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| Formation | February 4, 1946; 79 years ago (1946-02-04)[1] |
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| Founded at | Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| Type | 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization |
| Purpose |
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| Headquarters | Arlington, Virginia |
Chairman of the Board | Bernie Skotch[3] |
President | Burt Field[4] |
| Website | www |
TheAir & Space Forces Association (AFA) is an independent,501(c)(3) non-profit, professional military association for theUnited States Air Force andUnited States Space Force. Headquartered inArlington, Virginia, its declared mission is "to educate the public about air and space power, to advocate for the world's most capable, most lethal, and most effective Air and Space Forces, and to support Airmen, Guardians, and their families."[5][2]
AFA publishesAir & Space Forces (retitled fromAir Force Magazine in September 2022[6]) and theDaily Report.[7] It also runs the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies[8] and conductssocial networking, public outreach, and national conferences and symposia. It sponsors professional development seminars and has an awards program. AFA has a scholarship program for Air Force active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve members and their dependents. It also provides grants to promote science and math education at the elementary and secondary school level.
Founded in 1946 as theAir Force Association, the organization renamed itself in April 2022. It continued to use the abbreviation AFA.[9]
Even before the end ofWorld War II,General of the ArmyHenry H. Arnold, commanding general of theArmy Air Forces, was beginning to consider establishing an organization for the three millionairmen under his command who would become veterans after the war ended. This organization was not only intended to serve as aveterans' organization, but also be anadvocacy group forairpower.[10]
In August 1945, Arnold askedEdward Peck Curtis to build the Air Force Association. Then an executive atEastman Kodak, Curtis retired from the Army Air Forces in 1944 as amajor general and was aWorld War Iflying ace. The first meeting occurred on 12 October 1945 inNew York City. Aside from Curtis, the twelve founders were John S. Allard,Everett Richard Cook, who retired from the Army Air Forces in 1945 as abrigadier general and was a World War I flying ace,Jimmy Doolittle, who was an Army Air Forceslieutenant general andMedal of Honor recipient for flying theDoolittle Raid, W. Dearing Howe, Rufus Rand, Sol Rosenblatt, Julian Rosenthal,James Stewart, an actor and Army Air Forcescolonel, Lowell P. Weicker,Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, an Army Air Forces colonel, andJohn Hay Whitney, an Army Air Forces intelligence officer.[10]
While the group decided on the Air Force Association as the name, which was shared with an earlier group founded byBilly Mitchell, rejected names included the:[10]
Consensus quickly formed that Jimmy Doolittle should be the first president, and in a January 1946 press conference, Doolittle announced the establishment of the Air Force Association. It was to be organized with a grass-roots structure composed of local, state, and regional affiliates. AFA also would publish a national magazine on airpower topics and sponsor educational programs to inform the public on airpower developments.[10]
The Air Force Association was incorporated on 4 February 1946 inWashington D.C. Membership fees provided insufficient operating funds, and the association relied on additional donations from members. The association was a relatively prominent voice that was featured inThe New York Times and other news media. In August 1946, the Air Force Association organized a coast-to-coast radio broadcast featuring Jimmy Stewart, who was made a vice president of the organization, andRonald Reagan, who was a Hollywood actor and Army Air Force captain and AFA charter member.[10]
The Air Force Association made good on its promise to publish an airpower magazine in July 1946, when it received ownership ofAir Force Magazine, the official journal of the Army Air Forces. The publication had been founded byGen. Henry "Hap" Arnold, commanding general of the Army Air Forces from 1941 to 1946, who had ordered "a first-class, slick-paper magazine—highly readable—the best of its kind—with worldwide circulation" be produced for its airmen. In 1917, Arnold had edited theArmy Air Services' monthly newsletter as Chief of Information.[10]
Public outreach was also made a priority, withChief of Staff of the Air Force GeneralCarl Spaatz telling delegates at AFA's first national convention in 1947 that "public support is as essential to effective airpower as industries, airplanes, and airmen." By the end of the Air Force Association's first year, it had incorporated 152 local squadrons, or chapters, in forty-five states.[10]
