally true of the friendly armed forces 

of the United Nations. Salute all commissioned 

officers and pay the same respect to the 

national anthems and flags of other nations 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

289

as rendered the US national anthem and flag. 

While it is not necessary to learn the identifying 

insignia of the military grades of all nations, you 

should learn the insignia of the most frequently 

contacted nations, particularly during an 

overseas assignment. 

Respect and 

Recognition

C o m m o n A c t s o f 

Courtesy. Common acts 

of courtesy among all Air 

Force personnel aid in 

maintaining discipline and 

promoting the smooth 

conduct of affairs in the 

military establishment. 

When courtesy falters 

within a unit, discipline 

ceases to function and 

a c c o m p l i s h i n g t h e 

mission is endangered. 

Many of the Air Force 

courtesies involve the 

salute. There are, however, many other courtesies 

commonly extended to superiors, subordinates, 

and working associates. The following paragraphs 

list some of these courtesies:

Always give the senior person, enlisted or 

commissioned, the position of honor when 
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

walking, riding, or sitting with him or her. The 

junior person should take the position to the 

senior’s left. 

When reporting to an officer indoors, if not under 

arms, knock once and enter when told to do so. 

Upon entering, march to approximately two paces 

from the officer or desk, halt, salute, and report in 

this manner: “Sir (Ma’am), Airman Smith reports 

as ordered,” or “Sir (Ma’am), Airman Smith reports.” 

When the conversation 

is completed, execute 

a shar p salute and 

hold it until the officer 

acknowledges it, then 

perform the appropriate 

facing movements and 

depart. 

Unless told otherwise, 

r i s e a n d s t a n d a t 

attention when a senior 

official enters or departs 

a room. If more than one 

person is present, the 

person who first sees the 

officer calls the group to 

attention. However, if there is an officer already 

in the room who is equal to or has a higher rank 

than the officer entering the room, do not call 

the room to attention. 

Except in the field under campaign or simulated 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

291

campaign conditions, observe certain personal 

courtesies in association with officers. Unless 

the officer directs otherwise, stand at attention 

when speaking to an officer. If in a parked vehicle, 

always get out before speaking to or replying to 

a senior who is not in the vehicle. 

Military personnel enter automobiles and small 

boats in reverse order of rank. Juniors will enter 

a vehicle first (and take their appropriate seat on 

the senior’s left). The senior officer will be the last 

to enter the vehicle and the first to leave it. 

Upon entering or leaving transport aircraft, the 

senior officer enters last and exits first. This 

procedure only applies to passengers and not to 

crewmembers of the aircraft who must be free to 

carry out their normal duties.

Proper Addresses. Senior service members 

frequently address juniors by their first names, 

but this practice does not give juniors the privilege 

of addressing seniors in any way other than by 

proper titles. If Airmen are present, senior service 

members should address junior service members 

by their titles. Service members of the same 

grade, when among themselves, may address one 

another by their given names. Increasingly, service 

members use first names. Formality, however, is 

the best policy. Junior service members should 

always be conservative until they can sense what 

is appropriate. It is wiser to err by being too formal, 

rather than too familiar.
292

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 
293

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1
294

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Air Force Systems

(by Conflict Era)

Heritage Aircraft

Tail Flashes

Current

Weapons Systems
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

295

Heritage Aircraft by Conflict Era

WWI

Wright 1909 

Military

Flyer

Wright 1911

 Modified “B” 

Flyer

De Havilland

DH-4

Spad (VII, XIII, 

and XVI)

Curtiss JN-4D 

“Jenny” 
296

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Nieuport N.28C-1 

“Nieuport 28”

Sopwith F-1 

“Camel”

Martin MB-2

Martin MB-10

WWII

Stearman PT-13D 

“Kaydet”

North American

T-6G “Texan”
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

297

Boeing B-17G 

“Flying Fortress” 

Republic

P-47 

“Thunderbolt” 

Lockheed

P-38L “Lightning”

North

American B-25B 

“Mitchell”

Boeing B-29 

“Superfortress”

North

American

P-51D “Mustang”
298

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Northrup

P-61C 

“Black Widow”

North American 

A-36A “Apache”

Consolidated

B-24D 

“Liberator”

Piper L-4A 

“Grasshopper”

Curtis P-40 

“Warhawk”

Douglas

C-47D “Skytrain” 

aka “Gooney 

Bird”
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

299

Curtiss C- 46 

“Commando”

Douglas C-54 

“Skymaster”

KOREA/COLD 

WAR

Bell

P-59 “Aerocomet”

North American

T-28 “Trojan”

Fairchild C-119 

“Flying Boxcar”

Fairchild C-123 

“Provider”
300

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Douglas C-124 

“Globemaster II”

Lockheed C-130 

“Hercules”

Boeing

KC-135

“Stratotanker”

Lockheed T-33 

“Shooting Star”

North American

F-86 “Sabre”

North American

F-100

 “Super Sabre”
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

301

McDonnell 

Douglas

F-101 “Voodoo”

Bell X-1

North American

B-58 “Hustler”

Lockheed

F-104 

“Starfighter”

Boeing

KC-97 

“Stratotanker”

 Boeing

B-36 

“Peacemaker”
302

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

 Boeing 

B-47

“Stratojet”

Lockheed SR-71 

“Blackbird”

Convair F-102

“Delta Dagger”

North American

T-39 “Sabreliner”

Lockheed

U-2

Kayman HH-43

“Husky”
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

303

Sikorsky HH-53

“Super Jolly”

Vought A-7D

“Corsair II”

Cessna

O-2A 

“Skymaster”

North American 

OV-10A

“Bronco”

Boeing KB-29

Lockheed EC-121 

“Warning Star”
304

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

 Boeing EC-135 

“Looking Glass”

Boeing RC-135V/W 

“Rivet Joint”

VIETNAM 

WAR

Lockheed C-141 

“Starlifter “

McDonaldDouglas C-9 

“Nightingale”

McDonnell 

Douglas

RF-4 

“Phantom II”

McDonnell 

Douglas

F-4C 

“Phantom II”
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

305

General Dynamics

FB-111

“Aardvark”

General Dynamics

F-111

“Aardvark”

Douglas A-1H 

“Skyraider”

Fairchild AC119 Gunship 

“Shadow”

SPACE & 

MISSILE 

SYSTEMS

Mercury

Gemini 

 
306

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Apollo

Thor

Atlas

Titan I Titan IIIC Minuteman I
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

307

Bomarc

Clear BMEWS Delta I Titan II

Minuteman II Atlas ICBM
308

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

GLCM duglnch

Snark

Matador

Skylab

Space Shuttle

International 

Space Station
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

309

Tail Flashes
310

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

AC F-16

177th FW (ANG)

Atlantic City Arpt NJ

AF C-150, gliders, T-41, UV-18

34th OG, 

USAF Academy, CO

AK C-12, C-130H, F-15C/D/E

3d Wing 

Elmendorf AFB AK

AK A/OA-10A, F-16C/D

354th FW, Eielson AFB AK 

AL F-16C/D

187th FW (ANG)

Dannelly Fld AL

AL KC-135

117th ARW (ANG)

Birmingham Arpt AL

AN C-130H, HC-130N, HH-60G

176th Wing (ANG)

Kulis ANGB AK

AV F-16C/D

31st FW, Aviano AB Italy

AZ F-16A/B/C/D

162d FW (ANG)

Tucson IAP AZ

BB T-38A. U-2

9th RW, Beale AFB CA

BC A/OA-10A

110th FW (ANG)

W.K. Kellogg Arpt MI

BD B-52H, A/OA-10A

917th Wing (AFRC)

Barksdale AFB La.

