In 1984, the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization ( SDIO ) was established to oversee the program, which was headed by Lt. General James Alan Abrahamson USAF, a past Director of the NASA Space Shuttle program.

** Benjamin Foulois, American Brigadier General ( USAF ), first rated US military pilot, trained by the Wright Brothers ( b. 1879 )

* November 17 – Frank Lahm, Brigadier General USAF, airship pilot, early military aviator trained by the Wright Brothers ( d. 1963 )

The center's current director is Dr. Simon P. " Pete " Worden ( Brigadier General, USAF Retired ).

Warren M. Bodie, journalist, historian, and Skunk Works engineer from 1977 to 1984, wrote that engineering independence, elitism and secrecy of the Skunk Works variety was demonstrated earlier when Lockheed was asked by Lieutenant Benjamin S. Kelsey ( later Brigadier General, USAF ) to build for the United States Army Air Corps a high speed, high altitude fighter to compete with German aircraft.

In the words of USAF General George S. Brown, Commander, Air Force Systems Command in 1972, " The only reason we need ( UAVs ) is that we don't want to needlessly expend the man in the cockpit.

* General, USAF ( Retired ): February 1, 1965

He is a retired Major General in the USAF Reserve.

General USAF Ret., former Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters Allied Air Forces

Lieutenant General Joseph Carroll ( DIA ) | Joseph Carroll, USAF ; 1st Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency | Director of DIA

Arno H. Luehman rose to the rank of Major General, USAF, before his retirement.

Santa Fe Springs is home to Egge Machine Company, supplier of Cadillac engine parts for custom cars and hot rods and also is home to U. S. Aerospace, a publicly traded aerospace and defense contractor for the USDoD, USAF, Lockheed Martin Corporation, The Boeing Company, L-3 Communications Holdings, the Middle River Aircraft Systems subsidiary of General Electric Company, and other aircraft manufacturers, aerospace companies, and defense contractors.

Descendants of Robert Olds, who arrived from Sherborne, Dorset, in 1667, include automotive pioneer Ransom Eli Olds, Copperhead Ohio politician Edson Baldwin Olds, his great-grandson USAAF General Robert Olds, and his son, iconic USAF fighter pilot Robin Olds.

* List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations

* Jack I. Gregory-( 1931-) General, USAF, Commander in Chief Pacific Air Forces 1986-1988

* List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations

* General Paul Hester USAF graduated from West Point High School

* List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations

* List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations

* List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations

USAF General CD Moore ( Class of 76 ) http :// www. af. mil / information / bios / bio. asp? bioID = 8719

* List of USAF Aerospace Defense Command General Surveillance Radar Stations

General Fairchild was a World War I aviator and died on 17 March 1950 while serving as Vice Chief of Staff, USAF.

General Fairchild received his fourth star in 1948, and died on March 17, 1950 while serving as Vice Chief of Staff, USAF.

* General Curtis E. LeMay, USAF

It transpires that USAF Chief of Staff Curtis LeMay simply liked the sound of SR-71 better that RS-71, and had the speech changed.

* Kevin Conway as Chief of Staff of the USAF Gen. Curtis LeMay

In 1959, General Curtis E. LeMay, the USAF Vice Chief of Staff, issued the first official AP shield to Brig General R. F. Burnham, the Air Provost Marshal.

General Curtis LeMay, USAF ( former head of the Strategic Air Command and serving at the time as Chief of Staff of the Air Force ), used his considerable influence to allow Producer Sy Bartlett and Director Delbert Mann unprecedented access to various SAC facilities, in the belief that this film would play a vital role in reminding Americans that the Air Force did indeed have its weapons of mass destruction under tight control in sharp contrast to the impressions that the movies Dr. Strangelove and Fail-Safe ( both based on novels written prior to 1963 whose premise was that accidental nuclear war caused by SAC was not only possible but likely ) would give.

The memorandum from LeMay, Chief of Staff, USAF, to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, January 4, 1964, illustrates LeMay's reasons for keeping bomber forces alongside ballistic missiles: " It is important to recognize, however, that ballistic missile forces represent both the U. S. and Soviet potential for strategic nuclear warfare at the highest, most indiscriminate level, and at a level least susceptible to control.

