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Air Force Academy: Difference between revisions
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Prior to the academy's establishment, air power advocates had been pushing for a separate Air Force Academy for decades. As early as 1918, Lieutenant Colonel [[A.J. Hanlon]] wrote, "As the Military and Naval Academies are the backbone of the Army and Navy, so must the Aeronautical Academy be the backbone of the Air Service. No service can flourish without some such institution to inculcate into its embryonic officers love of country, proper conception of duty, and highest regard for honor."<ref name="Simon">Steven A. Simon, "A Half-Century of History," ''Fifty Years of Excellence: Building Leaders of Character for the Nation,'' 2004.</ref> Other officials expressed similar sentiments. In 1919, Congressman [[Charles F. Curry]] introduced legislation providing for an Academy, but concerns about cost, curriculum and location led to its demise.<ref name="Simon" /> In 1925, air power pioneer General [[Billy Mitchell]] testified on [[Capitol Hill]] that it was necessary "to have an air academy to form a basis for the permanent backbone of your air service and to attend to the ... organizational part of it, very much the same way that [[United States Military Academy|West Point]] does for the Army, or that [[United States Naval Academy|Annapolis]] does for the Navy."<ref name="Simon" /><ref>M. Hamlin Cannon and Henry S. Fellerman, ''Quest for an Air Force Academy,'' 1974. (ASIN: B00071G1T6)</ref> Mitchell's arguments did not gain traction with legislators, and it was not until the late 1940s that the concept of the United States Air Force Academy began to take shape.<ref name="Simon" /> | Prior to the academy's establishment, air power advocates had been pushing for a separate Air Force Academy for decades. As early as 1918, Lieutenant Colonel [[A.J. Hanlon]] wrote, "As the Military and Naval Academies are the backbone of the Army and Navy, so must the Aeronautical Academy be the backbone of the Air Service. No service can flourish without some such institution to inculcate into its embryonic officers love of country, proper conception of duty, and highest regard for honor."<ref name="Simon">Steven A. Simon, "A Half-Century of History," ''Fifty Years of Excellence: Building Leaders of Character for the Nation,'' 2004.</ref> Other officials expressed similar sentiments. In 1919, Congressman [[Charles F. Curry]] introduced legislation providing for an Academy, but concerns about cost, curriculum and location led to its demise.<ref name="Simon" /> In 1925, air power pioneer General [[Billy Mitchell]] testified on [[Capitol Hill]] that it was necessary "to have an air academy to form a basis for the permanent backbone of your air service and to attend to the ... organizational part of it, very much the same way that [[United States Military Academy|West Point]] does for the Army, or that [[United States Naval Academy|Annapolis]] does for the Navy."<ref name="Simon" /><ref>M. Hamlin Cannon and Henry S. Fellerman, ''Quest for an Air Force Academy,'' 1974. (ASIN: B00071G1T6)</ref> Mitchell's arguments did not gain traction with legislators, and it was not until the late 1940s that the concept of the United States Air Force Academy began to take shape.<ref name="Simon" /> | ||
Support for an air academy got a boost with the [[National Security Act of 1947]], which provided for the establishment of a separate air force within the [[United States military]]. As an initial measure, [[United States Secretary of the Air Force|Secretary of the Air Force]] [[W. Stuart Symington]] negotiated an agreement where up to a quarter of West Point and Annapolis graduates could volunteer to receive their commissions in the newly established Air Force. This was only intended to be a short term fix, however, and disagreements between the services quickly led to the establishment of the Service Academy Board by [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] [[James Forrestal]]. In January 1950, the Service Academy Board, headed by | Support for an air academy got a boost with the [[National Security Act of 1947]], which provided for the establishment of a separate air force within the [[United States military]]. As an initial measure, [[United States Secretary of the Air Force|Secretary of the Air Force]] [[W. Stuart Symington]] negotiated an agreement where up to a quarter of West Point and Annapolis graduates could volunteer to receive their commissions in the newly established Air Force. This was only intended to be a short term fix, however, and disagreements between the services quickly led to the establishment of the Service Academy Board by [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] [[James Forrestal]]. In January 1950, the Service Academy Board, headed by Dwight D. Eisenhower, then president of [[Columbia University]], concluded that the needs of the Air Force could not be met by the two existing [[United States military academies|U.S. service academies]] and that an air force academy should be established.<ref name="Simon" /> | ||