CA HC-130P. HH-60G

129th-RQW (ANG)

Moffett Fed Afld. Calif.

CB T-1,T-37B,T-38A/C

14th FTW

Columbus AFB MS

CC F-16C/D

27th FW, Cannon AFB NM

Cl C-130E

146th AW

Channel Islands ANGS CA

CO F-16C/D

140th Wing, BuckleyAFB CO

CR C-130H

302d AW (AFRC)

Peterson AFB CO

CT A/OA-10A

103d FW (ANG) BradleyArpt CN

DC F-16C/D

113th Wing (ANG)

Andrews AFB MD

DE C-130H

166th AW (ANG)

New Castle Co. Arpt DE

DM A/OA-10A, EC-130E/H

355th Wing

Davis-Monthan AFB AZ

DR HH-60G

305th RQS (AFRC) 

Davis-Monthan AFB AZ

DY B-1B

7th BW, Dyess AFB TX

ED Various

412th TW, Edwards AFB CA

EF F-16C/D

147th FW (ANG)

Ellington Fld TX

EG F-15C/D

33rd FW, Eglin AFB FL

EL B-1B

28th BW, Ellsworth AFB SD

EN AT-38B, T-37B, T-38A

80th FTW, Sheppard AFB TX

ET A-1 OA, F-15A/B/C/D/E, 

F-16A/B/C/D, UH-1N

46th TW, Eglin AFB FL

FE UH-1N

90th SPW, F.E. Warren AFB WY

FF F-15C/D

1stFW, Langley AFB VA

FL HC-130P/N, HH-60G

920th RQG (AFRC)

Patrick AFB FL

FM F-16C/D

482nd FW (AFRC)

Homestead ARB FL

FS F-16A/B

188th FW (ANG)

Fort Smith Arpt AR

FT A/OA-10A

23rd FG, Pope AFB NC

FW F-16C/D

122nd FW (ANG)

Fort Wayne Arpt IN

GA B-1B

116th BW (ANG) 

Robins AFB GA

GA E-8C, TE-8A

116th ACW (ANG)

Robins AFB GA

GA C-130H

165th AW (ANG)

Savannah Arpt GA

HA F-16C/D

185th FW (ANG)

Sioux Gateway Arpt IO

HD QF-4

53rd WEG, Holloman AFB NM

USAF Aircraft Tail Markings

Compiled Data Provided Courtesy of the Air Force Association
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

311

MN C-130H

133d AW (ANG)

Minn.-St. Paul Arpt./ARS

MN F-16A/B

148th FW (ANG)

Duluth Arpt MN

MO F-15C/D/E, F-16CJ, KC-135R

366th FW

Mountain Home AFB ID

MT B-52H

5th BW, Minot AFB ND

MT UH-1N

91st SPW, Minot AFB ND

MY HC-130P, HH-60G

347th Rescue Wing

Moody AFB GA

MY AT-38B, T-6A, T-38C

479th FTG (AETC)

Moody AFB GA 

NM F-16C/D

150th FW (ANG)

Kirtland AFB NM 

NO A/OA-10A

926th FW (AFRC)

NAS JRB, New Orleans LA

NV C-130E

152d AW (ANG)

Reno/Tahoe Arpt. NV 

NY F-16C/D

174th FW (ANG)

Hancock Fid. NY

OF Various

55th Wing, Offutt AFB NE

OH F-16C/D

178th FW (ANG)

Springfield-BeckleyArpt OH

OH C-130H

179th AG (ANG)

Mansfield Lahm Arpt OH

OH F-16C/D

180th FW (ANG) 

Toledo Exp. Arpt. OH

OK C-130H

137th AW (ANG)

Will Rogers World Arpt. OK

OK F-16C/D

138th FW (ANG)

Tulsa Arpt. OK

OK E-3B/C.TC-18E

552nd ACW, Tinker AFB OK

OS A/OA-10A, C-12, F-16C/D

51st FW, Osan AB South Korea 

OT B-1. B-2. B-52, F/A-22, F-15A/

C/D/E,

F-16C/D,RQ-1A, RQ-4A

85th TES, 53d Wing (ACC)

Eglin AFB FL

OT F/A-22, F-15, F-16A/C

422d TES, 53d Wing

Nellis AFB NV

OT F-117

Del 1. 53d WEG

Holloman AFB NM

HH C-130H, F-15A/B, KC-135R

154th Wing, Hickam AFB HI

HI F-16C/D

419th FW (AFRC), Hill AFB UT

HL F-16C/D

388th FW, Hill AFB UT

HO F-117A, T-38A

49th FW, Holloman AFB NM

HO F-4F

Luftwaffe RTU

Holloman AFB, NM

HT AT-38B, C-12, F-15A

46th TG, Holloman AFB NM

HV UH-1N

30th SPW

Vandenberg AFB CA

ID A/OA-10A, C-130E

124th Wing (ANG)

Boise Air Term. ID

IL C-130E

182d AW (ANG)

Greater Peoria Arpt IL

IS HH-60G

85th Group

NAS Keflavik Iceland

JZ F-15A/B

159th FW (ANG) 

NAS JRB, New Orleans LA

KC A/OA-10

442d FW (AFRC) 

Whiteman AFB MO

LA B-52H

2d BW, Barksdale AFB LA

LF F-16C/D

56th FW

Luke AFB AZ

LI HC-130P, HH-60G

106th RW (ANG)

F.S. Gabreski Arpt NY

LN F-15C/D/E

48th FW, RAF Lakenheath UK

LR F-16C/D

944th FW (AFRC)

Luke AFB AZ

MA F-15A/B

102d FW (ANG)

Otis ANGB MA

MA A/OA-10A

104th FW (ANG) 

Barnes Arpt. MA

MD A/OA-10A, C-130J

175th Wing (ANG) 

Martin State Arpt MD

MI F-16C/D, C-130E

127th Wing (ANG)

Selfridge ANGB MI

MI KC-135E

927th ARW (AFRC)

Selfridge ANGB MI

MM UH-1N

341st SPW

Malmstrom AFB MT
312

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

PC UH-1N

336th TG, Fairchild AFB WA

PD HH-60G

939th RW (AFRC)

Portland Arpt OR

PR C-130E

156th AW (ANG), Luis Munoz 

Marin Arpt Puerto Rico

RA T-1A, T-6A, T-37B, T-38A, 

T-43A

12th FTW

Randolph AFB, Hondo Arpt TX

Rl C-130E

143d AW (ANG)

Quonset State Arpt RI

RS C-130E

86th AW

Ramstein AB Germany 

SA F-16C/D

149th FW (ANG)

Kelly Field TX

SC F-16C/D

169th FW (ANG)

McEntire ANGS SC

SD F-16C/D

114th FW (ANG)

Joe Foss Field SD

SI F-16C/D

183d FW (ANG)

Capital Arpt. IL

SJ F-15E

4th FW

Seymour Johnson AFB NC

SL F-15A/B

131st FW (ANG)

Lambert-St Louis Arpt MO

SP A/OA-10A, F-16CJ/D

52d FW

Spangdahlem AB Germany

ST Various

82d TW, Sheppard AFB TX

SW F-16C/J

20th FW, Shaw AFB SC

TD QF-4

53d Wing, Tyndall AFB FL

TH F-16C/D

181st FW (ANG)

