III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 262 

Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Air Force 

as an independent military service and celebrating the Air Force for 

70 years of serving and defending the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 

Mr. BOOZMAN (for himself, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. TESTER, Mr. BROWN, Mr. 

INHOFE, Mr. CRAPO, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. UDALL, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. 

DAINES, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. SULLIVAN, and Mr. BURR) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the establishment 

of the Air Force as an independent military service and 

celebrating the Air Force for 70 years of serving and 

defending the United States. 

Whereas, on August 1, 1907, the Aeronautical Division of the 

Army Signal Corps, consisting of 1 officer and 2 enlisted 

men, began operation under the command of Captain 

Charles DeForest Chandler with the responsibility for 

‘‘all matters pertaining to military ballooning, air machines, and all kindred subjects’’; 

Whereas, in 1908, the Department of War contracted with 

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chine for the Army and, in 1909, the Department accepted the Wright Military Flyer, the first military airplane; 

Whereas pilots of the United States, flying with both Allied 

air forces and with the Army Air Service, performed admirably during the course of World War I, the first air 

war in history, by participating in pursuit, observation, 

and day and night bombing missions; 

Whereas pioneering aviators of the United States, including 

Mason M. Patrick, William ‘‘Billy’’ Mitchell, Benjamin 

D. Foulois, Frank M. Andrews, Henry H. ‘‘Hap’’ Arnold, 

James H. ‘‘Jimmy’’ Doolittle, and Edward ‘‘Eddie’’ Rickenbacker, were among the first individuals to recognize 

the military potential of airpower and, in the decades following World War I, courageously laid the foundation for 

the creation of an independent arm for the air forces of 

the United States; 

Whereas, on June 20, 1941, the Department of War created 

the Army Air Forces as the aviation element of that Department and, shortly thereafter, the Department made 

the Army Air Forces co-equal to the Army Ground 

Forces; 

Whereas General Henry H. ‘‘Hap’’ Arnold drew upon the industrial prowess and human resources of the United 

States to transform the Army Air Corps from a force of 

22,400 men and 2,402 aircraft in 1939 into an entity 

with a peak wartime strength of 2,400,000 personnel and 

79,908 aircraft; 

Whereas the standard for courage, flexibility, and intrepidity 

in combat was established for all Airmen during the first 

aerial raid in the Pacific Theater on April 18, 1942, 

when Lieutenant Colonel James ‘‘Jimmy’’ H. Doolittle 


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led 16 North American B–25 Mitchell bombers in a joint 

operation from the deck of the USS Hornet to strike the 

Japanese mainland in response to the Japanese attack on 

Pearl Harbor; 

Whereas the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3001 

et seq.), signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, 

realigned and reorganized the Armed Forces to establish 

the Department of the Air Force (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘USAF’’) as separate from other military 

services; 

Whereas, on September 18, 1947, W. Stuart Symington became the first Secretary of the newly formed and independent USAF, marking the date on which the USAF 

was established; 

Whereas, on September 26, 1947, General Carl A. Spaatz, a 

pioneering aviator and former Commanding General of 

the Army Air Forces, became the first Chief of Staff of 

the USAF; 

Whereas the Air National Guard was also created by the National Security Act of 1947 and has played a vital role 

in guarding the United States and defending freedom in 

nearly every major conflict and contingency since its creation; 

Whereas, on October 14, 1947, the USAF demonstrated the 

historic and ongoing commitment of the USAF to technological innovation when Captain Charles ‘‘Chuck’’ Yeager 

piloted the X–1 developmental rocket plane to a speed of 

Mach 1.07, becoming the first flyer to break the sound 

barrier in a powered aircraft in level flight; 

Whereas the Air Force Reserve, created on April 14, 1948, 

is comprised of citizen airmen who serve as unrivaled 


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wingmen of the active duty USAF during every deployment and on every mission and battlefield around the 

world in which the USAF is engaged; 

Whereas the USAF carried out the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and 

1949 to provide humanitarian relief to post-war Germany 

and has established a tradition of offering humanitarian 

assistance when responding to natural disasters and 

needs across the world; 

Whereas the Tuskegee Airmen served the United States with 

tremendous dignity and honor, overcame segregation and 

prejudice to become one of the most highly respected 

fighter groups of World War II, and helped to establish 

a policy of racial integration within the ranks of the 

USAF, as, on April 26, 1948, the USAF became the first 

military branch to integrate, a full 3 months before an 

Executive order integrated all military services; 

Whereas, in the early years of the Cold War, the arsenal of 

bombers of the USAF, such as the long-range Convair 

B–58 Hustler and B–36 Peacemaker, and the Boeing B– 

47 Stratojet and B–52 Stratofortress, under the command of General Curtis LeMay, served as the preeminent 

deterrent of the United States against the forces of the 

Soviet Union and were later augmented by the development and deployment of medium range and intercontinental ballistic missiles, such as the Titan and Minuteman, developed by General Bernard A. Schriever; 

Whereas, on April 1, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower 

signed legislation establishing the United States Air 

Force Academy, the mission of which is to educate, develop, and inspire men and women to become aerospace 

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edge, and that, as of 2017, has graduated 59 classes and 

49,700 cadets; 

Whereas, during the Korean War, the USAF employed the 

first large-scale combat use of jet aircraft, helped to establish air superiority over the Korean Peninsula, protected ground forces of the United Nations with close air 

support, and interdicted enemy reinforcements and supplies; 

Whereas, after the development of launch vehicles and orbital 

satellites, the mission of the USAF expanded into space 

and, as of 2017, provides exceptional support with respect to real-time global communications, environmental 

monitoring, navigation, precision timing, missile warning, 

nuclear deterrence, and space surveillance; 

Whereas, during the Vietnam War, the USAF engaged in a 

limited campaign of airpower to assist the South Vietnamese government in countering the communist Viet 

Cong guerillas and fought to disrupt supply lines, halt 

enemy ground offensives, and protect United States and 

Allied forces; 

Whereas, on April 3, 1967, former prisoner of war Paul W. 

