Author Description

The initial concept of the Introduction to the United States Air Force was to facilitate the process of learning how the US Air Force became what it is today: The most powerful military force in the history of the world. And as our Air Force continues to grow, so will this "primer." I wish to thank Tom Searle at CADRE for giving me the opportunity to help him update this introduction from an "end-user" point of view. This revised edition will take the student up to the twenty-first century by including some recent operations, aircraft, and significant personalities that were not included in the 1999 edition. Additionally, the 1999 edition included separate sections on significant operations and personalities but in this revised edition operations and personalities have been merged and organized chronologically to better match the needs of AS200. The original organization of the section on aerospace craft has been retained to show the unique developments of each of the different types of platforms. For ROTC AS200 instructors: This book is intended to supplement The Concise History of the United States Air Force which is currently being used in the AS200 curriculum. Assigned reading from these books are highly encouraged to ensure the student has a firm grasp of the lessons prior to class.