2012 Oustanding Airmen of the Year

AFA today announced the 2012 Twelve Outstanding Airmen of the Year!

Each year, the Air Force and AFA recognize 12 outstanding enlisted personnel for superior leadership, job performance, community involvement and personal achievements. Then, we proudly honor these Outstanding Airmen at the annual National Convention/Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition in the Washington, D.C. area. [AFA initiated the OAY program in 1956, when we held the 10th annual National Convention.]

“This time of the year is always an honor to us at AFA as we get to distinguish a dozen of our airmen who are among the best and brightest in their respective organizations,” said Sandy Schlitt, AFA Chairman of the Board. “Their dedication to duty is quite admirable and we commend them for their service.”

The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, a general officer and selected Major Command chiefs form the selection board. The Air Force Chief of Staff reviews the selections. The Twelve Outstanding Airmen are awarded the Outstanding Airmen ribbon with the bronze service star device and wear the Outstanding Airmen badge for one year. They also serve on the Air Force Enlisted Council for one year.

12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year (by command of assignment when selected):

• Staff Sgt. Angelo C. Banks, Air Education and Training Command
• Master Sgt. Alan M. Braden, Air Force Materiel Command
• Staff Sgt. Cory T. Branham, Air Combat Command
• Senior Airman Bryenna L. Brooks, Air Force Global Strike Command
• Tech. Sgt. Brandon C. Bruner, Air Force Special Operations Command
• Senior Airman Matthew J. Butler, Air Force District of Washington
• Senior Master Sgt. Laura A. Callaway, Air Mobility Command
• Senior Master Sgt. Emilio Hernandez, U.S. Air Forces in Europe
• Senior Airman Nicholas A. Hurt, Air Force Space Command
• Master Sgt. Sandra L. Plentzas, Air Force Reserve Command
• Tech. Sgt. Matthew G. Stark, Pacific Air Forces
• Senior Master Sgt. Luke W. Thompson, Air National Guard

For bios on each of this year's recipients and the full AFA release, check out: http://www.afa.org/media/press/2012_OAY.asp

The End of the 2011 Air & Space Conference

The 2011 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition and National Convention has officially ended, after nearly a week of great Conference addresses by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and the Secretary of the Air Force, as well as the many sessions led by military leadership and industry experts. [For transcripts of the some of the sessions, go to: www.af.mil/news/afpressresources.asp]

AFA's Four Star Forum

The whole event culminated on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, with the Air Force Anniversary dinner, where several individuals/groups received awards five individuals and groups at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, after three days of workshops, presentations and panels and an exhibit floor that boasted the latest in aerospace and defense technology.

Heavy Bombardment Crews of WWII accept their Lifetime Achievement Award

Representative C.W. Bill Young accepts his W. Stuart Symington Award
for the most significant contribution by a civilian for national defense

Check out more of the great moments we captured at www.facebook.com/AirForceAssociation! Our 2011 Air & Space  Album has pictures from our National Convention and Conference, our several award ceremonies, the Expo floor, our Anniversary Dinner and many more!

Also, we've uploaded new videos on the AFA YouTube page. So if you missed the CSAF's Air Force Update or wanted to learn more about our Lifetime Achievement winners, check out: www.youtube.com/airforceassochq.

The AFA thanks everyone who helped make this year's conference a success. If you were there, we hope you had a great time and used the opportunity for professional growth. If you weren't able to join us, hopefully you'll be able to catch us next year!  

Air & Space Conference -- Less than a week away!

The 2011 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition is just days away and there is no better time to register than now! This one-of-a-kind conference will be held September 19-21, 2011, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in beautiful National Harbor, Maryland. Nowhere else will you be able to network with the top leaders in the Air Force, academia and industry from around the world about the current issues facing today’s Air Force. 

This year's Conference will include: 

Three days of addresses, forums and workshops on relevant topics:

• Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley
• Four Star Forum hosted by CSAF Gen Norton Schwartz
• Command Chief Master Sergeants Forum
• Pulitzer-prize winning writer/commentator Charles Krauthammer
• NASA Administrator Charles Bolden
• Vietnam Ace Charles DeBellevue
• Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Transformation Gen Stéphane Abrial
• WWII Heavy Bombardment Pilots
• See the full agenda online.

Book signings featuring authors:

• Bing West
• Warren Kozak
• Walter Boyne
• Donald Shepperd
• Nathan Hodge
• See the full list of authors and book signing times online.

Also, the exhibits at AFA's Technology Exposition highlight the most current developments in aerospace technology and education.  Nowhere else will attendees find more than 140 of the most exciting aerospace exhibitors assembled to display and demonstrate the latest breakthroughs in air and space technology. 

To register for the 2011 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition please click here. 

2011 Air & Space Highlights: USAF Contingency Panel

Another great panel to catch at AFA’s 2011 Air & Space Conference would be “USAF Contingency Operations Tomodachi & Odyssey Dawn.”