Following the recommendation of the board, [[United States Congress|Congress]] passed legislation in 1954 to begin the construction of the Air Force Academy, and President Eisenhower signed it into law on 1 April of that year.<ref name= aaactsbe>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9G8pAAAAIBAJ&pg=6899%2C3318710|newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington)|agency=Associated Press|title=Air Force Academy Act signed by Eisenhower|date= 2 April 1954 |page=1}}</ref> The legislation established an advisory commission to determine the site of the new school. Among the panel members were [[Charles Lindbergh]], General [[Carl Spaatz]], and Lieutenant General [[Hubert R. Harmon]], who later became the academy's first superintendent. The original 582 sites considered were winnowed to three: [[Alton, Illinois]] (by purchasing [[Principia College]]);<ref>{{cite web |last1=Emery |first1=Tom |title=Air Force Academy in Elsah? When Great River Road was nearly transformed, with help from Charles Lindbergh |url=https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Air-Force-Academy-in-Elsah-When-Great-River-Road-13838371.php |website=The Telegraph |access-date=29 June 2023 |archive-date=29 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629011615/https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Air-Force-Academy-in-Elsah-When-Great-River-Road-13838371.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Lake Geneva, Wisconsin|Lake Geneva]], [[Wisconsin]] (near [[Big Foot Beach State Park]]);<ref>{{cite web |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f034b42a052970d1caad67d/t/5f09e9bbb7e70d0ea187c780/1594485181942/Town-of-Linn.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=Jun 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629011615/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f034b42a052970d1caad67d/t/5f09e9bbb7e70d0ea187c780/1594485181942/Town-of-Linn.pdf |language=en |access-date=4 August 2023 |title=Town of Linn}}</ref> and the ultimate site at [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]], Colorado.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r69aAAAAIBAJ&pg=5821,6251051&dq=air+force+prescott+600&hl=en|title=Prescott Evening Courier|last=Associated Press|date=3 June 1954|access-date=27 Oct 2016}}</ref> The Secretary of the Air Force, [[Harold E. Talbott]], announced the winning site on 24 June 1954.<ref name=ctgasch>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=0klj8wIChNAC&dat=19540625&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington|agency=Associated Press|title= Colorado town gets air school|date=25 June 1954 |page=1}}</ref><ref name=wpofair>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ddB7do2jUx8C&dat=19540625&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=Spokane, Washington|agency=United Press|title=West Point of air to rise on Colorado's rugged land|date=25 June 1954 |page=2}}</ref> Meanwhile, [[Air Training Command]] (ATC) began developing a detailed curriculum for the academy program.<ref name="Simon" /> | Following the recommendation of the board, [[United States Congress|Congress]] passed legislation in 1954 to begin the construction of the Air Force Academy, and President Eisenhower signed it into law on 1 April of that year.<ref name= aaactsbe>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9G8pAAAAIBAJ&pg=6899%2C3318710|newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington)|agency=Associated Press|title=Air Force Academy Act signed by Eisenhower|date= 2 April 1954 |page=1}}</ref> The legislation established an advisory commission to determine the site of the new school. Among the panel members were [[Charles Lindbergh]], General [[Carl Spaatz]], and Lieutenant General [[Hubert R. Harmon]], who later became the academy's first superintendent. The original 582 sites considered were winnowed to three: [[Alton, Illinois]] (by purchasing [[Principia College]]);<ref>{{cite web |last1=Emery |first1=Tom |title=Air Force Academy in Elsah? When Great River Road was nearly transformed, with help from Charles Lindbergh |url=https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Air-Force-Academy-in-Elsah-When-Great-River-Road-13838371.php |website=The Telegraph |access-date=29 June 2023 |archive-date=29 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629011615/https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/Air-Force-Academy-in-Elsah-When-Great-River-Road-13838371.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Lake Geneva, Wisconsin|Lake Geneva]], [[Wisconsin]] (near [[Big Foot Beach State Park]]);<ref>{{cite web |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f034b42a052970d1caad67d/t/5f09e9bbb7e70d0ea187c780/1594485181942/Town-of-Linn.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=Jun 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629011615/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f034b42a052970d1caad67d/t/5f09e9bbb7e70d0ea187c780/1594485181942/Town-of-Linn.pdf |language=en |access-date=4 August 2023 |title=Town of Linn}}</ref> and the ultimate site at [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]], Colorado.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r69aAAAAIBAJ&pg=5821,6251051&dq=air+force+prescott+600&hl=en|title=Prescott Evening Courier|last=Associated Press|date=3 June 1954|access-date=27 Oct 2016}}</ref> The Secretary of the Air Force, [[Harold E. Talbott]], announced the winning site on 24 June 1954.<ref name=ctgasch>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=0klj8wIChNAC&dat=19540625&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=Spokane, Washington|agency=Associated Press|title= Colorado town gets air school|date=25 June 1954 |page=1}}</ref><ref name=wpofair>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=ddB7do2jUx8C&dat=19540625&printsec=frontpage&hl=en|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=Spokane, Washington|agency=United Press|title=West Point of air to rise on Colorado's rugged land|date=25 June 1954 |page=2}}</ref> Meanwhile, [[Air Training Command]] (ATC) began developing a detailed curriculum for the academy program.<ref name="Simon" /> | ||