Hispanics in the United States Air Force

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Elwood Richard Quesada
Mihiel Gilormini
Salvador E. Felices
Linda Garcia Cubero
José M. Portela
Carmelita Vigil-Schimmenti

Hispanics in the United States Air Force can trace their tradition of service back to the

U.S. Census Bureau the estimated Hispanic population of the United States is over 50 million, or 16% of the U.S. population, and Hispanics are the nation's largest ethnic minority.[5][6] The 2010 U.S. census estimate of over 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. does not include the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico, thereby making the people of Hispanic origin the nation's largest ethnic or race minority as of July 1, 2005.[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. Hispanics, however currently account for a total of 4.9% of the enlisted personnel making the United States Air Force the military branch with the lowest average of Hispanic recruits.

Prelude to World War II

Before the United States entered World War II, Hispanic Americans were already fighting on European soil in the

Bert Acosta (1895–1954).[10]

United States Army Air Forces and World War II

Main article: Hispanic Americans in World War II

When the United States officially entered the war on December 7, 1941, Hispanic Americans were among the many American citizens who joined the ranks of the

draft. Some Hispanics, such as Mihiel "Mike" Gilormini and Alberto A. Nido, served and fought for two different countries as members of the Royal Canadian Air Force and the British Royal Air Force before joining the United States Army Air Forces.[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.

In 1944, Puerto Rican aviators were sent to the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama to train the famed 99th Fighter Squadron of the Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American military aviators in the United States armed forces. Puerto Ricans were also involved in clerical positions with the Tuskegee unit. Among the Puerto Ricans who helped make the Tuskegee experiment a successful one were T/Sgt. Pablo Diaz Albortt, an NCO (Non Commissioned Officer) in charge of the Special Service Office, and Eugene Calderon, who was assigned to the "Red Tail" unit, as the Company Clerk.[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.[13]

The inherent flexibility of air power

Brig. Gen. Elwood R. Quesada

Among the Hispanics who played an instrumental role as a commander during the conflict was Brigadier General

D-Day plus one, and directed his planes in aerial cover and air support for the Allied invasion of the European continent. He was the foremost proponent of "the inherent flexibility of air power", a principle he helped prove during World War II.[14]

In December 1942, Quesada took the First Air Defense Wing to North Africa. Shortly thereafter, he was given command of the XII Fighter Command and in this capacity would work out the mechanics of close air support and Army-Air Force cooperation.[14]

The successful integration of air and land forces in the

landings on Normandy Beach. Among Quesada's many military decorations were the Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster; Distinguished Flying Cross; Purple Heart and an Air Medal with two silver star devices.[14]

Fighter pilots and bombardiers

Lt. Oscar Francis Perdomo

A "flying ace" or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The term "ace in a day" is used to designate a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more enemy aircraft in a single day.[15] Since World War I, a number of pilots have been honored as "Ace in a Day".[16]

First Lieutenant

Okinawa
.

The

Keijo/Seoul, Korea when 38 Thunderbolts of the 507th Fighter Group encountered approximately 50 enemy aircraft. This action was Lt. Perdomo's tenth and final combat mission, and the five confirmed victories made him an "Ace in a Day" and earned him the distinction of being the last "Ace" of World War II. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in action and the Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster.[16]

Lieutenant Colonel

P-51.[17]

Captain Michael Brezas, USAAF fighter ace, arrived in

P-38 aircraft, Lt. Brezas downed 12 enemy planes within two months. He received the Silver Star Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with eleven oak leaf clusters.[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. His last flight in Italy gave air cover for General George C. Marshall's visit to Pisa. Gilormini was the recipient of the Silver Star Medal, five Distinguished Flying Crosses, and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.[19]

Captain

P-51 Mustang fighter pilot. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with four oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.[20]

Captain

B-24 aircraft pilot in the European Theater of Operations with the 506th Bombardment Squadron. He was awarded the Air Medal and two oak leaf clusters for bombing missions before being shot down over Germany in March 1944. Despite head wounds from flak, he made his way back to Allied control.[21]

2nd Lt. González, the first USAAF Puerto Rican pilot

2nd Lieutenant

Operation Husky. During the invasion of Sicily, he flew on two night missions, the first on July 9, where his mission was to release paratroops of 82nd Airborne Division on the area of Gela and the second on July 11, when he dropped reinforcements in the area. 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. González died on November 22, 1943, when his plane crashed during training off the end of the runway at Castelvetrano. He was posthumously promoted to first lieutenant[22]

