DOCSLIB.ORG

Lord Takes Command Guardian Challenge by Capt

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Friday, April 26, 2002 Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Vol. 46 No.15 This Issue Lord takes command Guardian Challenge By Capt. Adriane Craig Air Force Space Command Public Affairs For the first time in a decade, Air Force Space Command has its own commander. Gen. Lance Lord took the reins of AFSPC from Gen. Ed Eberhart April 19 in a ceremony presided over by Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. 21st SFS team prepares for John Jumper. Guardian Challenge Secretary of the Air Force James - Page 5 Roche and Peter Teets, undersecretary of the Air Force, also attended. Feature It was almost unprecedented hav- ing the SECAF, CSAF and USECAF together at one event. All acknowl- edged they wanted to be on hand for the important and historic event. “A separate four-star commander for AFSPC is a testament to the neces- sity and importance of our responsibili- ty to carry out the recommendations of the Space Commission and assume our role as the executive agent for space,” Photo by Tech. Sgt. Alex Lloyd Command holds first ever honor Gen. Lance Lord accepts the colors and command of AFSPC from Chief of guard competition said Jumper. Staff of the Air Force Gen. John Jumper. - Page 8,9 “We take this special step today not for the sake of reorganizing, but “There is not a soldier, sailor, air- skilled in air power, has expertise in simply because it is the smart thing to man, Marine or coast guardsmen who space power, is a model of acquisition, Sports do for national security," said Teets. goes into harm’s way that doesn’t ben- and a leader in the integration of Last year, the Space Commission efit from what you do everyday. You warfighting capabilities to achieve recommended the duties of the AFSPC make their operations more efficient, combined effects.” commander be separated from those of more effective and more lethal,” said Lord is the first career space offi- the Commander in Chief of North Eberhart, saluting the troops in forma- cer to head the command. A former American Aerospace Defense tion representing 14th Air Force, 20th vice commander and director of plans Command and U.S. Space Command. AF, the Space and Missile Systems for AFSPC, much of his career has Roche acknowledged that the Center, Space Warfare Center, and been spent in the missile field. His change creates a strong lineup for Headquarters AFSPC. first duty assignment was as a space advocacy. Lord, called “a warrior and a Minuteman II combat crewmember “The team of Secretary Teets, scholar with a diamond-sharp mind with the 321st Strategic Missile Wing, Technical sergeant coaches General Eberhart and General Lord and a compassionate heart” by Roche, Grand Forks AFB, N.D. He has also women’s football will champion the realm of space for echoed these sentiments and outlined had assignments as a Minuteman II - Page 12 America,” he promised. “Look for his vision for the command. evaluation member and missile opera- great things.” “We are at a critically important tions staff officer. His first command Eberhart will remain at Peterson time in the already distinguished histo- was for the 10th Strategic Missile Inside as commander in chief of NORAD and ry of the Air Force Space Command,” Squadron at Malmstrom AFB, Mont. USSPACE. said Lord. The importance and neces- He also served as commander for the News....3,4 During the ceremony, Eberhart sity of space power has been clearly 90th Missile Wing, F.E. Warren AFB, Guardian was recognized with the Distinguished articulated, and it’s up to us to shape Wyo., and the 30th Space Wing at Service Medal. He saluted the men the future,” said Lord. Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Challenge....5 and women of AFSPC for their selfless “We will work hard as a major “Putting the reins of AFSPC in Air Force News....6 dedication in providing support 24 command to organize, train and equip the hands of a career space officer is a Feature....8,9 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 our forces and fully ‘flex our MAJ- capstone step as we focus on national days a year. COM muscles’ as a command that is security space,” said Teets. Commentary....10 Sports....12 AFSPC names outstanding airmen of the year By Senior Master Sgt. Year banquet 2001 at the to represent 14th Air Force, 341st Space Wing, Lightning Cathy Segal enlisted club. 20th Air Force, Space and Malmstrom AFB, will now Air Force Space Command Public Nineteen enlisted Missile Systems Center, compete at Air Force level. Awareness Week Affairs members from throughout Space Warfare Center and In addition, Master the command competed for Headquarters AFSPC in the Sgt. Robert D. Brooks, for- Saturday-May 