United States Air Force

World Big Air Force

 

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare, space warfare, and cyberwarfare service branch of the United States armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947.^[1] It is the most recent branch of the U.S. military to be formed. In its 2010 Posture Statement, the USAF articulates its core functions as Nuclear Deterrence Operations, Special Operations, Air Superiority, Global Integrated ISR, Space Superiority, Command and Control, Cyberspace Superiority, Personnel Recovery, Global Precision Attack, Building Partnerships, Rapid Global Mobility and Agile Combat Support.^[3]
As of 2009^[update] the USAF operates 5,573 manned aircraft in service (3,990 USAF; 1,213 Air National Guardd; and 370 Air Force Reserve);^[4] approximately 180 unmanned combat air vehicles, 2,130 air-launched cruise missiles,^[5] and 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles. The USAF has 330,159 personnel on active duty, 68,872 in the Selected and Individual Ready Reserves, and 94,753 in the Air National Guard as of September 2008. In addition, the USAF employs 151,360 civilian personnel,^[6] and has 57,000 auxiliary members in the Civil Air Patrol.^[7]
The Department of the Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force who oversees all administrative and policy affairs. The Department of the Air Force is a division of the Department of Defense, headed by the Secretary of Defense. The highest ranking military officer in the Department of the Air Force is the Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

World Big Air Force

Contents

• 1 Mission
  • 1.1 Search and rescue
  • 1.2 Air sovereignty
  • 1.3 Irregular warfare
  • 1.4 Airlift
• 2 History
  • 2.1 Recent history
  • 2.2 Conflicts
  • 2.3 Humanitarian operations
• 3 Organization
  • 3.1 Administrative organization
  • 3.2 Force structure (Major Commands)
  • 3.3 Operational organization
  • 3.4 Aerospace Expeditionary Task Force
  • 3.5 Commander, Air Force Forces
    • 3.5.1 Air Operations Center
  • 3.6 Air Expeditionary Wings/Groups/Squadrons
• 4 Personnel
  • 4.1 Commissioned officers
  • 4.2 Warrant officers
  • 4.3 Enlisted airmen
  • 4.4 Uniforms
  • 4.5 Awards and badges
  • 4.6 Training
    • 4.6.1 Air Force Fitness Test
• 5 Aircraft inventory
  • 5.1 A - Ground attack
  • 5.2 B - Bombers
  • 5.3 C - Cargo transport
  • 5.4 E - Special electronic missions
  • 5.5 F - Fighters
  • 5.6 H - Search and rescue
  • 5.7 K - Tanker
  • 5.8 M - Multi-mission
    • 5.8.1 Multi-mission RPAs (Remote Piloted Aircraft)
  • 5.9 O - Observation
  • 5.10 R - Reconnaissance
  • 5.11 T - Trainer
  • 5.12 U - Utility
  • 5.13 V - VIP staff transport
  • 5.14 W - Weather reconnaissance
  • 5.15 Undesignated foreign aircraft used by Special Operations Squadrons
• 6 Culture
  • 6.1 Slogans and creeds
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 External links
  • 9.1 Other

Mission

According to the National Security Act of 1947 (61 Stat. 502), which created the USAF:

In general the United States Air Force shall include aviation forces both combat and service not otherwise assigned. It shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The Air Force shall be responsible for the preparation of the air forces necessary for the effective prosecution of war except as otherwise assigned and, in accordance with integrated joint mobilization plans, for the expansion of the peacetime components of the Air Force to meet the needs of war.

§8062 of Title 10 US Code defines the purpose of the USAF as:^[9]

• to preserve the peace and security, and provide for the defense, of the United States, the Territories, Commonwealths, and possessions, and any areas occupied by the United States;
• to support national policy;
• to implement national objectives;
• to overcome any nations responsible for aggressive acts that imperil the peace and security of the United States.

The stated mission of the USAF today is to "fly, fight, and win in air, space, and cyberspace".^[10]

Search and rescue

See also: United States Air Force Rescue Coordination Center

The National Search and Rescue Plan designates the United States Coast Guard as the federal agency responsible for maritime search-and-rescue (SAR) operations, and the USAF as responsible for aeronautical SAR in the continental U.S. with the exception of Alaska.^[11] Both agencies maintain Joint Rescue Coordination Centers to coordinate this effort.^[12] To help the USAF with the vast number of search and rescue operations, the USAF assigns units of the Civil Air Patrol — the official U.S. Air Force Auxiliary — in over 60% of inland search and rescue missions.

