1.
Air Force One
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Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term describes those Air Force aircraft designed, built, the presidential aircraft is a prominent symbol of the American presidency and its power. A C-87 Liberator Express was reconfigured for use as a presidential transport, a number of aircraft types have been used as Air Force One since the creation of the presidential fleet, starting with two Lockheed Constellations in the late 1950s, Columbine II and Columbine III. The Air Force plans to procure the Boeing 747-8 for the version of Air Force One. On 11 October 1910, Theodore Roosevelt became the first U. S. president to fly in an aircraft, however, he was no longer in office at the time, having been succeeded by William Howard Taft. The record-making occasion was a brief overflight of the crowd at a county fair but was nonetheless the beginning of air travel. Prior to World War II, overseas and cross-country presidential travel was rare, the lack of wireless telecommunication and available modes of transportation made long-distance travel impractical, as it took much time and isolated the president from events in Washington, D. C. Railroads were a safer and more reliable if the president needed to travel to distant states. By the late 1930s, with the arrival of such as the Douglas DC-3. All-metal aircraft, more engines, and new radio aids to navigation had made commercial airline travel safer. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to fly in an aircraft while in office, the Dolphin was modified with luxury upholstery for four passengers and a small separate sleeping compartment. The aircraft remained in service as a transport from 1933 until 1939. There are no reports, however, on whether the president actually flew in the aircraft. During World War II, Roosevelt traveled on the Dixie Clipper, a Pan Am-crewed Boeing 314 flying boat to the 1943 Casablanca Conference in Morocco, the threat from the German submarines throughout the Battle of the Atlantic made air travel the preferred method of VIP transatlantic transportation. Concerned about relying upon commercial airlines to transport the president, USAAF leaders ordered the conversion of an aircraft to accommodate the special needs of the Commander-in-Chief. The first dedicated aircraft proposed for use was a C-87A VIP transport aircraft. This aircraft, number 41-24159, was re-modified in 1943 for use as a presidential VIP transport, had it been accepted, it would have been the first aircraft to be used in presidential service, in effect the first Air Force One. However, after a review of the C-87s highly controversial safety record in service, the Guess Where II was used to transport senior members of the Roosevelt administration on various trips
2.
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
3.
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
4.
Very important person
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A very important person is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their status or importance. The special treatment usually involves separation from common people, and a level of comfort or service. In some cases, such as tickets, VIP may be used as a title in a similar way to premium. These VIP tickets can be purchased by anyone, but still meaning separation from other customers, the term VVIP or Very Very Important Person is also used, especially with reference to VIPs with very high spending power. VIP syndrome is when a perceived VIP uses their status to influence a given professional to make decisions under the pressure or presence of the individual. The phenomenon can occur in any profession that has relationships with wealthy, famous, one example is the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash
5.
Wing (military aviation unit)
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In military aviation, a wing is a unit of command. In most military services, a wing is a relatively large formation of planes. In Commonwealth countries a wing usually comprises three squadrons, with several wings forming a group, each squadron will contain around 20 planes. On its establishment in 1912, the British Royal Flying Corps was intended to be an inter-service, combined force of the British Army and Royal Navy. Given the rivalry existed between the army and navy, new terminology was used, in order to avoid marking the corps out as having an army or navy ethos. While the term wing had been used in the cavalry, its general use predominated. Accordingly, the wing, with its allusion of flight, was chosen as the term of subdivision and the corps was split into a Military Wing. Each wing consisted of a number of squadrons, by 1914, the naval wing had become the Royal Naval Air Service, and gained its independence from the Royal Flying Corps. The Royal Flying Corps was amalgamated with the Royal Naval Air Service in 1918, the RFC usage of wing was maintained in the new service. In most Commonwealth air forces, as well as some others, in these air forces a wing is inferior to a group. Originally all wings were commanded by a wing commander. From World War II onwards, operational flying wings have usually been commanded by group captains, a wing may also be used for non-flying units, such as the infantry forces of the RAF Regiment. Additionally, RAF stations are divided into wings. In 2006, expeditionary air wings were established at the RAFs main operating bases and these expeditionary air wings consist of the deployable elements of the main operating base and other supplementary forces. Expeditionary air wings may be subordinated to an air group. In the British Air Training Corps, a wing consists of a number of squadrons within a geographical area. In this context, a wing is inferior to a region which is made up of six wings, in all, there are 36 Air Training Corps wings in six regions within the United Kingdom, each of which is commanded by a RAFVR wing commander. The size of a wing follows US usage, it varies greatly, in the 1990s, the Canadian Forces Air Command altered the structure of those bases under its control, declaring them to be Wings under the overall control of 1 Canadian Air Division in Winnipeg
6.
