Arnold AFB observes 60th anniversary in June

  • Published
  • By Shawn Jacobs
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  AEDC turns 60 years old June 25, and High Mach is planning a series of features to help the center celebrate its years of critical contributions to the defense capability of the United States military as well as commercial aerospace ventures.

President Harry Truman dedicated Arnold June 25, 1951, in honor of General of the Air Force Henry "Hap" Arnold, visionary leader of the Army Air Forces in World War II and the only airman to hold 5-Star rank.

Virtually every high performance flight system in use by the Department of Defense today and all NASA manned spacecraft have been tested in AEDC's facilities. Today AEDC is testing the next generation of aircraft and space systems.

Beginning with this issue, High Mach will feature special articles spotlighting AEDC's various test and business areas, veteran employees, how life on base may have changed over the years, AEDC's remote operations at Tunnel 9 and NFAC and much more.

In addition, the new High Mach feature "Since You Know" gives readers a chance to show off what they know about the past six decades of the base's history. Three winners will be drawn at random from the correct entries and will receive a limited edition 60th Anniversary High Mach hat.

"Since You Know" will continue after the June 3rd issue of High Mach, but the limited edition hat will only be awarded through the months of April, May and June, and only current AEDC employees are eligible.

The June 17 issue of High Mach will be replaced with a special publication that is a pictorial celebration of AEDC's facilities, the programs that were tested and, most important, the people who, for the past 60 years, have used their knowledge, skills and talents to ensure that U.S. airpower is the best it can be.

Public Affairs will also roll out a new Web page dedicated to the 60th anniversary. AEDC history, film clips, photos, stories and base trivia are a few of the items to be featured.

Public service announcements (PSAs) with historical and useful information about the base will also be provided to area radio stations.