Tribute to the troops

The United States of America depends on its Air Force.  Airmen deliver strategic effects at global distances to achieve national objectives that influence world events and defend our interests.  We are part of a joint team that builds and fosters legitimacy in the progress of freedom and liberty.  I am mindful of how much the world has changed during my 36 years of service.  The Wall fell on 9 November in 1989, effectively ending the Cold War.  The World Trade Center towers fell on that terrible 11 September morning, thus starting the Long War.  A strange irony marks the dates of these events and yet testifies to the wide range of circumstances that have shaped the Airmen serving today.  11/9 and 9/11 signal historic events, but also serve as milestones marking service in our Air Force.  They bear witness to the extraordinary dedication, courage, and skill of our warriors who have answered our Nation’s call to the profession of arms.

Thirty-five percent of today’s Airmen joined the Service between 11/9 and 9/11.  The Airmen who served during that period delivered unprecedented power for our Nation.  They served as America followed our Cold War victory by asserting our commitment to free nations with our coalition partners in Desert Storm.  They displayed the might of Airpower in the wars of the Balkans as America backed up our commitment to human rights with our European allies. 

They passed through the shadow of terror while securing the skies above the Middle East as we lost 19 of our own at Khobar Towers.  They generated remarkable Global Vigilance, Reach, and Power even as the Air Force reduced its fleet and its ranks with tapered post-Cold War budgets.  They didn’t sign up for any particular war, let alone one on terrorism; they signed up to serve our Nation come what may.  The Airmen of those years are a tribute to the warrior ethos by serving through 17 years of constant and unanticipated warfare and hardship. We owe a debt of honor to these, the 11/9 Airmen.

Fifty percent of today’s Airmen joined the Service after 9/11/01.  The Airmen who took their oaths since that day are also a tribute to our ethos for they signed up to join the 11/9 Airmen in the Long War.  They signed up knowing our enemy, the challenge, and our commitment to defending our national existence.  Their training, their service, and their focus all concentrate on the clear vision of a terror-free world we long to realize.  They witnessed the victory in Afghanistan achieved by Airmen armed with both advanced technologies and wooden horse saddles.  They generated devastating air and space power as part of a joint team that toppled a despotic regime.  They fight on today with our partners to pacify Iraq.  They are completing the work started so long ago to extend liberty to our friends in the Middle East and secure sources of international commerce and stability.  The Airmen of these years are a tribute to the warrior ethos as they serve to defeat a most determined foe in far away lands who seeks only tyranny and chaos.  We salute these who have joined the 11/9 Airmen to secure our freedom.  We owe a debt of honor to the 9/11 Airmen.

Finally, my thoughts turn to the old war birds, the fifteen percent of Airmen whose service spans from the Cold War to today.  These are veterans of a long history of Air Force service worthy of the highest honor.  They stared down the Communist tyranny that threatened our very freedom.  They built the vanguard of America’s deterrence against any foe who sought to attack by surprise or render our nation helpless.  They have lived through the lean years and the years of plenty.  Their mission has changed contexts, but the strategic intent never changed.  Their careers were marked by uncertainty and revolutions in technology.  Yet despite the uncertainties, these Airmen always delivered Global Vigilance, Reach, and Power for our nation.  To these Airmen, we owe not only a debt of honor, but we owe them the highest tribute for their service as our Nation’s Guardians.

I look back and see the years marked by uncertainty and the completely unexpected theaters in which we fought.  I also look at our world’s challenges and expect a future filled with even more uncertainty and unpredictability as to where and when we might have to fight.  I see one constant for our Service through it all.  Our dedicated Airmen continue to forge America’s strength, ability and potential into the sword and shield that secures our nation and our way of life.  Their efforts from 11/9 to 9/11 to our present day allow us to close the miles to render relief to those less fortunate or overwhelmed by disaster.  The United States Air Force is faithful to a proud heritage, inherits a boundless future and stands ready to defend our nation alongside heroic US Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines.  Above all, we honor the service of these Airmen.

Moseley is the Air Force chief of staff.