Today we celebrate the 79th birthday of the United States Air Force.

On September 18, 1947, the United States Air Force officially became an independent military service with the implementation of the National Security Act of 1947. Until then, America’s military aviation had been part of the Army, most recently as the U.S. Army Air Forces. The experience of World War II had demonstrated the importance of air power and the need for a separate military service.

The organization we know today as the Air & Space Forces Association actually predates the Air Force. AFA was founded in 1946 under the leadership of General Jimmy Doolittle, with advancing air power and establishing an independent Air Force among its earliest priorities.

From its beginnings in the years immediately following World War II, the Air Force evolved through the Cold War, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War and decades of operations around the world. Today, its mission reaches far beyond flying aircraft, encompassing global mobility, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cyber operations, nuclear deterrence and rapidly developing technologies.

Another major evolution came in 2019 with the creation of the United States Space Force as a separate military service within the Department of the Air Force. AFA now represents and supports both Airmen and Guardians.

For AFA Palm Springs Chapter 134, this history is very much a part of who we are. Here in the Coachella Valley, we carry the AFA mission forward through Cyber Education, Teacher of the Year, our relationships with students and educators, Civil Air Patrol and aviation organizations, and our growing connections with veterans, active-duty military and military families.

Educate. Advocate. Support. Those three words defined an important purpose for AFA when it was founded 80 years ago, and they continue to define our mission today.

AFA Palm Springs Chapter 134 proudly recognizes the generations of Airmen who have served our nation and those serving around the world today.

Happy 79th Birthday to the United States Air Force!