It is the first such group formed around pure Air Force issues. The new caucus now has 19 members. Each has Air Force or Air National Guard service in his or her background. Some had notable military careers. Co-chair Johnson, for example, was a fighter pilot from 1951 to 1979 and was a prisoner of war in the Vietnam War for nearly seven years.
Members come from all parts of the country and both major parties.
So far, the group's formal schedule consists largely of breakfasts with the Air Force leadership. Stearns and his fellow co-chairs have been trying to organize a group trip to bases around the country for a firsthand look at service concerns. Nowadays, a declining percentage of national lawmakers have military experience in their background, points out Stearns. In 1994, about 40 percent of the House of Representatives and 61 percent of the Senate, were counted as veterans. Today, the percentage in the House is less than 30 percent and less than 50 percent in the Senate.