Lieutenant Richard Gomez Candelaria, USAAF, was a P-51 Mustang pilot from the 435th Fighter Squadron of the 479th Fighter Group. With six aerial victories to his credit, Candelaria was the only pilot in his squadron to make "ace". Most of his victories were achieved on a single mission on April 7, 1945, when he found himself the lone escort protecting a formation of USAAF B-24 Liberators. Candelaria defended the bombers from at least 15 German fighters, single-handedly destroying four before help arrived. He was also credited with a probable victory on an Me 262 during this engagement. Six days later, Candelaria was shot down by ground fire, and spent the rest of the war as a POW. After the war, Candelaria served in the Air National Guard, reaching the rank of Colonel prior to his retirement.[23]

Lt. Francisco Mercado Jr. awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by General Leon W. Johnson

Lieutenant Francisco Mercado Jr., USAAF, flew 35 combat missions as a bombardier over enemy occupied Continental Europe as a member of the 853rd Bomb Squadron, 491st Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. He was awarded the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Cluster and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He flew ten missions as the Squadron Lead Bombardier, and one as the Group Lead Bombardier on December 30, 1944, on a mission to the Railroad Bridge at Altenahr, Germany. On July 21, 1944, he earned a membership into the exclusive "Caterpillar Club" after he parachuted over England while returning from a mission with a crippled B-24.[24]

Lieutenant

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force and shot down a Mitsubishi A6M Zero.[25]

Major Vicente T. Ximenes graduated from Bombardier School at Kirtland Air Force Base as a second lieutenant in 1941. 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. After serving in the war, he became an Air Force flying instructor at the Goodfellow Air Force Base from 1943 to 1946.

Technical Sergeant Clement Resto, USAAF, was not an "ace" but served with the 303rd Bomb Group and participated in numerous bombing raids over Germany. During a bombing mission over Duren, Germany, Resto's plane, a B-17, was shot down. He was captured by the Gestapo and sent to Stalag XVII-B where he spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. Resto, who lost an eye during his last mission, was awarded a Purple Heart, a POW Medal and an Air Medal with one battle star after he was liberated from captivity.[27][28]

Staff Sergeant Eva Romero Jacques

Corporal Frank Medina, USAAF, was an air crew member on a B-24 that was shot down over Italy. He was the only crew member to evade capture. 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. Gallego and his crew flew on many missions from their base in Italy.[30]

One of the first Hispanic women to serve in the USAAF was Staff Sergeant Eva Romero Jacques. Jacques had three years of college and she spoke both Spanish and English. She spent two years in the Pacific Theater. She spent 1944, in New Guinea and 1945 in the Philippines, as an administrative aide. She survived a plane disaster when the craft in which she was on crashed in the jungles of New Guinea.[30]

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947, under the National Security Act of 1947. That same year Quesada was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed as the first commander of the Tactical Air Command (TAC). However, Quesada quickly became disillusioned as he saw how TAC was being ignored while funding and promotions were largely going to the Strategic Air Command. In December 1948, Air Force Chief of Staff Hoyt Vandenberg stripped TAC of its planes and pilots and reduced its status to that of a planning headquarters under the newly formed Continental Air Command. Quesada protested and asked for a reassignment. In 1951, Quesada requested an early retirement from the Air Force.[31]

Among the Hispanics who continued to serve in the newly formed Air Force where Major Oscar F. Perdomo, who retired in 1950, Lieutenant Colonel Donald S. Lopez Sr., who was an associate professor of thermodynamics at the United States Air Force Academy, retiring from the Air Force in 1964.

Captain Robert Cardenas, who piloted 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.[21] In 1948, then-Major Cardenas was the Officer in Charge of Flight Test Division at Muroc Air Force Base and was Chief Air Force Test Pilot of the Northrop YB-49 flying wing.[21]

Colonel Mihiel Gilormini, was named base commander to the 198th Fighter Squadron in Puerto Rico. Gilormini and Colonel Alberto A. Nido, together with Lieutenant Colonel José Antonio Muñiz, played an instrumental role in the creation of the

F-86 crashed during takeoff during the 4th of July festivities in Puerto Rico.[34]

Korean War

Capt. Manuel J. Fernandez Jr.

