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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 207 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 207

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 19, 2007

        Received and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT 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 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;
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;
Whereas the USAF Reserve, created April 14, 1948, is comprised of Citizen Airmen 
        who steadfastly sacrifice personal fortune and family comfort in order 
        to 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 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;
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 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 trustworthy steward of resources, developing and applying 
        technology, managing professional acquisition programs, and maintaining 
        exacting 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 cyberspace 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
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress remembers, honors, and commends the achievements of the 
United States Air Force in serving and defending the United States on 
the 60th anniversary of the creation of the United States Air Force as 
an independent military service.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 18, 2007.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.
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