Air sovereignty

The USAF, through the Air National Guard, is the lead agency to maintain control of America's airspace.
On July 30, 2009, Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt, director of the Air National Guard said that "Technologies needed for the mission include an active, electronically scanned array radar (which can be used to detect small and stealthy air threats including cruise missiles), infrared search and track systems and beyond-line-of-sight communications".^[13]
On September 14, 2009, Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, chief of staff of the USAF, said that he hopes "to bring a combination of F-22, F-35, legacy aircraft, including upgraded F-15 and F-16 fighters, and unmanned aircraft to the [air sovereignty alert] ASA mission."^[14]
Even so, the USAF plans to retire up to 80% of their total force air sovereignty mission aircraft, which would leave no viable aircraft at 18 current air sovereignty sites after 2015.^[15][16][17] The GAO found that 17 of the 20 commanders of the ASA units "stated that the Air Force treats ASA operations as a temporary mission and has not provided sufficient resources."^[18]
The USAF has decided to accept "moderate risk" for the air sovereignty mission as well as deep strike and close air support, under optimistic assumptions for F-35 production.^[19]
The Defense Department has used USN and USMC aircraft for the Air Sovereignty Mission and may do so in the future.^[15]

Irregular warfare

In response to the conflicts in which the United States has been engaged since the end of the Cold War, on August 1, 2007, Air Force Doctrine Document 2-3 was released showing how air power could be used to support or defeat an insurgency.^[20]
To support these missions, the USAF considered outfitting a counter-insurgency wing with small, ground attack aircraft that can also be used for training USAF and allied pilots in addition to counterinsurgency operations.^[21] However the 2010 QDR shifted the future light fixed-wing aircraft to the Air Force’s 6th Special Operations Squadron to be used to train allied forces.^[22]

Airlift

The USAF provides both strategic and tactical airlift in support of wartime, peacetime, and humanitarian efforts of the Department of Defense.
The GAO found that Air Force plans should cover strategic airlift, but that it may fall short in providing tactical airlift in support of the United States Army.^[23]

History

Main article: History of the United States Air Force

The Army created the first antecedent of the USAF in 1907, which through a succession of changes of organization, titles, and missions advanced toward eventual separation 40 years later. The USAF became a separate military service on September 18, 1947, with the implementation of the National Security Act of 1947.^[24] The Act created the United States Department of Defense, which was composed of three subordinate departments, namely the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy and a newly-created Department of the Air Force.^[25] Prior to 1947, the responsibility for military aviation was shared between the Army (for land-based operations), the Navy (for sea-based operations from aircraft carriers and amphibious aircraft), and the Marine Corps (for close air support of infantry operations).

The predecessor organizations of today's USAF are:

• Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps (August 1, 1907 to July 18, 1914)
• Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps (July 18, 1914 to May 20, 1918)
• Division of Military Aeronautics (May 20, 1918 to May 24, 1918)
• U.S. Army Air Service (May 24, 1918 to July 2, 1926)
• U.S. Army Air Corps (July 2, 1926 to June 20, 1941) and
• U.S. Army Air Forces (June 20, 1941 to September 17, 1947)

Recent history

Since 2005, the USAF has placed a strong focus on the improvement of Basic Military Training (BMT). While the intense training has become, not only longer, it also has shifted to include a deployment phase. This deployment phase, now called the BEAST, places the trainees in a surreal environment that they may experience once they deploy. While the trainees do tackle the massive obstacle courses along with the BEAST, the other portions include defending and protecting their base of operations, forming a structure of leadership, directing search and recovery, and basic self aid buddy care. During this event, the Military Training Instructors (MTI) act as mentors and enemy forces in a very strenuous deployment exercise. In the entirety of BMT, trainees will experience a rigorous 8.5 week training course designed to not only instill discipline, but to mold and shape the trainees around the core values that make every Airman who they are. While in BMT, you can expect sleep deprivation, minimal time for food, physical training, more physical training, and some of the most experienced, disiciplined, strict, sharp and loud instructors the military has to offer. The United States Air Force BMT is now widely considered one of the tougher Bootcamps of the four Military branches.
In 2007, the USAF undertook a reduction-in-force. Because of budget constraints, the USAF planned to reduce the service's size from 360,000 active duty personnel to 316,000.^[26] The size of the active-duty force in 2007 was roughly 64% of that of the USAF at the end of the Gulf War in 1991.^[27] However, the reduction was ended at approximately 330,000 personnel in 2008 to meet mission requirements.^[26] These same constraints have seen a sharp reduction in flight hours for crew training since 2005^[28] and the Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower and Personnel directing Airmen's Time Assessments.^[29]
On June 5, 2008, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, accepted the resignations of both the Secretary of the Air Force, Michael W. Wynne, and the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, Gen. T. Michael Moseley. Gates in effect fired both men for "systemic issues associated with declining Air Force nuclear mission focus and performance". This followed an investigation into two embarrassing incidents involving mishandling of nuclear weapons, and were also the culmination of disputes between the Air Force leadership and Gates.^[30] To put more emphasis on nuclear assets, the USAF established the nuclear-focused Air Force Global Strike Command on 24 October 2008.^[31]
On June 26, 2009, the USAF released a force structure plan that cuts fighter aircraft and shifts resources to better support nuclear, irregular and information warfare.^[32] On July 23, 2009, The USAF released their Unmanned Aerial System Flight Plan, detailing UAV plans through 2047.^[33] One third of the planes that the USAF plans to buy in the future are to be unmanned.^[34]
On June 25, 2010, Air Force magazine reported that various weapons systems were being considered to be dropped to help make $32 billion in cuts to be transferred to the budgets of the other services.^[35]

Conflicts

The United States has been involved in many wars, conflicts and operations using military air operations. Air combat operations before, and since the official conception of the USAF include:

