Air Force heritage: Continue the legacy

  • Published
  • By Col. JL Briggs
  • 65th Air Base Wing commander
LAJES FIELD, Azores, Portugal (AFPN) --  How many of you have seen the movie, Night at the Museum? Remember the theme of the movie: Where history comes alive. In honor of 60 years of Air Force Heritage, I want to touch on our history as a service with a personal story.

My parents live in a retirement community of military folks in Southern California founded by Gen. Curtis Lemay, the father of Strategic Air Command. At this retirement community there are military retirees of every service and every rank. What binds them together is their service to our nation. They are WWII, Korean War, Vietnam and Cold War vets. The streets are named Twinning, Lemay, Mitchell, Brown, Vandenberg, and Arnold. These are the name of Airmen who founded our service.

You see, my story is about the history that lives there today. The same as many of you, my parents are proud of their son. When I visit, I have to make the rounds of their friends visiting people I do not know but know a lot about me. It can be embarrassing and awkward but I do it because I know my parents are just proud and after putting up with me as a kid, they deserve to catch a break.

Instead, my story is about the men and women I meet as I go from home to home. Some joined the Army Air Corp in 1944. Some joined our Air Force in 1947, some in 1957 and some in 1967. When I sit in their living rooms and look at their memories, it is a living tribute to the start of what we are doing today. They broke from the Army and formed the most dominant air power to ever fly the skies. They developed air and space technology that became the envy of the world. It became clear very quickly, our new U.S. Air Force would not be matched by anyone, anywhere.

Some I talk with were POW's in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. They don't tell horror stories of their daily combat with the enemy -- sometimes for years. Instead they talk about the brotherhood of those who love the man or woman next to them because they serve a nation they love. I read their decorations; Silver Stars, Distinguished Flying Crosses, Air Medals in the hundreds. They were warriors and victors.

In some of the houses I sit with widows or widowers who have lost the other half of their heart in the march of time. They just want to hold my hand and talk about their time serving and living their adventures in the Air Force just like we are serving and living our adventures today. In their living rooms, our Air Force history comes alive just as vividly as the Night at the Museum.

I am a lucky man. When I go home, I get to spend time with the true pioneers of our service. They love our Air Force with a passion. They ask me tough questions about our future. They want our Air Force to shine today like it always has.

Here is my answer: I look them in the eye and tell them about you. I tell them our NCO's and officers are trained and fit. I tell them the latest generation of Airmen are the very best our nation has ever seen. My Airmen tell the truth and challenge the status quo. They don't settle for average in anything. I get to tell them about what standard means. How my Airmen never hesitate to go the extra mile for a fellow Airmen in need. I tell them how you stand in the rain, the wind, and sun without complaining, servicing jets, standing watch, providing support for the force, training for the future. I tell them we go down range and dominate the enemy. I let them know they can be proud. As proud as I am of what our Air Force has been, is and will be in the future. The future is where it's at.

Airmen, it is vitally important for us to take a moment to look toward our future and recognize its significance. From our first day as a service, in the year 1947, until today, in 2007, the United States Air Force has always focused on the future of air power. This unwavering tradition of forward thinking by our Airmen is what separates us from any other military in the world, and from any other service in the Department of Defense, be it Army, Navy or Marines. Today, at this very moment, we are at war -- a brutal war, with an outcome that will set the world stage for our children and our children's children.

Our Airmen are deployed in many capacities in the war on terror. Right now, we are defining air power in new ways, every day; our security forces defenders, CE tradesmen, air traffic controllers, log dogs, contracting agents, medics, cooks-- all of our Airmen are being asked to do more with less and are meeting the challenges set before them with an unmistakable sense of honor and pride. This desire to put "service before self" makes all the difference.

You, ladies and gentlemen, are why I love being an Airman. 


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