US Pacific Command activated the airmen of the 36th Contingency Response Group from Andersen AFB, Guam, sending them to the area hit by the Feb. 17 mudslides to assess the situation for air support. The airmen, who were in the Philippines for the Balikatan 06 exercise, initially were put on 12-hour alert when the disaster struck. Officials say that many of the 36th airmen were among those who provided aid during the 2005 tsunami relief effort.
Happy Birthday US Air Force: 78 Today
Sept. 18, 2025
Seventy-eight years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1947, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson swore in Stuart Symington as the first ever Secretary of the Air Force, and the Air Force officially became the first new military service since the Revolutionary War.