1.
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
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The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force. Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft, over 4,500 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976. Although no longer being purchased by the U. S. Air Force, in 1993, General Dynamics sold its aircraft manufacturing business to the Lockheed Corporation, which in turn became part of Lockheed Martin after a 1995 merger with Martin Marietta. The F-16 has an internal M61 Vulcan cannon and 11 locations for mounting weapons, the F-16 has also been procured to serve in the air forces of 25 other nations. As of 2015, it is the second most common operational military aircraft in the world. Experiences in the Vietnam War revealed the need for air superiority fighters, boyds work called for a small, lightweight aircraft that could maneuver with the minimum possible energy loss, and which also incorporated an increased thrust-to-weight ratio. Air Force F-X proponents remained hostile to the concept because they perceived it as a threat to the F-15 program, however, the Air Forces leadership understood that its budget would not allow it to purchase enough F-15 aircraft to satisfy all of its missions. The Advanced Day Fighter concept, renamed F-XX, gained political support under the reform-minded Deputy Secretary of Defense David Packard. As a result, in May 1971, the Air Force Prototype Study Group was established, with Boyd a key member and this was the region where USAF studies predicted most future air combat would occur. The anticipated average flyaway cost of a version was $3 million. This production plan, though, was only notional as the USAF had no plans to procure the winner. Five companies responded and in 1972, the Air Staff selected General Dynamics Model 401 and Northrops P-600 for the prototype development. GD and Northrop were awarded contracts worth $37.9 million and $39.8 million to produce the YF-16 and YF-17, respectively, with first flights of both prototypes planned for early 1974. To overcome resistance in the Air Force hierarchy, the Fighter Mafia, the high/low mix would allow the USAF to be able to afford sufficient fighters for its overall fighter force structure requirements. The mix gained broad acceptance by the time of the flyoff, defining the relationship of the LWF. The YF-16 was developed by a team of General Dynamics engineers led by Robert H. Widmer. The first YF-16 was rolled out on 13 December 1973, and its 90-minute maiden flight was made at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, California and its actual first flight occurred accidentally during a high-speed taxi test on 20 January 1974. The test pilot, Phil Oestricher, decided to lift off to avoid a potential crash, the slight damage was quickly repaired and the official first flight occurred on time
2.
Hahn Air Base
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Hahn Air Base was a frontline NATO facility in Germany for over 40 years during the Cold War. It was the home of the United States Air Forces 50th Fighter Wing for most of those years as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe and it was one of several USAFE bases in Germany all within 100 km of each other. Beyond their location in the heart of US Army and other NATO troop concentrations, these air bases were situated to reach all locations within Europe. In 1951, occupying French forces founded an air base on the site which about 40 years later would become Hahn Air Base and the present day Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. In September 1952, the United States took over the installation, and began to erect the seventh largest USAF base in Europe and the second largest in Germany. The initial USAF unit at Hahn was the 7356th Air Base Group, whose mission was to get the base up and running, Base facilities then consisted of pre-fabricated barrack buildings, heated by coke-burning pot belly stoves, outdoor latrines, and tents for motorpool personnel to work in. An L-5B was the first aircraft assigned to Hahn to fill administrative flight requirements, with most of the construction completed by mid-1953, the primary mission of the Hahn Air Base was the reception of the 50th Fighter Bomber Wing. The aircraft were deployed to Hahn from Clovis AFB New Mexico during Operation Fox Able 27 on 10 August 1953 and this marked the first mass flight of an entire tactical wing from the U. S. to continental Europe. The operational squadrons of the 50th FBW were, 10th Fighter-Bomber 81st Fighter-Bomber 417th Fighter-Bomber The 417th FBS was commanded for a time by Chuck Yeager. The 81st flew the North American F-86F Sabre, with markings of dark blue for the 10th, yellow for the 81st. The wing conducted operations in support of USAF, NATO. In the autumn of 1955, the wing was upgraded to the F-86H, the primary mission of the 50th Fighter-Bomber Wing was the delivery of tactical nuclear weapons against Warsaw Pact forces in the event of an invasion of Western Europe. Its secondary missions were tactical air defense and support for NATO ground forces, due to the vulnerability of West Germany to Soviet attack, USAF planners did not want their tactical nuclear weapons in locations that could be quickly overrun by Warsaw Pact forces. When construction was completed at Toul-Rosières Air Base France, the 50th Fighter-Bomber Wing was moved there on 17 July 1956, in August 1954 the Air Defense Command 496th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron from Hamilton AFB California arrived at Hahn flying the North American F-86D Sabre to stand air defence alert. Although based at Hahn, the 496th FIS was assigned to the 86th Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Ramstein Air Base, the squadron won the Hughes Trophy as the best fighter-interceptor squadron in the USAF in 1955. It stood alert and deployed regularly to Wheelus Air Base, Libya, later added other European bases as weapons training deployments. On 10 December 1959 the 496th was upgraded to the Convair F-102A/TF-102B Delta Dagger, the 496th was the second European squadron, after the 525th FIS at Bitburg Air Base to receive the F-102. With the transition to the F-102, the 496th operated under the USAFE 86th Air Division at Ramstein Air Base West Germany on 1 July 1960 and this transfer was made in order that all USAF fighter assets in Europe could be concentrated in one command
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
5.
