AFA Almanac 2023

A year away from its likely retirement—and 70 years to the day after the first U-2 flight—a two-seat version of the Dragon Lady from the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force, Calif., set records for distance covered and endurance on a single mission, demonstrating the venerable type’s continuing capability.

Retired Col. Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, known for introducing the "tap code" by which American POWs in North Vietnam could surreptitiously communicate with one another, died July 6. Harris was brutalized by the North Vietnamese over almost eight years of captivity.

Six former Air Force Chiefs of Staff and seven other retired 4-star generals joined Air & Space Forces Association leadership in calling on Congress to triple the number of F-35A fighters the Air Force buys in fiscal 2026 and to reinstate funding for the E-7 Wedgetail battle management platform that…

A new survey found that military and veteran spouses experience depression and anxiety at two to three times the rate of the general population, with many also reporting difficulty finding community, peer support, and suitable employment.

A new Eighth Air Force Memorial, tucked behind the D-Day landing beaches at Normandy, immortalizes those Airmen in bronze 81 years after they defeated the Nazi air force.

Vietnam War-era veterans from Wyoming took part in “Voyage of Valor,” an all-expenses-paid trip made possible by Wish of a Lifetime and AARP.

The Air Force Historical Foundation honored a pair of storied Airmen with lifetime achievement awards at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center May 22.

A message from AFA National Chaplain Maj. Gen. Steven A. Schaick, USAF (Ret.) thanking past, present, and future Airmen and Guardians.

Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.