The Korean War was an escalation of a civil war between two rival Korean regimes, each of which was supported by external powers, with each trying to topple the other through political and guerrilla tactics.[35] The conflict was expanded by the United States and the Soviet Union's involvement as part of the larger Cold War. The main hostilities were during the period from June 25, 1950, until the armistice (ceasefire agreement) was signed on July 27, 1953.[36]

In July 1950, there were about 20,000 Hispanics in the armed forces. Over the next three years, nearly 148,000 Hispanic-Americans volunteered for or were drafted into military service. As in other conflicts, Hispanics fought as members of the Armed Forces.[37]

In 1953,

B-29 Superfortress equipped with an APQ-7 radar
set and a Norden bombsight rate head. This would eventually lead the way to the development of the current techniques of synchronous radar bombing used today.

During the war,

C-131 Samaritan transports. After Llenza retired from active duty he was named Adjutant General of the Puerto Rico National Guard by Puerto Rico's Governor Carlos Romero Barceló, a position which he held from 1977 to 1983. He retired with the rank of major general.[38]

Capt. Manuel John "Pete" Fernandez, was the third-leading American ace in the Korean War. Fernandez had 14.5 kills during his 9 months in Korea. Prior to this Capt Fernandez, who joined the Air Force's predecessor, the USAAF during WW II, was an advanced instructor at Nellis Air Force Base Gunnery School in Las Vegas, NV.[39]

Cardenas was assigned to Wright Field and Edwards Air Force Base testing new fighters and bombers during the Korean War, he was assigned to Wright Field and Edwards Air Force Base testing new fighters and bombers.[21]

Post Korean War

"Operation Power-Flite' was the first round-the-world nonstop flight by a jet airplane.

In 1955, Felices completed the instructor course for the

Air Force Commendation Medal
for landing a B-52 without the right rear landing gear.

Carmelita Vigil-Schimmenti joined the Air Force in 1958 and held clinical, teaching and administrative positions all over the world.[42]

Vietnam War

The war was fought between the

communist North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other nations.[43] The United States entered the war to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment. Military advisors arrived beginning in 1950. U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s and combat units were deployed beginning in 1965. Involvement peaked in 1968 at the time of the Tet Offensive.[44] The U.S. government did not begin keeping separate statistics on Hispanics until 1979.[45] Therefore, the exact number of Hispanics who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War era is unknown. The statistics that were kept by the Department of Defense, in accordance to the Vietnam War Statistics, included Hispanics among Caucasians.[46]

Then Colonel Cardenas flew

Muammar al-Gaddafi the withdrawal of US forces from Wheelus Air Base in Libya. Cardenas retired as a brigadier general in 1973[21]

Major General Salvador E. Felices held various positions within the military. In June 1968, he was named commander of the 306th Bombardment Wing. He flew 39 combat bombing missions over North Vietnam during the Vietnam War in a B-52 aircraft. In 1969, he became the commander of the 823rd Air Division which covered the regions of Florida, Puerto Rico, North Carolina and Georgia. In May 1970, Felices was named Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff at the Headquarters of Strategic Air Command. He was responsible for SAC's intercontinental ballistic missile operational testing programs.[41]

Brigadier General

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. His active participation in the war included 183 air combat missions over North and South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia logging more than 400 combat flying hours in the F-4C Phantom.[47]

An F-86H, one of the fighter planes flown by Colonel Negroni

Brigadier General Antonio J. Ramos, was a lieutenant in November 1971, assigned to the 310th Tactical Airlift Squadron, Phan Rang Air Base and Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam. In August 1972, was transferred to U-Tapao Royal Thai Naval Airfield in Thailand where he was the Base Operations Officer until November 1972.[48]

Brigadier General

C-141 Starlifter aircraft commander and captain at the age of 22.[49] He served at CAF until July 1973, when he joined the Air Force Reserve as a C-5A Initial Cadre at the 312th Airlift Squadron at Travis Air Force Base in California.[49]

Brigadier General

OV-10 and served as a forward air controller. In November 1969, he was reassigned to the 19th Tactical Air Support Squadron, at Bien Hoa Air Base.[50]

Colonel

Hector Andres Negroni, was a captain when he participated in combat missions during the war and accumulated over 600 combat hours. During his tour he served in the 553rd Reconnaissance Squadron stationed in Korat, Thailand and as Chief of Combat Operation in the 7th Airborne Command and Control Squadron in Udon, Thailand.[51]