Flight test
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The flight test phase can range from the test of a single new system for an existing vehicle to the complete development and certification of a new aircraft, launch vehicle, or reusable spacecraft. Therefore, the duration of a flight test program can vary from a few weeks to many years. There are typically two categories of flight test programs – commercial and military, commercial flight testing is conducted to certify that the aircraft meets all applicable safety and performance requirements of the government certifying agency. Since commercial aircraft development is funded by the aircraft manufacturer and/or private investors. These civil agencies are concerned with the safety and that the pilot’s flight manual accurately reports the aircraft’s performance. The market will determine the suitability to operators. Normally, the certification agency does not get involved in flight testing until the manufacturer has found. Military programs differ from commercial in that the government contracts with the manufacturer to design. These performance requirements are documented to the manufacturer in the aircraft specification, in this case, the government is the customer and has a direct stake in the aircraft’s ability to perform the mission. Since the government is funding the program, it is involved in the aircraft design. Often military test pilots and engineers are integrated as part of the flight test team. The final phase of the aircraft flight test is the Operational Test. OT is conducted by a government-only test team with the dictate to certify that the aircraft is suitable, Flight testing of military aircraft is often conducted at military flight test facilities. The US Navy tests aircraft at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, the U. S. Air Force Test Pilot School and the U. S. Naval Test Pilot School are the programs designed to teach military test personnel. In the UK, most military flight testing is conducted by three organizations, the RAF, BAE Systems and QinetiQ, all launch vehicles, as well as a few reusable spacecraft, must necessarily be designed to deal with aerodynamic flight loads while moving through the atmosphere. Many launch vehicles are flight tested, with more extensive data collection. Reusable spacecraft or reusable booster test programs are more involved. For both commercial and military aircraft, as well as vehicles, flight test preparation begins well before the test vehicle is ready to fly
6.
Air Force Materiel Command
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Air Force Materiel Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. AFMC was created on July 1,1992 through the amalgamation of the former Air Force Logistics Command, AFMC is headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The commander of AFMC is General Ellen M. Pawlikowski and the commander is Major General Warren D. Berry. AFMC is one of ten Air Force Major Commands and has a workforce of approximately 80,000 military and it is the Air Force’s largest command in terms of funding and second in terms of personnel. AFMC’s operating budget represents 31 percent of the total Air Force budget, the command develops, acquires and sustains the aerospace power needed to defend the United States and its interests for today and tomorrow. This is accomplished through research, development, testing, evaluation, acquisition, maintenance and program management of existing and future USAF weapon systems and their components. In 1947, AMC bases were transferred to the newly established United States Air Force, with such as the storage depot in Maywood. The material procurement role was transferred, Air Force Materiel Command was activated on July 1,1992 as part of a post-Cold War, USAF-wide reorganization that resulted in the merger of AFLC and AFSC into a single major command. Following the establishment of AFMC, subsequent Base Realignment and Closure actions also saw significant reductions in AFMC infrastructure, AFMC Commanders, General Ronald W. Yates, 1992-1995 General Henry Viccellio Jr. June 1995-May/June 1997 General George T. Babbitt, Jr. May 1997 –2000 General Lester Lyles, May 2000 - October 2003 General Gregory S. Martin,2003 -2005 General Bruce A. Carlson,2005 -2008 General Donald J. Hoffman,2008 -2012 General Janet C. Wolfenbarger,2012 -2015 General Ellen M, from cradle-to-grave, AFMC provides the work force and infrastructure necessary to ensure the United States remains the worlds most respected Air and Space Force. AFMC headquarters is the unit located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In 2012, there was a reorganization and several new centers were organized. The center is located at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas
7.