• World War I^[36] as Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
• World War II^[36] as United States Army Air Forces
• Cold War
• Korean War
• Vietnam War
• Operation Eagle Claw (1980 Iranian Hostage Rescue)
• Operation Urgent Fury (1983 US Invasion of Grenada)
• Operation El Dorado Canyon (1986 US Bombing of Libya)
• Operation Just Cause (1989-1990 US Invasion of Panama)
• Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm (1990-1991 Persian Gulf War)
• Operation Southern Watch (1992-2003 Iraq No-Fly Zone)
• Operation Deliberate Force (1995 NATO bombing in Bosnia and Herzegovina)
• Operation Northern Watch (1997-2003 Iraq No-Fly Zone)
• Operation Allied Force (1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia)
• Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–present Afghanistan War)
• Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003–2010 Iraq War)

 

Humanitarian operations

The USAF has also taken part in numerous humanitarian operations. Some of the more major ones include the following:^[37]

• Berlin Airlift (Operation Vittles), 1948-1949
• Operation Safe Haven, 1956-1957
• Operations Babylift, New Life, Frequent Wind, and New Arrivals, 1975
• Operation Provide Comfort, 1991
• Operation Sea Angel, 1991
• Operation Provide Hope, 1992–1993
• Operation Unified Assistance, December 2004 - April 2005
• Operation Unified Response, January 14, 2010–present

Organization

Main articles: Organizational structure and hierarchy of the United States Air Force and Department of the Air Force structure

Administrative organization

The USAF is one of three service departments, and is managed by the civilian Department of the Air Force. Guidance is provided by the Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF) and the Secretary's staff and advisors. The military leadership is the Air Staff, led by the Chief of Staff.
USAF direct subordinate commands and units are the Field Operating Agency (FOA), Direct Reporting Unit (DRU), and the currently unused Separate Operating Agency.
The Major Command (MAJCOM) is the superior hierarchical level of command. Including the Air Force Reserve Command, as of September 30, 2006, USAF has ten major commands. The Numbered Air Force (NAF) is a level of command directly under the MAJCOM, followed by Operational Command (now unused), Air Division (also now unused), Wing, Group, Squadron, and Flight.

Force structure (Major Commands)

Headquarters, United States Air Force, The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia

• Air Combat Command (ACC), headquartered at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia
  • First Air Force, headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Panama City, Florida
  • Ninth Air Force, headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina
  • Twelfth Air Force, headquartered at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona
  • United States Air Force Warfare Center, headquartered at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
• Air Education and Training Command (AETC), headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
  • Second Air Force, headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi
  • Nineteenth Air Force, headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
  • Air Force Recruiting Service, headquartered at Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
  • The Air University, headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama
  • Wilford Hall Medical Center, headquarted at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
• Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana
  • Eighth Air Force, headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana
  • Twentieth Air Force, headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Cheyenne, Wyoming
• Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
  • Aeronautical Systems Center, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
  • Air Force Flight Test Center, headquartered at Edwards Air Force Base, Palmdale, California
  • Air Force Global Logistics Support Center, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, Illinois
  • Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, headquartered at Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Air Force Research Laboratory, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
  • Air Force Security Assistance Center, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio
  • Air Armament Center, headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base, Fort Walton Beach, Florida
  • Arnold Engineering Development Center, located at Arnold Air Force Base, Manchester, Tennessee
  • Electronic Systems Center, headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts
• Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC), headquartered at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
  • Fourth Air Force, headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, Southern California
  • Tenth Air Force, headquartered at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas
  • Twenty-Second Air Force, headquartered at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia
  • Air Reserve Personnel Center, headquartered at Denver, Colorado
• Air Force Space Command (AFSPC), headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado
  • Fourteenth Air Force, headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Lompoc, California
  • Twenty-Fourth Air Force, headquarters at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas
  • Space and Missile Systems Center, headquartered at Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California
  • Space Innovation and Development Center, headquartered at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado
  • Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida
    • Twenty-Third Air Force, headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida
    • Special Operations Training Center, headquartered at Hurlburt Field, Florida
  • Air Mobility Command (AMC), headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, Illinois
    • Eighteenth Air Force, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Belleville, Illinois
    • United States Air Force Expeditionary Center, headquartered at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey
  • United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany
    • Third Air Force, headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany
    • Seventeenth Air Force, headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany
  • Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
    • Fifth Air Force, headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan
    • Seventh Air Force, headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea
    • Eleventh Air Force, headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska
    • Thirteenth Air Force, headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
  
  The major components of the U.S. Air Force, as of September 30, 2006, are the following:^[38]
  
• Active duty forces:
  • 57 flying wings, eight space wings, and 55 non-flying wings
  • nine flying groups, eight non-flying groups
    • 134 flying squadrons, 43 space squadrons
• Air Force Reserve
  • 35 flying wings, one space wing
  • four flying groups
    • 67 flying squadrons, six space squadrons

• Air National Guard
  • 87 flying wings
    • 101 flying squadrons, four space squadrons

The USAF, including its Air Force Reserve components, possesses a total of 302 flying squadrons.^[39]

Operational organization

List of active United States Air Force aircraft squadrons
The above organizational structure is responsible for the peacetime organization, equipping, and training of aerospace units for operational missions. When required to support operational missions, the National Command Authority directs a Change in Operational Control (CHOP) of these units from their peacetime alignment to a Regional Combatant Commander (CCDR). In the case of AFSPC, AFSOC, PACAF, and USAFE units, forces are normally employed in-place under their existing CCDR. Likewise, AMC forces operating in support roles retain their componency to USTRANSCOM unless chopped to a Regional CCDR.

