Moving forward in the Air Force Published Sept. 25, 2015 By Airman 1st Class Malcolm Mayfield F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- The Cheyenne Cowboy Chapter 357 of the Air Force Association hosted a celebration of the Air Force's 68th anniversary, September 19, for several dozen military members, civic leaders and retirees at the Cheyenne Holiday Inn. During the event, Col. Stephen Kravitsky, 90th Missile Wing commander, gave a speech in honor of the Air Force's birthday. "Sixty-eight years ago, Congress established our Air Force as an independent service and over the past seven decades, American Airmen built a heritage of excellence, innovation and embarked on a continued journey to reach beyond our limits." Kravitsky said. Through the 1960s the Air Force continued to improve and update its aircraft, while also enhancing space launch and ballistic missile capabilities, he said. "When you compare the age of our Air Force to that of the Army, Navy or Marine Corps, all about 240 years old, our Air Force is relatively young," he said. "However, it is not about counting the years we have been a service, it's about how we made those years count for our nation and how we will continue to dominate in air, space and cyberspace today and into the future. To understand today's Air Force we need to know its history, and especially our recent history, he said. "Today the Air Force remains fully engaged against the threat of the self-proclaimed Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria," Kravirtsky said. "Simultaneously, we provide air and space superiority, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, our nuclear forces and command and control." Since its inception the Air Force has constantly changed over the years, however, the demand put on it has constantly increased, he said. "Everyone wants more Air Force, and we've never been busier in our history," he said. "Right now our future is our nuclear enterprise, our cyber and space forces, enhancing the Reserve and National Guard and continuing to improve our ability to collect, analyze and disseminate ... information." As Kravitsky spoke of the future of the Air Force, his focus shifted toward the nuclear enterprise. "Closer to home, we are very excited by a potential upgrade to the UH-1N Huey helicopter and what that will mean for our ability to provide security and support to the missile field; and, in those missile fields, we hope to have a new system in the coming years," he said. Kravitsky gives credit to the generations of Airmen in the Air Force for the organizations current status. "But what will make our Air Force truly great in the future is not the technology or the equipment," Kravitsky said. "It's the 660,000 remarkable members of our total Active Duty, Guard, Reserve and Civilian force. Our people are the reason why we have been, are, and will continue to be the world's greatest Air Force. Their dedication and success is why we get to celebrate today!"