The Gathering of Eagles Program is an annual aviation event that traces its origin back to 1980, when retired Brig. Gen.

Paul Tibbets Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. (23 February 1915 – 1 November 2007) was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force. He is best known as the aircraft captain who flew the B-29 Superfortress known as the ''Enola Gay'' (named after his moth ...

was invited to visit the Air Command and Staff College at

Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States ...

to share some of his experiences with the students. Tibbetts' visit became the genesis for Gathering of Eagles. The first official Gathering of Eagles, known at the time as, "Great Moments in Aviation History," was held in 1982 when a small faculty and student group was chartered to develop an aviation heritage program. This initial cadre designed a program encouraging the study of aviation history, and the contributions of aviation pioneers. The Gathering of Eagles program at ACSC at Maxwell AFB, Alabama was started by Lt. Col. David L. McFarland in 1982, and he was the principal advisor of this program from 1982 through 2000. Each academic year, students (with rank of major) could apply and be selected to help plan this annual project, under the guidance of Lt. Col. McFarland and other faculty members. Dave McFarland personally traveled all over the world to meet and invite famous aviators to participate and be honored in the program, and his name is referenced in the annual booklet that was published for each gathering.

Mission

The Gathering of Eagles (GOE) is a year-long program that capstones the ACSC curriculum. Each year, people who have made a significant contribution to Airpower receive invitations to a week-long event to share their personal stories of courage, perseverance, and innovation to the ACSC class and local community. GOE has been an annual event since 1982 and has honored over 450 Eagles including Neil Armstrong, Jimmy Doolittle, Bea Haydu, John Glenn, Curtis LeMay, and Chuck Yeager.

Current Eagles

In Academic Year 2019, the Gathering of Eagles team selected 9 legends in Air, Space, and Cyberpower. The lineup for 2019 includes: General (ret) Kevin P. Chilton, Lt Gen (ret) Frank Klotz, Col (ret) Carlyle Smitty Harris, Col (ret) William 'Hawk' Mol, Col (ret) Walter Watson Jr., Col (ret)

Merryl Tengesdal Merryl Tengesdal (born 1971) is an American retired career military officer who is the first and only Black woman to fly the United States Air Force's Lockheed U-2, U-2 spy plane used for specialized high-altitude reconnaissance missions. She i ...

, CMSgt Don A. Beasley, SMSgt Thomas Case, and Mr. Abe Karem. From 28-30 May 2019, each of these Eagles are being honored at Air University. On May 29th, 3 Eagles will present their story at the

Alabama Shakespeare Festival The Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF) is among the ten largest Shakespeare festivals in the world. The festival is permanently housed in the Carolyn Blount Theatre in Montgomery, Alabama. ASF puts on 6-9 productions annually, typically includ ...

History

The first official Gathering of Eagles (then known as "Great Moments in Aviation History") was held in 1982 when a small faculty and student group were selected to develop an aviation heritage program. This initial cadre designed a program encouraging the study of aviation history and the contributions of aviation pioneers. Fifteen distinguished aviators were invited to share their unique personal experiences through a series of teaching interviews and social events with members of the class. They were a diverse group from many nations and services. The first "Eagles" — George Vaughn,

Leigh Wade Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staff ...

Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...

Curtis LeMay Curtis Emerson LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990) was an American Air Force general who implemented a controversial strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific theater of World War II. He later served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air F ...

, George Gay,

Joe Foss Joseph Jacob Foss (April 17, 1915January 1, 2003) was a United States Marine Corps major and a leading Marine fighter ace in World War II. He received the Medal of Honor in recognition of his role in air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign. I ...

, John Mitchell, "Chuck" Yeager,

Gail Halvorsen Colonel Gail Seymour "The Candy Bomber" Halvorsen (October 10, 1920 – February 16, 2022) was a senior officer and command pilot in the United States Air Force. He is best known as the "Berlin Candy Bomber" or "Uncle Wiggly Wings" and gained ...

, "Gabby" Gabreski,

Robin Olds Robin Olds (July 14, 1922 – June 14, 2007) was an American fighter pilot and general officer in the United States Air Force (USAF). He was a " triple ace", with a combined total of 17 victories in World War II and the Vietnam War. Q ...

, Mike Novosel, "Pete" Knight and

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. ...

spanned aviation history from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

to the

Space Age The Space Age is a period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events, beginning with the launch of Sputnik 1 during 1957, and continuing ...

. The Eagles who followed included Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., "Robbie" Risner, George Bush, John Glenn,

Joe Engle Joe Henry Engle (born August 26, 1932) is an American pilot, aeronautical engineer and former NASA astronaut. He was the commander of two Space Shuttle missions including STS-2 in 1981, the program's second orbital flight. He also flew three ...

Jeremiah Denton Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. (July 15, 1924 – March 28, 2014) was an American politician and military officer who served as a U.S. Senator representing Alabama from 1981 to 1987. He was the first Republican to be popularly elected to a Sen ...

, "Bud" Day, Dolphin D. Overton III, Ramon Colon-Lopez.The article is based on th
"Air Command and Staff College: Gathering of Eagles"
page, which is in

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

, being public work of the

United States Military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

References

"Air Command and Staff College: Gathering of Eagles"
mirror page
"30th Gathering of Eagles Promotional"

"Gathering of Eagles Interviews"

"Gathering of Eagles Foundation"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gathering Of Eagles United States Air Force 1982 establishments in Alabama