The Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional military association for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, its declared mission is "to educate the public about air and space power, to advocate for the world's most capable, most lethal, and most effective Air and Space Forces, and to support Airmen, Guardians, and their families."[5][2]
AFA publishes Air & Space Forces (retitled from Air Force Magazine in September 2022[6]) and the Daily Report.[7] It also runs the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies[8] and conducts social networking, public outreach, and national conferences and symposia. It sponsors professional development seminars and has an awards program. AFA has a scholarship program for Air Force active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve members and their dependents. It also provides grants to promote science and math education at the elementary and secondary school level.
Founded in 1946 as the Air Force Association, the organization renamed itself in April 2022. It continued to use the abbreviation AFA.[9]
History
Advocating for air force independence
Lieutenant General Jimmy Doolittle was the first president of the Air Force Association.
While the group decided on the Air Force Association as the name, which was shared with an earlier group founded by Billy Mitchell, rejected names included the:[10]
Air Force Legion
Air Force League
Air Force Veterans Association
Air Force Council
Air Force Veterans Federation
Air Force Veterans Alliance
National Legion of Air Force Veterans
National League of Air Force Veterans
National Association of Air Force Veterans
National Federation of Air Force Veterans
National Fraternity of Air Force Veterans
National Council of Air Force Veterans
United League of Air Force Veterans
United Federation of Air Force Veterans
United Association of Air Force Veterans
United Council of Air Force Veterans
United Alliance of Air Force Veterans
American Air Force Veterans
American Veterans of the Air
American Veterans of the Air Force
Air Force Alumni Association
Consensus quickly formed that Jimmy Doolittle should be the first president, and in a January 1946 press conference, Doolittle announced the establishment of the Air Force Association. It was to be organized with a grass-roots structure composed of local, state, and regional affiliates. AFA also would publish a national magazine on airpower topics and sponsor educational programs to inform the public on airpower developments.[10]
The Air Force Association was incorporated on 4 February 1946 in Washington D.C. Membership fees provided insufficient operating funds, and the association relied on additional donations from members. The association was a relatively prominent voice that was featured in The New York Times and other news media. In August 1946, the Air Force Association organized a coast-to-coast radio broadcast featuring Jimmy Stewart, who was made a vice president of the organization, and Ronald Reagan, who was a Hollywood actor and Army Air Force captain and AFA charter member.[10]
The Air Force Association made good on its promise to publish an airpower magazine in July 1946, when it received ownership of Air Force Magazine, the official journal of the Army Air Forces. The publication had been founded by Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold, commanding general of the Army Air Forces from 1941 to 1946, who had ordered "a first-class, slick-paper magazine—highly readable—the best of its kind—with worldwide circulation" be produced for its airmen. In 1917, Arnold had edited the Army Air Services' monthly newsletter as Chief of Information.[10]
Public outreach was also made a priority, with Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Carl Spaatz telling delegates at AFA's first national convention in 1947 that "public support is as essential to effective airpower as industries, airplanes, and airmen." By the end of the Air Force Association's first year, it had incorporated 152 local squadrons, or chapters, in forty-five states.[10]
On 18 September 1947, the Department of the Air Force was established and the Army Air Forces became the U.S. Air Force. Air Force Magazine declared that it was "The Day Billy Mitchell Dreamed Of." At its first AFA National Convention in Columbus, Ohio, General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower declared "the creation of the United States Air Force as an independent entity recognizes the special capabilities of airpower."[10]
The Air Force's advocate
Logo of the Air Force Association until its renaming into the Air & Space Forces Association.