Hulman Arpt IN

TX C-130H

136th AW (ANG)

NAS JRB Ft. Worth TX

TX F-16C/D

301st FW (AFRC)

NAS JRB Ft Worth TX

TY F-15C/D, F/A-22

325th FW, Tyndall AFB FL

VA F-16C/D

192nd FW (ANG)

Richmond IAP VA

VN T-1A. T-37B, T-38A

71st FTW, Vance AFB OK

WA A-10, F-15C/D/E. F-16A/B/C/

D, HH-60, RQ-1

57th Wing, Nellis AFB NV

WE E-9A

53d WEG, Tyndall AFB FL

WI F-16C/D

115th FW (ANG)

Truax Field WI

WM B-2A, T-38A

509th BW

Whiteman AFB MO

WP F-16C/D

8th FW

Kunsan AB South Korea

WV C-130H

130th AW (ANG)

Yeager Arpt. WV

WV C-130E

167th AW (ANG)

East. W.Va. Arpt. WV

WW F-16C/D

35th FW, Misawa AB Japan

WY C-130H

153d AW (ANG)

Cheyenne Arpt. WY

XL T-1A, T-6A, T-37B, T-38A

47th FTW, Laughlin AFB TX

XP C-130H

139th AW (ANG)

Rosecrans Arpt MO

YJ C-21A, C-130E/H, UH-1N

374th AW

Yokota AB Japan 

ZZ E-3B, F-15C/D, KC-135R, 

HH-60G

18th Wing, Kadena AB Japan
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

313

Aerospace Vehicle

Mission Design Series (MDS) Designators for Aircraft

STATUS

PREFIX

G- Permanently

Grounded

J- Special test

(temporary)

N- Special test

 (permanent)

X- Experimental

Y- Prototype

Z- Planning

MODIFIED

MISSION

A- Attack

C- Cargo/Transport

D- Director

E- Special 

Electronic

installation

F- Fighter

H- Search/Rescue

K- Aerial Refueling

L- Cold Weather 

M- Multimission

O- Observation

P- Patrol

Q- Drone

R- Reconnaissance

S- Antisubmarine

T- Trainer

U- Utility

V- Staff

W- Weather

BASIC

MISSION

A- Attack

B- Bomber

C- Cargo/Transport

E- Special 

Electronic

installation

F- Fighter

O- Observation

P- Patrol

R- Reconnaissance

S- Antisubmarine

T- Trainer

U- Utility

X- Research

VEHICLE

TYPE

G- Glider

H- Helicopter

S- Spaceplane

V- VTOL/STOL

Z- Lighter-than-air

Y F - 2 2

Status Prefix

Basic Mission

Design Number

Design Number
314

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

Heritage of the Roundele

1906-1916

Used with and without white 

background circle. In use 

at the time of the Mexican 

Border Campaign. 

1918-1920

The official American 

insignia during World War 

I. It began to be phased 

out in 1919. 

1917, 1921-1941

Introduced prior to 

the American entr y 

into World War I and 

officially readopted after 

the war. 

1942-1943

The red center of the 1921-

1941 insignia was removed 

unofficially in December 

1941 and officially in May 

1942 to avoid confusion 

with Japanese insignia. 

1942-1943

S o m e a i r c r a f t i n 

t h e E u r o p e a n a n d 

Mediterranean theaters 

unofficially incorporated 

a yellow surround in the 

British style. 

1943

Between 29 June and 14 

August, the official national 

insignia incorporated white 

sidebars and an overall red 

surround. 

1943-1947

The red surround of the official insignia was 

quickly changed to a blue surround. During 

its 4 years of use, this insignia appeared 

on more aircraft than all its predecessors 

combined. 

1947-Present

With the reorganization of the Defense 

Department and the creation of the USAF, 

red bars were added to the official national 

insignia. A variation of this insignia appears 

officially without the blue surround on 

F-15 aircraft. 

Low Visibility

Beginning in the late seventies low visibility markings have been introduced officially and 

unofficially on the aircraft of the USAF and other services. The grey insignia on the far left 

is the only insignia used on operational F-16s. It is followed by a more standard low visibility 

mark, used on A-10s and other aircraft. The stencil marks are becoming increasingly common 

on Air Mobility Command, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard aircraft. 

Data compiled by Mr. Bill Yenne
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

315

Multi-role Fighter

F-16 A-D is a single engine multi-role tactical fighter with 

full air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capabilities.

F-16

Fighting 

Falcon

Dual Role Fighter

F-15E is a dual engine, air-to-ground, air-to-air, all 

weather, fighter designed for close air support, strategic 

attack, and interdiction roles.

F-15E

Strike Eagle

Current

Weapons Systems

Air Superiority Fighter

F-15A-D is a dual engine, all weather, extremely 

maneuverable fighter designed to gain and maintain air 

superiority.

F-15

Eagle
316

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

F/A-22 is a low observable, highly maneuverable airframe, 

advanced integrated avionics, and aerodynamic performance 

allowing supersonic cruise without afterburner.

F/A-22

Raptor

F-117 is a low observable subsonic aircraft capable of 

deep penetration into integrated air defense systems 

(IADS) to engage heavily defended high value targets.

F-117

Nighthawk

A/OA-10 is a close air support (CAS) platform used to 

support troops in contact with enemy forces. The A/OA10 performs secondary roles of Air Interdiction, Airborne 

Forward Air Control (FAC), and Combat Search and Rescue 

(CSAR) and Special Operations (SPECOPs) Support. 

A-10

Thunderbolt 

II

The AC-130H Spectre and AC-130U gunships’ primary 

missions are close air support, air interdiction, and armed 

reconnaissance. Other missions include perimeter and point 

defense, escort, landing, drop and extraction zone support, 

forward air control, Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR). 

AC-130

Spectre 

Gunship
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

317

B-52 

Stratofortress

Stealth, multi-role bomber. The B-2 is able to deliver 

both nuclear and conventional munitions, and is capable 

of attacking an enemy’s war-making potential, in the 

first critical hours of a conflict. It is the Air Force’s 

only all-weather hard/deeply buried conventional strike 

capability. 

B-2 

Spirit

The B-52 is the center-piece of the bomber fleet, 

supporting both nuclear and conventional operations 

plans. It is the only long range bomber capable of 

employing the long range Advanced Cruise Missile 

(ACM), Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM), and 

Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM); 

the Harpoon anti-ship missile; and the HAVE NAP 

precision guided missile. 

B-1 

Lancer

The B-1B is a long-range, all-weather, deepstrike, daynight, high speed, large payload Global Attack bomber. 
318

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

C-5

Galaxy

The C-5 is used for strategic intertheater delivery of 

outsized and oversized cargo and passengers. 

A cargo and passenger airlift aircraft employed for 

short ranges and into short fields. This aircraft can 

be configured to transport litters during medical 

evacuations. 

C-21

Learjet

A intertheater and intratheater, refuelable, wide-body 

aircraft capable of airlifting outsized and oversized 

payloads over intercontinental ranges for direct 

delivery.

C-17

Globemaster

Air Force One provides worldwide transportation for the 

President of the United States.

VC-25 

Air Force 

One
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

319

The C-130E/H provides rapid intertheater transportation 

of personnel or cargo for delivery day or night by 

parachute or landings. Adverse Weather Aerial Delivery 

System (AWADS) -equipped aircraft have the additional 

capability of performing airdrops without external 

assistance in adverse weather. 