Military Air Transport Service
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The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and it was inactivated and discontinued on 8 January 1966 when the Air Force and Navy set up separate strategic airlift commands. In 1982, the World War II Air Transport Command and the Military Air Transport Service were consolidated with Military Airlift Command, the Military Air Transport Service was activated under United States Air Force Major General Laurence S. Kuter, in order to harness interservice efforts more efficiently. It was an amalgamation of Navy and Army air transport commands, MATS was the first Joint-Service command and Naval aircrews participated in every major MATS airlift operation. During the Berlin Airlift, Naval aviators flew transport aircraft from the United States to European supply depots, in the Korean War, in its original organization, a Rear Admiral commanded the MATS Pacific Division and another rear admiral served as MATS vice-commander. During the 1958 reorganization, senior Naval officers were on the staffs of the commanders of both EASTAF and WESTAF, and at MATS Headquarters. In 1965 conflicting views of the Air Force and Navy triggered by the demands of the Vietnam War led to the returning to separate airlift commands. In turn, MATS was disbanded and superseded in the Air Force by the Military Airlift Command, with the end of World War II, the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command found itself in limbo. Senior ATC officers, on the hand, thought that ATC should be developed into a national government operated airline. While the war had firmly established the necessity of a troop carrier mission, when the United States Air Force was established as a separate service in 1947, the Air Transport Command was not established as one of its major commands. The ATC commander and his staff took it upon themselves to convince the new leadership of the newly created Department of Defense that ATC had a mission. Williams had been pressing for the development of a troop carrier airplane when he made his statement. Also, as a measure, MATS would combine the resources of Air Transport Command with those of the Naval Air Transport Service. This way the command would be sanctioned by the Department of Defense, although MATS was under the operational control of the United States Air Force, the United States Navy was a full partner in the command and operational components of the organization. Major naval components of MATS were naval air transport squadrons, vR-3 and VR-6 were assigned to McGuire AFB and VR-22 was assigned to the Naval Air Transport Station at Naval Station Norfolk/Chambers Field, Virginia. Together they constituted MATS EASTAFs Naval Air Transport Wing, Atlantic, on the Pacific Coast, Naval Air Transport Wing, Pacific, consisted of Air Transport Squadron VR-7 and Maintenance Squadron VR-8, both at Naval Air Station Moffett Field, California. A detachment of VR-7 was also stationed at Tachikawa Air Base, Naval aviators flew scheduled MATS routes to Newfoundland, Iceland, Scotland, West Germany, Italy, Puerto Rico and Africa. In the Pacific, MATS naval aviators flew to all MATS stations from Hawaii to Japan to South Vietnam, Bangkok, India, Air Force pilots flew Navy MATS planes, just as naval aviators could be found piloting Air Force MATS transport aircraft
7.
Latin
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Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
8.
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
9.
Andrews Air Force Base
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Andrews Field is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force. In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form Joint Base Andrews, Andrews is the home base of two Boeing VC-25A aircraft with the call sign Air Force One when the president is on board, that serve the President of the United States. The host unit at Andrews is the 11th Wing, assigned to the Air Force District of Washington, the wing commander is Colonel Kenneth R. Rizer. The Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Anthony Brinkley, for statistical purposes the base is delineated as a census-designated place by the U. S. Census Bureau. As of the 2010 census, the resident population was 2,973, union American Civil War troops used a country church near Camp Springs, Maryland for sleeping quarters and on 25 August 1941, President Roosevelt directed use of the land for an airfield. Camp Springs Air Base was designated on 5 September 1942, Camp Springs Army Air Base opened on 2 May 1943, and the airfield became operational 2 May 1943 when the first Republic P-47 Thunderbolts arrived. After the 367th Fighter Squadron was stationed at Camp Springs on 21 April 1943, the airfield had 5,500 feet runways by 1944 when the 90th Fighter Control Squadron was formed, and the last Camp Springs combat units departed for World War II combat on 10 April 1944. Camp Springs was expanded to become the headquarters of Continental Air Forces —the 161st AAF Base Unit became the Andrews Field operating unit on 16 April 1945. Andrews Field was named on 7 February 1945 in honor of Lt Gen. Frank Andrews and in 1946, strategic Air Command headquarters transferred from Bolling Field to Andrews. The command of CONAFs Radar Bomb Scoring detachments transferred to Andrews on 17 March 1946 when the 263 AAF BU was assigned to Carswell AFB). Andrews transferred from the Army to the 1947 United States Air Force and Headquarters Command held command reins at Andrews from 1947 through 1952, Headquarters Military Air Transport Service controlled the base during the interim period. The year 1947 marked the arrival of the first permanently assigned jet-powered aircraft, the long-lived and versatile training version of the F-80, the T-33, still played an important role in proficiency flying programs at Andrews more than 30 years later. Andrews Air Force Base was designated on 24 June 1948, and in June 1950, HQ Air Research and Development Command moved to Andrews from Baltimore,24 June 1958. Andrews air defense role was strengthened in the 1950s with the latest in fighter-interceptor hardware appearing on the flight line, f-94 Starfires, F-102 Delta Daggers and finally, F-106 Delta Darts formed the backbone of the three fighter interceptor squadrons which operated from the base until 1963. In the late 1950s Andrews began an open house and air show on base. This event later evolved into the Department of Defense Joint Services Open House, the open house is held every year over Armed Forces Day weekend. In the years since 1959, Andrews flight operations and importance have increased greatly, in 1961, the last of the Military Air Transport Services flying units at Washington National Airport transferred to Andrews. This was followed a year later by the transfer to Andrews of all fixed-wing flying activities from Bolling Air Force Base, Andrews has become firmly established as the main port of entry for foreign military and government officials en route to Washington and the United States
10.