Despite independence, however, the Air Force's place was not assured. After the Allied victory, the United States began post-war demobilization. In their first statement of policy in 1948, the Air Force Association warned "while recognizing that peacetime airpower is expensive, we know that wartime airpower is far more costly" and began campaigning for a 70-group Air Force, which was also called for by a special presidential commission.[10]
In 1953, the Air Reserve Association merged into the AFA. In May 1959, right before the first graduation at the United States Air Force Academy, AFA sponsored its first outstanding-squadron dinner, which would later become a highlighted event for the association.[10]
The Air Force Association embraced the arrival of the jet age, sponsoring four national Jet Age Conferences starting in 1956. The same year, Air Force Magazine published an article on Strategic Air Command which got national attention when Arthur Godfrey told his primetime audience on CBS to read it. On 1 May 1956, AFA created the Air Force Association Foundation, soon renamed the Aerospace Education Foundation, to manage its education programs.[10]
At its 1956 National Convention, the Air Force Association, in partnership with the Air Force, inaugurated its Outstanding Airman of the Air Force program to recognize enlisted airmen. The 1957 "Golden Anniversary" issue of Air Force Magazine, produced with the Air Force Historical Research Division, marked fifty years since the establishment of the Army Signal Corps' Aeronautical Division.[10]
The Air Force Association marked 1959 with the World Congress of Flight in Las Vegas. Featuring aircraft from 52 nations, the World Congress of Flight was the first international, and the largest, air and space show in the United States and was televised by NBC to over 40 million viewers and covered in Life magazine.[10]
The Air Force Association led the development of the Air Force Memorial.
In 1963, the Air Force Association adopted a statement of policy opposing the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, infuriating Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Under political pressure, Secretary of the Air Force Eugene M. Zuckert withdrew from his attendance at the AFA National Convention, but Chief of Staff General Curtis LeMay still attended.[10]
In 1967, the Aerospace Education Foundation and the United States Office of Education tested Air Force technical training courses in Utah public schools. Project Utah's success paved the way to create the Community College of the Air Force. The two organizations also held the first National Laboratory for the Advancement of Education.[10]
In October 1969, Air Force Magazine published "The Forgotten Americans of the Vietnam War" as its cover story, generating national awareness of prisoners of war. The article was republished as the lead in Reader's Digest, read on the floor of the United States Congress, and entered into the Congressional Record six times. AFA's national president was a special guest at the White House's tribute for returning prisoners of war in 1971.[10]
In 1988 and 1990, the Air Force Association and Aerospace Education Foundation published two white papers, "Lifeline in Danger" and "Lifeline Adrift", warning of problems with the United States defense industry. In 1991, the Aerospace Education Foundation and USA Today jointly ran the "Visions of Exploration" program to educate public school students on 21st-century issues.[10]
In 1994, Air Force Magazine published a special report on the National Air and Space Museum's plans to display the Enola GayB-29 Superfortress bomber, which dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb on Hiroshima. AFA called the museum's plans politically rigged and lacking balance and historical context. The outcry from Congress, the news media, and public forced the museum to modify its display plans.[10]
While supporting the Air Force, the Air Force Association also advocated for its space and cyber programs.[11]
In 2009, AFA established the CyberPatriot program to prepare high school students in careers in cybersecurity or other STEM fields. In 2013, CyberPatriot becomes an international program, expanding to the United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Japan.[11]
In 2014, the Secretary of the Air Force requested that the Air Force Association create a similar program to CyberPatriot that was space-focused, with AFA creating the StellarXplorers STEM education program built on orbit determination, spacecraft design, and launch vehicle operations.[11]
In 2013, the Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies was renamed the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and in 2016, the Air Force Association's Air and Space Conference was renamed the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference.[11]
Following the 2019 establishment of the U.S. Space Force, the Air Force Association positioned itself to continue supporting the new service, updating its mission statement to include the USSF and Guardians in April 2020. On April 7, 2022, the Air Force Association renamed itself the Air & Space Forces Association to better represent the United States Space Force.[9] In September 2022, Air Force Magazine was renamed Air & Space Forces.[12]
Following the Space Force's establishment, the Air Force Association called for the Department of the Air Force to rename itself the Department of the Air and Space Forces, integrate the National Reconnaissance Office into the U.S. Space Force, and develop crewed and uncrewed combat spaceplanes for the new service.[13]
Organization
AFA is divided into three geographic areas, comprising 14 regions, each led by a region president.
