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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The Dalles Dam navigation lock repair

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District

March 15, 2021 | 2:54

Technicians inspecting the navigation lock at The Dalles Dam found cracking in the downstream miter gate during an annual inspection March 10, 2021. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials believe vibration, improper sealing and gate misalignment likely caused the damage.

The damage and repairs will extend the navigation lock outage until April 1, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. Portland and Walla Walla districts were in the middle of a planned, system-wide lock outage of all the locks on the Columbia and Snake rivers, which was originally scheduled for March 6-21, 2021.

“This is why we have annual outages and inspections for the system of locks within Portland and Walla Walla districts,” said Ross Foster, Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project manager. “We’re grateful we identified this issue now, as opposed to a different part of the year where closing the lock would have a larger impact on river traffic.”

“We understand the critical importance these locks have on commerce moving along the Columbia River,” said Kevin Brice, Portland District deputy district engineer. “We’re going to do everything we can to reopen the locks to river traffic as soon as possible. The importance of this vital transportation corridor is not lost on us and our main goal is to minimize impacts on river users.”

Portland District locks on the Columbia River pass 10 million of the 50.5 million tons of commerce shipped annually in the nation. Navigation is Portland District’s oldest mission, dating back to 1871.

The Columbia River is the number one U.S. export gateway for wheat and barley, the number two U.S. export gateway for corn and soy, and the number one U.S. export gateway for West Coast mineral bulk. The Columbia River system is also a national leader for wood exports and auto imports and exports. As far as tourism dollars go, approximately 15,000 passengers a year go through on cruise ships, which accounts for $15 to 20 million in revenue for local economies.