AFA IN ACTION: Deptula, Chilton Earn AFHF Lifetime Honors

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.

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, was awarded the Gen. Carl “Tooey” Spaatz Award for his lifetime contributions to Air Force history, including authoring the seminal Air Force White Paper, “Global Reach—Global Power,” and his instrumental role in planning the air campaign in Operation Desert Storm and the concept of “effects-based operations.”

Retired Air Force Gen. Kevin P. “Chili” Chilton, the Explorer Chair for the Mitchell Institute’s Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence, received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award for Space, for a career that included being a NASA astronaut, commander of Air Force Space Command, and commander of U.S. Strategic Command. Chilton’s career also included a historic return to Air Force service after 11 years at NASA, which amounted to a policy shift when he made that move.

“Airpower has always been more than just a strategic tool,” Deptula said. “It embodies innovation, agility, and the ability to shape outcomes at the speed of relevance.”

Capturing and studying airpower history, he added, is essential in order to ensure future generations learn from it. “The voices captured in oral histories and the hard-earned lessons of those who came before us are not just artifacts of a bygone era,” Deptula said. “They are fuel for the future.”

Chilton reflected on his return to active duty after 11 years at NASA and the leaders who supported him, including then-Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald Fogleman.

“I’m deeply grateful for their willingness to literally take a chance on a guy they knew nothing about,” Chilton said. “I like to say I was kind of like ‘Encino Man.’ I’d been freeze-dried in NASA for 11 years and then came back to the United States Air Force. Quite frankly, I was a little concerned that I wouldn’t be able to catch back up.”

The nonprofit Air Force Historical Foundation was founded in 1953 by Spaatz and other airpower pioneers to preserve and promote Air Force heritage, and since the Space Force’s founding in 2019, has also been dedicated to preserving Space Force history through publications, events, and other activities. Learn more about the Air Force Historical Foundation’s award winners here: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-historical-foundation-reveals-winners-of-prestigious-awards/?.