Predominantly a volunteer organization, the association has more than 200 chapters in 49 states (Maine is the only state without a chapter) and other countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Japan, Okinawa, and the Republic of Korea. As of 30 June 2010, AFA had a membership of 117,480 of whom 37% (43,954) are life members (permanent membership), organized into local chapters. There has been a 23-year trend of declining regular membership, but increasing life membership. AFA membership in 2010 included 15% on active duty military and 70% retired or former military.[14]
Programs
As part of its education mandate the association publishes Air Force Magazine and the online electronic news brief Daily Report. Air Force Magazine began in September 1918 as the D.M.A. Weekly News Letter, originally published by the Information Branch of the Division of Military Aeronautics, and changed names several times, becoming Air Force Magazine in January 1943 and Air & Space Forces in September 2022. The Air Force Association assumed responsibility for its publication and content beginning in October 1946.[citation needed]
AFA hosts professional development conferences which feature speakers, workshops, trade shows and presentations by Air Force and national defense leaders. The organization has a public policy and research arm, the Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies run by director Dr. Rebecca Grant. AFA runs CyberPatriot, a national youth cyber education program that promotes student interest in cyber security and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career fields. The "Visions of Exploration" program has its members distribute educational materials to schools and concerned citizens. This is done in part through a joint multi-disciplinary science, math and social studies program with USA Today.[15]
As part of its support programs AFA provides more than $1.5 million in scholarships, grants, and awards.[16] AFA's educational programs and scholarships are intended to encourage Air Force members to continue their education, provide funds to Air Force spouses working towards a degree, and administer grants that develop programs promoting math and science skills among young people.
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces and the fourth in order of precedence. The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy, global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.
James Harold Doolittle was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II, known as the Doolittle Raid in his honor. He made early coast-to-coast flights, record-breaking speed flights, won many flying races, and helped develop flight-test instrument flying.
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army and later, General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps (1938–1941), commanding general of the United States Army Air Forces, the only United States Air Force general to hold five-star rank, and the only officer to hold a five-star rank in two different U.S. military services. Arnold was also the founder of Project RAND, which evolved into one of the world's largest non-profit global policy think tanks, the RAND Corporation, and was one of the founders of Pan American World Airways.
Lackland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located in Bexar County, Texas, United States. The base is under the jurisdiction of the 802d Mission Support Group, Air Education and Training Command (AETC) and an enclave of the city of San Antonio. It is the only site for USAF and United States Space Force enlisted Basic Military Training (BMT).
The Second Air Force is a USAF numbered air force responsible for conducting basic military and technical training for Air Force enlisted members and non-flying officers. In World War II the CONUS unit defended the Northwestern United States and Upper Great Plains regions and during the Cold War, was Strategic Air Command unit with strategic bombers and missiles. Elements of Second Air Force engaged in combat operations during the Korean War; Vietnam War, as well as Operation Desert Storm.
The Fourteenth Air Force was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). It was headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
The United States Department of the Air Force (DAF) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Air Force was formed on September 18, 1947, per the National Security Act of 1947 and it is the military department within which the United States Air Force and the United States Space Force are organized.
General (Honorary) Ira Clarence Eaker was a general of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Eaker, as second-in-command of the prospective Eighth Air Force, was sent to England to form and organize its bomber command. While he struggled to build up airpower in England, the organization of the Army Air Forces evolved and he was named commander of the Eighth Air Force on December 1, 1942.
Buckley Space Force Base is a United States Space Force base in Aurora, Colorado named after United States Army Air Service First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley. The base is run by Space Base Delta 2, with major units including the U.S. Space Force's Space Delta 4, the Colorado Air National Guard's 140th Wing, the Denver Naval Operations Support Center, and the National Reconnaissance Office's Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado.