Aerospace Expeditionary Task Force

"Chopped" units are referred to as forces. The top-level structure of these forces is the Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force (AETF). The AETF is the Air Force presentation of forces to a CCDR for the employment of Air Power. Each CCDR is supported by a standing Component Numbered Air Force (C-NAF) to provide planning and execution of aerospace forces in support of CCDR requirements. Each C-NAF consists of a Commander, Air Force Forces (COMAFFOR) and AFFOR/A-staff, and an Air Operations Center (AOC). As needed to support multiple Joint Force Commanders (JFC) in the COCOM's Area of Responsibility (AOR), the C-NAF may deploy Air Component Coordinate Elements (ACCE) to liaise with the JFC. If the Air Force possesses the preponderance of air forces in a JFC's area of operations, the COMAFFOR will also serve as the Joint Forces Air Component Commander (JFACC).

Commander, Air Force Forces

The Commander, Air Force Forces (COMAFFOR) is the senior USAF officer responsible for the employment of air power in support of JFC objectives. The COMAFFOR has a special staff and an A-Staff to ensure assigned or attached forces are properly organized, equipped, and trained to support the operational mission.

Air Operations Center

The Air Operations Center (AOC) is the JFACC's Command and Control (C2) center. This center is responsible for planning and executing air power missions in support of JFC objectives.

Air Expeditionary Wings/Groups/Squadrons

The AETF generates air power to support COCOM objectives from Air Expeditionary Wings (AEW) or Air Expeditionary Groups (AEG). These units are responsible for receiving combat forces from Air Force MAJCOMs, preparing these forces for operational missions, launching and recovering these forces, and eventually returning forces to the MAJCOMs. Theater Air Control Systems control employment of forces during these missions.

Personnel

The classification of any USAF job is the Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC). They range from flight combat operations such as a gunner, to working in a dining facility to ensure that members are properly fed. There are many different jobs in fields such as computer specialties, mechanic specialties, enlisted aircrew, communication systems, avionics technicians, medical specialties, civil engineering, public affairs, hospitality, law, drug counseling, mail operations, security forces, and search and rescue specialties.^[40]
Perhaps the most dangerous USAF jobs are Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), Combat rescue officer, Pararescue, Security Forces, Combat Control, Combat Weather , Tactical Air Control Party, and AFOSI agents, who deploy with infantry and special operations units who disarm bombs, rescue downed or isolated personnel, call in air strikes and set up landing zones in forward locations. Most of these are enlisted positions. Other jobs have seen increasing combat, including engineers, vehicle operators, and OSI.
Nearly all enlisted jobs are "entry level," meaning that the USAF provides all training. Some enlistees are able to choose a particular job, or at least a field before actually joining, while others are assigned an AFSC at Basic Military Training (BMT). After BMT, new airmen attend a technical training school where they learn their particular AFSC. Second Air Force, a part of Air Education and Training Command, is responsible for nearly all technical training.
Training programs vary in length; for example, 3M0X1 (Services) has 31 days of tech school training, while 3E8X1 (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) is one year of training with a preliminary school and a main school consisting of over 10 separate divisions, sometimes taking students close to two years to complete.
USAF rank is divided between enlisted airmen, non-commissioned officers, and commissioned officers, and ranges from the enlisted Airman Basic (E-1) to the commissioned rank of General (O-10). Enlisted promotions are granted based on a combination of test scores, years of experience, and selection board approval while officer promotions are based on time-in-grade and a promotion board. Promotions among enlisted personnel and non-commissioned officers are generally designated by increasing numbers of insignia chevrons. Commissioned officer rank is designated by bars, oak leaves, a silver eagle, and anywhere from one to four stars (one to five stars in war-time).

Commissioned officers

Main article: United States Air Force officer rank insignia

The commissioned officer ranks of the USAF are divided into three sections: company grade, field grade, and general officers. Company grade officers are those officers in pay grades O-1 to O-3, while field grade officers are those in pay grades O-4 to O-6, and general officers are those in pay grades of O-7 and above.
Currently, promotion from Second Lieutenant to First Lieutenant is virtually guaranteed after two years of satisfactory service. The promotion from First Lieutenant to Captain is competitive after successfully completing another two years of service. Promotion to Major and above is through a board process. An officer's record is reviewed by a selection board at the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. This process occurs approximately between the seven- and ten-year mark, where a certain percentage of Captains will be selected for Major. This process will repeat at the 11-14 year mark for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, and then around the eighteen-year mark for promotion to Colonel.

arrant officers

Although provision is made in regulations for them, the USAF does not use Warrant Officer grades (the only US service to not do so). The USAF inherited warrant officer ranks from the Army at its inception in 1947, but their place in the Air Force structure was never made clear. When Congress authorized the creation of two new senior enlisted ranks in 1958, Air Force officials privately concluded that these two new "super grades" could fill all Air Force needs then performed at the warrant officer level, although this was not publicly acknowledged until years later. The Air Force stopped appointing warrant officers in 1959,^[41] the same year the first promotions were made to the new top enlisted grade, Chief Master Sergeant. Most of the existing Air Force warrant officers entered the commissioned officer ranks during the 1960s, but tiny numbers continued to exist for the next 21 years.
The last active duty Air Force warrant officer, CWO4 James H. Long, retired in 1980 and the last Air Force Reserve warrant officer, CWO4 Bob Barrow, retired in 1992.^[42] Upon his retirement, he was honorarily promoted to CWO5, the only person in the Air Force ever to hold this grade.^[41] Barrow died in April 2008.^[43] Since Barrow's retirement, the Air Force warrant officer ranks, while still authorized by law, are not used.

