A commemorative graphic created for the Kaiserslautern Military Community, which houses one of the busiest Air Force bases outside of the continental United States: Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Christian Conrad/U.S. Air Force)
From concerts and balls to commemorative flights, the U.S. military community is celebrating the day that the U.S. Air Force became an independent branch of the military, 77 years ago.
The Department of the Air Force was formally established on Sept. 18, 1947, months after the July 26 signing of the National Security Act.
Though the U.S. military had air power for decades preceding the National Security Act, it was primarily under the purview of the U.S. Army. The Second World War saw the U.S. Army Air Corps turn into the nearly autonomous U.S. Army Air Forces, growing from 20,000 men and 2,400 planes in 1939 to 2.4 million personnel and 80,000 aircraft by 1944. (The Department of the Air Force currently counts 689,000 personnel, including active duty airmen and Space Force guardians, Air National Guard members, Air Force reservists and civilian workers for the Air and Space Forces.)
After that, as the Air Force Historical Support Division puts it, independence for the air forces “was virtually inevitable.”
Stuart Symington was sworn in as the first Secretary of the Air Force by Chief Justice Fred Vinson on Sept. 18, 1947, establishing the USAF as truly an independent arm of the U.S. military. (U.S. Air Force)
Celebrations were held or are being planned across the country.
Dover Air Force Base in Delaware held an annual Air Force Ball on Sept. 7, Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina held its ball a week later and Hanscom AFB in Massachusetts has its ball set for Sept. 21. The Air Force Band also held a concert at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va., last Friday. In Oklahoma, media were invited for a demonstration flight at Tinker AFB.
Outside of the United States, RAF Mildenhall in England held an early Air Force Ball last month.
Team Dover members take their seats before the opening remarks are given in recognition of the 77th Anniversary Air Force Ball at King Cole Farms in Dover, Delaware, Sept. 7, 2024. Dover Air Force Base celebrated the anniversary with a red carpet-themed event. (Amanda Jett/U.S. Air Force)
Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Mark Kelly, guest speaker and former commander of Air Combat Command, accepts a gift from 4th Fighter Wing leadership during Seymour Johnson Air Force Base’s Ball at the Walnut Creek Country Club in Goldsboro, North Carolina, Sept. 14, 2024. (Rebecca Tierney/U.S. Air Force )
News teams interview pilots and boom operators, assigned to the 465th Air Refueling Squadron, following an orientation flight on a KC-135 Stratotanker with the 507th Air Refueling Wing Sept. 16. Reporters were invited for this flight to learn more about the 507th ARW mission ties into the mission of Tinker Air Force Base for news segments celebrating the 77th birthday of the U.S. Air Force Sept. 18, 2024. (Carter Denton/U.S. Air Force)
Team Mildenhall members prepare for the start of the official ceremony during the 77th Air Force Ball at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, Aug. 17, 2024. (Alvaro Villagomez/U.S. Air Force )
Even as the USAF celebrates its birthday, it is preparing for the future.
Nearly eight decades after a major restructuring created it as an independent branch of the military, the force on Sept. 10 announced an overhaul that will see its major commands turn into Institutional Commands and Service Component Commands.
“Over the last three decades, our Air Force has incrementally become more fragmented,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin. The reorganization is aimed at streamlining and consolidating the force’s command structure for a more “challenging strategic environment.”
That announcement came just days before the Air Force inactivated the storied 354th Fighter Squadron, as part of its long-term goal to retire its iconic A-10 attack jets (commonly known as Warthogs).
Both of those changes, among others, are part of the Air Force’s Great Power Competition initiative. Facing peer or near-peer powers such as China and Russia, the force is recalibrating to face a new security landscape.
After all, the USAF has been the world’s most powerful airforce for its entire history — and it plans to stay that way.
Pictured is a photo illustration featuring a KC-46 Pegasus aircraft, created at Altus Air Force Base, Okla., Sept. 10, 2024. (Lauren Torres/U.S. Air Force)