Though U.S. troops have been continuously engaged in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq in the past decade, the U.S. Air Force has been called upon several times to support additional contingency operations. In just the past two years, we’ve had airmen in Haiti after a major earthquake struck, initially displacing more than a million people and leaving behind heavy damage. In March of 2011, we were in Japan, providing disaster relief and humanitarian assistance after several areas were devastated by an earthquake and tsunami. Also in March, the U.S. participated in a no-fly zone to prevent attacks against Libyan civilians. The USAF Total Force demonstrated tremendous flexibility across the full range of military operations. 

On this panel will be Gen. Gilmary M. Hostage III, Commander of Air Combat Command, with headquarters at Langley Air Force Base, Va., and Air Component Commander for U.S. Joint Forces Command. As the commander, he is responsible for organizing, training, equipping and maintaining combat-ready forces for rapid deployment and employment while ensuring strategic air defense forces are ready to meet the challenges of peacetime air sovereignty and wartime defense. 

Lt. Gen. Burton M. Field is the Commander of U.S. Forces Japan, and Commander of 5th Air Force, Pacific Air Forces, Yokota Air Base, Japan. He is the senior U.S. military representative in Japan and Commander of U.S. Air Force units in Japan.

Maj. Gen. Margaret H. Woodward is Commander of 17th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Africa, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The command serves as the Air Component for U.S. Africa Command and has responsibility for all Air Force activities in the Africa theater spanning 53 countries, 11 million square miles and more than 900 million people.
 

Brigadier General Roy E. Uptegraff III is Commander of 171st Air Refueling Wing, Pennsylvania Air National Guard, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. As Commander, he administers and supervises the wing and its subordinate units; ensures combat readiness in the mobilization missions of units under his command; and is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Air National Guard base at the Pittsburgh International Airport.

This panel of experts will discuss their first-hand knowledge of the challenges, innovations, successes, and lessons learned from Operation Tomodachi and Operation Odyssey Dawn/Unified Protector. 

 Click here for the full agenda >>

2011 Air & Space Highlights: Head of NASA Joins Line-Up

AFA is pleased to announce Charles Bolden, the current Administrator of NASA, has joined the line-up of speakers at AFA’s 2011 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition, to be held September 19 - 21, 2011, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, just across the river from Alexandria and minutes from downtown Washington, DC. 

 

AFA’s annual Air & Space Conference brings together senior Air Force leadership, industry experts, academia and current aerospace specialists from around the world to discuss the current issues and challenges facing America and the aerospace community.

 

Bolden had a 34-year career with the Marine Corps, which includes his 14 years as a member of NASA's Astronaut Office. As a naval aviator, Bolden flew more than 100 combat missions in North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, while stationed in Namphong, Thailand, from 1972-1973. As an astronaut, he has traveled to orbit four times aboard the space shuttle from 1986-1994, commanding two of the missions. His flights included deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope and the first joint U.S.-Russian shuttle mission.

Bolden was appointed as the twelfth Administrator of NASA on July 17, 2009. As the highest-ranked official of the U.S.’s space agency, he leads the NASA team and manages its resources to advance the agency's missions and goals. 

This year’s Air & Space Conference boasts more than 50 sessions and an expo floor displaying the latest advancements in air and space technology. Other guest speakers will include the Secretary of the Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force. 

For a full list of speakers, go here.

Be a part of AFA’s premier national forum for aerospace professionals. Registration details can be found at here!

 

Also, don’t forget to join in on the discussion online! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Make sure to include the hashtag #afaairspace.

2011 Air & Space Highlights: V-22 Osprey

In July 1992, a leaking gearbox led to a fire in a pre-production V-22, causing the aircraft to drop into the Potomac River killing all seven on board and grounding the aircraft for 11 months.In April 2000, a V-22 filled with 19 Marines to simulate a rescue, attempted to land in Arizona, stalled when its right rotor entered vortex ring state, rolled over, crashed, and exploded, killing all on board. Then a malfunctions in December 2000 caused the V-22 to fall 1,600ft in North Carolina, killing all four aboard, raising the death toll to 30.

But the Marines still refused to abandon it. When they decided to buy a helicopter-airplane hybrid "tiltrotor," they saw it as their dream machine. Many predicted the tiltrotor would reshape civilian aviation and the Marines saw it as key to their very survival. 

Richard Whittle's enthralling narrative reveals how a venerable aviation dream transformed into a nightmare. Whittle began covering the V-22 Osprey program in 1984 as the Pentagon correspondent for The Dallas Morning News. Based on hundreds of interviews, extensive research, first hand flights, and an "embedding" on the first Osprey combat tour in Iraq, Whittle's book, The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey provides impressive insight into the story of the revolutionary tiltrotor troop transport flown by the Marines and Air Force Special Operations Command. 

A U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 prepares
to land aboard USS Nassau in 2008.

The V-22 began as a multiservice project in 1982 but suffered a series of dramatic setbacks that nearly killed it. By the time the Osprey went into service, its development had taken 25 years and billions over budget. Whittle’s book, praised by military and other reviewers as a skillful depiction of the Osprey’s tortured journey through the labyrinthine defense acquisition process, is captivating narrative explaining how the Marine Corps defied a sitting defense secretary and shrill media coverage to keep the Osprey alive, and why the tiltrotor still might revolutionize civilian aviation. 