4 Five enlisted members For more information the title of Outstanding command-level competition. merly assigned to the 21st from Buckley, Schriever and Airman, NCO, Senior NCO, Senior Airman Claudia Security Forces Squadron, visit the 21st Space Peterson Air Force Bases, First Sergeant and Van Hassel, 460th Medical will compete for Air Force Wing Safety Web Colo. and Malmstrom AFB, Individual Mobilization Squadron, Buckley AFB; First Sergeant of the Year. Mont. shared top honors page on Petecentral Augmentee of the Year. Tech. Sgt. James Logan Jr., The command’s IMA April 18 during Air Force After winning those 17th Test Squadron, of the Year, Senior Master Courtesy photo Space Command’s titles at their respective Schriever AFB; and Master Sgt. Catherine E. Redmond Outstanding Airman of the bases or units, they went on Sgt. Michael Faulkingham, -See AIRMEN, page 3 SPACE OBSERVER 2 Friday, April 26, 2002 From the Top Action Line 21st Space Wing the old system. We are also establishing a refill Identification please pharmacy at the commissary. Once this is up Q: Why didn't anyone check my identification and running, we expect wait times at the clinic pharmacy to go down even more. If you have GSU when I came through the west gate March 11? I was there at 10:07 a.m. according to my watch. further questions, please contact Capt. Aaron At a Glance I was waved on through. It was six months to Middlekauff at 556-1109. the day after the events of Sept. 11, and every- thing should not be that normal. Thanks. A: Thank you for your concern about our secu- More food rity. Identification procedures at the gates range Q: Is it possible to get another food outlet from a minimum of one person producing a besides McDonald’s on Peterson AFB? Would valid ID for base access to a maximum of 100 it be possible to get a Kentucky Fried Chicken, percent of the vehicle's occupants producing Del Taco or a Taco Bell to give people another IDs. The procedure varies based upon a lot of choice? factors. If you were the only one in the vehicle, A: Thank you for your questions. Currently, our troops should have checked your ID. The we are not considering adding another fast food security forces and all our augmentees have facility on Peterson AFB. Besides done a remarkable job keeping us safe since McDonald’s, we currently have seven other Sept. 11. All of us bear the responsibility to food outlets to serve the base community. keep the installation and all of the people and Anthony's Pizza and Frank's Franks are located resources secure. If your ID isn't checked in the main exchange. Robin Hood sub shop is Unit: 13th Space Warning Squadron again, please offer it along with a reminder, located in the shoppette. We have snack bars in Location: Clear Air Force Station, Alaska and then call Master Sgt. Scott Barnhart at 556- the bowling alley and at the golf course. And Mission: The primary mission of the 13th Space Warning 7167. We'll take appropriate follow-up action. both the Officers' and Enlisted clubs offer dine- Squadron is to provide early warning of Intercontinental Thanks again for being concerned with installa- in or carry out service. If you have any other Ballistic Missiles and Sea-Launched Ballistic Missiles to tion security. You are our best eyes and ears. questions regarding food service on base, the Missile Warning Center at Cheyenne Mountain Air please contact the 21st Services Squadron Force Station. Its secondary mission is to provide space Business Flight Chief, Steve Parker at 556- surveillance data on orbiting objects to the Space Control 7412. Why wait? Center also located in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Submitting Q: When we drop off new prescriptions at the The 13th SWS accomplishes these missions using pharmacy, why do we have to wait until our Action Lines the Solid State Phased Array Radar System radar, which is number is called? Why can't we come back The Action housed in a triangular-shaped 11-story building on site. later to pick up the medication, instead of wait- Line is your direct The radar was originally located at El Dorado Air Station, ing for several hours? Thank you. line to the com- Texas, as part of the PAVE PAWS program and was only A: Thank you for your concern about our phar- mander. As a recently transplanted to Alaska to replace the United macy. Patients may, in fact, drop off prescrip- reminder, the State’s last mechanical missile warning radar site. tions and pick them up the next duty day. The action line is not a Clear is Site II of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning volunteers in the pharmacy lobby can assist substitute for your System. Site I is at Thule AB, Greenland, and Site III is at you with this.
Recommended publications
  • On Celestial Wings / Edgar D

