Page 3 - Black History Month 2021 - Combined Special Edition of Aerotech News and Review Nellis AFB Creech AFB Desert Lightning News

New defense secretary arrives at Pentagon

by Jim Garamone the Secretary of Defense Staff, DOD
DOD News COVID-19 Coordinator Max Rose,
the acting service secretaries, the
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin service military chiefs and combat-
III arrived at the Pentagon Jan. 22, ant commanders. The Senate and the
2021, and hit the ground running, House of Representatives waived the
greeting the senior staff and then im- requirement that a defense secretary
mediately heading into meetings on must have been retired seven years
combating the coronavirus. before assuming the position. Austin
The Senate confirmed Austin at 11 assured congressional leaders that he
a.m., EST, in a 93-2 vote. He arrived fully believes in civilian control of the
at the Pentagon around noon and was U.S. military.
“administratively sworn in” soon af- During his confirmation hearing be-
terward. fore the Senate Armed Services Com-
Austin is the first African American mittee, Austin addressed this issue. “I
to serve as Defense Secretary. was a general and a soldier, and I’m
Austin chaired a COVID-19 brief- proud of that,” he said. “But today, I
ing attended by Deputy Secretary appear before you as a citizen, the son
David L. Norquist, Chairman of the of a postal worker and a homemaker
Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Mark from Thomasville, Georgia, and I’m
A. Milley, members of the Office of proud of that, too. If you confirm me, I

DOD photograph by Lisa Ferdinando
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III greets Deputy Defense Secretary David L. Norquist and Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley upon arrival at the Pentagon, Jan. 22, 2021.

am prepared to serve now as a civilian, berg, is proof of the importance Austin Threats from violent extremism re-
fully acknowledging the importance of places on allies. main. Although the physical caliphate
this distinction.” Conquering COVID tops the im- of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
Austin, a 1975 graduate of the U.S. mediate list of missions, but Austin has been eliminated, remnants of the
Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., also must configure the department to group are still dangerous, DOD offi-
retired from the Army as the com- face China, which he called America’s cials have said. Other groups, which
mander of U.S. Central Command in “pacing threat” in his testimony. He share the toxic ideology, exist in the
2016. also must consider the actions and Middle East, Africa and Asia.
In some of his first acts, Austin is strategy of a resurgent Russia. Iran Austin also must keep his eyes
DOD photograph by EJ Hersom
Defense Secretary nominee Lloyd J. Austin III responds to a question during contacting allies and partners around remains a U.S. concern in the Middle on the future, continuing to build a
a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, D.C. the world to assure them of America’s East, and U.S. troops are still deployed department that has the capabilities
Jan. 19, 2021. security commitments. His first call to to Iraq and Afghanistan. North Korea needed to deter any foe and, if deter-
NATO Secretary General Jens Stolten- is a wild card in the Indo-Pacific. rence fails, to defeat that threat.
Pioneer Dale White and the 1939 Goodwill Flight

by Elizabeth Borja Dale L. White’s pilot logbook provides insight them to continue the next day.
Air and Space Museum into the flight. May 8 was a difficult day. First, Though they may have been unknowns to the
they were “force[d] down in Avilla, Indiana, for welcoming Millers in Sherwood or to the people
Dale L. White Sr., was a prominent African six hours due to broken gas lines.” Later that of Morgantown, W.Va., where they were reject-
American pilot, best known for his 1939 “Good- day, White notes that they were “force[d] down ed, White and Spencer’s cause and flight were
will Flight” with Chauncey Spencer from Chi- with broken crank shaft and nose plate” in Sher- well known to the African American community
cago to Washington, D.C., to make the case for wood, Ohio. The Millers, on whose farm they in New York. During their stop in the Big Apple,
African American participation in flight training, landed, greeted them warmly and the aviators the two attended boxer Joe Louis’s 25th birthday
both civilian and military. were guests at the local tavern until repairs were party on May 13 at the Mimo Club.
His flight illustrated the challenges that Afri- complete on May 11. The next day, White and Spencer landed in
can Americans faced in reaching equality and the In the first entry on the second page, White Washington, D.C.. They had scheduled meetings
inconsistency in how pioneers like White were notes in the May 11 “Remarks” section, “Refused with Senators James Slattery and Everett Dirk-
treated. storage in Morgantown landed in Pittsburgh af- sen. But perhaps a chance meeting with then-
Born in 1899 in Minden, La., White moved ter dark.” Without lights on their aircraft, White Senator Harry S. Truman had the most lasting
to Chicago, Ill., in 1930. In 1932, he began his and Spencer followed a Pennsylvania-Central impact. Upon meeting them, Truman reportedly
studies at the Curtiss Wright Aeronautical Uni- Airlines transport to the Pittsburgh airport. This commented, “If you guys had the guts to fly this
versity, the first accredited flight school in the was a dangerous move and the two were fortu- thing to Washington, I’ve got guts enough to see
Midwest to admit black students and to hire black nate that the Civil Aeronautics Authority allowed See GOODWILL, Page 4
instructors. On Aug. 18, 1933, White began his
flight training and he received his pilot’s license
in June of 1936.
For the next decade, White was very active in
Chicago African American flying circles and was
a member of the Challenger Air Pilots Associa- Smithsonian Institution
tion, a group organized by Chicago-area African Portrait of Dale L. White, Sr., in flight jacket,
American aviation enthusiasts. helmet, and goggles. White is best known for
In the spring of 1939, the CAPA and the Chi- his 1939 “Goodwill Flight” from Chicago to
cago Defender, the local African American news- Washington, D.C., to make the case for African
paper, decided to organize a “Goodwill Flight” American participation in flight training, both
to Washington, D.C., to lobby for a change in civilian and military.
legislation so African Americans could join the National Air and Space Museum image
U.S. Army Air Corps. Dale White was chosen secured rental of a Lincoln PT-K biplane, White Log book belonging to Dale L. White (log book #1), used from 1933-1940. This two-page spread
to be the pilot of the flight and Chauncey Spen- and Spencer left Chicago on May 8, 1939, for documents the first leg of his 1939 “Goodwill Flight” (May 8 to May 11) from Chicago to Washington,
D.C., including the stop in Sherwood, Ohio.
cer was selected as the navigator. With a CAPA- their 3,000 mile round-trip.
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