Enlisted airmen

ain article: United States Air Force enlisted rank insignia
Enlisted members of the USAF have pay grades from E-1 (entry level) to E-9 (senior enlisted). While all USAF military personnel are referred to as Airmen, the term also refers to the pay grades of E-1 through E-4, which are below the level of non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Above the pay grade of E-4 (i.e., pay grades E-5 through E-9) all ranks fall into the category of NCO and are further subdivided into NCOs (pay grades E-5 and E-6) and Senior NCOs (pay grades E-7 through E-9); the term Junior NCO is sometimes used to refer to staff sergeants and technical sergeants (pay grades E-5 and E-6).^[44]
The USAF is the only of the five branches of the United States military where NCO status is not achieved until an airman reaches the pay grade of E-5. In all other branches, NCO status is generally achieved at the pay grade of E-4 (e.g., a Corporal in the Army and Marine Corps, Petty Officer Third Class in the Navy and Coast Guard). However, E-4s in the Army with the rank of Specialist are not considered NCOs. The Air Force mirrored the Army from 1976 to 1991 with an E-4 being either a Senior Airman wearing three stripes without a star or a Sergeant (referred to as "Buck Sergeant"), which was noted by the presence of the central star and considered an NCO. Despite not being an NCO, a Senior Airman who has completed Airman Leadership School can be a supervisor.

Highlights of the 2005 Edwards AFB Airshow

One of the premier airshows in the world is held at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave desert about an hour north-east of Los Angeles.   It's a show like no other, held at America's most historic aviation test facility, adjacent to Roger's dry lake bed which is used as an emergency landing area during flight tests, and for occasional visits by the Space Shuttle returning from orbit. This is the only show anywhere in the world where you'll hear military aircraft break the sound barrier (twice in one day at the 2005 show, once by an F-16 fighter and later by a B-1 bomber). Even the static displays at Edwards are unique, with air force test equipment, NASA aircraft from the Dryden Flight Research Center on the grounds of the base, and other goodies, like this marine corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter, the very aircraft which evacuated the American ambassador from the embassy in Saigon at the end of the Vietnam war, repainted in the field green color scheme used at that time.

The air force's Heritage Flight program commemorates equipment used to defend America in bygone days by putting them in formation with modern equipment, in this case a world war two P-51D Mustang with an F-16 Fighting Falcon.

This wasn't the only Mustang flying at the show, nor was it only historic equipment on display. Here's a piece of living history, Chuck Yeager taxying a P-51D Mustang after landing. It's especially appropriate that Yeager flew at this show, since Edwards is where he piloted the rocket powered Bell X-1 research plane to become the first person to travel faster than the speed of sound. It's extraordinary to think that he's still flying today.

This is the first time I've seen the full Commemorative Air Force "Tora, Tora, Tora" display team do their re-enactment of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which brought America into world war two. It was an impressive sight, with the replica "Zero" fighters at the bottom flying in tight unison with two replica "Kate" torpedo bombers and fixed undercarriage "Val" dive bombers. Combine all of these with a 10 or 15 minute pyrotechnic display of fireballs and black smoke and you've got quite a routine! As an interesting footnote, the Japanese phrase "Tora, Tora, Tora" broadcast after the first wave of attacks on Pearl Harbor means exactly the same as the English phrase "Tiger, Tiger, Tiger" which was broadcast after the CH-46 on static display had evacuated the American ambassador in Saigon.

Moving a few years ahead in time, there was a Korean War display by the Planes of Fame Air Museum F-86 Sabre, a type which made its first flight in this very location on October 1st, 1947. A long and dazzling list of aircraft made their first flights here, largely because of the huge dry lake bed which has been called "God's gift to the US Air Force".

But here's an aircraft whose first flight definitely wasn't here, a Russian-designed MiG-15 jet fighter, whose NATO reporting name was "Fagot".   The MiG-15 was the F-86's adversary in Korea, however despite being very durable and having a 37mm cannon and two 23mm cannons compared to the Sabre's less deadly machine guns, the F-86 still manage a roughly nine-to-one kill ratio against the MiG-15.

Another leap in time brings us forward to the Vietnam war and America's premier fighter of the era, an F-4D Phantom II owned by the Collings Foundation and flown at Edwards by Frank Romaglia, who has over 5000 hours flying this type, much of it in Vietnam.   This is the only privately owned Phantom in the world, and it's a great thing that the air force is willing to have it along to a show, when they could just as easily have brought along one of their own slightly less authentic QF-4 Phantom drones to the show.   Although one of the drones is painted up in much the same color scheme as the Collings bird, it's still not quite the same as having an unmodified aircraft of this type.  You can also see an air-to-air photoshoot I did a few weeks earlier with the Collings F-4.

