Columbus AFB holds AF 70th Anniversary Ball

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Amanda Savannah
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  More than 400 Columbus Air Force Base members and community partners gathered at the Trotter Convention Center in Columbus, Mississippi, Sept. 15 to celebrate the Air Force’s 70th birthday.

Maj. Gen. Mark Brown, Air Education and Training Command Deputy Commander and former 14th Mission Support Group Commander, was the guest speaker for the ball.

As he began, Brown gave a special welcome to the civic leaders and those in the audience who have contributed to the nation, the Air Force and Columbus AFB. He called for a round of applause for the Columbus AFB supporting community for “75 solid years of support unlike any other in the United States Air Force.”

Brown then thanked those who worked to make this year’s ball happen, and talked about remembering being at Columbus AFB for the 60th/65th anniversary event.

As Brown continued, he talked about different definitions of the word “Airman,” and said there are things in common with the definitions that he picked up on over his three decades of service.

“Airmen are some unsettled folks; they always want to figure out how to do it better, how to do it faster, how to do it with greater effects,” he said.

He focused on the story of the creation of the Air Force Song in 1937 as an example, even before the Air Force was a separate service. Brown shared with the audience how Columbus AFB Airmen today still live true to the words.

In closing, Brown reflected on the last line of the song’s first verse.

“He ends it by saying nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force, and I will tell you that nothing CAN stop the U.S. Air Force,” Brown said. “Nothing can stop the U.S. Air Force in the last 70 years, and nothing will stop the U.S. Air Force in the next 70 years. It’s not likely to change because airpower is written with your story. You are the airpower.”

After Brown spoke, Col. Douglas Gosney, 14th Flying Training Wing Commander, gave remarks about the beginnings of flight in 1903, which led to America’s first Airmen who comprised the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Army Signal Corps four years later.

“Even before the Air Force was a separate service, airpower started here in Columbus,” Gosney said. “Seventy-five years ago, in February 1942, the first student pilots from Columbus graduated the United States Army Air Corps’ Twin Engine Advanced Flying School. Over 7,000 more would graduate over the next four years.”

Gosney then talked about the Air Force’s establishment as a separate service in 1947, and how Airmen today, more than 100 years after we took to the skies, continue to use innovation, leadership and ingenuity to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace. He also highlighted portions of the Columbus AFB mission to Produce Pilots, Advance Airmen, and Feed the Fight.

“I thank you and your families for your service, sacrifice and commitment to the defense of our nation,” Gosney said. “I am humbled and honored to serve alongside you. I could not be more proud of Team BLAZE and it is truly evident that airpower starts here!”

The Trotter Convention Center lobby was lined with a historical display that featured some of the Air Force’s and the base’s key points in its existence and supported the ball’s theme, “Airpower Starts Here.” The event also included a Prisoner of War and Missing in Action remembrance ceremony, formal toasts to leaders of the military services, a ceremonial cake cutting, and music performed live by the 41st Army Band.