WEBVTT 00:00.079 --> 00:02.135 Hello , I'm Doctor Michael Sky , the 00:02.135 --> 00:04.135 command historian for the Air Force 00:04.135 --> 00:06.489 Reserve Command . I'm here today to 00:06.500 --> 00:08.930 celebrate the major milestone 00:08.939 --> 00:11.050 anniversary for the Air Force Reserve 00:11.050 --> 00:13.106 Command . Uh Later this week , we'll 00:13.106 --> 00:15.390 mark the 75th anniversary . Of course , 00:15.399 --> 00:17.809 the uh Reserves draw back to the 00:17.819 --> 00:21.100 National Defense Act of 1916 . However , 00:21.110 --> 00:22.721 the Air Force Reserve wasn't 00:22.721 --> 00:25.920 established until April 14th , 1948 . 00:26.489 --> 00:29.180 So this Friday later this week will 00:29.190 --> 00:31.860 mark 75 years as we look back , reflect 00:31.870 --> 00:34.037 upon and celebrate the rich traditions 00:34.037 --> 00:35.981 and , and proud history of the Air 00:35.981 --> 00:36.981 Force Reserves . 00:41.970 --> 00:44.192 Well , the Air Force Reserve came about 00:44.192 --> 00:46.303 uh when President Harry Truman signed 00:46.303 --> 00:48.439 the , the establishing order uh April 00:48.450 --> 00:51.560 14th , 1948 . And the intent there was 00:51.569 --> 00:54.159 to provide an organized Reserve force 00:54.169 --> 00:56.280 for the United States Air Force which 00:56.280 --> 00:58.391 had recently come into being just the 00:58.391 --> 01:00.819 year prior uh but the intent was to 01:00.830 --> 01:03.139 have this reservoir of talent , of 01:03.150 --> 01:05.730 expertise , skill and capability to 01:05.739 --> 01:08.800 augment the Air Force in uh moments of , 01:08.809 --> 01:09.865 of national need . 01:15.730 --> 01:17.786 The most significant contribution to 01:17.786 --> 01:19.952 the Air Force Reserve over the past 75 01:19.952 --> 01:22.008 years has been its steady ability to 01:22.008 --> 01:23.841 provide that , that reservoir of 01:23.841 --> 01:25.619 experience , talent , skill and 01:25.619 --> 01:28.459 capability . Um Right from the get go 01:28.470 --> 01:31.169 in 1948 with the Berlin airlift just 01:31.180 --> 01:33.470 two months after the creation of the 01:33.480 --> 01:35.639 Air Force Reserve through the Korean 01:35.650 --> 01:38.410 War , the Vietnam war through the 01:38.419 --> 01:41.260 operations , Desert Chiel Desert Storm 01:41.269 --> 01:43.325 through the global war on terror and 01:43.325 --> 01:46.269 contingency operations and routine to 01:46.279 --> 01:48.540 extraordinary activities in that 75 01:48.550 --> 01:50.606 years period , the Air Force Reserve 01:50.606 --> 01:52.717 has been able to provide combat ready 01:52.717 --> 01:55.620 forces at a moment's notice and the 01:55.629 --> 01:58.120 separate contributions are too normal 01:58.129 --> 02:00.351 to count to list out individually . But 02:00.389 --> 02:03.260 from my standpoint , the most impactful 02:03.269 --> 02:05.580 contribution is that overall level of 02:05.589 --> 02:08.449 effort to support the the nation's 02:08.460 --> 02:08.919 needs . 02:14.949 --> 02:17.360 I think the primary difference between 02:17.369 --> 02:19.425 the , the originating concept of the 02:19.425 --> 02:21.647 Air Force reserve and , and the reserve 02:21.647 --> 02:23.647 force that we have today is uh as I 02:23.647 --> 02:26.179 said in 1948 the the intent was to 02:26.190 --> 02:28.559 provide some sort of supplemental force 02:28.570 --> 02:30.626 uh to be on stand by when , when the 02:30.626 --> 02:32.848 nation called . And of course , the the 02:32.848 --> 02:35.014 reserve uh citizen airmen did that and 02:35.014 --> 02:36.570 did that very well . It was 02:36.570 --> 02:38.626 demonstrated in Korea for instance . 