Special Air Mission
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Congressional delegations, and other high-ranking American and foreign dignitaries. The Special Air Mission is under the cognizance of the Air Mobility Command and executed by the 89th Airlift Wing based at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Flying worldwide, Special Air Mission aircraft represent the highest level of Distinguished Visitor travel and must meet stringent schedule, the 89th Airlift Wing provides this service with 17 aircraft dedicated to the SAM and 15 helicopters supporting federal emergency requirements. SAM is especially essential in wartime when diplomacy and negotiation become critical elements of national security strategy, World events may, at any given time, require the nations leaders to be dispatched simultaneously on diplomatic missions around the world. Physical and communications security are integral to the mission, SAM passengers conduct highly sensitive business while en route, and their objectives must not be compromised. Mission protocol dictates the use of civilian airports almost exclusively, because SAM aircraft are the official transportation for leaders of the United States Government, they are a highly visible symbol of the United States of America. National pride dictates these aircraft portray the highest American standards, Special Air Mission, A mission operated by the 89th Airlift Wing by direction of the USAF Vice Chief of Staff. Primary passengers are the Vice President, Cabinet secretaries, and senior officials of the Executive Branch, as well as Congressional delegations, after a presidential inauguration resulting in a change in office, the outgoing president is provided transport on a VC-25 aircraft to their home destination. The aircraft for this flight does not use the Air Force One call sign because it is not carrying the president in office, for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush the flight was known as Special Air Mission 28000, where the number represents the aircrafts tail number. For President Barack Obama, the Special Air Mission flight used the call sign SAM44 and these missions are designated, PHOENIX BANNER - SAAM supporting the President of the United States, primary aircraft employs call sign of Air Force One when POTUS is aboard. PHOENIX SILVER - SAAM supporting the Vice President of the United States, PHOENIX COPPER - SAAM supporting the United States Secret Service when not supporting the President or Vice President, i. e. SAAM for the First Lady of the United States, etc. Standby force definitions are expanded as follows when constituted in support of PHOENIX BANNER or PHOENIX SILVER missions, Aircraft and aircrew capable of departing 3+00 hours after notification for C-130 and C-17 and 3+45 hours for C-5. Aircraft and aircrew capable of departing 1+00 hour after notification for C-130, to support short-notice PHOENIX BANNER and PHOENIX SILVER missions, AMC maintains aircraft and augmented aircrews on standby at various locations. Specific missions may require standby C-5, C-17, or C-130 aircraft, when the cargo load requires a C-5, a C-5 will be used to back up the mission. Aircraft selected to fly these missions must meet the highest standards of reliability, Missions are extensively coordinated and any delay has serious effect on mission support. PHOENIX BANNER, PHOENIX SILVER, and PHOENIX COPPER missions are of high level interest and must get special attention in accordance with established CLOSE WATCH procedures, the Special Air Mission originated with the World War II United States Army Air Forces 10th Ferrying Squadron in 1941. It was redesigned as the 21st Transport Transition Training Detachment of Air Transport Command in 1942, from September to December 1943, the 26th TG conducted the C-87 Fireball run, a weekly priority spare parts delivery flight between Fairfield, Ohio and Agra, India. It was lastly redesignated as the 503d Army Air Force Base Unit in 1944, the last unit was part of the ATC North Atlantic Division
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This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.