And now to the present day, a T-6A Texan II trainer. As well as doing this marvellous low-level display, the Texan II also flew one of an ongoing series of "Historic Flight" formations with its distant predecessor and namesake, the world war two T-6 Texan, which was used to train many thousands of pilots both during that conflict and afterwards. Unfortunately, the runway is an awfully long way from the spectator area, so sights like this are restricted to accredited media types or people who browse the magazines or websites of accredited media types! Spectators do, however, get an excellent view of most of these aircraft taxying at close quarters before and after their displays.

Here's another new aircraft in the air force inventory, but if the Texan II was at low level then this C-17 Globemaster III is nearly over the moon!   It did an excellent display including dropping multiple pallets by parachute, as well as passes with undergear down and even some nice banking.

This KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling tanker is much older than the Globemaster III, in fact it was a parallel development with Boeing's first jet airliner, the Dash 80, also known as the Boeing 707.   Almost all Boeing 707s have been retired, movie star John Travolta flies one of the last ones still operating in the United States, but the KC-135 is still going strong and re-engined examples like this one will continue in service for a lot longer.

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Edwards is an excellent place to see a wide variety of modern American military aircraft flying, and this year there was a special treat, an F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighter based at Edwards, but flown by pilot Gert-Jan Vooren of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. His call sign is "Goofy", but his display is anything but Goofy! In fact, the Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 display is widely considered to be the best demonstration by this aircraft type anywhere in the world. It's very loud, very aerobatic, stays very close to the crowd and is greatly enhanced by the use of flares and the "smokewinder" smoke generators you can see in action here. Sadly, the flares weren't on show at Edwards, perhaps out of fear that they might set the desert scrub on fire, but the rest of the display was as superb as ever, and several people said they felt sorry for the US Air Force F-16 pilot who had to follow this act with his own less spectacular routine. I don't have a full presentation of the Dutch display on this website, but there is a computer wallpaper of it doing its full display at the 2002 Royal International Air Tattoo in England.

Here's the USAF's most exciting new aircraft, the F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter. This is a replacement for the ageing F-15 Eagle, which is still considered by most people to be the world's best fighter aircraft. The Raptor has significant advantages over the Eagle, including the ability to "supercruise" at about Mach 1.5 without using its afterburners, and the same type of stealth technology already employed on the F-117 Nighthawk and the B-2 Spirit. You shouldn't be too surprised to hear that both the F-15 and the F-22 made their first flights at Edwards, the F-15 on July 27, 1972 and the YF-22 on September 29, 1990.   Oh, and the B-2 made its maiden flight here on July 17, 1989!

Not only are interesting aircraft types on display at Edwards, but the displays tend to be more interesting than at other shows, perhaps partially because this is the air force's test center and also because there's an awful lot of empty space here, with little danger of damage on the ground in the extremely unlikely event that something goes wrong. As an example, Edwards is probably the only show anywhere where you'll see a pass by a Raptor with all of its weapons bays open. Officially, the Raptor is designated the F/A-22 Raptor to signify that it has abilities both as a fighter and as an attack aircraft able to bomb ground targets. In practice this is a claim forced on the military and its contractors by politicians wanting to make a name for themselves as defenders of the public purse - the Raptor was designed as a pure air-to-air fighter aircraft, and while it is able to carry a small quantity of bombs within these bays, its capacity is far lower than less high performance but more versatile aircraft like the F/A-18 Hornet. To carry more ordnance the Raptor has to use external bomb racks which almost completely obliterate the aircraft's stealthy characteristics, as well as affecting its ability to supercruise.

Like the Stratotanker, the B-52 Stratofortress was designed by Boeing and entered service in the mid 1950s, and like the Stratotanker it has a surprisingly bright future.   Continually updated since they were first introduced, these two dinosaurs are expected to remain in service for several more decades.

Although the B-52 frequently appears at airshows as a static exhibit, it's not too often that members of the public get to see a full display, taking off, doing multiple passes and landing at the same place. Not only did this demonstration include separate passes with landing gear down and bomb bays open, but after one pass they also did this rapid climb out, which I've never seen before. It certainly gives a different perspective on the Stratofortresses massive 185 foot (56.5 meter) wingspan.

The B-1B Lancer looks like it should have made the B-52 totally obsolete, and on paper it certainly looks like a worthy successor, able to carry almost 135,000 pounds (61 tonnes) of ordnance compared to the B-52's 70,000 pounds (32 tonnes), and able to fly at Mach 1.2 against the B-52's top speed of Mach 0.86. The Lancer also has a much lower radar signature and far better electronics.

The B-1 might be far more technologically advanced than the B-52, but it has an even more sophisticated counterpart in the B-2 Spirit, which is popularly called the "stealth bomber".   The B-2 demonstration at Edwards is far better than the one put on at other airshows, so I've put together an entire page about the stealth bomber display at the 2005 Edwards AFB airshow. This crazy looking aircraft was designed to penetrate heavily defended territory which would be too dangerous for the B-1 or B-52, however some critics say that since the collapse of the Soviet Union it no longer has a credible opponent (a charge which is also levelled against the F-22 Raptor).   It has almost exactly the same maximum speed as the B-52, but can only carry 40,000 pounds (18 tonnes) of ordnance compared to the B-52's 70,000 pounds or the B-1's 135,000 pounds.

