Hispanics in the United States Air Force

The USAAF was the predecessor of the United States Air Force, which was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947, under the National Security Act of 1947.

[7][8] Hispanics, both men and women, have reached the top ranks of the Air Force, serving their country in sensitive leadership positions on domestic and foreign shores.

[11] Those who were qualified pilots or had received private flying lesson were assigned to the newly formed United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and served as active combatants in both the European and Pacific Theaters of war.

[12] By the end of the war, the Tuskegee Airmen were credited with 109 Luftwaffe aircraft shot down, a patrol boat run aground by machine-gun fire, and destruction of numerous fuel dumps, trucks and trains.

When the war broke out, Perdomo joined the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) as an aviation cadet and was trained to pilot the P-47 Thunderbolt.

[18] Captain Mihiel "Mike" Gilormini, Royal Air Force and USAAF, was a flight commander whose last combat mission was attacking the airfield at Milano, Italy.

[21] 2nd Lieutenant César Luis González, a co-pilot of a C-47, was the first Puerto Rican pilot in the United States Army Air Forces.

His unit was awarded a "DUC" for carrying out this second mission in spite of bad weather and heavy attack by enemy ground and naval forces.

During his tour of duty he flew 20 combat missions against the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force and shot down a Mitsubishi A6M Zero.

During the war, Ximenes flew 50 missions as a lead bombardier in North Africa and was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross[26] for bravery under fire.

Medina explained that his ability to speak Spanish had allowed him to communicate with friendly Italians who helped him avoid capture for eight months behind enemy lines.

[29] When Staff Sergeant Ernest Gallego, USAAF tried to enlist, he was too young and when he was finally of age, he failed the depth perception test and therefore chose gunnery school.

[32] On October 14, 1947, Cardenas was named officer in charge of operations and was the command pilot for the B-29 Superfortress that launched the X-1 experimental rocket plane in which Chuck Yeager became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound.

[43] The United States entered the war to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment.

[41] Brigadier General Antonio Maldonado, who in 1967 became the youngest pilot and aircraft commander of a B-52 Stratofortress nuclear bomber, was assigned in January 1971, to the 432nd Tactical Fighter Reconnaissance Wing, Udon Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand.

On June 8, 1972, he was promoted to captain and in September 1972, was reassigned to the 3rd Military Airlift Squadron at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina as a C-5 pilot.

[42] On April 15, 1986, Major Fernando L. Ribas-Dominicci was one of the pilots who participated in the Libyan air raid, known as Operation El Dorado Canyon, as member of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing.

Ziad Jarrah, a trained pilot, then took control of the aircraft and diverted it back toward the east coast of the United States in the direction of Washington, D.C.

[54] Lieutenant Colonel Marc H. Sasseville, of Puerto Rican heritage, called Brigadier General David Wherley, the commander of the 113th Wing, to get permission to use their "war-reserve missiles.

[55] The fighter jets passed over the ravaged Pentagon building, however it was not until hours later that they would find out that United 93 had already gone down in a field outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all 44 people aboard including the 4 hijackers.

His assignment included multiple trips to the Coalition Intelligence Center in Iraq where he worked on Detainee Interrogation Release Parameters.

Graduates of the four-year program receive a Bachelor of Science degree and most are commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Air Force.

[61] On October 7, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed legislation permitting women to enter the United States service academies.

The Spanish Government presented Negroni with its highest Air Force peacetime award, the Aeronautical Merit Cross for his contributions to the successful implementation of the United States-Spain Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation and in 1981 promoted to Colonel.

[70] Lieutenant General Leo Marquez was the deputy chief of staff for logistics and engineering, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

His responsibilities included providing overall direction to U.S. elements in Spain on status of forces, security assistance programs and other defense and base agreement matters.

Tiscareño-Sato was promoted to the rank of captain in 1994 and deployed all over the globe in both aircrew and liaison officer roles, including working for NATO in the Combined Air Operations Center in Vicenza, Italy during the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict.

Captain Graciela Tiscareño-Sato served until her separation date in October 1999 after completing her master's degree in international business management and opting for a career change into tech marketing in Silicon Valley.

[76] In April 2003, Brigadier General Ricardo Aponte became the Deputy Director for Operations, Headquarters United States Southern Command in Miami, Florida.

In January 2005, after Colón-López returned to the United States, he was named Superintendent of Training and later Commandant of the Pararescue and Combat Rescue Officer School.