This is a great year for the United States Air Force -- a golden anniversary, marking 50 years of service to the country. I am glad to be here with you, to tell a small part of the Air Force story.

We've been celebrating throughout the year. We've been recounting our "golden legacy," and we've been aiming high, setting our sights to a "boundless future."

Our legacy dates back to early aviation pioneers; people who believed man could soar with the birds. As early as 1898, the government granted $50,000 to study professor Samuel Langley's steam-powered airdrome. Unfortunately his experiments, launched in 1903, failed dismally, with one plunging into the Potomac River.

After the press criticized the military's decision with Langley, Army officers rejected letters from Orville and Wilbur Wright and refused to entertain the "folly" of air machines.

It was a small victory for aviation proponents in 1907, when the Army Signal Corps finally released the specifications for an air machine. It had to fly faster than 40 miles an hour, remain aloft for at least one hour, carry a two-person crew and be transported in a mule-driven wagon.

The Wright brothers' bid was the most promising, and they presented their aircraft for testing. A series of setbacks hampered progress; including the first death in military air history -- passenger Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge. However, the Army finally accepted its first flying machine and the Aeronautical Division of the Signal Corps was born.

In 1909, Lieutenant Benjamin Foulois (pronounced fa-LOY) climbed aboard a bi-wing Wright Flyer without Orville or Wilbur as pilot. It was the final test flight of the first military aircraft, and a test for Foulois, who taught himself to solo. His seven and a half minutes in the air and safe landing gave the Aeronautical Division a needed boost.

Foulois became an air power advocate. His determination and perseverance focused on one issue -- bringing air power to the nation.

During its formative years, the fledging "air force" depended on the ingenuity of its members, the aviators and mechanics. They learned by doing -- these military air pioneers did not hesitate to experiment with their ideas and concepts -- sometimes causing friction with their non-flying superiors.

During the early 1900s, technological developments of the airplane progressed slowly in the United States. However, European nations were arming themselves for war and exploring advancements in observation and pursuit aircraft.

With the war in Europe, American pilots volunteered to fly with the British and in the Lafayette Escadrille with the French before the United States entered the war. In fact, the first African-American fighter pilot, Corporal Eugene J. Bullard, volunteered to fly for the French in 1917. The single-seat fighter became a symbol for air power.

When America became involved in World War I, its air role was very small. The first American unit to see action was the 94th Pursuit Squadron, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker's famed "Hat in the Ring" group.

Another military aviation pioneer, Lieutenant Colonel William Mitchell, emerged as one of the founding fathers of an independent air arm. He had theories about the concentration of air power. During two air attacks, he planned a massive campaign to bomb and strafe supply lines, trains and similar targets.

One was a resounding success, the other less so -- because the German defense responded with hundreds of fighters in the air, turning back the Allied offensive. Mitchell noted that the German air force had applied his own theories to the battle front and declared "... it was indeed the dawn of the day when great air forces will be capable of definitely affecting a ground decision on the field of battle."

After the war's end, then-Brigadier General Mitchell challenged the policy makers of the War Department. He defiantly pursued what he considered the "rightful" place for air power doctrine and the air force. By 1926, he had overstepped the rules of military proprietary once too often, was court martialed and pressured to resign. However, his ideas about war and air power were prophetic and later became official military doctrine.

The years between World War I and II were lean in funds and equipment. The economy was flagging and Americans did not want to spend money on defense -- after all, we had just fought in the war to end all wars.

Intrepid Army Air Force pilots kept military aviation in the news. They gained international attention by setting world records in altitude, distance, speed and load carrying.

When the United States entered World War II, air power theory turned into reality and proved to be decisive, effective and pre-eminent. Army Air Force bombers, gunners, pilots and mechanics were stretched across the globe. They were fighting the enemy, but they were also transporting supplies and the wounded. Before fighting had ceased, it was clear that warfare had changed forever.

The beginnings for an independent service began as early as 1943 with General Laurence Kuter (pronounced COO-ter) as its planner. After the war, support for an independent air force came from General Dwight Eisenhower and other Army senior leaders. They had seen the value of air superiority, and their strong position ensured success despite heavy opposition.

General H. H. "Hap" Arnold is credited with plotting the course for independence and internal reorganization of the Air Force. After the war, Arnold, in his capacity as the commanding general of the Army Air Forces, said a separate Air Force was his highest priority.

He depended upon the skills of General Carl A. Spaatz, wartime commander of the strategic forces, to see the task through to its completion. General Spaatz became the first Air Force chief of staff.

On September 18, 1947, the Air Force became a separate service, an equal to the Army and Navy. Our achievements in air superiority meant the Air Force became the a principal deterrent force in a post-war world.

Our first challenge was the Berlin Airlift. The Soviet Union, United States, England and France occupied Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany, following the war. By June 24, 1948, the Soviet Union established a blockade of land routes into the city. Airlift was the only solution if Allied sectors in Berlin were to survive. Hunger can devastate a city as effectively as any weapon.

