United States Air Force

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. The USAF originated in 1907 as part of the United States Army. It underwent several transformations and reorganizations before becoming an entirely separate branch by legislative act in 1947.

The highest official of the USAF is the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, a position subordinate to the Secretary of Defense. The highest military official is the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, who serves as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Literary Comment
As many Harry Turtledove works are set before 1947, or have Points of Divergence before 1947, the USAF may not exist in its OTL form in a number of works.

United States Air Force in "Getting Real"
Despite sufficiently advanced aircraft, such as the F-27 Strike Peregrine, the United States Air Force was completely defeated in its few sorties during the Sino-American War of 2117. The Chinese use of the hallucinogenic "Real" was more than sufficient to overcome the pilots and force them to crash.

United States Air Force in "The Road Not Taken"
The United States Air Force deployed F-29s against the Roxolani invasion in 2039, helping to utterly defeat the alien "threat".