Tinker Air Force Base
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Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U. S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located geographically in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The base, originally known as Midwest Air Depot, is named in honor of Oklahoma native Major General Clarence L. Tinker, the commander of OC-ALC is Lieutenant General Bruce A. Litchfield. The host unit at Tinker is the 72d Air Base Wing which provides services and support for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, the Wing and Installation Commander of Tinker Air Force Base is Col. Stephanie Wilson. Tinker AFB is home to major Department of Defense, Air Force, the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex is the largest air logistics center in the Air Force Materiel Command. It provides depot maintenance, product support, services and supply chain management and it is the contracting office for the Air Forces Contract Field Teams program. The 72d Air Base Wing is a multi-unit, multi-mission wing that includes base services and support for the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, associate organizations, dependents, and retirees. Oklahoma Wing Civil Air Patrol Headquarters is located at the base ops building, the Flying Castle Composite Squadron is a Civil Air Patrol squadron that is composed of cadet and senior members that meet Tuesday evenings. The 552d Air Control Wing flies Air Combat Commands E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, the E-3s radar and other sensors provide deep-look surveillance, warning, interception control and airborne battle management. The 552 ACW encompasses 3 groups, 552d Operations Group, 552d Maintenance Group, two Air Reserve Component wings operate twelve KC-135R Stratotanker air refueling aircraft at Tinker. The aircraft are operationally gained by Air Mobility Command, but the two units have different administrative chains, the 507th Air Refueling Wing of the Air Force Reserve Command is one of two Air Force Reserve flying units in the state of Oklahoma and administratively reports to Fourth Air Force. As an associate unit, the 507 ARW also operates the Federal Aviation Administrations British Aerospace 125-800 aircraft in the aviation standards, the Oklahoma Air National Guards 137th Air Refueling Wing assumed an aerial refueling mission in 2008 in accordance with the 2005 BRAC Recommendations. The wing also operates facilities for E-6B aircraft at Travis AFB, California and Naval Air Station Patuxent River. Defense Mega Center Oklahoma City is the branch of the Defense Information Systems Agency. The Mega center operates computer systems for the base and serves 110 other bases in 46 states, support to the Air Logistics Center is primarily for programmed depot maintenance for aircraft and engines. DLA Document Services provides a portfolio of document services including traditional offset printing, on-demand printing. DLA Document Services locations in Oklahoma include Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, while these partnerships are technically separate facilities, Tinkers security perimeter is extended around these facilities. The MROTC is a 370-acre MRO facility, on the south east site of Tinker AFB, sharing runways, the facility currently houses three hangars, one leased by Boeing, a second hangar for 767 for lease, and a third hangar designed to accommodate Boeing 707-300 class aircraft. A 50-year lease-purchase agreement was executed in September 2008 between Oklahoma County and the Air Force, covering the 2.5 million square foot facility, previously, the largest single building at the base was Building 3001 at 1,300,000 square feet
8.
European Theater of Operations, United States Army
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The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed US Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and it was bordered to the south by the North African Theater of Operations, US Army, which later became the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. As the armies advanced, both these zones and the areas into which they were divided would shift forward to new areas of control. Major General James E. Chaney, an Army Air Corps officer, arrived in the United Kingdom on 18 May 1941, SBOPS also had the role of studying British use of Lend Lease supplies. His formal title was the Special Army Observer in the United Kingdom, after the United States entered the war, SPOBS was succeeded by United States Army Forces in the British Isles, actually SPOBS under a new name. At the time of the ARCADIA Conference, December 1941 – January 1942, daley, and make him in turn responsible to General Chaney, designated as CG, USAFBI. Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee became Chief, Services of Supply, U. S. Army Forces British Isles, on June 8,1942, the United States Department of War officially established ETOUSA in its place. Its mission was to conduct planning for the retaking of Europe and to exercise administrative. The 133rd Infantry Regiment of the 34th Infantry Division was the first United States Army unit sent to Europe in World War II, the first battalion arrived in Belfast in late January 1942, followed by the rest of the regiment in February. These units were designated as U. S. Army Northern Ireland Forces, the 133rd and 168th Infantry Regiments trained in the peat bogs, and performed border guard patrols between British Northern Ireland and the neutral Irish Free State. The remaining unit of the division, the 135th Infantry Regiment, until SHAEF was operational ETOUSA liaised closely with the British in the planning and organising of Operation Overlord. General Dwight D. Eisenhower had multiple command appointments, he replaced Chaney in late June 1942 and he then relinquished command of ETOUSA to Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews in February 1943, who was killed in an air crash in May. He was replaced by Lt. Gen. Jacob L. Devers, in December 1943 it was announced that Eisenhower would be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. In January 1944 he resumed command of ETOUSA and the month was officially designated as the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. He served in a role until the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945. From February 1944, SHAEF was the command and ETOUSA administrative command. Some units were transferred between operational commands and administrative commands at different times, by the end of 1944, Eisenhower, through SHAEF, commanded three powerful Allied army groups. The British 21st Army Group and French elements of the 6th Army Group were not part of ETOUSA, the ETOUSA planning staff in London was usually referred to by its Army Post Office number, APO887
9.