C-130E/H

Hercules

Commando Solo aircraft conduct psychological 

operations and civil affairs broadcast in the AM, FM, 

HG, TV, and military communications bands. 

EC-130E/J

Command Solo

The HC-130P/N is the Combat Search and Rescue 

(CSAR) configured extended-range version of the C-130 

Hercules. It provides in-flight refueling to rescue and 

Special Operations helicopters and performs tactical 

delivery of Pararescue specialists in permissive or hostile 

environments. 

HC-130P/N

King

C-130J provides immediate movement of combat troops 

and supplies within theaters of operation. 

C-130J
320

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

The E-3 is a deployable airborne command and control 

(C2) battle management (BM) platform employed at 

the tactical level of war. Airborne Warning and Control 

System (AWACS) provides all altitude surveillance, 

warning, and battle management for worldwide air 

combat operations. It directs, coordinates, and controls 

joint and combined forces and operations.

E-3

Sentry 

AWACS

The National Airborne Operations Center is designed 

as a highly survivable node of the National Military 

Command System (NMCS). The E-4 provides SECDEF 

OCONUS C2 mission support and provides support to 

the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

during crisis response.

E-4

NAOC

E-8

Joint STARS

Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System (Joint 

STARS) is a joint Army/Air Force program designed 

to enhance battle management by providing air/land 

component commanders with near real-time wide-area 

surveillance and targeting information on moving and 

stationary ground targets, slow-moving rotary and fixed 

wing aircraft, rotating antennas, and Theater Missile 

Defense targets of interest. 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

321

The KC-10 provides global in-flight refueling and airlift 

support for deployment, employment, redeployment, and 

joint/combined special operations. 

KC-10 

Extender

HH-60G

Pave Hawk

The HH-60G is the primary operational Combat Search and 

Rescue (CSAR) aircraft. It is rapidly deployable and has 

day/night, marginal weather combat capability employed 

for CSAR, NEO, counter-drug, disaster relief, civil search 

and rescue, and Space Shuttle support operations.

KC-135E/R

Stratotanker

The KC-135 fleet principally provides global refueling 

to Air Force, sister service, and allied aircraft. The 

KC-135 is also used to conduct airlift missions on a 

limited basis. 

RC-135

S/U/V/W

Rivet Joint, Combat Sent, and COBRA BALL are 

reconnaissance and surveillance platforms employed all 

over the world to increase battlespace awareness. 
322

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

MC-130H

Combat Talon

The MC-130H Combat Talon II provides global, day, 

night, and adverse weather capability to airdrop and 

airland personnel and equipment in support of U.S. and 

allied special operations forces. 

MC-130P

Combat Shadow

The Combat Shadow flies clandestine or low visibility, 

low-level missions into politically sensitive or hostile 

territory to provide air refueling for special operations 

helicopters. It can also airdrop small special operations 

teams, small resupply bundles, and zodiac and combat 

rubber raiding craft, as well as night vision goggle 

operations. 

MH-53J/M

Pave Low III/IV

Pave Low helicopters provide covert low-level, longrange, undetected penetration into denied areas, day or 

night in adverse weather for infiltration, exfiltration, and 

resupply of Special Forces. 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

323

The T-1A is an advanced trainer for student pilots 

designated for duty flying airlift, bomber, or tanker 

aircraft and student navigators who will fly airlift or 

tanker aircraft. 

T-1 

Jayhawk

The T-6A is an entry-level flight and ground training 

aircraft for future USAF and US Navy pilots. It replaces 

the USAF T-37B and US Navy T-34C trainers.

T-6A 

Texan II

The T-37 is currently the primary entry-level trainer in 

undergraduate pilot training, undergraduate navigator 

training, and tactical navigator training.

T-37 

Tweet

The T-38 is used by advanced undergraduate pilot 

training, Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command, 

and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

also use T-38 variants in their training programs.

T-38A 

Talon
324

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

The T-43A is a basic flight trainer for undergraduate 

navigator training students.

T-43A

The U-2 conducts high-altitude, deep-look, multi-INT 

reconnaissance and surveillance utilizing state-of-the-art 

IMINT and SIGINT sensors to provide near real-time 

worldwide battlespace awareness.

U-2S

Dragon Lady

The UH-1N provides Special Air Mission support for the 

National Capital Region, VIP airlift, airlift of emergency 

security and disaster response forces, nuclear weapons 

security and surveillance, search and rescue, and missile 

launch support. 

UH-1N

Iroquois

The UV-18 is used to support parachute and airmanship 

training at the United States Air Force Academy.

UV-18

Twin Otter
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

325

The Predator is a long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle 

(UAV) providing persistent airborne reconnaissance. The 

MQ version may be armed with Hellfire missiles.

Global Hawk provides continuous, all-weather, day/

night, wide area surveillance to support the tactical 

warfighter. 

RQ/MQ-1A Predator

RQ-4

Global 

Hawk

SPACE AND MISSILE SYSTEMS

A constellation of 24 satellites provides highly accurate 

time and three dimensional position and velocity 

information to an unlimited number of users anywhere 

on or above the surface of the Earth, in any weather.

GPS

Global 

Positioning System

Provides efficient global high data rate broadcast 

capability between many distributed information sources 

simultaneously to warfighters using small, inexpensive 

terminals. 

GBS

Global 

Broadcast 

System
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A constellation of four satellites that provide the 

President, Secretary of Defense, and Combatant 

Commanders with assured, worldwide command and 

control (C2) for tactical and strategic forces. 

Milstar

This constellation of satellites provide worldwide, 

responsive wideband and anti-jam satellite 

communications supporting strategic and tactical C3I 

requirements. 

DSCS

III

The Defense Support Program (DSP) is a space based 

infrared satellite system providing global coverage 

and warning of ballistic missiles launches, nuclear 

detonations, and other events. 

DSP

PAVE PAWS: Detects, tracks and warns of incoming 

sea-launched or intercontinental ballistic launched. 

PAVE 

PAWS
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Ballistic Missile Early Warning System: Detects, tracks 

and warns of ballistic missile launches, launches of new 

space systems, and provides data on foreign ballistic 

missile events. 

Perimeter Attack Radar Characterization System: 

Provides tactical warning and attack characterization 

of sea-launched and intercontinental ballistic missile 

attacks against the continental United States. Supports 

the space surveillance network by providing space 

surveillance data, tracking, reporting and space object 

identification. 

Air Force Satellite Control Network: A worldwide 

network of satellite control stations which uses 

satellite and terrestrial communication links providing 

connectivity to over 145 DoD, National, Allied and 

Civil satellites. 

BMEWS

PARCS

AFSCN
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Defense Meteorological Satellites Program (DMSP) 

provides an enduring and survivable capability, through 

all levels of conflict, to collect and disseminate global 

visible and infrared cloud data and other specialized 

meteorological, oceanographic, and space environment 

data required to support worldwide DoD operations and 

high-priority national programs. 

DMSP

The Boeing Delta IV and Lockheed Martin Atlas V 

Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELVs) provide 

the Air Force and the nation rapid and reliable access to 

space with a standardized launch capability. 

EELV

The Minuteman III is 

an inertially guided, 

intercontinental ballistic 

missile. Minuteman III is 

capable of delivering up to 

3 multiple independently 

targetable reentry vehicles 

(MIRVs). It provides a 

highly survivable, quickreaction component to the 

nuclear Triad. 