On 18 September 1947, theDepartment of the Air Force was established and the Army Air Forces became theU.S. Air Force.Air Force Magazine declared that it was "The Day Billy Mitchell Dreamed Of." At its first AFA National Convention in Columbus, Ohio, General of the ArmyDwight D. Eisenhower declared "the creation of the United States Air Force as an independent entity recognizes the special capabilities of airpower."[10]
Despite independence, however, the Air Force's place was not assured. After the Allied victory, the United States beganpost-war demobilization. In their first statement of policy in 1948, the Air Force Association warned "while recognizing that peacetime airpower is expensive, we know that wartime airpower is far more costly" and began campaigning for a70-group Air Force, which was also called for by a special presidential commission.[10]
Dwindling budgets also increasedinterservice rivalry. In 1946,U.S. Navy leaders attempted to kill theConvair B-36 Peacemakerstrategic bomber, instead advocating forcarrier aviation. In part due to the advocacy of the Air Force Association, theRevolt of the Admirals was unsuccessful and the B-36 Peacemaker went into service.[10]
The Air Force Association maintained a close relationship with Hollywood, which enabled it to directly communicate the need for airpower to the public. At AFA's second national convention, it held "Operation Wing Ding" atMadison Square Garden and featured its own vice president Jimmy Stewart along withBob Hope,Marlene Dietrich,Lena Horne,Clark Gable,Dinah Shore,Jack Dempsey,Jerry Colonna,Jane Froman,Carmen Miranda,Margaret O'Brien,Walter Pidgeon,Herb Shriner,Gypsy Rose Lee,Joe E. Brown,Jinx Falkenburg, andThe Rockettes. The performance was lauded as "the greatest show ever put on in Madison Square Garden" by the venue's president,John Kilpatrick.[10]
In 1950, theAir Force Reserve Officer Training Corps'Arnold Air Society honored society affiliates with the Air Force Association.
In 1953, the Air Reserve Association merged into the AFA. In May 1959, right before the first graduation at theUnited States Air Force Academy, AFA sponsored its first outstanding-squadron dinner, which would later become a highlighted event for the association.[10]
The Air Force Association embraced the arrival of thejet age, sponsoring four national Jet Age Conferences starting in 1956. The same year,Air Force Magazine published an article onStrategic Air Command which got national attention whenArthur Godfrey told his primetime audience onCBS to read it. On 1 May 1956, AFA created the Air Force Association Foundation, soon renamed the Aerospace Education Foundation, to manage its education programs.[10]
At its 1956 National Convention, the Air Force Association, in partnership with the Air Force, inaugurated itsOutstanding Airman of the Air Force program to recognize enlisted airmen. The 1957 "Golden Anniversary" issue ofAir Force Magazine, produced with theAir Force Historical Research Division, marked fifty years since the establishment of the Army Signal Corps'Aeronautical Division.[10]
The Air Force Association marked 1959 with the World Congress of Flight inLas Vegas. Featuring aircraft from 52 nations, the World Congress of Flight was the first international, and the largest,air and space show in the United States and was televised byNBC to over 40 million viewers and covered inLife magazine.[10]
In 1963, the Air Force Association adopted a statement of policy opposing thePartial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, infuriating Secretary of DefenseRobert McNamara. Under political pressure, Secretary of the Air ForceEugene M. Zuckert withdrew from his attendance at the AFA National Convention, but Chief of Staff GeneralCurtis LeMay still attended.[10]
The following year, in 1964, the Air Force Association's Airmen's Council asked the Air Force to establish a "Sergeant Major of the Air Force", mirroring the position of theSergeant Major of the Marine Corps as thesenior enlisted advisor. The service initially demurred, but in 1967 established theChief Master Sergeant of the Air Force to serve in the same role. In 2020, the new U.S. Space Force created theChief Master Sergeant of the Space Force to advocate for enlisted guardians.[10]
In 1967, the Aerospace Education Foundation and theUnited States Office of Education tested Air Force technical training courses in Utah public schools. Project Utah's success paved the way to create theCommunity College of the Air Force. The two organizations also held the first National Laboratory for the Advancement of Education.[10]
In October 1969,Air Force Magazine published "The Forgotten Americans of the Vietnam War" as its cover story, generating national awareness ofprisoners of war. The article was republished as the lead inReader's Digest, read on the floor of theUnited States Congress, and entered into theCongressional Record six times. AFA's national president was a special guest at theWhite House's tribute for returning prisoners of war in 1971.[10]
In 1988 and 1990, the Air Force Association and Aerospace Education Foundation published two white papers, "Lifeline in Danger" and "Lifeline Adrift", warning of problems with the United Statesdefense industry. In 1991, the Aerospace Education Foundation andUSA Today jointly ran the "Visions of Exploration" program to educate public school students on 21st-century issues.[10]
