Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, frequent critic of the Air Force’s desire to gain more than 183 F-22 Raptors, on Dec. 2 announced his plan to leave his post at the Pentagon rather than remain on with Defense Secretary Robert Gates under the new Administration. England said he had expected to serve only two to four years, but he wound up still on the job “after almost eight years.” He plans to stay past the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Obama to aid in the transition but gave no firm date.
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.