The advantages of this concept were recognized outside of the USAF and the 1750A was adopted by numerous other organizations, such as the European Space Agency, NASA, Israeli Aircraft Industries and many projects in academia.

The concept was developed by military strategist and USAF Colonel John Boyd.

They were all redesignated and transferred to other USAF components in 1957-58 with the end of the fighter escort concept.

Beginning in 1997, large scale fighter aircraft movements under the new USAF operating concept known as the Air Expeditionary Force ( AEF ) filled the Lajes flightline.

By striking at USAF air bases the North Vietnamese Army ( NVA ) and VC employed Giulio Douhet's military concept which stated the only effective way to counter air power was to destroy its bases on the ground.

The AMRAAM was used for the first time on 27 December 1992, when a USAF F-16D shot down an Iraqi MiG-25 that violated the southern no-fly-zone.

In that engagement at least 3 other Serbian aircraft were shot down by USAF F-16C fighters using AIM-9 missiles ( see Banja Luka incident for more details ).

At the same time, USAF canceled the projects for their land-based high-speed interceptor aircraft, which left the capable AIM-47 Falcon missile at a quite advanced stage of development.

The USAF F-15 Eagle had responsibility for overland Combat Air Patrol ( CAP ) duties in Desert Storm in 1991, primarily because of the onboard F-15 IFF capabilities.

In the U. S., current plans call for the existing USAF bomber fleet to remain in service until the mid-to-late 2020s, with the first possible replacements becoming operational in 2018.

However, this is not the first time that the USAF has come under fire in the past for offering this award.

Both Tomahawk ( as BGM-109 ) and ALCM ( AGM-86 ) were competing designs for the USAF.

The USAF adopted the AGM-86 for its bomber fleet while AGM-109 was adapted to launch from trucks and ships and adopted by the USAF and Navy.

Low-intensity storms have hit the island, including in 1901, which blew over 1, 500 coconut trees, on September 16, 1944 which caused the wreck of a Royal Air Force PBY Catalina, September 1990 which demolished the tent city then being constructed for USAF bomber crews during Operation Desert Storm, and on July 22, 2007 when winds exceeded and over of rain fell in 24 hours.

The USAF with two-thirds of the nuclear triad also had requirements for a more accurate and reliable navigation system.

Under long-standing bilateral agreements flowing from NATO membership, Italy hosts important U. S. military forces at Vicenza – home of 173d Airborne Brigade – and Livorno ( USA ); Aviano ( USAF ); and Sigonella, Nisida, and Gaeta – home port for the U. S. Navy Sixth Fleet.

Responsibility for the air defense of Puerto Rico now rests with USAF or US Navy fighters that would be flown in in case of a military emergency.

Large numbers of USAF Air Divisions served with the command and were typically respnsible for an average of three or four geographically separated wings.

By 1961, several test articles were ready for testing from USAF B-52 bombers, with drop-tests starting in January.

While the technical problems seemed to be solvable, the USAF required a winged design ( for cross range ) that led to the Shuttle as we know it today.

However, during the Vietnam War, the last conflict to produce U. S. fighter aces, the one USAF pilot, the two USAF navigators / weapon systems officers ( who were later retrained as USAF pilots ), the one USN Naval Aviator and the one USN Naval Flight Officer / radar intercept officer to achieve this distinction were eventually awarded the Air Force Cross and Navy Cross, respectively, in addition to Silver Stars previously awarded for earlier aerial kills.

Configuration Management ( CM ) as a formal management approach was developed by the USAF for the DoD in the 1950s as a technical management discipline for hardware material items — and it is now a standard practice in virtually every industry.

Around 1988 a new round was introduced, the PGU-28 / B, which is now standard for US Navy and USAF aircraft.

Several air forces continued to use biplanes for primary training up till WWII and even beyond: the de Havilland Tiger Moth in the Royal Air Force, Stampe SV. 4 in French and Belgian Air Forces, and the Boeing Stearman in the USAF.

Groom Lake is a salt flat in Nevada used for runways of the Nellis Bombing Range Test Site airport ( KXTA ) on the north of the Area 51 USAF military installation.