Happy Thanksgiving From AFA!

Friends,

In 1863, during one of the most difficult periods in American history, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation designating the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise. He wrote:

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.”

Amazing perspective from a wartime Commander-in-Chief facing such overwhelming difficulties! Lincoln’s sentiments offer enduring encouragement during our own Thanksgiving holiday to reflect and be thankful for our blessings as we gather together with family and friends, regardless of our immediate circumstances.

On this Thanksgiving Day, 2022, your Air & Space Forces Association can count many blessings. It is the honor of my lifetime to serve as the Association’s President & CEO. I cannot thank every leader and member of AFA enough for your selfless commitment and support for Department of the Air Force capabilities so essential to ensuring life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for every American citizen and the security of our allies around the world.

As General Jimmy Doolittle envisioned 76 years ago, today’s AFA, including more than 105,000 members, remains dedicated to our mission to support the defense of our Nation as we further engage with Congress, educate the public, and credibly advocate for our Airmen and Guardians. We are honored to support every Airmen, Guardian of all ranks, in their courage and commitment to pay the ultimate price to keep America free from rapidly growing international threats to our way of life.

We are thankful that AFA now has more members than at any time in over a decade. I am also grateful for our growing financial support from our sponsors, industry partners, and individual donors that will further enable our expanding mission and impact. We can all applaud our professional staff, including new members, the Mitchell Institute’s comprehensive analyses and cogent commentaries, and our STEM programs growing motivational opportunities for our Nation’s future leaders. Our Strategic Communications outreach connects with more than one million contacts every month to tell the world what our Airmen and Guardians do every hour to accomplish their missions.

This past week, we also watched with pride and gratitude as AFA directly supported the Wounded Airmen Program at an event at Andrews Air Force Base. As we spent time with these courageous Airmen and their caregivers, I was inspired by their dedication and resilience.

We can also be grateful for AFA’s new outreach to spouses and family members, including fruitful collaboration with our AFA Chapter leaders. There is no limit to the good we can do when we work together as a team!

In fact, it is a humbling privilege to be surrounded by such a wonderful team of leaders! All our volunteer leaders—including our Chairman of the Board, Bernie Skoch, our Board of Directors, and every Regional, State, and Chapter President—give selflessly to support our Airmen and Guardians and their Families. Likewise, sincere thanks to every AFA member for your countless, selfless contributions as we all look forward to 2023 and a future filled with opportunities to further strengthen our performance in the higher calling of our AFA mission.

The wonderful tradition of America’s Thanksgiving holiday offers our Air & Space Forces Association members a time with family and friends to be thankful for the shared opportunities to serve our country in our proven enduring leadership. May God continue to bless the United States of America.

Respectfully,

Bruce “Orville” Wright President & CEO