United States Air Force - 66 years and Counting Published Sept. 18, 2013 By Rich Guinan 97th AMW ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- -- As we celebrate the 66th birthday of the U.S. Air Force, Sept. 18, many may wonder what has really changed. While the National Security Act of 1947 created a separate but equal service to the Army and Navy, the Air Force had been effectively acting as a separate service during World War II and into the ensuing peace. So what changed? Perhaps the change most noticeable to the public consisted of the former Army Airfields transform into Air Force Bases. Then, the stripes on the new enlisted Airmen's uniforms changed first from blue "rockers," to wings with a star in the center similar to those seen on the aircraft and blue like the skies they operated in. However, the biggest change occurred when General Carl A. Spaatz, the first Chief of Staff of the Air Force, reversed the command structure from the "Base Plan," in which the combat commander reported to the base commander, to the "Provisional Wing Plan" where the wing commander was in charge and the base commander provided the support to the combatant squadrons by overseeing the functions of supply, security, transportation, medical and other base operations. As this process evolved, the combat squadrons fell under one group and the support, medical and logistics fell under their own groups, with the wing commander having the ultimate leadership responsibility for the entire wing. As the Air Force aged, the uniforms turned from khaki to blue and duties merged and aligned to best suit the needs of the mission. While some remnants of the old Army-Air Force still exists in the lineage and honors of each unit, the current Air Force structure still flies high towards new horizons. Happy 66th Birthday!