Completing the lineup of America's front-line aviation weaponry is this F-117 Nighthawk, commonly known as the "stealth fighter".   It would actually be more accurate to say that this is a YF-117A Nighthawk, since this is the third prototype aircraft.   This same aircraft was painted up in this US flag scheme in 1983, but since the Nighthawk was still a top secret project at that time, very few people ever saw it; however because this aircraft was due to be retired straight after this show, it was decided to paint it up again and put it on public display in this scheme for the first time ever. Just to say it again, this is the sort of display that makes the Edwards show so special - it's the only event in the world where you have any hope of seeing an F-117, a B-1, B-2, B-52 and F-22 all put on extended performances in the same place at the same time.

But wait, there's more!   Since many of the aircraft at Edwards are test planes rather than combat aircraft, you'll also see paint schemes which are found nowhere else, like this very graceful T-38 Talon supersonic trainer, which is used as a chase plane to follow aircraft undergoing flight testing. This white scheme isn't one you'll see in too many other places.

Nor is the white-and-orange scheme on this two-seater F-16 Fighting Falcon likely to turn up in too many places!

As I mentioned earlier, NASA also has its Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, so not only can you see interesting NASA color schemes, but you can see some unusual NASA aircraft as well.   Several were on static display, and they also flew one of their F-18 Hornet chase planes (which was itself chased by a NASA T-34 Mentor), as well as some real oddities, like this highly modified F-15 Eagle code named ACTIVE, which not only has large auxiliary canard wings near the front, but also has thrust vectoring engines like on several of the Russian fighter aircraft which displayed at the 2005 MAKS airshow in Moscow. The ACTIVE F-15 also has an "intelligent flight control system" which consists of an adaptive neural network which is intended to allow the aircraft to continue to fly even after it suffers serious damage in flight which would otherwise cause the plane to crash. It has to be said that the F-15 is already able to survive a great deal of damage and keep flying even without a computerized neural network - an Israeli air force F-15 had a mid-air collision with an Israeli A-4 Skyhawk, but the pilot was able to bring the Eagle in for a safe landing even though it had lost nearly its entire right wing!

Here's another interesting and unusual NASA aircraft, an ER-2 high-altitude research plane, which was derived from the U-2 spy plane.   This shot of it taxying towards the crowd area after performing its demonstration shows off its glider-like wingspan of over 103 feet (33 meters). The aircraft has a bicycle landing gear with two sets of wheels mounted fore and aft under the fuselage, so before liftoff and after landing a support truck trails it, to retrieve and later refit the flimsy "pogo stick" landing gears which you can see about half-way along each wing. These wheels fall off automatically at takeoff, but are put back on after the pilot slows the plane to a crawl and allows one wing to dip towards the runway. All of this happened during the show, and I was also lucky enough to see the same thing about 10 years ago when I was still living in New Zealand, where NASA was doing ozone hole research.

Another speciality of the Edwards show is the mass flyby done by many different air force aircraft types. This year the display consisted of a C-12 Huron, B-2 Spirit, KC-135 Stratotanker, MC-130 Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III, B-52 Stratofortress, the American flag F-117 Nighthawk, F-16 Fighting Falcon, T-38 Talon, the F-16 Fighting Falcon in the white and orange color scheme which you saw earlier on this page, and the F-22 Raptor.   It's a really spectacular display.

The mass flyby is an awesome sight, but it's very difficult to take a photograph which does it justice - you just have to be there to experience it!

Highlights of the 2005 Nellis AFB "Aviation Nation" Airshow

The theme of this year's show was "Welcoming Home Our Vietnam Veterans" and an excellent collection of Vietnam aircraft was put together, better even than the similarly-theme Selfridge ANGB airshow earlier in the year. Leading the way was a flight of iconic aircraft from the Vietnam conflict, the ubiquitous UH-1 Iroquois, better known as the "Huey". Three Hueys thudded their way past the crowd line each day, including these two in close formation.

The iconic fixed wing aircraft of Vietnam was probably the F-4 Phantom II, which flew with the air force, navy and marines. This particular aircraft is a QF-4 Phantom II drone used as a target for missile testing, nicely painted up by the air force in a South-East Asia color scheme.   The Collings Foundation operates an F-4D Phantom II in Vietnam colors, and I was fortunate enough to do an air-to-air photo shoot of the Collings F-4 earlier this year.

This OV-10 Bronco is far less well known than the Huey or the Phantom.   It was the first American aircraft specifically designed for the forward air controller and observation roles; prior to this time conversions of civilian aircraft like the O-1 Bird Dog and O-2 Skymaster were used in Vietnam. The Bronco was far more capable than either the Bird Dog or Skymaster, with higher speed, better protection for the pilots and greater firepower like the machine guns you can see here sticking out of the sponsons under the fuselage. It's very rare to see one at an airshow, so it was nice to see this aircraft registered just last year by the Cactus Air Force here in Nevada.

The Douglas Skyraider is a much more commonly seen aircraft on the airshow circuit, at least in its navy or marine incarnations. The Skyraider first flew during world war two, but its heavy load capacity and long loiter time made it ideal for later conflicts, and it was used a great deal during the Vietnam war.   Here you see the one-man marine corps AD-4N version, and the seldom seen four-man A-1E used by the air force.