02:38.626 --> 02:41.779 But today , primarily after uh the 02:41.789 --> 02:43.900 terrorist attacks of September 11th , 02:43.900 --> 02:46.309 2001 and then ensuing global war on 02:46.320 --> 02:49.539 terror , the high operational tempo , 02:49.550 --> 02:51.740 the the demand for the skills 02:51.750 --> 02:55.000 capabilities and the dedication of the 02:55.009 --> 02:58.500 reservist citizen airmen uh have led to 02:58.509 --> 03:01.089 a situation where the reserves are 03:01.100 --> 03:03.119 integral to daily activities uh 03:03.130 --> 03:05.800 worldwide . So rather than being just a 03:05.809 --> 03:08.220 supporting or supplementary force . It 03:08.229 --> 03:10.919 is now uh a force that is very much 03:10.929 --> 03:13.040 involved in planning preparations and 03:13.040 --> 03:14.690 execution on a daily basis . 03:21.229 --> 03:23.399 So the Museum of Aviation does a 03:23.410 --> 03:25.259 tremendous job capturing so many 03:25.270 --> 03:27.492 stories , some of which are , of course 03:27.492 --> 03:29.492 the Air Force Reserve stories . And 03:29.492 --> 03:31.714 we're standing in front of this display 03:31.714 --> 03:33.937 case that uh the museum obviously uh uh 03:33.937 --> 03:36.350 presents for the public uh because his 03:36.360 --> 03:39.559 story uh overlays with , with our own . 03:39.570 --> 03:41.960 And uh as a historian , it's fantastic 03:41.970 --> 03:44.100 to look in at the actual people that 03:44.110 --> 03:46.166 drove some moments of change in , in 03:46.166 --> 03:49.139 our nation's history . Uh Joseph mcneil 03:49.149 --> 03:51.649 as a very young man uh was enrolled at 03:51.660 --> 03:53.509 North Carolina Agricultural and 03:53.520 --> 03:55.919 Technical University and back in uh 03:55.929 --> 03:59.009 February 1960 he and several classmates 03:59.020 --> 04:01.440 decided to take an opportunity to push 04:01.449 --> 04:03.440 for some social change . And uh 04:03.449 --> 04:05.639 February 1st of that year , he and his 04:05.649 --> 04:07.705 three classmates walked into a local 04:07.705 --> 04:09.619 Woolworth and sat down at a lunch 04:09.630 --> 04:12.639 counter and refused to leave until uh 04:12.649 --> 04:14.880 they'd be served . And this was like 04:14.889 --> 04:16.833 one of those catalyzing moments in 04:16.833 --> 04:19.679 history that the idea had , had come 04:19.690 --> 04:21.912 into its own . And the efforts of these 04:21.912 --> 04:24.929 poor brave young men uh took off and 04:24.940 --> 04:27.920 drove uh like wildfire , spread like 04:27.929 --> 04:30.040 wildfire throughout the country . And 04:30.040 --> 04:32.207 rather quickly , other folks picked up 04:32.207 --> 04:34.619 this idea on , on uh pushing change 04:34.630 --> 04:36.859 through uh through sit in protests . 04:37.299 --> 04:40.049 And uh you know , the story usually 04:40.059 --> 04:42.679 ends there . Uh you know , this , this 04:42.690 --> 04:44.579 moment led to all these follow on 04:44.579 --> 04:46.801 efforts and it's great , great moment , 04:46.801 --> 04:49.440 civil rights history . But for Joseph , 04:49.450 --> 04:51.617 of course , the story continues on and 04:51.617 --> 04:53.839 that's the other exciting part of being 04:53.839 --> 04:56.006 a historian is looking at these people 04:56.006 --> 04:58.117 and the continuing contributions . Uh 04:58.117 --> 05:00.283 for Joseph Nail , he was also enrolled 05:00.283 --> 05:02.506 in the R O T C program . And so when he 05:02.506 --> 05:04.617 graduated in 1963 he was commissioned 05:04.617 --> 05:06.950 as second lieutenant into the Air Force , 05:06.950 --> 05:09.172 served for six years in the active duty 05:09.172 --> 05:12.040 forces . And in 1969 began a 32 year 05:12.049 --> 05:15.130 career with the Air Force Reserves . 