Airey, a career radio operator, aerial gunner, and First 

Sergeant, became the first Chief Master Sergeant of the 

USAF; 

Whereas, in recent decades, the USAF and coalition partners 

of the United States have supported successful actions in 

Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Kuwait, Somalia, BosniaHerzegovina, Haiti, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, 

and many other locations around the world; 

Whereas USAF Special Operations Forces have served with 

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tion in 1990, providing the United States with specialized 

airpower across the broad spectrum of conflict in any 

place and at any time; 

Whereas, for 27 consecutive years beginning in 1990, Airmen 

have— 

(1) been engaged in continuous combat operations 

ranging from Operation Desert Shield to the Global War 

on Terrorism to Operation Inherent Resolve; and 

(2) shown that the Airmen constitute an air and 

space expeditionary force of outstanding capability and 

are ready to fight and win wars for the United States 

when and where they are called upon; 

Whereas, when terrorists attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, fighter and air refueling aircraft of the 

USAF took to the skies to fly combat air patrols over 

major cities of the United States and protected the families, friends, and neighbors of the people of the United 

States from further attack; 

Whereas, on December 7, 2005, the USAF modified its mission statement to include flying and fighting in air, 

space, and cyberspace and prioritized the innovation, 

operationalization, and sustainment of warfighting capabilities to deliver unrestricted access to cyberspace to defend the United States and its worldwide interests; 

Whereas women have played a prominent role in the evolution 

of the USAF, courageously fighting alongside their male 

counterparts and dedicating their lives to protecting 

peace, liberty, and freedom around the world as they provide ‘‘ready to fight tonight’’ airpower whenever and 

wherever needed; 


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Whereas, as of 2017, the USAF has made tremendous strides 

in the global warfighting domain of cyberspace by revolutionizing offensive and defensive capabilities and effects 

with speed, agility, and surgical precision, thereby ensuring the continuous command, control, and execution of 

joint and service operations in contested, degraded, and 

limited environments; 

Whereas the untapped potential of enlisted aviators is recognized by the USAF as these highly trained, intelligent, 

and professional Airmen fly remotely piloted aircraft to 

distant skies in support of combatant commanders and 

meet the insatiable demand for persistent intelligence, 

surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities; 

Whereas the Civil Air Patrol, as a total force partner and 

auxiliary of the USAF, has maintained a steadfast commitment to the United States and the communities of the 

United States through a proud legacy of service, from the 

earliest days of World War II, when the Civil Air Patrol 

protected the shorelines of the United States, through 

2017, as the Civil Air Patrol executes emergency service 

missions; 

Whereas the USAF is steadfast in the commitment to fielding a world-class air expeditionary force by recruiting, 

training, and educating its officer, enlisted, and civilian 

corps comprising the active duty, Air National Guard, 

and Air Force Reserve components of the USAF; 

Whereas more than 100,000 Airmen stand watch around the 

world at 175 global locations, committed to winning the 

constant fight against violent extremist organizations by 

expending more than 56,000 munitions and striking more 

than 32,000 enemy targets over the course of 18,200 airstrikes; 


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Whereas Airmen were imprisoned and tortured during several 

major conflicts, including World War I, World War II, 

the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the Persian Gulf 

War, and, in the valiant tradition of Airmen held captive, 

continued serving the United States with honor and dignity under the most inhumane circumstances; 

Whereas Airmen have earned the Medal of Honor 18 times, 

the Air Force Cross 183 times, the Distinguished Service 

Cross 42 times, and the Silver Star 74 times; 

Whereas the USAF is a tremendous steward of resources, develops and applies groundbreaking technology, manages 

complex acquisition programs, and maintains test, evaluation, and sustainment criteria for all USAF weapon 

systems throughout the life cycles of those weapon systems; 

Whereas talented and dedicated Airmen will continue to meet 

the future challenges of an ever-changing world with limitless strength, resolve, and patriotism; 

Whereas, on every continent around the world, the USAF has 

bravely fought for freedom, liberty, and peace, preserved 

democracy, and protected the people and interests of the 

United States; 

Whereas Airmen of the USAF, together with their joint force 

partners, will continue to be a tremendous resource for 

the United States in fights across every domain and at 

every location, delivering continuous air and space superiority, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid 

global mobility, global strike, and command and control 

capabilities, thereby ensuring the safety and security of 

the United States; and 


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Whereas, for 70 years, the USAF and the Airmen of the 

USAF, through their exemplary service and sacrifice, 

have repeatedly proven their value to the United States, 

the people of the United States, the allies of the United 

States, and all free people of the world: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) commemorates the 70th anniversary of the 

3 establishment of the Air Force as an independent 

4 military service; and 

5 (2) remembers, honors, and commends the 

6 achievements of the Air Force in serving and defend7 ing the United States through global vigilance, glob8 al reach, and global power. 

Æ 


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