Brigadier General Carmelita Vigil-Schimmenti obtained a Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1966 and a Masters of Arts in public health in 1974. She attended the Air Force Flight Nurse School, the Air War College and the Inter-Agency Institute. Vigil-Schimmenti served in the Pacific during the Vietnam War. In June 1968, Vigil-Schimmenti, was named the charge nurse in the school health program and primary care screening nurse at USAF Dispensary, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.[42]

Operation El Dorado Canyon

On April 15, 1986, Major

Paul Lorence, were the only U.S. casualties of said operation.[52] Both men's names are engraved in the F-111 "Vark" Memorial Park located in Clovis, New Mexico. Ribas-Dominicci was awarded the Purple Heart and posthumously promoted to the rank of major, effective April 15, 1986.[53]

Operation Desert Storm / Operation Southern Watch

September 11 attacks

An F-16, the type of aircraft used by Lt. Col. Sasseville during the September 11 attacks

On September 11, 2001, United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked by four members of al-Qaeda terrorists as part of the September 11 attacks. The hijackers breached the aircraft's cockpit and overpowered the flight crew approximately 46 minutes after takeoff. 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. The hijackers' specific target was the United States Capitol.[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]

Four pilots were available for the mission and received authorization to get airborne in their fighter jets, among them Lieutenant Colonel Marc Sasseville and Lieutenant Heather Penney.[55]

The mission was to find United Airlines Flight 93 and destroy it however they could. Since the fighter jets were absent of missiles and packed only with dummy ammunition from a recent training mission, there was only one way to do it and that was by ramming the aircraft.[55] Sasseville, flew his aircraft alongside the aircraft of Lt. Penney. According to Penney, Sasseville told her: "We don't train to bring down airliners. If you just hit the engine, it could still glide and you could guide it to a target". He also told her that he would take out the cockpit and that she should take the tail.[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.[55]

In 2001,

Special Access Program (SAP) systems and in the development of new counter-space capabilities which resulted in a more effective counter-terrorism operation across 3 combat zones.[57][56]

U.S. Central Command Headquarters at Qatar

Colonel Evelio Otero Jr. helped establish the U.S. Central Command Headquarters at

Colombian Joint Special Operations Commands while he was assigned to United States Special Operations Command.[58]

United States Air Force Academy

The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA or Air Force),[59] located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, is an institution for the undergraduate education of officers for the United States Air Force. 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. As of 2010, Hispanics made up 10% of the academy's student body.[60]

In 1961, Héctor Andrés Negroni earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering with a major in public affairs in the Air Force Academy making him one of the first Hispanics to graduate from said academy. Negroni was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force and was awarded his navigator wings.[61]

On October 7, 1975, President

Gerald R. Ford signed legislation permitting women to enter the United States service academies. On June 26, 1976, Captain Linda Garcia Cubero was among 157 women that entered the Air Force Academy with the Class of 1980. In 1980, Cubero made history when she became a member of the first class of women to graduate from the United States Air Force Academy. There she earned her BS degree in political science and her free-fall parachute wings. Upon her graduation she was commissioned a second lieutenant.[62]

In July 1991, Ruben A. Cubero was named dean of the faculty, becoming the first person of Hispanic heritage in that position. As dean of the faculty, Cubero commanded the 865-member dean of the faculty mission element and oversaw the annual design and instruction of more than 500 undergraduate courses to 4,000 cadets in 19 academic departments. He led and supervised four support staff agencies and directed the operation of faculty resources involving more than $250 million. Cubero established the Air Force Academy's first Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. On August 3, 1991, Cubero was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.[50] Cubero retired from the Air Force on July 1, 1998. He had more than 6,000 flight hours[63]

United States Air Force's elite Test Pilot School

In 2010, Colonel Noel Zamot was named Commander of the United States Air Force's elite Test Pilot School, located in Edwards Air Force Base, California. Among his duties was to provide program management to eight flight research programs, liaising with international partners, and providing academic oversight for a Master's level engineering program. He created nation's first system for testing complex military systems in contested cyberspace. Other achievements during his tenure include:[64][65][66][67][68][69]

Zamot retired from the United States Air Force in 2012, after 25 years of military service.