Air University is a professional military education university system of the United States Air Force. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award master's degrees.
A space command is a military organization with responsibility for space operations and warfare. A space command is typically a joint organization or organized within a larger military branch and is distinct from a fully independent space force. The world's first space command, the United States' Air Force Space Command was established in 1982 and later became the United States Space Force in 2019.
Ralph Edward "Ed" Eberhart is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force (USAF). He served as the commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. He was in charge of NORAD during the September 11 attacks in 2001.
The 711th Human Performance Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
The United States Army Air Forces was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and de facto aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II (1941–1947). It was created on 20 June 1941 as successor to the previous United States Army Air Corps and is the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force, today one of the six armed forces of the United States. The AAF was a component of the United States Army, which on 2 March 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces, the United States Army Services of Supply, and the Army Air Forces. Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff.
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical rift developed between more traditional ground-based army personnel and those who felt that aircraft were being underutilized and that air operations were being stifled for political reasons unrelated to their effectiveness. The USAAC was renamed from the earlier United States Army Air Service on 2 July 1926, and was part of the larger United States Army. The Air Corps became the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 20 June 1941, giving it greater autonomy from the Army's middle-level command structure. During World War II, although not an administrative echelon, the Air Corps (AC) remained as one of the combat arms of the Army until 1947, when it was legally abolished by legislation establishing the Department of the Air Force.
A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. However, it lost its independence twice, first being absorbed into the Strategic Rocket Forces from 1997–2001 and 2001–2011, then it merged with the Russian Air Force to form the Russian Aerospace Forces in 2015, where it now exists as a sub-branch.
David A. Deptula is the Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Power Studies, and a senior scholar at the U.S. Air Force Academy's Center for Character and Leadership Development. He transitioned from the U.S. Air Force in 2010 at the rank of Lieutenant General after more than 34 years of service. Deptula was commissioned in 1974 as a distinguished graduate from The University of Virginia Air Force ROTC program, and remained to complete a master's degree in 1976. During his military career he took part in operations, planning, and joint warfighting at unit, major command, service headquarters and combatant command levels, and also served on two congressional commissions outlining America's future defense posture. He was a principal author of the original Air Force White Paper "Global Reach—Global Power." In the early 1990s he was instrumental in the formation and development of the concept later known as "effects-based operations," having successfully applied it in building the attack plans for the Operation Desert Storm air campaign. He has been cited as having "... fostered the most significant change in the conduct of aerial warfare since Billy Mitchell...Deptula’s framework influenced the successful air campaigns in Operations Allied Force, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom. Today, joint targeting cells and Air Force doctrine reflect Deptula's theory of airpower and the changing nature of warfare." Deptula is one of 12 airmen singled out in Airpower Pioneers: From Billy Mitchell to Dave Deptula. He is also the subject of a more detailed review of his contributions to the development of airpower in America's Airman: David Deptula and the Airpower Moment.
The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the United States Armed Forces. Along with the Air Force, it is part of the Department of the Air Force, led by the secretary of the Air Force. Its military heads are the chief of space operations, who is one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the vice chief of space operations.
While the United States Space Force gained its independence on 20 December 2019, the history of the United States Space Force can be traced back to the beginnings of the military space program following the conclusion of the Second World War in 1945. Early military space development was begun within the United States Army Air Forces by General Henry H. Arnold, who identified space as a crucial military arena decades before the first spaceflight. Gaining its independence from the Army on 18 September 1947, the United States Air Force began development of military space and ballistic missile programs, while also competing with the United States Army and United States Navy for the space mission.
↑ Air Force Association (September 2010). "AFA Almanac"(PDF). Air Force Magazine. Archived(PDF) from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
Various conventions, treaties, agreements, memorandums, charters or declarations establishing and governing intergovernmental organisations or inter-agency bodies dealing with space affairs
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