,,iii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #bfb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september
 #ah1 #bjag ,mr4 ,boozman 7for himself1 
,mr4 ,hoeven1 ,mr4 ,tester1 ,mr4 ,brown1
 ,mr4 ,inhofe1 ,mr4 ,crapo1 ,ms4        
,murkowski1 ,mr4 ,udall1 ,mr4 ,isakson1 
,mr4 ,daines1 ,mr4 ,rounds1 ,mr4 ,rubio1
 ,mr4 ,sullivan1 and ,mr4 ,burr7        
submitted the following resolution2     
which was considered and agreed to      
,,resolution  ,commemorating the #gjth  
anniversary of the establishment of the 
,air ,force as an independent military  
service and celebrating the ,air ,force 
for #gj years of serving and defending  
the ,united ,states4  ,whereas1 on      
,august #a1 #aijg1 the ,aeronautical    
,division of the ,army ,signal ,corps1  
consisting of #a officer and #b enlisted
 men1 began operation under the command 
of ,captain ,charles ,de,forest         
,chandler with the responsibility for   
all matters pertaining to military      
ballooning1 air machines1 and all       

kindred subjects2 ,whereas1 in #aijh1   
the ,department of ,war contracted with 
the ,wright brothers to build #a        
heavier-than-air flying machine for the 
,army and1 in #aiji1 the ,department    
accepted the ,wright ,military ,flyer1  
the first military airplane2 ,whereas   
pilots of the ,united ,states1 flying   
with both ,allied air forces and with   
the ,army ,air ,service1 performed      
admirably during the course of ,world   
,war ,i1 the first air war in history1  
by participating in pursuit1            
observation1 and day and night bombing  
missions2 ,whereas pioneering aviators  
of the ,united ,states1 including ,mason
 ,m4 ,patrick1 ,william ,billy          
,mitchell1 ,benjamin ,d4 ,foulois1      
,frank ,m4 ,andrews1 ,henry ,h4 ,hap    
,arnold1 ,james ,h4 ,jimmy ,doolittle1  
and ,edward ,eddie ,rickenbacker1 were  
among the first individuals to recognize
 the military potential of airpower and1
 in the decades following ,world ,war   
,i1 courageously laid the foundation for

 the creation of an independent arm for 
the air forces of the ,united ,states2  
,whereas1 on ,june #bj1 #aida1 the      
,department of ,war created the ,army   
,air ,forces as the aviation element of 
that ,department and1 shortly           
thereafter1 the ,department made the    
,army ,air ,forces co-equal to the ,army
 ,ground ,forces2 ,whereas ,general     
,henry ,h4 ,hap ,arnold drew upon the   
industrial prowess and human resources  
of the ,united ,states to transform the 
,army ,air ,corps from a force of       
#bb1djj men and #b1djb aircraft in #aici
 into an entity with a peak wartime     
strength of #b1djj1jjj personnel and    
#gi1ijh aircraft2 ,whereas the standard 
for courage1 flexibility1 and           
intrepidity in combat was established   
for all ,airmen during the first aerial 
raid in the ,pacific ,theater on ,april 
#ah1 #aidb1 when ,lieutenant ,colonel   
,james ,jimmy ,h4 ,doolittle led #af    
,north ,american ,b-#be ,mitchell       
bombers in a joint operation from the   

deck of the ,,uss ,hornet to strike the 
,japanese mainland in response to the   
,japanese attack on ,pearl ,harbor2     
,whereas the ,national ,security ,act of
 #aidg 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #cjja et seq471   
signed into law by ,president ,harry ,s4
 ,truman1 realigned and reorganized the 
,armed ,forces to establish the         
,department of the ,air ,force 7referred
 to in this preamble as the ,,usaf7 as  
separate from other military services2  
,whereas1 on ,september #ah1 #aidg1 ,w4 
,stuart ,symington became the first     
,secretary of the newly formed and      
independent ,,usaf1 marking the date on 
which the ,,usaf was established2       
,whereas1 on ,september #bf1 #aidg1     
,general ,carl ,a4 ,spaatz1 a pioneering
 aviator and former ,commanding ,general
 of the ,army ,air ,forces1 became the  
first ,chief of ,staff of the ,,usaf2   
,whereas the ,air ,national ,guard was  
also created by the ,national ,security 
,act of #aidg and has played a vital    
role in guarding the ,united ,states and

 defending freedom in nearly every major
 conflict and contingency since its     
creation2 ,whereas1 on ,october #ad1    
#aidg1 the ,,usaf demonstrated the      
historic and ongoing commitment of the  
,,usaf to technological innovation when 
,captain ,charles ,chuck ,yeager piloted
 the ,x-#a developmental rocket plane to
 a speed of ,mach #a4jg1 becoming the   
first flyer to break the sound barrier  
in a powered aircraft in level flight2  
,whereas the ,air ,force ,reserve1      
created on ,april #ad1 #aidh1 is        
comprised of citizen airmen who serve as
 unrivaled wingmen of the active duty   
,,usaf during every deployment and on   
every mission and battlefield around the
 world in which the ,,usaf is engaged2  
,whereas the ,,usaf carried out the     
,berlin ,airlift in #aidh and #aidi to  
provide humanitarian relief to post-war 
,germany and has established a tradition
 of offering humanitarian assistance    
when responding to natural disasters and
 needs across the world2 ,whereas the   

