[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 25533]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, nearly 100 years ago the 
Department of War made a contract with two all-American men who would 
revolutionize human life as we know it. Those Ohio-born Wright brothers 
had a starry-eyed vision, tenacity, and brilliance that transformed 
their vision from theory to reality when they contracted with the 
United States Army to build a flying machine for the use of the United 
States Armed Forces.
  Since then the United States Air Force has proven that mortals can 
break the sound barrier many times over in heavier-than-air, high-
powered aircraft defying, it seems, the very forces of gravity and 
transcending the previously incontrovertible dimensions of human 
capacity. Even at this very moment, the Air Force is working to defend 
our assets in a new frontier of national security: space itself.
  Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 60th anniversary of the year in 
which the United States Air Force became an official separate military 
service within the Department of Defense. Since then, the ability to 
protect the forces of freedom all over the world through flight in air, 
space, and cyberspace has transformed warfare in a way that perhaps 
only can be truly appreciated by the enemies of liberty.
  Air power was born through the courage and resilience with which our 
noble men and women in the Air Force overcame in the crucibles of World 
War I, World War II, and the Cold War. And today the courageous airmen 
and women of this generation are shaping history still as the enemies 
of liberty feel the just fury of the Air Force in Operation Iraqi 
Freedom. The U.S. Air Force has risen to meet the challenge of 
international terrorism by attaining a new level of technological 
capability to surveil a battle space virtually encompassing the entire 
planet.
  Mr. Speaker, I have the precious honor of representing the Second 
Congressional District of Arizona, which includes Luke Air Force Base, 
a vital strategic asset to our national security and the largest 
fighter wing in the United States Air Force. Luke Air Force Base trains 
over 95 percent of all U.S. Air Force F-16 pilots and over 50 percent 
of all U.S. fighter pilots. The commanders at Luke are entrusted with 
the solemn mission of effectively equipping the Nation's greatest F-16 
pilots and maintainers to be deployed as mission-ready war fighters. It 
is a center and symbol of excellence to the Air Force and a beacon of 
courage, honor, military strategy, and effectiveness for our armed 
services throughout America.
  As the Nation commends 60 years of noble and selfless service in the 
cause of the freedom and security of these United States, it is an 
honor for me to stand here on the floor of the United States House of 
Representatives and thank Luke Air Force Base and the entire United 
States Air Force for their selfless dedication and their commitment to 
the cause of human freedom. None of us can ever fully convey the 
gratitude that we owe to these warriors who have answered liberty's 
call to service and sacrifice.
  So, Mr. Speaker, may I pause this moment and offer my deepest and 
heartfelt gratitude, and that of the entire Nation, to the gallant men 
and women of the United States Air Force who have now, for these 60 
years, borne upon their noble wings of freedom the cause of America and 
the hope of humanity.
  God bless them all, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.

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