Sensitive leadership positions

Brigadier General Carmelita Vigil-Schimmenti

In 1973, Héctor Andrés Negroni was assigned to the 317th Tactical Airlift Wing, Pope Air Force Base,

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[61]

José M. Portela served in the position of Assistant Adjutant General for Air while also serving as commander of the

Storm. Portela retired with the rank of brigadier general.[70]

Lieutenant General Leo Marquez was the deputy chief of staff for logistics and engineering, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. He was awarded a commission through the Air Force Reserve Officer's Training Corps program upon graduation from New Mexico State University and entered active duty as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in November 1954. In June 1979 he became deputy chief of staff for plans and programs at Headquarters Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Marquez served as commander of Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, from July 1981 to July 1983. Marquez, who retired on August 1, 1987, was promoted to lieutenant general on August 1, 1983.[71]

Then Lieutenant Custodio climbing down from the cockpit of a T-38

In 1980, then Lieutenant

Latina to become a commercial airline captain.[72]

In April 1984, Antonio Maldonado was transferred to

K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in Michigan. During the years which he spent there (1984–1987) he assumed various leadership positions: Deputy Commander for Operations (1984), 410th Bombardment Wing; Vice Commander (September 1984)and Commander(July 1985). While commanding the 410th, General Maldonado won numerous top Air Force awards including the coveted Omaha Trophy (best combat Wing) and the 390th Bombardment Group Memorial Trophy (best Wing Commander). In May 1987, Maldonado was reassigned once more to the Pentagon where he served as Chief, Strategic Operations Division, Operations Directorate, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In June 1988 he became Deputy Director for Operations, National Military Command Center, the Pentagon. On September 1 of that same year, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.[47]
In July 1989, Maldonado was named Chief, U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation,
Madrid, Spain, becoming the senior Department of Defense representative to that country. 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. He also provided overall coordination for US offensive operations out of Spain during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.[47]
Brigadier General Maldonado retired from the United States Air Force on September 1, 1991, with more than 4,000 hours of flight, after 27 years of service of active duty service.

In 1985, Carmelita Vigil-Schimmenti became the first Hispanic female to attain the rank of brigadier general in the Air Force and was the first female general from New Mexico. She received her nursing diploma from Regina School of Nursing in Albuquerque. Because of her work on the base, she decided to join the military as a nurse. Vigil-Schimmenti retired from the Air Force in October, 1988.[42]

In 1992,[73] Graciela Tiscareño-Sato became the first documented Hispanic female to earn an Air Medal for combat air operations.[74] A First Lieutenant at the time, Tiscareño-Sato served as a navigator on board the KC-135R aerial refueling tanker, flying dozens of O-1 sorties over Baghdad refueling combat air patrol fighters during Operation Southern Watch upon the end of Operation Desert Storm. This was her first of many deployments and took place before Congress lifted the Combat Exclusion Law for women and before women were allowed to be assigned to combat aircraft.

Tiscareño-Sato was born to Mexican immigrants in El Paso, Texas in 1967 and grew up in Colorado as the oldest of five Mexican-America children. She left her family home to attend the University of California at Berkeley on an Air Force ROTC Scholarship. She majored in Architecture and Environmental Design while completing the Aerospace Studies program required of all cadets. After graduation, she was commissioned atop the Berkeley campanile by her parents, Arturo and Agustina Tiscareño and received a regular commission as an AFROTC Distinguished Graduate. She completed Undergraduate Navigator Training at Mather Air Force base in March 1991, the only woman in her class. 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. As an active veteran, mother of three, she has won six international book awards for her [75] bilingual Captain Mama children's book which she shares with school children and teachers from coast-to-coast. Her Captain Mama books are the first children's books in Spanish and English featuring women flying military airplanes.[76]

In April 2003, Brigadier General Ricardo Aponte became the Deputy Director for Operations, Headquarters United States Southern Command in Miami, Florida. In October 2004, he was named Director, J-7, of the United States Southern Command. His directorate is the focal point for transformation initiatives, knowledge management, experimentation and gaming within the U. S. Southern Command. The directorate seeks out new concepts and rigorously tests them both in simulation and as part of operational experiments. The first transformation initiative was the start-up of the Secretary of Defense mandated Standing Joint Force Headquarters (SJFHQ). The SJFHQ, consists of planning, operations, knowledge management, and information superiority experts who form the backbone of the Joint Task Force command structure in the event of contingency operations. Aponte retired July 1, 2007.[77]

In August 1997, Antonio J. Ramos became the first Hispanic to serve as commander, Air Force Security Assistance Center, Air Force Materiel Command, and dual-hatted as Assistant to the Commander for International Affairs, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command.[48] Brigadier General Ramos retired from the Air Force on August 1, 1999.