Books can be purchased when you register for the conference or on-site in AFA’s Booth on the exhibit floor during the conference! Whittle will be speaking Tuesday, September 20 at the 2011 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition.

2011 Air & Space Highlights: Colonel DeBellevue, Air War over Vietnam

Capt. Charles B. DeBellevue.
(Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force)

While flying during the Vietnam War, Chuck DeBellevue became the first Air Force Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) to become a flying "Ace".

Colonel Charles “Chuck” DeBellevue logged over 550 combat hours while flying 220 combat missions during his combat tours – 96 of those missions were over North Vietnam alone. He is credited with the destruction of six North Vietnamese jet fighters in aerial combat (four MiG-21s and two MiG-19s) – the most earned by any U.S. aviator during the Vietnam War.

Join us at this year’s Air & Space Conference and Technology Expo, where you’ll get to hear from veterans who’ve left their marks on history. In a session titled “Air War over Vietnam”, DeBellevue will highlight how the US operated on a daily basis in the area in and around Hanoi, North Vietnam; how they trained for the air to air missions; how they flew into the most heavily defended area of the world; and the results achieved.

Colonel DeBellevue was born Aug 15, 1945, in New Orleans, LA. He earned a B.S. in Physics with a minor in Math from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1968 and a Master of Business Administration degree from Chapman College in 1979.  He is also a graduate of Squadron Officer School, Armed Forces Staff College and the Air Force and Army War Colleges.

Commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1968, Colonel DeBellevue attended undergraduate navigator training at Mather Air Force Base, CA, graduating in 1969.  He later was assigned to the 555^th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand in October 1971, where he was an Instructor Weapon Systems Officer, served as a Laredo High Speed Forward Air Controller and was a lead crew for MIGCAP Air-to-Air missions during Linebacker I.  He went on to be the leading "ACE" from the war in Southeast Asia and was awarded the MacKay Trophy for the most notable aerial achievement in 1972.

Capts. Steve Ritchie (left) and Charles DeBellevue prepare for a mission in their F-4 Phantom.

After graduating from undergraduate pilot training in November 1973, Colonel DeBellevue flew with the 8^th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Holloman Air Force Base (AFB), NM and was an Instructor Pilot with the 43^rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Elmendorf AFB, AK.  He later went on to become Chief of Staff of the Air Force Flight Test Center (in 1991), followed shortly by command of the 95^th Air Base Wing at Edwards AFB a position he held for over three years. While the Commander of the 95^th Air Base Wing, he was in charge of all Air Force support involved in over 20 Space Shuttle recoveries. Colonel DeBellevue’s final assignment was as the commander of AFROTC Detachment 440 at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Catch Colonel DeBellevue on Tuesday, September, at 1:15pm! But remember, at AFA's Air & Space Conference and Technology Expo, you can choose from more than four dozen conference addresses, forums and workshops. Besides being the perfect venue for professional development, its a great opportunity to engage in open dialogue on important national defense issue. Don't forget to register early!

2011 Air & Space Highlights: Anniversary Dinner

The Air Force is the youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces, but with a rich history. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. In honor of the Air Force’s anniversary, AFA’s Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition always concludes this premier fall symposium with a celebration!

It was on August 1, 1907, the U.S. Army Signal Corps formed an Aeronautical Division – three-and-a-half years after the Wright brothers flew the world's first powered airplane at Kitty Hawk. Early Army Airmen experimented with various aircraft over the years and ultimately formed an operational unit, the 1st Aero Squadron, in December 1913.

On July 18, 1914, the Army established the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps to develop its novice flying capabilities. But by April 1917, when the U.S. entered World War I on the side of the Allied Powers, each of the major combatants had developed aircraft industries far superior. As a result to the U.S.’s shortcoming, President Woodrow Wilson created the Army Air Service and placed it directly under the War Department on May 24, 1918. 

 It wasn’t until World War II, however, that the Air Force came of age. After September 1939, when Adolf Hitler launched World War II by invading Poland, the Air Corps began a steady growth from 26,000 personnel and fewer than 2,000 planes. On June 20, 1941, the Department of War created the Army Air Forces (AAF) as its aviation element and shortly thereafter made it coequal to the Army Ground Forces. 

Under the leadership of Gen. Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, the Army Air Forces oversaw mobilization of the nation's aviation industry and deployment of the largest air armada of all time. By the last year of the war, the quantity and quality of AAF aircraft and Airmen dominated the skies over both Germany and Japan. 

Following World War II, and based on the AAF's wartime achievements and future potential, the U.S. Air Force won its independence as a full partner with the Army and the Navy on September 18, 1947. 

The Air Force Anniversary Dinner is a black-tie/mess dress event commemorating the journey of the nation’s youngest force. During the celebration, we recognize the year's national aerospace award winners and honor individuals and legendary units for their contributions to the Air Force's history and success. This event serves as a great platform to acknowledge the sacrifices and contributions of the many fallen heroes, and commend the Air Force as it continues to deliver global reach, global power and global vigilance to protect American citizens and allies.

WASPs receiving Lifetime Achievement Award
at AFA's 2010 Air Force Anniversary Dinner

For tickets and more information on the Anniversary Dinner, click here.