    On Celestial Wings / Edgar D

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Whitcomb. Edgar D. On Celestial Wings / Edgar D. Whitcomb. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. United States. Army Air Forces-History-World War, 1939-1945. 2. Flight navigators- United States-Biography. 3. World War, 1939-1945-Campaigns-Pacific Area. 4. World War, 1939-1945-Personal narratives, American. I. Title. D790.W415 1996 940.54’4973-dc20 95-43048 CIP ISBN 1-58566-003-5 First Printing November 1995 Second Printing June 1998 Third Printing December 1999 Fourth Printing May 2000 Fifth Printing August 2001 Disclaimer This publication was produced in the Department of Defense school environment in the interest of academic freedom and the advancement of national defense-related concepts. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the United States government. This publication has been reviewed by security and policy review authorities and is cleared for public release. Digitize February 2003 from August 2001 Fifth Printing NOTE: Pagination changed. ii This book is dedicated to Charlie Contents Page Disclaimer........................................................................................................................... ii Foreword............................................................................................................................ vi About the author ..............................................................................................................
  • 50Th SCS Helps Build Veteran Retreat

    50Th SCS Helps Build Veteran Retreat

    Schriever Air Force Base VOL. 9, NO. 23 June 7, 2007 www.schriever.af.mil Asian-Pacific Heritage Cultural showcase brings month of activities to a close. Page 9 Base Briefs 50th SCS helps build veteran retreat Marian House seeks volunteers The Marian House Soup Kitchen in By Lorna Gutierrez Satellite Flyer Colorado Springs needs volunteers to help with food preparation, serving The setting is in the heart the Wet and cleanup June 9. Mountains, facing the Sangre de Cristo Volunteers may work either a 7 to Mountains, where a 160-acre ranch is com- 10 a.m. shift or a 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ing together to serve injured soldiers in their shift. recuperation process. Eagle Summit Ranch, located near Anyone interested in volunteer- Westcliffe, Colo., will be open to service- ing should contact Len Packer of members who have been injured in the Global the National Reconnaissance Office War on Terrorism. Schriever’s 50th Space Operations Squadron at 567-7707. Communications Squadron is helping out with the project one weekend each month to Right turns have right-of-way make it ready for its ribbon cutting Sept. 11. Drivers making left turns from “The 7,300-square-foot Log-built lodge Curtis Road onto Irwin Road must literally sets atop a ridge where eagles soar yield right-of-way to vehicles turning and has many features specifically designed right onto Irwin Road. to accommodate the veterans’ physical limita- Turning in front of someone who has tions,” said Chief Master Sgt. Steve Alexander right-of-way increases the possibility who, along with Lt.
  • United States Air Force and Its Antecedents Published and Printed Unit Histories

    United States Air Force and Its Antecedents Published and Printed Unit Histories

    UNITED STATES AIR FORCE AND ITS ANTECEDENTS PUBLISHED AND PRINTED UNIT HISTORIES A BIBLIOGRAPHY EXPANDED & REVISED EDITION compiled by James T. Controvich January 2001 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTERS User's Guide................................................................................................................................1 I. Named Commands .......................................................................................................................4 II. Numbered Air Forces ................................................................................................................ 20 III. Numbered Commands .............................................................................................................. 41 IV. Air Divisions ............................................................................................................................. 45 V. Wings ........................................................................................................................................ 49 VI. Groups ..................................................................................................................................... 69 VII. Squadrons..............................................................................................................................122 VIII. Aviation Engineers................................................................................................................ 179 IX. Womens Army Corps............................................................................................................
  • Space Alert! Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space Spring/Summer 2020 Globalnet@Mindspring.Com • Newsletter #39

    Space Alert! Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space Spring/Summer 2020 [email protected] • Newsletter #39

