On the Air Force’s 70th birthday, it was an unfortunate case of mistaken identity.
The USAF anniversary Facebook post of Gov. Bill Walker failed the vetting process and featured this, a photo of a Japanese F-15, which was likely a file photo from when the Japan Air Force was in Alaska for training in 2011:
Walker’s communications shop is to be forgiven. After all, the F-15 is moving pretty fast in the photo, and the Japanese are our allies. To many of us civilians, these jets are hard to differentiate.
When Facebook user Jeffrey Pete Peterson pointed out the mistake, the Governor’s Office hastily removed the embarrassing post above and replaced it with this version (and we call on our Air Force friends to identify the aircraft):
The U.S. Air Force celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. From the time that the US military purchased its first aircraft in 1909 up to 1947, the USAF was known by many other names: Aeronautical Section, Signal Corps; Aviation Section, Signal Corps; United States Army Air Service; United States Army Air Corps, United States Army Air Forces
President Truman signed the National Security Act on Sept. 18, 1947, establishing the U.S. Air Force as an independent service.
Earlier this month, Air Force leaders visited Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks with U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan to better understand Arctic strategic advantages.
“We all know Russia is significantly building its military presence in the Arctic,” Sullivan said. “We essentially have the leadership of the US Air Force in Alaska looking at these key issues and developing their own Arctic strategy.”
Sullivan posted this for the anniversary of the Air Force. Did he get it right? Jeffrey Pete Peterson says so.