05:15.140 --> 05:18.510 And because of his exemplary dedication , 05:18.519 --> 05:20.980 passion and and obvious ability , he 05:20.989 --> 05:23.100 rose over time through various levels 05:23.100 --> 05:26.209 of authority uh culminating uh as the , 05:26.220 --> 05:28.442 the commander for the 22nd Air Force at 05:28.442 --> 05:30.720 Dobbins Air Force Base here in Georgia . 05:30.720 --> 05:32.887 Uh and then , and ending his Air Force 05:32.887 --> 05:35.410 career uh as the Mobilization assistant 05:35.420 --> 05:37.309 to the Commander of the Air Force 05:37.309 --> 05:39.420 Reserve Command . And what I think is 05:39.420 --> 05:41.364 particularly compelling about this 05:41.364 --> 05:43.869 story is Joseph , uh when interview 05:43.880 --> 05:46.529 later said that he's often asked while 05:46.540 --> 05:48.950 growing up , why not us ? It was kind 05:48.959 --> 05:51.237 of a call to action . And so of course , 05:51.237 --> 05:53.348 is a , is a call that he carried with 05:53.348 --> 05:55.519 him this key moment in history that , 05:55.529 --> 05:58.079 that sit in in February 1960 but 05:58.089 --> 06:00.260 obviously motivated him and drove him 06:00.269 --> 06:02.690 throughout this important career with 06:02.700 --> 06:04.922 Air force reserves and as a reservist , 06:04.922 --> 06:06.700 he was able to also maintain an 06:06.700 --> 06:09.160 exemplary civilian career . So he ended 06:09.170 --> 06:12.290 a 15 year tour at the Federal Aviation 06:12.299 --> 06:14.299 Administration where he was able to 06:14.299 --> 06:16.940 affect great change there . So we're 06:16.950 --> 06:18.940 standing before General Joseph 06:18.950 --> 06:21.117 mcneill's display case today because I 06:21.117 --> 06:24.049 think it serves as a , uh , amazing 06:24.059 --> 06:26.910 lens through which to look at the 06:26.920 --> 06:28.920 reservist citizen airmen experience 06:28.920 --> 06:31.959 where people have to navigate multiple 06:31.970 --> 06:33.920 worlds at the same time , but are 06:33.929 --> 06:37.640 called on to push change to lead 06:37.649 --> 06:39.899 and to contribute in these many 06:39.910 --> 06:41.188 different capacities . 06:47.399 --> 06:50.519 Well , as a new command has sore in for 06:50.529 --> 06:53.549 me , it's been an interesting process 06:53.559 --> 06:55.730 of the past couple of months . Just 06:55.739 --> 06:57.795 getting up to speed with the storied 06:57.795 --> 07:00.350 history of the Citizen Reserve airmen 07:00.829 --> 07:02.940 that came before me and I'll say over 07:02.940 --> 07:05.369 the past 75 years , looking at all 07:05.380 --> 07:07.730 those contributions through all those 07:07.739 --> 07:09.850 conflicts through all the contingency 07:09.850 --> 07:12.029 activities . Uh And then as I said , 07:12.040 --> 07:15.950 just the daily effort of um uh trying 07:15.959 --> 07:18.160 to excel to prepare to be ready at a 07:18.170 --> 07:20.660 moment's notice uh to constantly 07:20.670 --> 07:22.670 innovate and push change and , and 07:22.679 --> 07:24.568 strive for a better society and a 07:24.568 --> 07:26.779 better world . It has been intensely 07:26.790 --> 07:29.470 humbling for me to just play a small 07:29.480 --> 07:31.510 part in capturing the record and 07:31.519 --> 07:33.709 helping preserve this story as we look 07:33.720 --> 07:36.230 to the next chapter in the Air Force 07:36.239 --> 07:38.461 Reserve history . And I'm uh very happy 07:38.461 --> 07:40.406 to be a part in that . And I think 07:40.406 --> 07:43.040 through how as our airmen continue to 07:43.049 --> 07:45.549 ensure that we're , we're uh combat 07:45.559 --> 07:47.726 proven and ready at a moments notice , 07:47.726 --> 07:50.089 uh at a moment's notice that uh we're 07:50.100 --> 07:52.230 also adapting and innovating and uh 07:52.239 --> 07:54.183 taking stock of the challenges and 07:54.183 --> 07:56.183 opportunities on the horizon . So I 07:56.183 --> 07:57.970 can't wait to see the next 75 years .