Popular for being the second-largest military branch with over 300,000 active members, the US Air Force has been quite the match to be reckoned with since its inception in 1947. This article discusses a couple of things that are not known by many about the US Air Force. The men and women who fly the Air Force flag do more than help and protect people, and there is a lot that people don’t know about them.
1. Their Fair Share of Celebrities
While the list isn’t exhaustive, some celebrities are known to have served before they went on to be popular. Perhaps the most popular one was Chuck Norris, who was not only a screenwriter but also an actor, film producer, and martial artist. He was among the Security Forces, which was then known as Air policeman. Ronald Reagan, former actor and 40th President of the United States, was a captain in the US Army Air Forces. Other popular celebrities include Morgan Freeman, Clark Gable, Johnny Cash, Charles Heston, and James M. Stewart.
2. Birthday Partners
The CIA and Air Force share birthdays, as they were both founded on September 18, 1947. After the National Security Act was enacted, the Air Force was separated from the Army, making it an equal branch of the military. Other things that came with the bill included the creation of the National Security Council, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and, of course, the Central Intelligence Agency.
3. Supercomputer Out of PS3s?
Yep, the Air Force is responsible for the 33rd fastest computer in the world, and interestingly enough, they made it out of around 1700 PlayStation consoles. The computer was unveiled back in December 2010 and was known as the “Condor Cluster.” It was housed in Rome, New York, for those of you who are curious about the location. It took approximately 2 million dollars to make and has the potential for 500 trillion floating point operations per second.
4. They Shoot Music Videos
You’d probably be shocked to hear that the Air Force has several bands and a YouTube channel where they post their music. Music is naturally considered a part of military life. It’s, therefore, not a surprise that the USAF recruits musicians and singers to entertain and inspire them and the general public.
5. They Use Cyber Weapons
Their mission is to fly, fight, and win both in space, air, and cyberspace. Although they do have rockets, missiles, and planes, they still need decent cyber weapons. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center put out a technology that puts them ahead in terms of employing cyberspace capabilities in terms of destruction, denying, degrading, disrupting, deceiving, and corrupting the enemy’s ability to use cyberspace to their advantage.
6. Tracking Santa
Among the many cool jobs they have, Air Force members track Santa Claus trekking the globe throughout Christmas Eve. Thanks to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the NORAD Tracker is live every December to monitor his movements. So, while it’s not the Air Force specifically, NORAD, which includes elements of the Air Force, does indeed track Santa as part of its holiday tradition.
Conclusion
The Air Force does so much more than most people give them credit for. If you are looking to join them shortly, we hope these fun facts give you a hint about what their work is like. Besides flying jets, there are so many other opportunities in the field, from nursing to intelligence, medicine, and health.
