Air Force Falcons To Honor Tuskegee Airmen With Alternate Uniforms

Air Force athletic director Nathan Pine announced in a letter sent to fans this week the Falcons football program will wear alternate uniforms that honor the Tuskegee Airmen during their Oct. 3 home game against Navy.

Athletic Director's message to Falcon Nation https://t.co/n8T1kwy6AS
— Air Force Falcons (@AF_Falcons) September 14, 2020

“The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African-American pilots from the U.S. Army Air Corps, commissioned by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in September 1940,” Pine explained in the letter. “The pilots began their training at Morton Field in Tuskegee, Alabama. More than 900 pilots graduated from the program and more than 350 served in active duty as fighter pilots.”

The Air Force Academy’s airfield was renamed the Davis Airfield in 2019 honor of Benjamin O. Davis Jr., who was the first black officer to solo pilot an Army Air Corps aircraft. He later became the commander of the 99th Pursuit Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group, which escorted bombers on air combat missions over Europe during World War II.

This will be the fifth alternate uniform in Air Force’s Air Power Legacy Series, dating back to 2016. The Falcons first wore uniforms based on the Tiger Shark nose art that has been used on multiple aircraft dating back to World War II, then paid homage to the F-35 Lightning II, the AC-130 “Spooky” gunship” and the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Air Force is 9-0 all time while wearing its Air Power Legacy Series uniforms, with some being worn more than once. This year’s design will be unveiled on Monday, Sept. 21, via the program’s website and social media channels.

Photos courtesy of @TAINational and @AF_Football on Twitter.