In August 1946, the Air Force Association organized a coast-to-coast radio broadcast featuring Jimmy Stewart, who was made a vice president of the organization, and Ronald Reagan, who was a Hollywood actor and Army Air Force captain and AFA charter member. The association was a relatively prominent voice that was featured in The New York Times and other news media. Membership fees provided insufficient operating funds, and the association relied on additional donations from members. The Air Force Association was incorporated on 4 February 1946 in Washington D.C. AFA also would publish a national magazine on airpower topics and sponsor educational programs to inform the public on airpower developments. It was to be organized with a grass-roots structure composed of local, state, and regional affiliates. United Association of Air Force VeteransĬonsensus quickly formed that Jimmy Doolittle should be the first president, and in a January 1946 press conference, Doolittle announced the establishment of the Air Force Association.United Federation of Air Force Veterans.National Fraternity of Air Force Veterans. National Federation of Air Force Veterans.National Association of Air Force Veterans.While the group decided on the Air Force Association as the name, which was shared with an earlier group founded by Billy Mitchell, rejected names included the: Weicker, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, an Army Air Forces colonel, and John Hay Whitney, an Army Air Forces intelligence officer. Dearing Howe, Rufus Rand, Sol Rosenblatt, Julian Rosenthal, James Stewart, an actor and Army Air Forces colonel, Lowell P. Allard, Everett Richard Cook, who retired from the Army Air Forces in 1945 as a brigadier general and was a World War I flying ace, Jimmy Doolittle, who was a Army Air Forces lieutenant general and Medal of Honor recipient for flying the Doolittle Raid, W. Aside from Curtis, the twelve founders were John S. The first meeting occurred on 12 October 1945 in New York City. Currently an executive at Eastman Kodak, Curtis retired from the Army Air Forces in 1944 as a major general and was a World War I flying ace. In August 1945, Arnold asked Edward Peck Curtis to build the Air Force Association. This organization was not only intended to serve as a veterans' organization, but also be an advocacy group for airpower. Arnold, commanding general of the Army Air Forces, was beginning to consider establishing an organization for the three million airmen under his command who would become veterans after the war ended. Lieutenant General Jimmy Doolittle was the first president of the Air Force Association.Įven before the end of World War II, General of the Army Henry H. History Advocating for air force independence It continued to use the abbreviation AFA. It also provides grants to promote science and math education at the elementary and secondary school level.įounded in 1946 as the Air Force Association, the organization renamed itself in April 2022. AFA has a scholarship program for Air Force active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve members and their dependents. It sponsors professional development seminars and has an awards program. It also runs the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies and conducts social networking, public outreach, and national conferences and symposia. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, its declared mission is "to educate the public about air and space power, to advocate for the world's most capable, most lethal, and most effective Air and Space Forces, and to support Airmen, Guardians, and their families." ĪFA publishes Air & Space Forces (retitled from Air Force Magazine in September 2022 ) and the Daily Report. The Air & Space Forces Association ( AFA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional military association for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force.
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