LGM-30 

Minuteman
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The AIM-7 is a supersonic, medium range, semi-active 

radar-guided air-to-air missile with a high explosive 

warhead. The AIM-7 is an all-weather, all-altitude, and 

all-aspect offensive missile carried by fighter aircraft. 

The AIM-9M is a fighter-borne supersonic, short range, 

passive infrared-guided air-to-air missile with a high 

explosive warhead. 

AIM-7 

Sparrow

AIM-9 

Sidewinder

Peacekeeper is a strategic 

weapon system using 

a ballistic missile of 

intercontinental range, 

capable of delivering up to 

10 independently targetable 

re-entry vehicles with very 

hard target kill capability. 

LGM-118A 

Peacekeeper

SELECT AIR WEAPONS
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The AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air 

Missile (AMRAAM) is a supersonic, medium range, 

active radar guided air-to-air missile with a high 

explosive warhead.

AIM-120 

AMRAAM

The AGM 65 is an air to surface launch and leave tactical 

missile. Electro-optical or infrared (IR) guided these 

standoff missiles are used in close air support (CAS), 

interdiction, and enemy defense suppression missions. 

AGM-65

Maverick

The Air Launched Cruise Missile is a subsonic, highly 

accurate, long range, air-to-surface strategic nuclear 

missile designed to evade air- and ground-based defenses 

in order to strike targets at any location within any 

enemy’s territory.

AGM-86

ALCM 

Air-Launched 

Cruise Missile
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The AGM-88 is an air-to-surface tactical antiradiation 

missile used to destroy or suppress enemy radar threats at 

standoff range homing in on source radar emissions. 

The AGM-129A is a subsonic, low-observable air-tosurface strategic nuclear missile with significant range 

and accuracy. 

The AGM-130 is a solid rocket-powered GBU-15 

equipped with autonomous INS/GPS mid-course 

guidance for adverse weather capability and electrooptical or infrared terminal guidance to standoff strike 

heavily defended targets. 

AGM-88 

HARM

High Speed AntiRadiation Missile

AGM-129A

Advanced 

Cruise Missile

AGM-130

CALCM provides the warfighter 

with an adverse weather, day or 

night, air-to-surface, accurate, 

long-range stand off strike 

capability against deep and 

hardened targets. 

AGM-86C

CALCM 

Conventional AirLaunched Cruise Missile
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Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) is the Air Force and 

Navy built long range, INS/GPS guided, standoff, airto-ground weapon designed to attack a variety of soft 

and armored area targets beyond the range of point 

defenses. 

AGM-154

JSOW

CBU-87 

Combined

Effects Munition

The CBU-87 is an area munition, dispensing bomblets 

in a rectangular pattern, used against armor, materiel, 

and personnel targets. It is employed by Air Force and 

Navy fighters and incorporates wind corrected muntions 

dispensers (WCMD). 

CBU-89 

Gator

The CBU-89 (mixed system) disperses 94 mines: 72 

anti-tank and 22 anti-personnel mines. The mines 

are dispensed from Air Force and Navy aircraft in a 

rectangular pattern and have three selectable self destruct 

times. INS guided wind corrected munition dispenser 

(WCMD) enhances the weapons accuracy. 
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333

The weapon achieves multiple kills per pass against 

moving and stationary land targets. The CBU-97/B is 

employed by fighters and bombers primarily against 

tanks, Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), and propelled 

targets. 

CBU-97/B

Wind Corrected Munition Dispenser

WCMD provides accurate dispenser weapon capability 

when delivered from medium to high altitudes. WCMD 

kits are used on inventory cluster weapons (CEM, Gator, 

Sensor Fused Weapon (SFW). 

WCMD
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Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a joint Air 

Force and Navy system used to upgrade the existing 

inventory of general purpose bombs by integrating them 

with a GPS/INS guidance kit to provide accurate adverse 

weather delivery from medium altitudes. 

GBU-31 

JDAM

The GBU-15 is unpowered and employs elecro-optical 

or infrared terminal seeker for a standoff attack of high 

value ground targets. 

GBU-15

The Glide Bomb Unit (GBU) series are laser-guided, 

air-to-ground glide bombs used for precision targeting 

of soft and hardened targets. Guidance systems are 

Paveway II and Paveway III. 

GBU-10
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Airborne component of the Ballistic Missile Defense 

System’s Boost Phase Defense Segment that will acquire, 

track and kill missiles in their boost phase.

Airborne 

Laser

ABL

Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) is an 

autonomous, long range standoff cruise missile; compatible with 

Air Force and Navy fighter and bomber aircraft. The AGM158A is designed to strike a variety of high value targets. 

AGM-158A 

JASSM

Weapons Systems Under Development

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Multi-role fighter. The USAF 

Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) variant is 

a stealthy, multi-role fighter with air-to-air and air-toground capabilities that will replace the F-16 and A-10 

and complement the F/A-22. 

JSF

Joint Strike 

Fighter

The GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb is a 250-lb. class GPSguided glide bomb that enables attack in all weather from 

outside point defenses with reduced collateral damage.

GBU-39
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Wideband Gapfiller Satellite is the follow-on system 

to DSCS III. WGS will provide wideband satellite 

communications to the joint community in two frequency 

bands, providing 12 times as much bandwidth as DSCS 

III.

WGS

The AIM-9X “Sidewinder” is the next generation, 

launch and leave, short-range air-to-air missile being 

designed to counter the current threat in the short-range 

arena. The AIM-9X, a major modification to the current 

AIM-9M, provides enhanced infrared countermeasure 

(IRCM) resistance, improved acquisition range, 

high off-boresight capability, enhanced background 

discrimination, and high maneuverability.

AIM-9X

Space Based Infared System (SBIRS) consolidates the 

national and DoD’s infrared detection systems into a single 

overarching architecture that fulfills the nation’s security 

needs in the areas of missile warning, missile defense, 

technical intelligence, and battlespace characterization. 

SBIRS
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Advanced EHF is the follow-on system to 

Milstar. AEHF will provide secure satellite 

communications for the joint community and 

allies, providing anti-jam protection and nuclear 

protection

AEHF
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AF Vocabulary

ABORT: (v) to discontinue or abandon a takeoff, 

mission or action; (n.) an abandoned take-off (i.e. 

ground abort) or mission. 

ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL: (n) direction or 

exercise of authority over subordinate or other 

organizations in respect to administration and 

support, including organization of Service forces, 

control of resources and equipment, personnel 

management, unit logistics, individual and unit 

training, readiness, mobilization, demobilization, 

discipline, and other matters not included in the 

operational missions of the subordinate or other 

organizations. Also called ADCON. JT Pub 1-02.

AGILE COMBAT SUPPORT (ACS): (n) an Air 

Force distinctive capability that provides a base 

support system that is highly mobile, flexible, and 

fully integrated with air and space operations. 

Contingency Response Groups (CRG) and 

Expeditionary Medical System (EMEDS) are 

examples of ACS capability. 

A I R A N D S PA C E E X P E D I T I O N A R Y F O R C E 

(AEF) [formerly used and obsolete: Aerospace 

Expeditionary Force] (n) an organizational 

structure composed of force packages of 

capabilities that provides warfighting commanders 

with rapid and responsive air and space power. 

