The U.S. Air Force

Researched by Thomas H.
2002-03
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What They Do

The Air Force is a branch of the military that protects the U.S.A. by flying active duty missions with airplanes and sometimes helicopters. They also launch underground long-range missiles and use satellites. People in the Air Force work at Air Force bases and can also be working in other countries to protect peace or to fight a war.

Education and Training

The minimum education level to get into the Air Force is a high school diploma, but some areas in the Air Force may require a Master’s degree. The subjects in school you must master to get in the Air Force are computers, science, and mathematics. You also must be older than 17 and younger than 36 to join the air force. Volunteers also must take medical tests and may not be allowed in the military if they fail.

Earnings and Outlook

There are two main groups in the Air Force, officers and enlisted airmen. The ranks for officers from least to greatest are second lieutenant, first lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, brigadier general, major general, and lieutenant general, general, and general of the air force. 

Then the enlisted personal ranks are E-1 (recruit), E-2 E-3 (private), E-4 (corporal), E-5 (sergeant), E-6 (staff sergeant), E-7 (sergeant first class), E-8 (master sergeant), and E-9 (sergeant major).

They earn each month between $874.80 and $2682.00.  Recruits earn $874.80 a month, privates earn $986.70-$1074.90 a month, corporal $1142.10, sergeant with $1262.10, staff sergeants $1440.30, sergeant first class $1658.10, master sergeant $2682.00, and sergeant major with $2682.00.

Pros and Cons about the Air Force

Good aspects about working in the Air Force are that they get fairly good pay. They make new friends. They don’t pay for their housing, food, clothes, and medical care.  They also get a month’s vacation, good training in technology, and the satisfaction of defending your country.

Not so good things about the Air Force are you may have to go to war, might work all day and night. They may not get to see their family for a long time.

Some History of the Air Force

1907: The army put up an Aeronautical Division in an office called the Chief Signal Officer.

1909: The Army bought its first airplane from the Wright Brothers. 

1914: The Aviation area of the signal corps took charge of operation and training in aviation.

1917: The first aero squadron landed in France during World War 1.

1926: Congress made the U.S. Army Air Corps.

1940: President Franklin D.  Roosevelt ordered 50,000 airplanes for the army and navy.

1947: The Air Force was made a separate branch of the military.

1947: Captain Charles E. Yeager flew an X-1 rocket powered airplane through the sound barrier.

1948: The Berlin airlifts began.

1950: The U.S. air force was sent into action in Korea.The first dogfights occurred there.

1957: The air force successfully fired its (ICBM) intercontinental ballistic missile.

1959: The U.S. Air Force academy graduated its first class.

1962: A U-2 reconnaissance aircraft took pictures showing that Soviet ballistic missiles were being installed in Cuba.

1965: Air Force and Navy planes bombed North Vietnam and started Operation Rolling Thunder.

1968: The C-5 Galaxy jet transport, the biggest aircraft in the world took its first flight.

1971: Jeanne M. Holm was the first woman to get the rank of general.

1976: Women were allowed in the air force academy for the first time.

1986: F-111 bombed the headquarters of Libya’s leader Muammar al-Qadhafi.

1988: The U.S. showed its stealth fighters and bombers to be almost invisible to radar.

1991: The Air Force helped get Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.

Best Websites 

Best websites are www.Airforce. Com.

Interesting Facts

A B-2 stealth bomber costs over $1 billion. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Who I Interviewed And What I Learned
I interviewed Major Kevin Patrick Dill. I thought he was a good person for me to interview. He is the air force and is a C-17 pilot and flew a KC-135 in Desert Storm. He flew active duty in missions after September 11th.

I learned how airplanes fly, almost how to fly an airplane, and what the main parts of an airplane are.

Kevin and I had a great time. We went inside a flight simulator and controlled a computer game that you fly a C-17 aircraft all over the world. We also got stuck in the flight simulator for 20 minutes.

I also learned that the air force does not have spacecraft. Computers can be bad because they have so much data it that can be confusing. He also told me some changes in the Air Force are that airplanes are mostly computer controlled and there is not much manual control anymore. He said he liked the air force because you make a lot of friends and you get to travel a month out of a year. 

Bibliography






Dill, Patrick. Personal interview. December 8, 2002.

Ferrel, Nancy Warren.The U.S. Airforce.Lerner Publications COM, 1990.Pp.46, 48,50

Green, Michael. The United States Airforce. Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press, 1998. Pp.23-26.

Wanda, Lagley.The Airforce in Action.Enslow Publishers, 2001.Pp.44

Wayne Thompson .The World Book Encyclopedia, 1999.189, 192.the Armed Forces
 

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