,tuskegee ,airmen served the ,united    
,states with tremendous dignity and     
honor1 overcame segregation and         
prejudice to become one of the most     
highly respected fighter groups of      
,world ,war ,,ii1 and helped to         
establish a policy of racial integration
 within the ranks of the ,,usaf1 as1 on 
,april #bf1 #aidh1 the ,,usaf became the
 first military branch to integrate1 a  
full #c months before an ,executive     
order integrated all military services2 
,whereas1 in the early years of the     
,cold ,war1 the arsenal of bombers of   
the ,,usaf1 such as the long-range      
,convair ,b-#eh ,hustler and ,b-#cf     
,peacemaker1 and the ,boeing ,b-#dg     
,stratojet and ,b-#eb ,stratofortress1  
under the command of ,general ,curtis   
,le,may1 served as the preeminent       
deterrent of the ,united ,states against
 the forces of the ,soviet ,union and   
were later augmented by the development 
and deployment of medium range and      
intercontinental ballistic missiles1    

such as the ,titan and ,minuteman1      
developed by ,general ,bernard ,a4      
,schriever2 ,whereas1 on ,april #a1     
#aied1 ,president ,dwight ,d4           
,eisenhower signed legislation          
establishing the ,united ,states ,air   
,force ,academy1 the mission of which is
 to educate1 develop1 and inspire men   
and women to become aerospace officers  
and leaders of impeccable character and 
knowledge1 and that1 as of #bjag1 has   
graduated #ei classes and #di1gjj       
cadets2 ,whereas1 during the ,korean    
,war1 the ,,usaf employed the first     
large-scale combat use of jet aircraft1 
helped to establish air superiority over
 the ,korean ,peninsula1 protected      
ground forces of the ,united ,nations   
with close air support1 and interdicted 
enemy reinforcements and supplies2      
,whereas1 after the development of      
launch vehicles and orbital satellites1 
the mission of the ,,usaf expanded into 
space and1 as of #bjag1 provides        
exceptional support with respect to     

real-time global communications1        
environmental monitoring1 navigation1   
precision timing1 missile warning1      
nuclear deterrence1 and space           
surveillance2 ,whereas1 during the      
,vietnam ,war1 the ,,usaf engaged in a  
limited campaign of airpower to assist  
the ,south ,vietnamese government in    
countering the communist ,viet ,cong    
guerillas and fought to disrupt supply  
lines1 halt enemy ground offensives1 and
 protect ,united ,states and ,allied    
forces2 ,whereas1 on ,april #c1 #aifg1  
former prisoner of war ,paul ,w4 ,airey1
 a career radio operator1 aerial gunner1
 and ,first ,sergeant1 became the first 
,chief ,master ,sergeant of the ,,usaf2 
,whereas1 in recent decades1 the ,,usaf 
and coalition partners of the ,united   
,states have supported successful       
actions in ,grenada1 ,panama1 ,iraq1    
,kuwait1 ,somalia1 ,bosnia-,herzegovina1
 ,haiti1 ,kosovo1 ,afghanistan1 ,libya1 
,syria1 and many other locations around 
the world2 ,whereas ,,usaf ,special     

,operations ,forces have served with    
honor and distinction around the world  
since their activation in #aiij1        
providing the ,united ,states with      
specialized airpower across the broad   
spectrum of conflict in any place and at
 any time2 ,whereas1 for #bg consecutive
 years beginning in #aiij1 ,airmen      
have-- 7#a7 been engaged in continuous  
combat operations ranging from          
,operation ,desert ,shield to the       
,global ,war on ,terrorism to ,operation
 ,inherent ,resolve2 and  7#b7 shown    
that the ,airmen constitute an air and  
space expeditionary force of outstanding
 capability and are ready to fight and  
win wars for the ,united ,states when   
and where they are called upon2         
,whereas1 when terrorists attacked the  
,united ,states on ,september #aa1      
#bjja1 fighter and air refueling        
aircraft of the ,,usaf took to the skies
 to fly combat air patrols over major   
cities of the ,united ,states and       
protected the families1 friends1 and    

