III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 416 

Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the United States Air Force as an 

independent military service. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 19 (legislative day, DECEMBER 18), 2007 

Mr. NELSON of Nebraska (for himself, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. BROWNBACK, Ms. 

COLLINS, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. ENZI, Mr. 

GRAHAM, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. TESTER, Mr. ROBERTS, and 

Mr. ALLARD) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 

considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the United States Air 

Force as an independent military service. 

Whereas President Harry S Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 on July 26, 1947, to realign and reorganize the Armed Forces and to create a separate Department of the Air Force from the existing military 

services; 

Whereas the National Security Act of 1947 was enacted on 

September 18, 1947; 

Whereas the Aeronautical Division of the United States Army 

Signal Corps, consisting of one officer and two enlisted 

men, began operation under the command of Captain 

Charles DeForest Chandler on August 1, 1907, with the 

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

Whereas in 1908, the Department of War contracted with the 

Wright brothers to build one heavier-than-air flying machine for the United States Army, and accepted the 

Wright Military Flyer, the world’s first military airplane, 

in 1909; 

Whereas United States pilots, flying with both allied air 

forces and with the Army Air Service, performed admirably in the course of World War I, 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 ‘‘Hap’’ Arnold, 

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

potential of air power and courageously forged the foundations for the creation of an independent arm for air 

forces in the United States in the decades following 

World War I; 

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

the Army Air Forces (AAF) as its aviation element and 

shortly thereafter the Department of War made the AAF 

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 to a peak wartime strength of 2.4 million personnel and 79,908 aircraft; 

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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 

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

operation from the deck of the naval carrier USS Hornet 

to strike the Japanese mainland in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; 

Whereas President Harry S Truman supported organizing air 

power as an equal arm of the military forces of the 

United States, writing on December 19, 1945, that air 

power had developed so that the responsibilities and contributions to military strategic planning of air power 

equaled those of land and sea power; 

Whereas on September 18, 1947, W. Stuart Symington became the first Secretary of the newly formed and independent United States Air Force (USAF), and on September 26, 1947, General Carl A. Spaatz 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 inception; 

Whereas on October 14, 1947, the USAF demonstrated its 

historic and ongoing commitment 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; 

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Whereas the USAF Reserve, created April 14, 1948, is comprised of Citizen Airmen who serve as unrivaled wingmen 

of the active duty USAF in every deployment, mission, 

and battlefield around the globe; 

Whereas the USAF operated the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and 

1949 to provide humanitarian relief to post-war Germany 

and has established a tradition of humanitarian assistance in responding to natural disasters and needs across 

the world; 

Whereas the USAF announced a policy of racial integration 

in the ranks of the USAF on April 26, 1948, 3 months 

prior to a Presidential mandate to integrate all military 

services; 

Whereas in the early years of the Cold War, the USAF’s arsenal of bombers, 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 United States’ 

preeminent deterrent against Soviet Union forces 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 the USAF, employing 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 during the conflict in 

Korea; 

Whereas after the development of launch vehicles and orbital 

satellites, the mission of the USAF expanded into space 

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and today provides exceptional real-time global communications, environmental monitoring, navigation, precision 

timing, missile warning, nuclear deterrence, and space 

surveillance; 

Whereas USAF Airmen have contributed to the manned 

space program of the United States since the program’s 

inception and throughout the program’s development at 

the National Aeronautics and Space Administration by 

dedicating themselves wholly to space exploration despite 

the risks of exploration; 

Whereas the USAF engaged in a limited campaign of air 

power to assist the South Vietnamese government in 

countering the communist Viet Cong guerillas during the 

Vietnam War and fought to disrupt supply lines, halt 

enemy ground offensives, and protect United States and 

Allied forces; 

Whereas Airmen were imprisoned and tortured during the 

Vietnam War and, in the valiant tradition of Airmen held 

captive in previous conflicts, continued serving the United 

States with honor and dignity under the most inhumane 

circumstances; 

Whereas, in recent decades, the USAF and coalition partners 

of the United States have supported successful actions in 

Panama, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, 

and many other locations around the globe; 

Whereas Pacific Air Forces, along with Asia-Pacific partners 

of the United States, ensure peace and advance freedom 

from the west coast of the United States to the east coast 

of Africa and from the Arctic to the Antarctic, covering 

more than 100 million square miles and the homes of 2 

billion people in 44 countries; 

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Whereas the United States Air Forces in Europe, along with 

European partners of the United States, have shaped the 

history of Europe from World War II, the Cold War, Operation Deliberate Force, and Operation Allied Force to 

today’s operations, and secured stability and ensured 

freedom’s future in the Europe, Africa, and Southwest 

Asia; 

Whereas, for 17 consecutive years beginning with 1990, Airmen have been engaged in full-time combat operations 

ranging from Desert Shield to Iraqi Freedom, and have 

shown themselves to be an expeditionary air and space 

force of outstanding capability ready to fight and win 

wars of the United States when and where Airmen are 

called upon to do so; 

Whereas the USAF is steadfast in its commitment to field a 

world-class, expeditionary air force by recruiting, training, and educating its Total Force of active duty, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, and civilian personnel; 

Whereas the USAF is a steward of resources, developing and 

applying technology, managing acquisition programs, and 

maintaining test, evaluation, and sustainment criteria for 

all USAF weapon systems throughout such weapon systems’ life cycles; 

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

took to the skies to fly combat air patrols over major 

United States cities and protect families, friends, and 

neighbors of 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 cybermstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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space and prioritized the development, maintenance, and 

sustainment of war fighting capabilities to deliver unrestricted access to cyberspace and defend the United 

States and its global interests; 

Whereas Airmen around the world are committed to fighting 

and winning the Global War on Terror and have flown 

more than 430,000 sorties to precisely target and engage 

insurgents who attempt to violently disrupt rebuilding in 

Iraq and Afghanistan; 

Whereas talented and dedicated Airmen will meet the future 

challenges of an ever-changing world with strength and 

resolve; 

Whereas the USAF, together with its joint partners, will continue to be the United States’ leading edge in the ongoing fight to ensure the safety and security of the United 

States; and 

Whereas during the past 60 years, the USAF has repeatedly 

proved its value to the Nation, fulfilling its critical role 

in national defense, and protecting peace, liberty, and 

freedom throughout the world: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate remembers, honors, and 

2 commends the achievements of the United States Air 

3 Force in serving and defending the United States on the 

4 60th anniversary of the creation of the United States Air 

5 Force as an independent military service. 

Æ 

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