AFA’s 10 Key Milestones in 2025
December 23, 2025
What a year! Thanks to supporters like you, AFA had a real impact on 2025. Here are 10 ways your Air & Space Force Association made a difference for our Air Force and Space Force family over the course of the past 12 months.
1. An Old Tradition, a Brand New Headquarters
AFA welcomed more than 120 distinguished guests—including Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman and then-Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David Allvin—for the grand opening of our new HQ, celebrated in conjunction with AFA’s annual Doolittle Raiders Memorial Toast. Hundreds more tuned in online, and around the world, with many chapters holding their own Raiders Memorial Toast. Here’s to the Raiders, AFA, and the future!
2. Turning Heads, Changing Policy
With the fate of the Air Force’s E-7 early warning and battle management aircraft suddenly in doubt, AFA and the Mitchell Institute rallied 16 four-star generals— including six former Air Force Chiefs of Staff—to co-sign an AFA letter warning against the move. Led by AFA’s President & CEO Lt. Gen. Burt Field, USAF (Ret.), and Dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute Lt. Gen. David Deptula, USAF (Ret.), the collective action voiced by these experienced leaders had an impact: Within weeks, the House of Representatives voted to support funding for the E-7 program, legislation that has since become law in the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. The E-7 Wedgetail continues!
3. Fighting for Families
AFA rallied in support of Airmen, Guardians, federal civilians, and Families as the government shutdown ground on and some families faced severe financial hardships. In less than a week, AFA members contributed more than $17,000 and AFA pledged thousands more to help fund AFA Chapters’ efforts around the nation, supporting food banks and other quality-of-life projects at Tinker AFB, Shaw AFB, Buckley SFB, Dobbins ARB, Bolling AFB, Duluth ANGB, and many more.
AFA’s United Forces & Families program has more to give. Chapters can apply for $1,000 grants here.
4. Building Coalitions and Influence
The cosigners of AFA’s letter included the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), the Marine Corps Association (MCA), the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS), the Reserve Organization of America (ROA), and Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS). The six associations—representing a combined 1.8 million members—highlighted the impact of the month-long funding lapse across the defense community in the letter to the House and Senate, and during an AFA-hosted press event a few days before the government reopened.
5. “Building Better Leaders”
AFA’s Doolittle Leadership Center launched a new podcast, rapidly connecting with top leaders past and present. Among the first dozen episodes launched in 2025, are interviews with:
- Gen. Anthony Cotton, then-Commander of U.S. Strategic Command
- Gen. Kevin Schneider, Commander of Pacific Air Forces
- Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, USSF (Ret.), the first Chief of Space Operations
- Chief Master Sgt. Tina Timmerman, Command Sr. Enlisted Leader U.S. Space Forces – Space
Watch and listen to all 12 episodes here, or on your favorite platform:
6. Connecting with Leadership
Air & Space Forces Magazine scored the first on-the-record interview with new Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, who laid out his history and strategic vision for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. Interview opportunities like this, along with opportunities to cover invitation-only events, like Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s addresses to America’s generals and to the defense industry, underscore that AFA’s news reporters and products are trusted at the highest levels of government and industry.
7. Notching STEM Records
AFA’s CyberPatriot, the world’s largest youth cyber education program, has now helped prepare 250,000 students for futures in science, technology, engineering and math. Among them, more than 100,000 CyberPatriot alumni have pursued degrees and/or careers in cybersecurity or computer science, helping to reduce our nation’s deficit in cyber defenders by 15%.
Meanwhile, AFA’s StellarXplorers space education program is growing as well, registering more teams for its national space design competition in 2025 than any of its 11 seasons before!
8. Going the Distance
A record 270 riders joined the 350-mile bicycle ride from the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kitty Hawk, N.C., to the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va., this year. Together, they raised $73,000, well more than this year’s goal, for AFA’s Wounded Airmen & Guardians Program.
9. Complex Wargaming
Bringing warfighters together from Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), Global Strike Command (AFGSC), Air Mobility Command (AMC), U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), and Air Force Futures, allied participants from the Royal Australian Air Force, Japan Self-Defense Forces, and also members of the global defense industry, AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies used the wargame to assess how differing future force structures measured up to the demands of peer competition in the Indo-Pacific.
10. Farewell and Welcome
Outgoing AFA Chair of the Board Bernie Skoch completed his tenure as AFA’s 51st Chair of the Board by handing the gavel to his successor, Kathleen Ferguson, on October 1. Under Skoch’s stewardship, AFA membership grew to 130,000 and prominent leaders including former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and former Chief Information Security Officer of the U.S. Greg Touhill to the Board.
Ferguson’s deep roots as a career civil servant, military spouse, and longtime AFA leader, give her an ideal profile to guide AFA through a pivotal era—strengthening the Association’s advocacy, supporting its families, amplifying its voice, and building a vibrant future.