Major General Curtis LeMay, who commanded all air forces in Europe, asked a respected authority on airlift, Major General William Tunner, to make "Operation Vittles" work. Tunner set high goals and his personnel met the challenge. Besides food, the airlift brought medicine, coal and other necessities, including the "candy bombs," so popular with the children.

On May 4, 1949 -- after almost nine months of isolation -- road and rail lines were reopened, but the airlift continued through September.

Between June 26, 1948, and September 30, 1949, the airlift delivered 2.3 million tons of cargo, approximately three-fourths of it in American aircraft. American aircrews made 189,000 flights, totaling more than 92 million miles. The operation cost 31 American lives, but it was a victory in the emerging "Cold War" between Western democracies and the Soviet Union.

In the 1950's, Korea, another land divided between the United States and the Soviet Union, faced turmoil. The dividing line was the 38th latitude of parallel, commonly known as the 38th parallel.

Fighting started when North Korean troops, supported by Soviet-supplied tanks, advanced across the line, routing the lightly armed South Koreans. North Korean military planners designed a campaign to control the South Koreans -- not fully realizing they would face opposition by others. Eight hours after the United Nations vote to intervene, the Far East Air Forces of the United States Far East Command, located in Japan, was in action over South Korea.

B-29s bombed military installations, government centers and transportation networks. T-6 Mosquitoes were used as airborne controllers to provide communication links between ground troops and supporting aircraft. And, the Korean War saw U.S. jet aircraft for the first time in battle. Jets conducted interdiction strikes on communication and supply lines, flew missions in close support of U.N. ground forces and provided air superiority.

The Soviet MiG-15 was a superior jet fighter. Nevertheless, Air Force pilots and their F-86s destroyed the North Korean force, knocking out 800 MiGs. An astonishing ratio of 13 to 1, as U.N. air forces lost about 60 jet fighters.

When President Eisenhower called an end to the conflict in Korea and the U.N. signed an armistice, peace didn't reign in the world, only on a single battlefield. Today, this cease-fire is still in effect.

In the 1960's the United States escalated its involvement with Vietnam, another divided land. The country was torn in a struggle between communist North Vietnam and democratic South Vietnam. Another force, the Viet Cong, which was a separatist faction, fought its guerrilla warfare from within South Vietnam.

Air Force involvement started with air commandos training South Vietnamese troops to carry out strikes and in aerial spraying to defoliate areas that concealed Viet Cong. Our involvement quickly changed to flying combat missions. The buildup continued until more than half-a-million Americans served in Vietnam. The war spanned 1957 to 1975, with the heaviest U.S. involvement from 1963 to 1973.

Some 58,000 American men and women died and nearly 365,000 were wounded. South Vietnamese deaths topped one million and North Vietnamese losses ranged between 500,000 and one million.

Developments in air power saw fighters like the F-111 and F-4 Phantom take to the sky. For close air support missions, the Air Force developed gunships to supplement the fighters by converting cargo planes. These gunships were fitted with side-firing weapons so they could circle a target and strafe it with high-caliber rounds.

The backbone of deterrence -- the B-52 -- became a warhorse. The bomber regularly dropped high explosives on massed enemy troops, supply depots and other logistical targets.

Political restrictions on military tactics in the air and on the ground hindered U.S. troops from achieving victory. However, the war made possible both the development of advanced weapons systems and the tactics to use them.

In October 1983, a number of Caribbean nations asked for American help when they feared the island of Grenada would be used to support terrorism throughout South America after a communist takeover.

Operation Urgent Fury was a positive demonstration of military capability and credibility. President Ronald Reagan bolstered the resolve of the United States to combat both communism and terrorism by ordering the liberation of Grenada. Another part of the mission was the rescue of American students from St. George's Medical University.

The multinational force -- soldiers from six other Caribbean nations took part -- moved quickly to take major objectives, especially the Port Salines airport. The night skies were filled with U.S. Army Rangers being airdropped by Air Force C-130 aircraft, flying low and slow. When the unarmed aircraft and the Rangers met heavy ground and anti-aircraft fire, the formidable firepower of the AC-130 gunship saved the mission. Once the airport was in control, transport aircraft brought the multinational force onto Grenada. They airlifted the students -- who thanked the aircrews and Rangers over and over again -- back to the United States.

After a few days, they had Grenada in complete control. By December 15, all U.S. troops had pulled out of the country.

Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990, the United States initiated Operation Desert Shield, the buildup of forces from 28 countries. On January 17, 1991, Operation Desert Storm began with coalition aircraft attacking Saddam Hussein's forces in Iraq and Kuwait. It was one of the largest air campaigns since World War II.

Tankers refueled bomber and fighter strike aircraft outside enemy radar range. E-8A Joint Stars, TR-1s and U-2s provided reconnaissance to locate enemy targets. Then Air Force A-10, B-52, F-15, F-16 and F-111 aircraft as well as other U.S. and coalition aircraft came to destroy those targets. F-117 stealth fighters delivered laser-guided bombs over Baghdad, Iraq's capital city, with "surgical precision." All communications emanating from Baghdad were jammed by sophisticated EC-130H aircraft.

