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Remarks for the Sixtieth Anniversary of the United States Air Force
September 18, 2007 - Congressional Record
September 18, 2007
Today, I want to pay tribute to the United States Air Force, on the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary. This special day provides us with an important opportunity to recognize and honor the men and women who have made our nation’s Air Force the greatest air power in the world. As a former Captain in the U.S. Air Force myself, I shared a willingness to protect and defend the United States of America with all my fellow airmen and airwomen.
On September 18, 1947, the National Security Act of 1947 was enacted, and the
U.S. Air Force was officially formed. Although it is the newest unit of the four military branches, the U.S. Air Force has rapidly evolved into a segment of our armed services that embodies the fundamental core values and aptitude of our nation’s military foundation.
In the fifth century B.C., Chinese military theorist Sun Tzu said that the “The art of employing troops is that when the enemy occupies high ground, do not confront him.” Drawing on the teachings of Sun Tzu and nineteenth century military historian and theorist Carl von Clausewitz, military leaders over the past two hundred years have sought to perfect their craft in warfare. Until the 20th century, however, the might of a country’s military forces was still incomplete. While nation-states throughout the world had successfully developed their ground and sea forces, it was not until the advent of aircraft that the nature of warfare would be altered dramatically and permanently, thus finally permitting our armed services to confront the enemy on high ground.
Still, it took time to develop the technology and practice of air power so that it matched its theoretical potential. Even though the technology for capable air power existed for the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam and Korean wars, the United States had not developed the capability of air power thoroughly enough to derive full benefit from its use until the Gulf War.
Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel John Warden, the initial architect of the Gulf War’s air campaign, “Instant Thunder,” once theorized that the most important effect that air power would have in war would be its ability to destabilize the will and morale of the enemy’s military leadership. The use of American air power in the Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom successfully proved Colonel Warden’s theory true.
The U.S. Air Force is unmatched in its technological prowess, providing air and space superiority on demand, and playing an important role in America’s nuclear deterrence. The U.S. Air Force is revolutionary in that it is an expeditionary air force: It gets our ground forces to the fight, and gets our air power in the fight. Our nation’s air force has essentially provided our ground and naval forces with the tools necessary to successfully fight asymmetrical warfare by turning the landscape into a symmetrical one.
The Great Narrative of the next twenty-five years will be the contest between globalization and parochialism. As communications and technology continue to flatten the world, the connected first-world nations will benefit and their vested interest in the global order’s continued smooth functioning will encourage political stability and economic development. Those nations left behind will see globalization as a hostile force and may fight against it. It is those same countries that also tend to serve as fertile breeding grounds for radical ideologies. The challenge ahead lies in folding these countries into the new global order.
The battle we face today in the Global War on Terror is the same battle we will face tomorrow, and it is a war we will continue to fight throughout our lifetime. In some ways, this war is not unlike the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union; a monumental surgical strike will not immediately and forever decimate the enemy. This war will take time, and will require the prolonged use of a clear, inclusive, and engaging national military strategy.
Currently, our armed services continue to focus on “muddy boots” requirements in Iraq and Afghanistan. We must remember that this would not be possible without the work of our nation’s air force. In the initial stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the U.S. Air Force paved the way for our men and women on the ground so that they could conduct military-to-military training, counter-drug, counter-terrorist, and homeland defense missions in Operation Enduring Freedom.
It is my hope that as we celebrate the sixtieth birthday of the United States Air Force, we will be reminded of the tremendous sacrifices that our air force personnel and their families have made throughout the history of air power so that we may all continue to enjoy and pursue the opportunities afforded us by their significant role in protecting our democratic values. We must encourage innovation in the field, and I will do my part to ensure that our Air Force will be ready to meet the future with the tools they need to capitalize on new technologies, to maximize transport of equipment and military personnel, and to provide our boots on the ground with the landscape necessary to continue to deter, prevent, and punish acts of terrorism and piracy in the U.S. and around the world.
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