This particular A-1E is one of the mostly nicely restored Skyraiders in operation, the simulated ordnance provides a lot of extra interest, specially during the type of simulated bombing combat mission which was provided at the show by Chris Rainey and the rest of his pyrotechnic crew.

The Cessna aircraft corporation was responsible for the Bird Dog and Skymaster, but they also produced a few aircraft designed especially for the military, like this A-37 Dragonfly.   Developed from the T-37 Tweet trainer, the A-37 performed ground attack work using the six-barrelled GAU-2B mini-gun which you can see extending from the top of the nose.   Like the Skyraider, the Dragonfly can also carry an extraordinary load of munitions under its wings, which is part of the reason why it's still in service with several South American air forces.

You might think that this plane doesn't belong in a Vietnam war remembrance, but in fact this AC-47 gunship, commonly referred to as "Spooky" or "Puff the Magic Dragon", is very familiar to people who know about this conflict. Basically a world war two vintage C-47 Skytrain transport armed with 3 miniguns, these gunships could pour an enormous amount of firepower onto ground targets, usually Viet Cong forces besieging a military base or village.

Because of the theme of this year's show, the pre-Vietnam warbird lineup was emphasized less than in previous years, as was the simulated Reno Air Race which is held each year; nevertheless there was still plenty on offer for aerobatic fans and those interested in military aircraft from other eras.

This B-25 Mitchell bomber was one of the world war two aircraft which flew on the day, together with the P-51 Mustangs "Six Shooter" and "Val Halla".

There was also plenty of entertainment for people who need their fix of modern military aircraft turning and burning, with spirited demonstrations like this one by an F-15 Eagle, as well as a display by its counterpart the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

The Eagle put on a great display, including this knife-edge pass while in full afterburner.

The Eagle was very good, but the air force's latest air superiority fighter definitely stole this section of the show. The F-22 Raptor flew at last year's Nellis airshow, but restricted its display to high flat passes and steep climbs far from the crowd area.   It seemed that the air force might be following the policy pioneered by the F-117 Nighthawk "stealth fighter" and B-2 Spirit "stealth bomber", only doing tame routines with these extremely expensive aircraft in order to reduce the risk of bad publicity in the event of an accident.

Thankfully, this year's display at Nellis threw this type of caution to the wind with an excellent display of low takeoff passes, steep afterburner climbs and banked passes also with afterburner. It's the type of performance which ardent aircraft fans hope will get better and better as this extraordinarily capable aircraft settles into regular service.

The airshow community can be thankful that the top brass also allowed the Raptor to participate in the air force's Heritage Flight program, pairing today's top of the line hardware with their equivalents from earlier times, like this world war two P-51 Mustang.

Since this show had a Vietnam theme, it was extremely appropriate that fighters from three generations should be flown together.

There was one other Vietnam era plane which flew at the show, a Russian designed MiG-17 "Fresco" as flown by the North Vietnamese air force.   It's great to see aircraft like this flying, though for purists like myself it's maybe not so good to see them plastered over with capitalist advertising!   Of course the great majority of the audience doesn't care about details like that, and the owner and pilot, Bill Reesman, does an excellent display, as you might expect from someone who flew 320 combat missions in Vietnam flying the F-100 Super Sabre.

Chris Rounds also does a good display in his sponsored T-33 Shooting Star trainer, named The Red Knight after a Royal Canadian Air Force T-33 display aircraft which flew demonstrations for many years in the same colors.

There were no Canadians flying at this show, but the USAF Thunderbirds display team is based at Nellis air force base and always does its end of the year homecoming performance at the show. This year's show included a surprising number of overflights of the crowdline by solo pilots, but the crowd loved the demonstration of what these aircraft can do.

A performance of another kind took place in the late afternoon light - the first ever display at an airshow by the Predator unmanned aerial combat vehicle, complete with pyrotechnics as the Predator did a simulated attack run using the inert hellfire missiles carried under its wings.   In real life the Predator was first used in this way in Afghanistan in 2001 and again in Yemen in 2002.   Nellis is one of the main centers for flying UCAVs, so it was very appropriate that there were several different models on static display.

Before and after the flying there was plenty of time to browse the huge static display of aircraft spread across the show grounds.   This year's display was up to the usual high standard, with highlights including this restored 1930s Dornier Do-24 flying boat complete with modern turbo-prop engines, the historic C-141 Starlifter "Hanoi Taxi" used to evacuate POWs from Hanoi at the end of America's involvement in that war, and an EP-3 AWACS plane.   There was a sad looking MiG-29 "Fulcrum" jet fighter near the entrance, sister ship to the pristine MiG-29 in the Threat Training Facility at Nellis; the folks from the TTF had a variety of hardware on display, including a scud missile.

As always, many of the most interesting aircraft stayed on static display and only flew when arriving and departing. I wasn't there for the main arrival and departure days, but several aircraft did sneak out on Sunday after almost everyone had left, including this great looking Grumman Albatross flying boat, which made its exit as the last of the day's sunlight vanished.

See the highlights of the Nellis AFB "Aviation Nation" Airshow in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009.