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 Petty Officer 1st Class Clifford Davis

USS Houston - The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast

Naval History and Heritage Command

Feb. 27, 2017 | 11:53

This video chronicles the history of USS Houston (CA 30) from commissioning in 1930 to shipwreck discovery in 2014, told through on-camera interviews with Houston Survivor Howard Brooks, Naval History and Heritage Command Historian Robert Cressman and Underwater Archaeologist Alexis Catsambis, Ph.D..

On February 28, 1942, Houston and Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth came across a major Imperial Japanese Navy task force attempting to make landfall in Bantam Bay. At 11:06 p.m., Perth, after sighting a ship to be believed as an Australian corvette and when challenged made an unintelligible reply, opened fire from the forward turrets. Within an hour of opening fire, Perth would receive multiple torpedo hits to her starboard side causing the ship to sink at approximately 12:25 a.m., March 1, 1942.

Houston, shortly after Midnight, was struck by a torpedo and began to lose headway. Being short on ammunition, supplies and with a tired crew, she would continue on fighting gallantly. At approximately 12:30 a.m., Captain Albert Rooks, Houston’s commanding officer, was killed by a bursting shell on the ships bridge. As the ship came to a stop, Japanese destroyers moved in, machine-gunning the decks. Shortly afterwards, Houston would roll to the starboard side and sank beneath the waves.

Of the 1,061 officers and enlisted men, 368 survived, only to be captured by the Japanese and interned as Prisoners of War. 79 died while in captivity. 289 survivors were liberated from various POW camps in September 1945, when the world would finally know the true story of what happened to USS Houston (CA 30) and her crew.

To find out more about USS Houston, visit: https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/ships/uss-houston.html