    Space Alert! Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space SPRING/SUMMER 2020 [email protected] • www.space4peace.org Newsletter #39 A Space Force in Times of Economic & Health Crisis by Karl Grossman Amid the scourge of coronavirus sweeping the US, the rising death toll and huge shortages in medical equip- ment needed to treat victims of the epidemic and protect doctors, nurses and other health care workers, the Space Force has gotten its “first new offensive weapon” and the government is getting ready to pour billions into the newly established sixth branch of its armed forces. “Space Force Just Received Its First New Offensive Weapon,” was the headline of a March 13th article on “The War Zone” section of the website “The Drive.” The sub-head: “This is just one of two acknowledged US ‘counterspace’ capabilities, but there are more in the classified realm.” The article said the “new offensive weapon system [is] an upgraded version of a ground-based satellite jamming sys- tem. It quoted Lt. Colonel Steven Brogan, the Combat Systems branch leader within the Space Force’s Special Programs Direc- based systems,” said the article. “The Trump administration’s $740.5 along with US neighbor Canada—have torate as saying: “This upgrade puts the It also quoted Space Force Vice Com- billion budget request for [the military] for decades been seeking to expand the ‘force’ in Space Force and is critical for mander Lt. General David Thomas in 2021 includes $15.4 billion for the US Outer Space Treaty, to ban any weapons Space as a warfighting domain.” speaking about how “the new service Space Force, according to documents in space.
  • Thirty Years On, USAF's A-10 Units Are Going Strong, Moving out with New

    Thirty Years On, USAF's A-10 Units Are Going Strong, Moving out with New

    Thirty years on, USAF’s A-10 units are going strong, moving out with new weapons, targeting pods, avionics, and training. 21st Century Warthog Photography by Guy Aceto and Paul Kennedy On the flight line at Pope AFB, N.C., a brace of A-10 Warthog attack aircraft are readied for a training mission. The A-10 is famed for a nose-mounted 30 mm Gatling gun and great ruggedness. Also notable is a new feature—the Litening II laser targeting pod—seen on these aircraft. 34 AIR FORCE Magazine / June 2005 Photo by Guy Aceto 21st Century Warthog AIR FORCE Magazine / June 2005 35 he A-10A Thunderbolt II, known Tto all as the Warthog, began as a down-and-dirty killer of Soviet tanks. Photo by Paul Kennedy Today it employs a wide variety of muni- tions and is no longer just a flying gun platform. New generation weapons make it more accurate and deadly. Enhanced navigation capabilities, the Low-Altitude Safety and Targeting Enhancement (LASTE) system, a night vision goggle- compatible cockpit, and other improve- ments have made the A-10 effective for combat in the 21st century. The first production A-10 arrived at Davis- Monthan AFB, Ariz., in October 1975, nearly three decades ago. Today, the 23rd Fighter Group at Pope AFB, N.C., and the 355th Wing at Davis-Monthan fly opera- Photo by Guy Aceto tional A-10s and train active duty, Guard, and Reserve pilots. Above, a Davis-Mon- than pilot saddles up for a training sortie in Arizona airspace as the crew chief stands by.
  • Combat Skills Prepare Airmen for Deployment Staff Sgt