Maintainers kept the aircraft flying, despite the high operations tempo under hostile weather conditions. The coalition air campaign averaged more than 2,500 sorties a day which is a tribute to the pilots and those who maintained the planes.

The coalition had the ultimate in air superiority, they had air dominance. The Iraqis couldn't communicate with each other, and their defensive mechanisms were destroyed. The United States was able to launch the campaign we wanted to fight and control of the air provided air, land and sea forces with total freedom of movement.

This demonstration of air power with unsurpassed air dominance allowed President George Bush to declare a cease-fire February 28 -- after only 42 days of bombing missions and only 100 hours of ground operations.

Desert Storm was also the first "space war," in which the United States used satellites for intelligence gathering, weather reports and positioning troops. The combination of air and space superiority by the Air Force helped to prevent American casualties which were lower than in any previous conflict. Overall, enemy fire killed 113 U.S. troops and wounded 395.

Most of the Air Force's contingencies since Desert Storm have been humanitarian airlifts. These airlifts are for peace but they show our adversaries our rapid global mobility -- when a big cargo plane, such as a C-5, C-141 or C-17 arrives with the American flag on the tail, they not only represent America, they are America. They also show our nation's commitment, strength and reach.

One of the first airlifts brought relief to citizens of Iraq. Kurds in Northern Iraq revolted against Saddam Hussein about a month after his defeat in Desert Storm. When the Iraqi Army suppressed the rebellion, more than 500,000 Kurds fled to the Turkish border. The United States initiated Operation Provide Comfort in April 1991 to bring relief to the refugees. Provide Comfort sustained hundreds of thousands of Kurdish refugees with more than 64,000 sorties since its inception and continues today as Operation Northern Watch.

In mid-1992 an ethnic war erupted in Bosnia. By July, the United States and 20 other nations began Operation Provide Promise to airlift food and medical supplies to the people of Sarajevo and other parts of Bosnia. During some months, 85 percent of the aid reaching the city came via airlift. Provide Promise became one of the longest humanitarian airlifts in history, lasting three-and-a-half years as it surpassed the Berlin Airlift by 785 days. Americans flew 4,597 of the 12,950 sorties which delivered more than 161,600 tons of supplies.

The humanitarian airlift and the enforcement of the no-fly zone helped reduce the death rate among Bosnians and stopped the conflict from spreading.

Several natural disasters have also prompted Air Force relief efforts: cyclones in Bangladesh; the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines; famine in Africa; hurricanes in Florida and the Virgin Islands; typhoons in Hawaii and Guam; floods in the American midwest; and forest fires in the western United States.

All of these events prove that our leaders of the past 50 years succeeded in building the world's most respected air and space force. We've come full circle. When the Air Force became a separate service 50 years ago, the first major milestone was a humanitarian mission: the Berlin Airlift. Today, we continue that tradition by helping people all over the world.

There are 754,000 people who make the Air Force the world’s premier air and space force. Our "total force" includes 380,000 people on active duty, 188,000 in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, and 186,000 civilian employees. We have the world's best air and space force because of our strongest asset, our people. Air Force people today are the best educated, most intelligent, innovative and motivated people we've ever had in the Air Force. For example, 99 percent our enlisted force have a high school education (or equivalent) and 81 percent have some college; and 56 percent of our officers have an advanced or professional degree.

To ensure we keep these quality people, our senior Air Force leaders are committed to providing our members with the best quality of life, and ensuring our people have the opportunity to realize their full potential. In turn, our people ensure we maintain Air Force readiness at the highest possible level.

Air Force people serve proudly as part of America’s joint military team throughout the United States and around the world. Despite the drawdown of our military, the Air Force continues to serve this nation and the causes for which it stands.

Our people are committed to the service’s core values, the standards we use to guide our efforts. Integrity, service above self and excellence in all we do are stressed at all levels. Senior Air Force leaders have established personal values, professionalism, demanding standards and accountability as the foundation for our people’s vision of the future.

We take pride in our heritage, as we celebrate our 50th year as an independent service. We take pride in our achievements. We're moving ahead.

As part of America's military forces, we will be engaged around the world to deter conflict. If deterrence fails, then we clearly must have the forces to defeat any potential adversary. Air dominance is the force necessary to ensure victory.

With the development of the F-22 Raptor, we have the ability to gain complete air dominance. The F-22's stealth, supercruise capability and integrated avionics make it the air superiority aircraft of the future.

In another modernization program, we are upgrading our strategic lift capabilities with the C-17. And, the B-2 stealth bomber allows us to achieve global attack and precision engagement.

With air and space superiority, information superiority and rapid global mobility, which are among our core competencies, your Air Force is ready to take the challenge of defending America's interests into the 21st century.