Air Force Combat Action Medal

Chief Master Sergeant Ramón Colón-López

Chief Master Sergeant

Air Force Chief of Staff General Teed Michael Moseley at the Air Force Memorial, in Washington, DC.[78] The medal was created to recognize Air Force members who are engaged in air or ground combat "outside the wire" in combat zones. Airmen who are under direct and hostile fire, or who personally engaged hostile forces with direct and lethal fire are eligible to receive the award. On March 11, 2004, Colón-López together with his Advance Force Operations Team and elements of the Afghan National Strike Unit, participated in an operation which required the capture of a high level target and a follow-on site exploitation with the intention of preventing the proliferation of chemical weapons. His helicopter came upon hostile enemy fire, however Colón-López continued on his mission which resulted in the capture of 10 of the enemy and the destruction of multiple rocker propelled grenades and small caliber weapons. 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[79]

National Hispanic Heritage Week

Trend of Hispanic enlistment
(Source: Department of Defense, Population Representation in the Military Services, Fiscal Year 2004; and data provided by the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense).

On September 17, 1968, President

National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 through October 15.[80]

However, the number of Hispanics in the Air Force do not represent their percentage of the population. Today the United States Department of Defense faces a nationwide problem in recruiting men for the all volunteer

Armed Forces because of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet according to the data provided by the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Hispanic recruiting numbers have not increased into that service.[81] Compared with the United States Marine Corps where Hispanics comprise 18 percent of the enlisted personnel, the Air Force Hispanics only comprise 4.9 percent of the enlisted men.[82]

See also

References

  1. Washington, DC
    : U.S. Air Force. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
  2. ^ Hispanic Population of the United States Current Population Survey Definition and Background Archived 1999-02-19 at the Wayback Machine, United States Census Bureau, Population Division, Ethnic & Hispanic Statistics Branch, Retrieved May 21, 2008
  3. ^ "Who are Hispanic Americans?". Fault Line, September 1996. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
  4. ^ "Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin - 2000 Census Brief" (PDF). www.census.gov. March 2001. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  5. ^ "Census: Latino, Asian Population Soars 43 Percent Across U.S. - New America Media". Newsamericanmedia.org. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  6. ^ Ceasar, Stephen (March 24, 2011). "Hispanic population tops 50 million in U.S". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ^ "2005 U.S. Census". Infoplease by U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
  8. ^ "Navy Celebrates Hispanic Heritage". United States Navy. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
  9. ^ Latinos who fought in Spain[dead link]. Retrieved on November 12, 2007.
  10. ^ Bert Acosta, Retrieved December 6, 2010
  11. ISBN 84-7844-138-7
    . p 486.
  12. ISBN 0828320292
    , 9780828320290
  13. ^ "redtailreborn.com at Directnic". Redtailborn.com. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  14. ^ a b c Elwood Richard Quesada: Lieutenant General, United States Air Force. Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved on July 10, 2007.
  15. ^ Aces of the 78th. 78thfightergroup.com. Retrieved on June 27, 2007.
  16. ^ a b 1st. Lt. Oscar Perdomo. Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine Cavanaugh Flight Museum. Retrieved on August 5, 2007.
  17. ^ Correll, John T. The Nation's Hangar. Air Force Magazine Online March 2004, Vol. 87, No. 3. Retrieved on August 4, 2007.
  18. ^ Captain Micheal Brezas. Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine Hispanics in the Defense of the United States of America. Retrieved on June 27, 2007.
  19. ^ "Memories of a Jug Driver". worldwar2pilots.com. Archived from the original on 2007-05-17. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
  20. ^ [El Mundo; "La carrera de Alberto A. Nido en las fuerzas aéreas de los EE. UU.; April 26, 1944; Number 9986., Retrieved December 6, 2010]
  21. ^ a b c d e Brigadier General Robert L. Cardenas Biography. United States Air Force. September 1, 1971. Retrieved on August 4, 2007.
  22. ^ "worldwar2pilots.net" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
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