    Combat Skills Prepare Airmen for Deployment Staff Sgt

    Farewell to the Chief! Come out to the Fitness Center Annex Friday starting at 9 a.m. to wish 50th Space Wing Command Chief Master Sgt. Russell Kuck a fond farewell! VOL. 8, NO. 14 APRIL 6, 2006 Colorado Springs, Colo. www.schriever.af.mil Combat skills prepare Airmen for deployment Staff Sgt. Don Branum 50th Space Wing Public Affairs What difference does Expeditionary Combat Skills train- ing make for Airmen who are preparing to deploy? For one satellite systems operator with the 4th Space Operations Squadron here, the answer is: a big one. “I feel better prepared now than before,” Senior Airman Dale Harris said. “If your career field doesn’t deploy, you should get this kind of refresher training every couple of years.” Airman Harris was one of 100 Airmen who participated in a Wing Expeditionary Readiness Inspection here March 14 to 16. He will deploy with Aerospace Expeditionary Forces 3 and 4. The WERI was the first deployment training environment Airman Harris had experienced since Basic Military Training’s Warrior Week at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The ECS training included convoy training, improvised explosive device awareness, individual tactical maneuvers, M-16 familiarization, rifle fighting and integrated base defense. “They made it realistic—like it would be out in the field, not like we were sitting in a tent all day,” he said. Airman Harris’ appraisal is not the only positive review the combat training has received. Several Airmen photo by Kim Kruis-Johnson approached Lt. Col. Paul Scholl, 50th Security Forces Airmen practice individual tactical maneuvers during a Wing Expeditionary Readiness Inspection here March 14 to 16.
  • Strategic Master Plan FY06 and Beyond

    Strategic Master Plan FY06 and Beyond

    Strategic Master Plan FY06 and Beyond AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND STRATEGIC MASTER PLAN FY06 and Beyond AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND Strategic Master Plan FY06 and Beyond For copies of this document or for more information on the AFSPC Integrated Planning Process contact: HQ AFSPC/XPXP 150 Vandenberg Street, Suite 1105 Peterson AFB, CO 80914-4610 719-554-5323 (DSN) 692-5323 e-mail: [email protected] AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND 1 October 2003 Strategic Master Plan FY06 and Beyond TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................I TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................................................ II LIST OF FIGURES .....................................................................................................................IV 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 PURPOSE ........................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 SMP OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................. 2 2 AFSPC VISION....................................................................................................................3
  • Back on Paper Nizes Outstanding Air Force Dining Facili- to Act on Input from Customers

    Back on Paper Nizes Outstanding Air Force Dining Facili- to Act on Input from Customers

    Vol. 46 Number 1 Patrick Air Force Base/Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Jan. 9, 2004 INSIDE Launch success Delta II places new GPS satellite into proper orbit Page 3 Life saved Photo by Jim Laviska Frank De La Rosa, 45th Services Squadron, serves Staff Sgt. Institute student, a chili dog. The Riverside Dining Facility was Deshawn Jones, a Defense Equal Opportunity Management named the best dining hall for Air Force Space Command in 2003. Dining Facility wins AFSPC Hennessy Award Two 45th Space Wing airmen’s quick think- “The Hennessy Award is the biggest your-own-pizza bars” and a cyber café, By Marla Holbert ing rescues child one out there for food service,” said Peter he said. Page 8 45TH SERVICES SQUADRON King, food service officer for the Don Smith, Riverside manager, said Patrick’s Riverside Dining Facility has Riverside Dining Facility. “With more one of the facility’s most unique features all the right ingredients for success. The than 280 dining facilities Air Force wide, is “Fit-To-Go,” a satellite operation locat- Father tacks on 270-seat facility situated along the to be able to say that you are (one of) the ed above the Patrick Fitness Center. It is Banana River was recently named the best is a big honor – not just for people the only establishment like it in the Air Air Force Space Command’s Hennessy working in the dining facility but for our Force and has peaked interest from Award winner for 2003. customers, as well.” other bases. The award, sponsored annually by the Mr.
  • Information to Users

    Information to Users

    INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfihn master. UMI fihns the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter 6ce, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 A PEOPLE^S AIR FORCE: AIR POWER AND AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE, 1945 -1965 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Steven Charles Call, M.A, M S.
  • Up from Kitty Hawk Chronology