These force packages are tailored to meet specific 

needs across the spectrum of response options and 

will deploy within an Air and Space Expeditionary 

Task Force as air expeditionary wings (AEWs), 

groups (AEGs), or squadrons (AESs). 

A
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AIR and SPACE POWER: (n) the use of lethal and 

non-lethal means by air and space forces to achieve 

strategic, operational, and tactical objectives. 

AIR and SPACE SUPERIORITY: (n) that degree 

of dominance in the air and space battle of one 

force over another which permits the conducts 

of operations by the former and its related land, 

sea, air and space forces at a given time and place 

without prohibitive interference by the opposing 

force. 

AIR CAMPAIGN: (n) a connected series of operations 

conducted by air forces to achieve joint force 

objectives within a given time and area.

AIRCRAFT COMMANDER : (n) the aircrew member 

designated by competent authority as being in 

command of an aircraft and responsible for its 

safe operation and accomplishment of the assigned 

mission. Also called AC.

AIR INTERDICTION: (n) air operations conducted 

to destroy, neutralize, or delay the enemy’s 

military potential before it can be brought to bear 

effectively against friendly forces at such distance 

from friendly forces that detailed integration of 

each air mission with the fire and movement of 

friendly forces is not required. [Includes both 

lethal and nonlethal systems, is employed to 

destroy, disrupt, divert, or delay the enemy’s 

surface military potential before it can effectively 

engage friendly forces, or otherwise achieve its 

objectives.]

AIRMAN (n) [always capital A]: any person who 

understands and appreciates the full range of air 

and space power capabilities and can employ 

or support some aspect of air and space power 

capabilities. As one Airman put it, an Airman 
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is “one who exercises and believes in the 

fundamental truths regarding aerospace power. 

Not all who wear the blue suit are Airmen; not all 

Airmen wear the blue suit.” 

AIRPOWER: (n) [always one word] the fundamental

ability to use aircraft to create military and political 

effects through the air and space. 

AIRSPEED: (n) the speed of an aircraft relative to 

its surrounding air mass. The unqualified term 

“airspeed” can mean any one of the following: a. 

calibrated airspeed—indicated airspeed corrected 

for instrument installation error; b. equivalent 

airspeed—calibrated airspeed corrected for 

compressibility error; c. indicated airspeed—the 

airspeed shown by an airspeed indicator; d. true 

airspeed—equivalent airspeed corrected for error 

due to air density (altitude and temperature).

AIR SUPERIORITY: (n) that degree of dominance 

in the air battle of one force over another that 

permits the conduct of operations by the former 

and its related land, sea, and air forces at a given 

time and place without prohibitive interference by 

the opposing force.

AIR SUPREMACY: (n) that degree of air superiority 

wherein the opposing air force is incapable of 

effective interference.

AIR TASKING ORDER: (n) a method used to task and 

disseminate to components, subordinate units, and 

command and control agencies projected sorties, 

capabilities and/or forces to targets and specific 

missions. Normally provides specific instructions to 

include call signs, targets, controlling agencies, etc., 

as well as general instructions. Also called ATO.
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341

AIRWAY: (n) a control area or portion thereof 

established in the form of a corridor marked with 

radio navigational aids.

ALTITUDE: (n) the vertical distance of a level, a point 

or an object considered as a point, measured from 

mean sea level.

AOC: (n) air and space operations center. 

APOGEE (n): the point of greatest distance from Earth 

(or the Moon, a planet, etc.) achieved by a body 

in elliptical orbit. Usually expressed as distance 

from Earth’s surface.

AREA OF OPERATIONS: (n) an operational area 

defined by the joint force commander for land and 

naval forces. Areas of operation do not typically 

encompass the entire operational area of the joint 

force commander, but should be large enough 

for component commanders to accomplish their 

missions and protect their forces. Also called AO.

AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY: (n) the geographical 

area associated with a combatant command within 

which a combatant commander has authority to 

plan and conduct operations. Also called AOR.

ASBC: (n) the Air and Space Basic Course

B

BANDIT: (n) an aircraft identified as an enemy in 

accordance with theater identification criteria 

BARE BASE: (n) a base having minimum essential 

facilities to house, sustain, and support operations 

to include, if required, a stabilized runway, 

taxiways, and aircraft parking areas. A bare base 

must have a source of water that can be made 
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potable. Other requirements to operate under bare 

base conditions form a necessary part of the force 

package deployed to the bare base.

BATTLE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT: (n) the timely 

and accurate estimate of damage resulting from 

the application of military force, either lethal or 

nonlethal, against a predetermined objective. 

BATTLESPACE: (n) the environment, factors, and 

conditions that must be understood to successfully 

apply combat power, protect the force, or complete 

the mission. This includes the air, land, sea, space, 

and the included enemy and friendly forces; 

facilities; weather; terrain; the electromagnetic 

spectrum; and the information environment within 

the operational areas and areas of interest.

BOGEY: (n) an unidentified flying object or radar 

target. 

BRAT: (n) a son or daughter of a military family. 

BREAK: (v or n) steep (usually aggressive) turn either 

from a formation or in a traffic pattern. 

BREVITY CODE: (n) a code which provides no 

security but which has as its sole purpose 

the shortening of messages rather than the 

concealment of their content.

C

CALL SIGN: (n) any combination of characters 

or pronounceable words, which identifies a 

communication facility, a command, an authority, 

an activity, or a unit; used primarily for establishing 
AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1

343

and maintaining communications. Informal: an 

individual’s nickname given by their unit and 

approved by the unit commander. Also called 

CS.

CANNIBALIZE: (n) to remove serviceable parts from 

one item of equipment in order to install them on 

another item of equipment.

CAOC: (n) combined air and space operations center. 

CENTERS OF GRAVITY: (n) those characteristics, 

capabilities, or sources of power from which 

a military force derives its freedom of action, 

physical strength, or will to fight. Also called 

COG.

CFACC: (n) the combined force air and space 

component commander.

CLEARED HOT: (n) authorization to engage a 

target. Also permission to complete an action 

or mission.

COMAFFOR (n): Commander, Air Force Forces. 

The senior Air Force warfighter in command 

of Air Force forces presented to a Joint Force 

Commander, either as a permanently assigned 

force or attached as an AETF. The COMAFFOR is 

the senior Air Force officer directly subordinate to 

the Joint Force Commander. As the COMAFFOR, 

he/she exercises Operational Control (OPCON) 

over assigned and attached Air Force forces (if so 

delegated by the JFC) and Administrative Control 

(ADCON) over assigned Air Force forces and 

specified elements of ADCON over attached Air 

Force forces. 

CONTRAILS: (n) condensation trails, a visible trail of 

water droplets or ice crystals forced in the wake 

of an aircraft flying at high altitude. 
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CORE VALUES: (n) the Air Force core values are 

values for service, values for life, and must be 

reflected in everything that we do. The core 

values are integrity first, service before self, and 

excellence in all we do.

D

DACT: (n) Dissimilar Air Combat Training. 

DCA: (n) defensive counterair.

DECISIVE: (n) having the power or quality to bring 

about a conclusion. It may refer to the deciding 

factor among multiple factors. 

DEFENSIVE COUNTER SPACE: Operations to 

preserve US/friendly ability to exploit space to its 

advantage via active and passive actions to protect 

friendly space-related capabilities from adversary 

attack or interference.

