Air Force anniversary message
This year also marks the beginning of the commemoration of America's involvement in the Korean War 50 years ago. The Korean War was the first conflict in which our Air Force participated as a fully constituted equal partner with our country's Army and Navy.
Noteworthy for tanker and airlift crews, in particular, were several key developments --- efforts which set the foundation for several of the air mobility core competencies our Air Force supports today. For example, the skies over Korea saw the first combat air-to-air refueling of an Air Force airplane when, on July 6, 1951, a flight of four RF-80s, flying an extended reconnaissance mission over North Korea, were refueled in flight by a KB-29M.
Additionally, the Pacific Airlift effort ultimately resulted in the longest aerial supply line in history, with air crews delivering more than 80,000 tons of cargo and 214,000 passengers from the U.S. to Japan for further shipment into the combat theater. Finally, in one of our first forays into combat aeromedical evacuation, return flights to the United States carried more than 66,000 sick and wounded, greatly increasing their chances of survival.
From our Air Force's tremendous combat experiences in the Korean War, has emerged today's brilliant force, the greatest Air Force the world has ever known. You -- the more than 140,000 Air Force members of Air Mobility Command and U.S. Transportation Command -- can take great pride in the knowledge that you have participated in the growth and sustainment of that Air Force -- the world's premier aerial organization -- our United States Air Force.
Whether in peace or war, in every corner of the globe, I salute your service to our country. To you who proudly wear the Air Force blue -- No One Comes Close.
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