For 75 years, American Airmen have excelled as they execute the Air Force mission to fly, fight, and win — delivering airpower anytime, anywhere in defense of our nation.

Airmen are called to “Innovate, Accelerate and Thrive” as the U.S. Air Force and Department of the Air Force approach their 75th anniversaries on Sept. 18, 2022. Airmen will always be there to provide America with the airpower it needs to defend the nation, deter or defeat our adversaries, reassure our partners and allies, and help diplomacy proceed from a position of strength.

Commentary: Lessons from our past – Claire Chennault on Agile Combat Employment

As the Air Force leans into Agile Combat Employment, lessons can be learned from Claire Chennault's Flying Tigers and how they operated in China during WWII.

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AF 75th Birthday INNOVATE

Innovation, fueled by Airmen, is our heritage. Airmen continue to push technological and cultural boundaries which make America the leader in airpower and spacepower. Innovation is an integral part of how we train and employ our squadrons, develop our capabilities, and continue to move toward an even more effective Air Force.

AF 75th Birthday Accelerate

From their inception 75 years ago, the U.S. Air Force and Department of the Air Force have excelled at keeping pace with rapid changes in technology and in the demands placed on the Air Force’s five core missions: air superiority; global strike; rapid global mobility; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; and command and control.

AF 75th Birthday Thrive

We are the world’s greatest Air Force because of those who have gone before us – particularly those who weren’t afraid to break barriers. Empowered Airmen are the competitive edge we have over our adversaries and the reason we are the world’s greatest Air Force.

Air Force 75th Anniversary Commemorative Poster: Air Force Firsts

Air Force 75th Anniversary Poster: The Doolittle Raid - 1940s Era

Air Force 75th Anniversary Poster: Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. - 1950s Era

Air Force 75th Anniversary Poster: Flight of the Blackbird - 1960s era

Air Force 75th Anniversary Poster: Apollo 15 - 1970s era

Air Force 75th Anniversary Poster: B-52 Stratofortress - 1980s era

Air Force 75th Anniversary Poster: Stealth War - 1990s era

Air Force 75th Anniversary Poster: Dominate the Skies – 2000s era

Air Force 75th Anniversary Poster: First Unmanned Flight - 2010s era

Air Force 75th Anniversary Poster: Force of the Future - 2020s Era

Air Force Posters Frontiers of Blue — Air Force Posters Archive

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Video by Spc. Tyler Brock

Retired Spc. Gene Rouse a Vietnam Veteran LR

4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

March 9, 2022 | 1:42

On March 29th every year we take time to honor those who served in the Vietnam War. One of those men was Spc. Gene Rouse, a retired track vehicle mechanic, who was assigned to Bravo Troop, 2nd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment on deployment status with 4th Infantry Division, who will gladly share his story with anyone willing to listen to his recount of his experience in Vietnam.

Transcript:

00:00:00:02 - 00:00:41:14
SMG Woods
I'm Sergeant Major. Woods your host for this issue of The Big Picture. While the U.S. Army has many missions in many lands. The attention of our nation is focused inevitably on army activities in one particular part of the world, Vietnam.

00:00:41:14 - 00:01:04:19
GENE ROUSE
Back then, there was a lot of open space in the Central Highlands where I was it was fairly flat. And there were hills and mountains here in there which had jungle on them. But the elevation was like 3,000 feet. Vietnamese themselves were mostly in the towns around my control and Pleiku. Civilization just wasn't quite what it was, you know, back home, of course.

00:01:04:19 - 00:01:08:07
GENE ROUSE
I got sent to Vietnam. But then, yeah, that was the hard part.

00:01:08:07 - 00:01:21:19
JOAN ROUSE
Before he left, he wanted us to send tapes back and forth to each other so we could hear each other's voices. He would mail them to him and he'd mail them to me. And that made it real that he was okay.

00:01:21:19 - 00:01:34:09
JOAN ROUSE
Now, after the experience is over, looking back on it, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm so happy that I did. The guys that I met and worked with and so on and so forth. I mean, it was it was really an adventure.