DIRSPACEFOR: The DIRSPACEFOR ser ves as 

the senior space advisory to the COMAFFOR 

or COMAFFOR/JFACC. The DIRSPACEFOR 

conducts coordination, integration, and 

staffing activities to tailor space support for the 

COMAFFOR/JFACC. The DIRSPACEFOR is 

a senior Air Force officer with space expertise 

and theater familiarity, nominated by AFSPC/CC 

and appointed by the theater COMAFFOR. The 

DIRSPACEFOR is attached to the COMAFFOR, 

and should be part of the COMAFFOR’s or 

COMAFFOR/JFACC/s special staff. 
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345

E

EFFECTS: (n) physical and/or psychological outcomes, 

events, or consequences that result from a specific 

military action. They may occur at all levels of 

war and can produce follow-on outcomes.

EFFEC TS -BASED OPER ATIONS: (n) militar y 

actions, such as operations, targeting, or strategy, 

that are designed to produce distinctive and desired 

results. Also called EBO. 

F

FORCE PROTECTION: (n) actions taken to prevent 

or mitigate hostile actions against DoD personnel 

(including family members), resources, facilities, 

and critical information. These actions conserve 

the force’s fighting potential so it can be applied 

at the decisive time and place and incorporate 

the coordinated and synchronized offensive 

and defensive measures to enable the effective 

employment of the Joint Force while degrading the 

opportunities of the enemy. Force protection does 

not include actions to defeat the enemy or protect 

against accidents, weather, or disease.

I

INTEGRATION: (n) 1. in force protection, the 

synchronized transfer of units into an operational 

commander’s force prior to mission execution. 
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2. the arrangement of military forces and their 

actions to create a force that operates by engaging 

as a whole.

INTELLIGENCE, SURVEILLANCE, AND RECONNAISSANCE (ISR): (n) integrated capabilities 

to collect, process, exploit and disseminate 

accurate and timely information that provides the 

battlespace awareness necessary to successfully 

plan and conduct operations. 

INTERTHEATER AIRLIFT: (n) [Formerly called 

strategic airlift]. The common-user airlift linking 

theaters to the continental United States and to 

other theaters as well as the airlift within the 

continental United States.

INTRATHEATER AIRLIFT: (n) [Formerly called 

theater airlift] airlift conducted within a theater. 

Assets assigned to a geographic combatant 

commander or attached to a subordinate joint 

force commander normally conduct intratheater 

airlift operations. Intratheater airlift provides 

air movement and delivery of personnel and 

equipment directly into objective areas through 

air landing, airdrop, extraction, or other delivery 

techniques as well as the air logistic support of all 

theater forces, including those engaged in combat 

operations, to meet specific theater objectives and 

requirements. During large-scale operations, US 

Transportation Command assets may be tasked to 

augment intratheater airlift operations, and may be 

temporarily attached to a joint force commander. 
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J

JOINT FORCE AIR COMPONENT COMMANDER:

(n) the joint force air component commander 

derives authority to execute air operations 

from the joint force commander who has the 

authority to exercise operational control, assign 

missions, direct coordination among subordinate 

commanders, redirect and organize forces to 

ensure unity of effort in the accomplishment of the 

overall mission. Also known as the JFACC.

O

OBJECTIVE: (n) 1. the clearly defined, decisive, 

and attainable goals toward which every 

military operation should be directed. 2. the 

specific target of the action taken (for example, 

a definite terrain feature, the seizure or holding 

of which is essential to the commander’s plan, 

or, an enemy force or capability without regard 

to terrain features). A specific statement of a 

desired end.

OFFENSIVE COUNTER SPACE: Operations to 

preclude an adversary from exploiting space to 

their advantage. 

OODA Loop: (n) a theory developed by Col John 

Boyd (USAF, Ret.) contending that one can 

depict all rational human behavior, individual 

and organizational, as a continual cycling 

through four distinct tasks: observation, 

orientation, decision, and action.
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OPER ATIONAL AR T: (n) the employment 

of military forces to attain strategic and/or 

operational objectives through the design, 

organization, integration, and conduct of 

strategies, campaigns, major operations, and 

battles. Operational art translates the joint force 

commander’s strategy into operational design 

and, ultimately, tactical action, by integrating 

the key activities at all levels of war.

O P E R AT I O N A L C O N T R O L : ( n ) c o m m a n d 

authority that may be exercised by commanders 

at any echelon at or below the level of combatant 

command. Operational control is inherent in 

combatant command (command authority) and 

may be delegated within the command. When 

forces are transferred between combatant 

commands, the command relationship the 

gaining commander will exercise (and the 

losing commander will relinquish) over these 

forces must be specified by the Secretary of 

Defense. Operational control is the authority 

to perform those functions of command over 

subordinate forces involving organizing and 

employing commands and forces, assigning 

tasks, designating objectives, and giving 

authoritative direction necessary to accomplish 

the mission. Operational control includes 

authoritative direction over all aspects of 

military operations and joint training necessary 

to accomplish missions assigned to the command. 

Operational control should be exercised through 

the commanders of subordinate organizations. 

Normally this authority is exercised through 

subordinate joint force commanders and Service 

and/or functional component commanders. 

Operational control normally provides full 

authority to organize commands and forces 
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349

and to employ those forces as the commander 

in operational control considers necessary to 

accomplish assigned missions; it does not, in 

and of itself, include authoritative direction for 

logistics or matters of administration, discipline, 

internal organization, or unit. JT Pub 1-02.

O P E R AT I O N S S E C U R I T Y: ( n ) a p r o c e s s o f 

identifying critical information and subsequently 

analyzing friendly actions attendant to military 

operations and other activities to: a. identify 

those actions that can be observed by adversary 

intelligence systems; b. determine indicators 

that hostile intelligence systems might obtain 

that could be interpreted or pieced together to 

derive critical information in time to be useful to 

adversaries; and c. select and execute measures 

that eliminate or reduce to an acceptable 

level the vulnerabilities of friendly actions to 

adversary exploitation. Also called OPSEC.

ORDER OF BAT TLE: (n) the identification, 

strength, command structure, and disposition 

of the personnel, units, and equipment of any 

military force. Also called OB or OOB.

P

PARALLEL OPERATIONS: (n) describes the idea 

that air and space operations are most effective 

when they create effects that help achieve different 

levels of objectives at the same time. The notion 

of simultaneous attack is imbedded in the idea of 

parallel operations. 
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PERIGEE: (n) the point of minimum altitude above 

Earth (or the Moon, a planet, etc.) maintained by 

a body in elliptical orbit.

POLICY: (n) an official statement of intentions. It is, 

for the Air Force, directive in nature. Policy is 

the answer to the question, “What do we want to 

do?” Policy primarily outlines broad goals and 

may articulate certain procedures or objectives. 

Policy is not doctrine.

S

SORTIE: (n) an operational flight by one aircraft.

S T R AT E G I C AT TAC K : ( n ) o f fe n s i v e a c t i o n 

conducted by command authorities aimed at 

generating effects that most directly achieve 

our national security objectives by affecting 

an adversary’s leadership, conflict sustaining 

resources, and/or strategy. 

SUPPORTED COMMANDER: (n) 1. the commander 

having primary responsibility for all aspects of a 

task assigned by the Joint Strategic Capabilities 

Plan or other joint operation planning authority. 