neighbors of the people of the ,united  
,states from further attack2 ,whereas1  
on ,december #g1 #bjje1 the ,,usaf      
modified its mission statement to       
include flying and fighting in air1     
space1 and cyberspace and prioritized   
the innovation1 operationalization1 and 
sustainment of warfighting capabilities 
to deliver unrestricted access to       
cyberspace to defend the ,united ,states
 and its worldwide interests2 ,whereas  
women have played a prominent role in   
the evolution of the ,,usaf1            
courageously fighting alongside their   
male counterparts and dedicating their  
lives to protecting peace1 liberty1 and 
freedom around the world as they provide
 ready to fight tonight airpower        
whenever and wherever needed2 ,whereas1 
as of #bjag1 the ,,usaf has made        
tremendous strides in the global        
warfighting domain of cyberspace by     
revolutionizing offensive and defensive 
capabilities and effects with speed1    
agility1 and surgical precision1 thereby

 ensuring the continuous command1       
control1 and execution of joint and     
service operations in contested1        
degraded1 and limited environments2     
,whereas the untapped potential of      
enlisted aviators is recognized by the  
,,usaf as these highly trained1         
intelligent1 and professional ,airmen   
fly remotely piloted aircraft to distant
 skies in support of combatant          
commanders and meet the insatiable      
demand for persistent intelligence1     
surveillance1 and reconnaissance        
capabilities2 ,whereas the ,civil ,air  
,patrol1 as a total force partner and   
auxiliary of the ,,usaf1 has maintained 
a steadfast commitment to the ,united   
,states and the communities of the      
,united ,states through a proud legacy  
of service1 from the earliest days of   
,world ,war ,,ii1 when the ,civil ,air  
,patrol protected the shorelines of the 
,united ,states1 through #bjag1 as the  
,civil ,air ,patrol executes emergency  
service missions2 ,whereas the ,,usaf is

 steadfast in the commitment to fielding
 a world-class air expeditionary force  
by recruiting1 training1 and educating  
its officer1 enlisted1 and civilian     
corps comprising the active duty1 ,air  
,national ,guard1 and ,air ,force       
,reserve components of the ,,usaf2      
,whereas more than #ajj1jjj ,airmen     
stand watch around the world at #age    
global locations1 committed to winning  
the constant fight against violent      
extremist organizations by expending    
more than #ef1jjj munitions and striking
 more than #cb1jjj enemy targets over   
the course of #ah1bjj airstrikes2       
,whereas ,airmen were imprisoned and    
tortured during several major conflicts1
 including ,world ,war ,i1 ,world ,war  
,,ii1 the ,vietnam ,war1 the ,korean    
,war1 and the ,persian ,gulf ,war1 and1 
in the valiant tradition of ,airmen held
 captive1 continued serving the ,united 
,states with honor and dignity under the
 most inhumane circumstances2 ,whereas  
,airmen have earned the ,medal of ,honor

 #ah times1 the ,air ,force ,cross #ahc 
times1 the ,distinguished ,service      
,cross #db times1 and the ,silver ,star 
#gd times2 ,whereas the ,,usaf is a     
tremendous steward of resources1        
develops and applies groundbreaking     
technology1 manages complex acquisition 
programs1 and maintains test1           
evaluation1 and sustainment criteria for
 all ,,usaf weapon systems throughout   
the life cycles of those weapon systems2
 ,whereas talented and dedicated ,airmen
 will continue to meet the future       
challenges of an ever-changing world    
with limitless strength1 resolve1 and   
patriotism2 ,whereas1 on every continent
 around the world1 the ,,usaf has       
bravely fought for freedom1 liberty1 and
 peace1 preserved democracy1 and        
protected the people and interests of   
the ,united ,states2 ,whereas ,airmen of
 the ,,usaf1 together with their joint  
force partners1 will continue to be a   
tremendous resource for the ,united     
,states in fights across every domain   

and at every location1 delivering       
continuous air and space superiority1   
intelligence1 surveillance1 and         
reconnaissance1 rapid global mobility1  
global strike1 and command and control  
capabilities1 thereby ensuring the      
safety and security of the ,united      
,states2 and ,whereas1 for #gj years1   
the ,,usaf and the ,airmen of the       
,,usaf1 through their exemplary service 
and sacrifice1 have repeatedly proven   
their value to the ,united ,states1 the 
people of the ,united ,states1 the      
allies of the ,united ,states1 and all  
free people of the world3 ,now1         
therefore1 be it  ,that the ,senate--   
7#a7 commemorates the #gjth anniversary 
of the establishment of the ,air ,force 
as an independent military service2 and 
7#b7 remembers1 honors1 and commends the
 achievements of the ,air ,force in     
serving and defending the ,united       
,states through global vigilance1 global
 reach1 and global power4