Distinguished Unit Citation
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The unit with the most Presidential Unit Citations is the USS Parche with 9 citations. The Army citation was established by Executive Order 9075 on 26 February 1942, superseded by Executive Order 9396 on Dec.2,1943, as with other Army unit citations, the PUC is in a larger frame than other ribbons, and is worn above the right pocket. All members of the unit may wear the decoration, whether or not they participated in the acts for which the unit was cited. Only those assigned to the unit at the time of the action cited may wear the decoration as a permanent award, for both the Army and Air Force, the emblem is a solid blue ribbon enclosed in a gold frame. The Air Force PUC was adopted from the Army Distinguished Unit Citation after the Air Force became a military branch in 1947. By Executive Order 10694, dated Jan,10,1957 the Air Force redesignated the Distinguished Unit Citation as the Presidential Unit Citation. The Air Force PUC is the color and design as the Army PUC but slightly smaller. The Citation is carried on the units colors in the form of a blue streamer,4 ft long and 2.75 in wide. For the Army, only on rare occasions will a larger than battalion qualify for award of this decoration. The Navy citation was established by Executive Order 9050 on 6 February 1942, the Navy version has blue, yellow, and red horizontal stripes, and is the only Navy ribbon having horizontal stripes. These are only worn by persons who meet the criteria at the time it is awarded to the unit, unlike the Army, those who later join the unit do not wear it on a temporary basis. The current decoration is known as the Department of Homeland Security Presidential Unit Citation. A Coast Guard version of the award was awarded to all U. S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary personnel responding to Hurricane Katrina by President George W. Bush for rescue, the United States Public Health Service Presidential Citation was established in 2015. The design was finalized by the Army Institute of Heraldry on 17 August 2015, two units of the Free French Forces were awarded Presidential Unit Citations during World War II. On April 22,1986, the 1st Fighter Group Força Aérea Brasileira was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions in the Po Valley region of Italy in World War II. The Brazilians, operating in Italy in support of Allied forces, destroyed in one day over 45 vehicles, strafed pontoon bridges on the River Po, eleven missions of 44 sorties were flown destroying nine motor transports and damaging 17. One Belgian-Luxembourgian battalion of the Belgian United Nations Command was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation once for actions during the Battle of the Imjin River, the Colombia Battalion received the citation while attached to the American 21st Infantry Regiment in 1951. One Dutch unit, the Netherlands Detachment United Nations, part of the Regiment Van Heutsz, was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation twice for actions during the Korean War, the first citation was awarded after the battle near Wonju and Hoengson in February 1951
10.
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
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The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force. It was established in 1954 and was the first independent Air Force decoration created, the Air Force Longevity Service Award would follow in 1957 with most of the standard Air Force awards established in the early to mid 1960s. The Outstanding Unit Award is awarded to any unit of the U. S, multiple awards of the Outstanding Unit Award are denoted by oak leaf clusters on the ribbon. Until 2004, the Outstanding Unit Award was the senior most unit award in the U. S. Air Force and it is awarded to personnel who were assigned or attached to the unit receiving the award during the period it was awarded for. Non-USAF personnel personnel assigned to USAF units awarded the Outstanding Unit Award are also eligible to wear the ribbon on their uniforms, however, the ribbon does not come in the larger size of unit awards common to the U. S. Army
United States
United States Air Force
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