    Up from Kitty Hawk Chronology

    airforcemag.com Up From Kitty Hawk Chronology AIR FORCE Magazine's Aerospace Chronology Up From Kitty Hawk PART ONE PART TWO 1903-1979 1980-present 1 airforcemag.com Up From Kitty Hawk Chronology Up From Kitty Hawk 1903-1919 Wright brothers at Kill Devil Hill, N.C., 1903. Articles noted throughout the chronology provide additional historical information. They are hyperlinked to Air Force Magazine's online archive. 1903 March 23, 1903. First Wright brothers’ airplane patent, based on their 1902 glider, is filed in America. Aug. 8, 1903. The Langley gasoline engine model airplane is successfully launched from a catapult on a houseboat. Dec. 8, 1903. Second and last trial of the Langley airplane, piloted by Charles M. Manly, is wrecked in launching from a houseboat on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Dec. 17, 1903. At Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk, N.C., Orville Wright flies for about 12 seconds over a distance of 120 feet, achieving the world’s first manned, powered, sustained, and controlled flight in a heavier-than-air machine. The Wright brothers made four flights that day. On the last, Wilbur Wright flew for 59 seconds over a distance of 852 feet. (Three days earlier, Wilbur Wright had attempted the first powered flight, managing to cover 105 feet in 3.5 seconds, but he could not sustain or control the flight and crashed.) Dawn at Kill Devil Jewel of the Air 1905 Jan. 18, 1905. The Wright brothers open negotiations with the US government to build an airplane for the Army, but nothing comes of this first meeting.
  • May Jun07 Departments

    May Jun07 Departments

    panies provided goods and services to the government- run factories. So when the factories closed their doors, the private companies’ customer bases dried up, and they too were forced to close. In the News The U.S. government’s economic effort in Iraq initially focused on reconstruction, with an assumption that Iraq’s private sector would eventually take over the idle gov- AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE ernment-owned businesses, Brinkley explained. But that (JAN. 5, 2007) never happened. TASK FORCE HELPS REVITALIZE IRAQ’S INDUSTRIES So the Task Force for Improved Business and Stability Donna Miles Operations in Iraq, which was working to improve DoD ASHINGTON—A team of 25 industrial lead- contracting operations in Iraq, shifted its focus in May ers and business analysts is headed to Iraq 2006 to stepping up the process. Wto join 35 others already there working to get almost 200 idle Iraqi factories up and running. “We quickly came to the conclusion that we had a huge, near-idle industrial base that, re-engaged, could put a lot The industrial revitalization initiative is part of a sweep- of people back to work and restore normalcy to a size- ing plan to get Iraqis back to work, restore their liveli- able amount of the population,” Brinkley said. “So we hoods, and jump-start Iraq’s economic base, Paul Brink- immediately embarked on turning that industrial base ley, deputy under secretary of defense for business back on.” transformation, told Pentagon reporters. Initial plans call for opening the first 10 factories quickly, Brinkley said the effort has another equally important with the estimated $5 million in start-up costs to be paid objective: to ensure that Iraqis don’t turn to terrorism by the Iraqi government, he said.
  • The Cold War and Beyond

    The Cold War and Beyond

    Contents Puge FOREWORD ...................... u 1947-56 ......................... 1 1957-66 ........................ 19 1967-76 ........................ 45 1977-86 ........................ 81 1987-97 ........................ 117 iii Foreword This chronology commemorates the golden anniversary of the establishment of the United States Air Force (USAF) as an independent service. Dedicated to the men and women of the USAF past, present, and future, it records significant events and achievements from 18 September 1947 through 9 April 1997. Since its establishment, the USAF has played a significant role in the events that have shaped modem history. Initially, the reassuring drone of USAF transports announced the aerial lifeline that broke the Berlin blockade, the Cold War’s first test of wills. In the tense decades that followed, the USAF deployed a strategic force of nuclear- capable intercontinental bombers and missiles that deterred open armed conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. During the Cold War’s deadly flash points, USAF jets roared through the skies of Korea and Southeast Asia, wresting air superiority from their communist opponents and bringing air power to the support of friendly ground forces. In the great global competition for the hearts and minds of the Third World, hundreds of USAF humanitarian missions relieved victims of war, famine, and natural disaster. The Air Force performed similar disaster relief services on the home front. Over Grenada, Panama, and Libya, the USAF participated in key contingency actions that presaged post-Cold War operations. In the aftermath of the Cold War the USAF became deeply involved in constructing a new world order. As the Soviet Union disintegrated, USAF flights succored the populations of the newly independent states.