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  • USAF Chiefs of Staff

    The Department of the Air Force manages all elements of the U.S. Air Force. It is administered by a civilian secretary appointed by the president and is supervised by a military chief of staff. The chief of staff, U.S. Air Force, is appointed by the president from among the Air Force general

  • Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force

    On Oct. 24, 1966, the Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. John P. McConnell, announced the creation of the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force (CMSAF) position. In April 1967 CMSgt. Paul W. Airey became first to hold that position. The CMSAF serves as personal advisor to the Air Force Chief of Staff

  • Evolution of the Air Force Song

    Note: This exhibit is located in the hallway between the Early Years and World War II Galleries.In 1938 Liberty magazine sponsored a contest for a spirited, enduring musical composition to become the official Army Air Corps song. Of 757 scores submitted, one written by Mr. Robert Crawford was

  • Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman

    President Donald Trump posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to the family of Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman, U.S. Air Force Special Tactics Combat Controller, during a ceremony on Aug. 22, 2018 for his extraordinary heroism in March 2002 while deployed to Afghanistan.Medal of Honor, 2002By direction

  • Sgt. 1st Class Fred C. Graveline

    Sergeant First Class Fred C. GravelineFirst Enlisted Recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, 1919Sergeant First Class Fred C. Graveline was part of a small group of enlisted men who flew combat missions in World War I, and the first of only two enlisted men to receive the Distinguished Service

  • K-Bases in Korea

    The USAF had numerous air bases in Korea, and many of these were former Japanese airfields. The spelling of Korean locations on maps varied greatly, and villages had a Korean and a Japanese name. A "K" number identified individual airbases in both northern and southern Korea to prevent confusion

  • Korean War Introduction

    "The Air Force is on trial in Korea."- Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, USAF Chief of Staff, 1950 The U.S. Air Force was only three years old as a separate service when North Korea invaded South Korea in the summer of 1950. The next three years brought significant changes in technology, roles and tactics,

  • Integration of the USAF

    When the 322nd Fighter Group returned to the U.S. following the Allied victory in Europe in 1945, three of its squadrons were deactivated. The fourth, the famous 99th Fighter Squadron, was assigned to the 477th Composite Group at Godman Field, Ky. Equipped with both bombers (B-25s) and fighters

  • African Americans Segregated into Separate Units

    Meanwhile, the War Department forced the AAF to reverse a two decade old policy of excluding African Americans. After World War I, the War Department had segregated blacks into all-black units, and since the Air Corps had no black units, they accepted no blacks at all. The Selective Training and

  • President Ronald Reagan

    Several years after graduating from college and while employed as a sports announcer by a radio station in Iowa, Ronald Reagan began taking home-study U.S. Army Extension Courses. He enrolled in the program on March 18, 1935, and by December 1936, he had completed 14 courses. He then joined the