In the context of joint operation planning, this 

term refers to the commander who prepares 

operation plans or operation orders in response 

to requirements of the Chairman of the Joint 

Chiefs of Staff. 2. in the context of a support 

command relationship, the commander who 

receives assistance from another commander’s 

force or capabilities, and who is responsible 

for ensuring that the supporting commander 

understands the assistance required. JT Pub 

1-02.
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351

SUPPOR TING COMMANDER: (n) 1. a commander who provides augmentation forces 

or other support to a supported commander 

or who develops a supporting plan. Includes 

the designated combatant commands and 

Defense agencies as appropriate. 2. in the 

context of a support command relationship, the 

commander who aids, protects, complements, or 

sustains another commander’s force, and who is 

responsible for providing the assistance required 

by the supported commander. JT Pub 1-02.

SYNCHRONIZATION: (n) 1. the arrangement of 

military actions in time, space, and purpose to 

produce maximum relative combat power at a 

decisive place and time. 2. in the intelligence 

context, application of intelligence sources and 

methods in concert with the operation plan.

SYNERGY: (n) the principle that different 

capabilities in combination create more powerful 

effects—exponential, not linear growth—than 

when used by themselves. Synergy from air 

and space power capabilities have the potential 

to create secondary, tertiary, and succeeding 

effects—often described as “cascading” effects. 

Each one of our core competencies results from the 

synergistic nature of air and space power.

T

TACTICAL CONTROL: (n) command authority 

over assigned or attached forces or commands, 

or military capability or forces made available 

for tasking, that is limited to the detailed direction 

and control of movements or maneuvers within 

the operational area necessary to accomplish 
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missions or tasks assigned. Tactical control is 

inherent in operational control. Tactical control 

may be delegated to, and exercised, at any level at 

or below the level of combatant command. When 

forces are transferred between combatant commands, 

the command relationship the gaining commander 

will exercise (and the losing commander will 

relinquish) over these forces must be specified by 

the Secretary of Defense. Tactical control provides 

sufficient authority for controlling and directing the 

application of force or tactical use of combat support 

assets within the assigned mission or task. Also 

called TACON. JT Pub 1-02.

TARGET: (n) 1. an area, complex, installation, force, 

equipment, capability, function, or behavior identified 

for possible action to support the commander’s 

objectives, guidance, and intent. Targets fall into 

two general categories: planned and immediate. 2. 

in intelligence usage, a country, area, installation, 

agency, or person against which intelligence 

operations are directed. 3. an area designated and 

numbered for future firing. 4. in gunfire support 

usage, an impact burst that hits the target. Also 

called TGT.

TASK: (n or v) a discrete event or action, not specific to 

a single unit, weapon system, or individual, that 

enables a mission or function to be accomplished 

by individuals or organizations. The act of assigning 

responsibility to accomplish a task to an individual 

or unit.

TWO-PERSON CONCEPT: (n) prohibition of access 

by an individual to nuclear weapons and certain 

designated components without the presence at 

all times of at least two authorized persons, each 

capable of detecting an incorrect act or unauthorized 

procedure with respect to the task to be performed. 
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353

A......... Alpha

B......... Bravo

C......... Charlie

D........ Delta

E ......... Echo

F ......... Foxtrot

G ........ Golf

H ........ Hotel

I .......... India

J.......... Juliet

K......... Kilo

L ......... Lima

M........ Mike

N ........ November

Phonetic Alphabet

U

UNITY OF COMMAND: (n) the principle and practice 

of making a single person legally and morally 

responsible for a particular military activity or 

organization. In practice, unity of command helps 

ensure coherent, orchestrated purpose and action. 

The principle of unity of command, which puts 

all aerospace forces under a single airman, is the 

principle that allows aerospace forces to mass 

effects at the strategic and operational levels. 

O........ Oscar

P......... Papa

Q........ Quebec 

(Kay-beck)

R......... Romeo

S ......... Sierra

T......... Tango

U ........ Uniform

V......... Victor

W ....... Whiskey

X......... X-ray

Y......... Yankee

Z......... Zulu
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

I Pledge Allegiance 

to the flag of the 

United States of 

America

and to the Republic 

for which it stands, 

one Nation

under God,

indivisible, with 

liberty and justice 

for all.

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356

AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

National Anthem

Oh say can you see,

by the dawn’s early light,

What so proudly we hailed

at the twilight’s last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright 

stars, through the perilous fight

o’er the ramparts we watched

were so gallantly streaming 

And the rockets red glare,

the bombs bursting in air, 

gave proof through the night

That our flag was still there!

O say does that Star-Spangled 

banner yet wave?

O’er the land of the free

and the home of the brave!
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The US Air Force Hymn

Music by Henry Baker • Lyrics by Mary Hamilton

Lord, guard and guide the men who fly

Through the great spaces of the sky;

Be with them traversing the air

In darkening storms or sunshine fair

Thou who dost keep with tender might

The balanced birds in all their flight

Thou of the tempered winds be near

That, having thee, they know no fear

Control their minds with instinct fit

What time adventuring, they quit

The firm security of land;

Grant steadfast eye and skillful hand

Aloft in solitudes of space

Uphold them with Thy saving grace.

O God, protect the men who fly

Thru lonely ways beneath the sky.
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

The Air Force Song

Captain Robert Crawford

Off we go into the wild blue yonder,

Climbing high into the sun

Here they come zooming to meet our thunder

At’m boys, giv’r the gun!

Down we dive spouting our flame from under

Off with one helluva roar!

We live in fame or go down in flame

Hey! Nothing’ll stop the U.S. Air Force!

•

Minds of men fashioned a crate of thunder

Sent it high into the blue;

Hands of men blasted the world asunder,

How they lived God only knew!

Souls of men dreaming of skies to conquer

Gave us wings, ever to soar.

With Scouts before and bombers galore,

Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force!

•

Here’s a toast to the host of those who

Love the vastness of the sky,

To a friend we send the message of his

Brother men who fly.

We drink to those who gave their all of old

Then down we roar to score the rainbow’s

Pot of gold.
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A toast to the host of the men we boast

The U.S. Air Force!

Off we go into the wild sky yonder

Keep the wings level and true

If you live to be a gray-haired wonder

Keep the nose out of the blue

Flying men, guarding our nations’s borders

We’ll be there, followed by more

In echelon, we’ll carry on

Nothing can stop the US Air Force!

History of the Air Force Song

The only official history of the Air Force Song 

can be found in a copy of a script which was 

used on radio station WRC broadcast on 23 

Feb 1944. Captain Alf Heiburg, leader of the 

Army Air Corps Band, interviewed Captain 

Robert Crawford, composer of the “Army Air 

Corps Song,” during this broadcast. Captain 

Crawford related the story, retold here:

In 1939, when he was a civilian pilot, Robert 

Crawford was asked by a friend to enter a song 

contest. While flying his plane to Philadelphia, 

he composed a simple tune. The next day he 

wrote lyrics that, when combined with the tune, 

became what was known as the “Army Air 

Corps Song.” The United States Army Band 

made the first recordings of the song in 1939. 

It was later renamed the Army Air Forces Song, 

and eventually the Air Force Song.
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AIRMAN HANDBOOK 1 

HIGH FLIGHT

by Royal Canadian Pilot Officer

John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth 

And danced the skies on 

 laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined 

 the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds

and done a hundred things 

 You have not dreamed of — 

 wheeled and soared and swung 

 High in the sunlit silence. 

Hov’ring there, 

 I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air.

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue 

I’ve topped the windswept heights

with easy grace 

 Where never lark, or even eagle flew. 

And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space, 

Put out my hand, and touched the face 

of God.