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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SWESC Great Lakes Overview

Surface Warfare Engineering School Command Great Lakes

May 8, 2023 | 3:23

Every Surface Navy Engineer, Quartermaster, Boatswain and deck seaman come through Surface Warfare Engineering School Command Great Lakes (SWESC GL) for technical training led by the Navy’s finest instructors. These Sailors leave SWESC GL as Surface Warriors; ready to perform on ships operating around the globe. SWESC GL averages nearly 1,500 students on deck at any one time. The staff at SWESC GL is comprised of 10 officers and over 350 enlisted personnel, 40 Department of the Navy civilians including Quartermasters, Boatswain Mates and Sailors from all surface engineering rates, ranging in pay grades from E5 to E9. All assigned instructors have completed successful tours at sea and have earned the 805A NEC by completing the Navy’s Instructor Training Course. Instructors qualify and are cross-utilized between 15 different schoolhouses and each instructor accrues between 21-40 instructional hours weekly. Engineers begin their careers with Engineering Professional Apprenticeship Career Track (E-PACT), a 34-day course designed to teach all engineering rates the basic skills necessary to assimilate rapidly into a shipboard engineering environment upon arrival to their first ship. While a small percentage of these students will transfer to the fleet as undesignated Firemen, most will continue to a more specific rate-based training in one of eight engineering “A” schools. Rating “A” schools range in length from 9 to 41 days of training. On average, a rated Sailor attending the Engineering accession pipeline will receive approximately 40% classroom-based training and 60% hands on, where the knowledge gained in the classroom is applied. Future Quartermasters (QM) begin their careers attending the QM “A” School where they learn navigation fundamentals to include plotting on charts, celestial navigation, an introduction to Voyage Management System, and other skills needed to stand pay grade appropriate underway watches with minimal supervision. Graduates will require modest training prior to performing fully unsupervised basic watch station duties. Surface Professional Apprenticeship Career Track (SPACT) and Boatswain Mate “A” school offers junior sailors the opportunity to receive hands on training about basic seamanship skills prior to reporting to their first command. Each school learns these skills by participating in classroom training and labs utilizing the USS Whitehat, an onsite ship simulator. The students are able to learn everything from basic line handling skills to underway replenishment operations. SWESC GL was excited to welcome them to the team in April of 2021. For returning fleet Sailors, SWESC GL offers a total of 51 “C” schools and non-accession courses that result in the awarding 29 total NECs, with 8 new NECs in the works. SWESC GL is the only NETC Learning Site to offer courses for Non-Destructive Testing and Cargo/Weapons Elevator operation and maintenance. SWESC GL also provides Level I equivalent firefighting training to upwards of 10,800 surface accessions Sailors annually, to include Surface Combat Systems Training Center Great Lakes, as well as staff members at the various commands across Great Lakes as they transfer back to sea duty. The General Shipboard Firefighting Training Course is designed to provide instruction and evaluation to enlisted personnel in firefighting equipment, and procedures. This course will prepare students to qualify as members of a Shipboard Damage Control Organization/Team. This course satisfies the Level I five year live firefighting requirement of Shipboard Survivability Training Level Requirements and is the equivalent of the General Shipboard Fire Fighting training. This course includes proper techniques and procedures for combating various classes of fires. Instruction on personnel protective equipment, chemistry of fire, portable fire extinguishers, and the Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus. For more information about SWESC GL please go to our Website - https://www.netc.navy.mil/SWESCGreatLakes/ or Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/SWESCGL