WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio  — The Air Force is no stranger to challenging times. That’s certainly the case today where, in the current fiscal climate, much is outside of our control and we are faced with a great deal of uncertainty. 

As I weigh that uncertainty, though, it occurs to me that our challenges today aren’t so different from those faced by the founders of this nation 238 years ago this July Fourth.

In signing the Declaration of Independence, our forefathers literally put their lives on the line. Reputedly, Benjamin Franklin cautioned, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” All those present signed, pledging “our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor” to an uncertain fate.

Our world today is admittedly more complex, but the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — principles endorsed by those first American patriots — have endured and will continue to sustain us as an Air Force and as a nation through uncertain and challenging times.

As we celebrate this Independence Day with our families and friends, all members of Air Force Materiel Command can be proud of what we do to help those principles endure, by executing our mission of equipping our Air Force for world-dominant airpower.

Happy Birthday, America!