III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 783 

Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Department 

of the Air Force and celebrating the United States Air Force for 75 

years of serving and defending the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022 

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

WARNOCK, and Ms. ROSEN) submitted the following resolution; which 

was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the establishment 

of the Department of the Air Force and celebrating 

the United States Air Force for 75 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 

the Wright brothers to build 1 heavier-than-air flying machine for the Army and, in 1909, the Department of War 


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accepted the Wright Military Flyer, the first military airplane in the world; 

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 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 

22,000 men and 3,900 aircraft in 1939, into an entity 

with a peak wartime strength of nearly 2,500,000 personnel and 75,000 aircraft; 

Whereas, on June 20, 1941, the Department of War established 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 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 and the United States 

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 Air Force, marking the date on which the USAF 

was established; 

Whereas the Air National Guard was also created by the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) 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 1.06, 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 

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

world in which the USAF is engaged; 


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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 announce a policy of racial integration, 

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, 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 

officers and leaders of impeccable character and knowledge, and which, as of 2022, has graduated 64 classes 

and commissioned 53,491 officers into the USAF and 

United States Space Force (referred to in this preamble 

as the ‘‘USSF’’); 


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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, 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 Command has served 

with honor and distinction around the world since its activation in 1990, providing the United States with specialized airpower across the broad spectrum of conflicts 

in any place and at any time; 

Whereas, for over 3 decades beginning in 1990, airmen engaged in continuous combat operations from Operation 

Desert Shield to Operation Inherent Resolve, demonstrating an air and space expeditionary force of outVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Sep 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR783.ATS SR783

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standing capability that is ready to fight and win wars 

and deter aggression whenever and wherever 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 protect the people 

of the United States from further attack; 

Whereas, on December 20, 2019, in recognition that space 

had become a warfighting domain, former President Donald Trump signed legislation establishing the USSF as 

an independent service to ensure that the space domain 

remained open to all countries; 

Whereas, on May 30, 2020, in collaboration and engagement 

with interagency and commercial partners, the USSF 

provided unparalleled space launch capabilities in support 

of the first manned spaceflight from American soil in 9 

years; 

Whereas, in 2021, in a step toward organizing the forces of 

the USSF to meet the needs of an independent military 

service devoted to space, the USSF activated Space Operations Command, Space Systems Command, and Space 

Training and Readiness Command; 

Whereas, to establish a unique and enduring culture for the 

USSF, the Department of the Air Force redesignated 

certain Air Force Bases and Air Force Stations supporting the USSF mission as Space Force Bases and 

Space Force Stations and graduated its first-ever basic 

military training course taught completely by USSF 

training instructors; 


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Whereas space capabilities provide the foundation for everything the United States Armed Forces do, from humanitarian efforts to combat operations; 

Whereas, in 2022, following a ‘wings of hope and compassion’ 

tradition dating back more than a century, when airmen 

provided food and supplies to Texas flood victims in 

1919, the USAF and coalition partners airlifted 124,334 

people out of Afghanistan in the largest non-combatant 

evacuation airlift in United States history, spanning 17 

days, 9 countries, 8 time zones, and more than 10 temporary safe havens; 

Whereas, since February 24, 2022, airmen and guardians 

have responded to Russian aggression against Ukraine by 

guarding the skies of members of the North Atlantic 

Treaty Organization (commonly referred to as ‘‘NATO’’), 

transporting essential equipment to the Ukrainian military, and providing critical support from space; 

Whereas women have played a prominent role in the evolution 

of the Department of the Air Force, courageously fighting alongside their male counterparts and dedicating 

their lives to protecting peace, liberty, and freedom 

around the world as they provide air and space power 

whenever and wherever needed; 

Whereas the Department of the Air Force 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 operations in contested, degraded, and limited environments; 


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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 

2022, as the Civil Air Patrol executes emergency service 

missions and aerospace education programs; 

Whereas the Department of the Air Force is steadfast in the 

commitment to fielding a world-class air and space expeditionary force by recruiting, training, and educating its 

officer, enlisted, and civilian corps comprising the active 

duty, Guard, and Reserve components of the Total Force; 

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 19 times, 

the Air Force Cross 203 times, the Distinguished Service 

Cross 42 times, and, since September 11, 2001, the Silver Star 92 times; 

Whereas the USAF and the USSF are tremendous stewards 

of resources in developing and applying groundbreaking 

technology to manage complex acquisition programs for 

all air and space weapon systems throughout their life cycles; 

Whereas talented and dedicated airmen and guardians will 

continue to make the investments necessary to accelerate 

transformation and modernization to counter the adverVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Sep 21, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR783.ATS SR783

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saries of the United States and meet the future challenges of an ever-changing world with limitless strength, 

resolve, and patriotism; 

Whereas the USAF and the USSF are committed to accelerating change and preparing for the future, because failure is not an option; 

Whereas, on every continent around the world, airmen and 

guardians have bravely fought for freedom, liberty, and 

peace, preserved democracy, and protected the people and 

interests of the United States; 

Whereas the future success of the United States Armed 

Forces depends upon the ability to control the air and 

space domains; 

Whereas airmen and guardians will continue to be a tremendous resource for the United States in fights across every 

domain and at every location, thereby ensuring the safety 

and security of the United States; and 

Whereas, for 75 years, the airmen and guardians of the Department of the Air Force, 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 75th anniversary of the 

3 establishment of the Department of the Air Force; 

4 and 

5 (2) remembers, honors, and commends the 

6 achievements of the United States Air Force and the 


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1 United States Space Force in serving and defending 

2 the United States. 

Æ 


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