In 1992, the Air Force Association established theUnited States Air Force Memorial Foundation. Construction began on the memorial near the Pentagon in 2004; it was dedicated in 2006 in a ceremony attended by PresidentGeorge W. Bush, anAir National Guard veteran.[10][11]
In 1994,Air Force Magazine published a special report on theNational Air and Space Museum's plans to display theEnola GayB-29 Superfortress bomber, which dropped theLittle Boy atomic bomb on Hiroshima. AFA called the museum's plans politically rigged and lacking balance and historical context. The outcry from Congress, the news media, and public forced the museum to modify its display plans.[10]
While supporting the Air Force, the Air Force Association also advocated for its space and cyber programs.[11]
In 2009, AFA established theCyberPatriot program to prepare high school students in careers in cybersecurity or otherSTEM fields. In 2013, CyberPatriot becomes an international program, expanding to the United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Japan.[11]
In 2014, the Secretary of the Air Force requested that the Air Force Association create a similar program to CyberPatriot that was space-focused, with AFA creating the StellarXplorers STEM education program built on orbit determination, spacecraft design, and launch vehicle operations.[11]
In 2013, the Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies was renamed the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and in 2016, the Air Force Association's Air and Space Conference was renamed the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference.[11]
Following the 2019 establishment of theU.S. Space Force, the Air Force Association positioned itself to continue supporting the new service, updating its mission statement to include the USSF and Guardians in April 2020. On April 7, 2022, the Air Force Association renamed itself the Air & Space Forces Association to better represent theUnited States Space Force.[9] In September 2022,Air Force Magazine was renamedAir & Space Forces.[12]
Following the Space Force's establishment, the Air Force Association called for the Department of the Air Force to rename itself the Department of the Air and Space Forces, integrate theNational Reconnaissance Office into the U.S. Space Force, and develop crewed and uncrewed combatspaceplanes for the new service.[13]
AFA is divided into three geographic areas, comprising 14 regions, each led by a region president.
Predominantly a volunteer organization, the association has more than 200 chapters in 49 states (Maine is the only state without a chapter) and other countries including theUnited Kingdom,Germany,Italy,Belgium,Japan,Okinawa, and theRepublic of Korea. As of 30 June 2010, AFA had a membership of 117,480 of whom 37% (43,954) are life members (permanent membership), organized into local chapters. There has been a 23-year trend of declining regular membership, but increasing life membership. AFA membership in 2010 included 15% on active duty military and 70% retired or former military.[14]
As part of its education mandate the association publishesAir Force Magazine and the online electronic news briefDaily Report.Air Force Magazine began in September 1918 as theD.M.A. Weekly News Letter, originally published by the Information Branch of theDivision of Military Aeronautics, and changed names several times, becomingAir Force Magazine in January 1943 andAir & Space Forces in September 2022. The Air Force Association assumed responsibility for its publication and content beginning in October 1946.[citation needed]
AFA hosts professional development conferences which feature speakers, workshops,trade shows and presentations by Air Force and national defense leaders. The organization has a public policy and research arm, the Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies run by director Dr. Rebecca Grant. AFA runsCyberPatriot, a national youth cyber education program that promotes student interest in cyber security and otherscience, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career fields. The "Visions of Exploration" program has its members distribute educational materials to schools and concerned citizens. This is done in part through a joint multi-disciplinary science, math and social studies program withUSA Today.[15]
TheArnold Air Society is a university level arm of the organization embedded in college and universityAir Force ROTC units.
As part of its support programs AFA provides more than $1.5 million in scholarships, grants, and awards.[16] AFA's educational programs and scholarships are intended to encourage Air Force members to continue their education, provide funds to Air Force spouses working towards a degree, and administer grants that develop programs promoting math and science skills among young people.
AFA was a key organization in building theUnited States Air Force Memorial and continues to be involved in its day-to-day operations.[17]
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