The views and opinions expressed or implied in WBY are those of the authors and should not be construed as carrying the official sanction of the Department of Defense, Air Force, Air Education and Training Command, Air University, or other agencies or departments of the US government or their international equivalents.

International Officer History at the Air Corps Tactical School, 1920-1940 and at the Air War College, 1947-2025

  • Published
  • By Dr. Liz Woodworth

 

Dedicated to our International Fellows, AY24 and AY25

Air Corps Tactical School

Before the Air Force, before Air University, the Air Corps Tactical School (ACTS) existed to teach airpower from 1920-1940 to the US Army’s aviators. ACTS is the foundation of modern airpower education. In 1929, the school adopted this motto (the Air War College still uses it today):

 Proficimus More Irretenti

In translation from Latin, it reads: “We make progress unhindered by custom.”

This was certainly an apt motto for those who developed theories of airpower and its application in the early days of flight. The early aviators could not be hindered by custom—they had to innovate. Yet this motto still supports our educational mission today as we have expanded our focus to include cyber power and space power. The Air War College is the foremost college for air, space, and cyberspace education, and we are still making progress unhindered by custom, but we also remember our history.

The story of the Air Corps Tactical School (ACTS) is the story of airpower from the end of WWI to the beginning of WWII.[1]

ACTS actually began in 1920 at Langley Field in Virginia as that was the location of the Field Officers’ School for aviators. In 1922, the name was changed to Air Service Tactical School. It wasn’t until 1926, that the school name was changed again—this time to the Air Corps Tactical School. This was the name the school would officially hold until 1940 and the one we use today in referring to this era of early professional military education in airpower.

In this same time, the first twenty or so years of the 20th century, in the state of Alabama, aviation was carrying on in a proud tradition. In 1910, the Wright Brothers started a civilian flying school outside Montgomery. That Wright Brothers’ school didn’t last long, but during WWI, an airplane engine and repair depot was established on what would be called Maxwell Field. On November 8, 1922, the field was named for Lt. William C. Maxwell, an Alabama native, who was “killed in an aircraft accident in the Philippines.”[2] The mission of the installation changed that same year and assigned to the 22nd Observation Squadron. In 1929, the first ever air drop to help humans suffering from natural disaster was organized out of Maxwell Field.

In the summer of 1931, ACTS moved to Maxwell Field to take advantage of the expansive land available and the increased education it could then offer. The location may have felt perfect since it was also where the Wright Bros had their first flying school.

The mornings in ACTS were devoted to classroom instruction, learning theories, and planning applications. Afternoons were all about flying.

Early graduating classes had from seven to 25 students. Within a year of opening, leaders knew they needed to bring in officers from outside the Air Service. The first infantry officer arrived in 1923. By 1925, the class included three USMC officers and the first international officer, from the Spanish Army, Captain Carlos Sartorius.

From that point forward, the various branches of military service in the US would participate in the school, and international officers were invited to attend regularly (see below).

Countries represented in ACTS include (in order of attendance): Spain, Siam (now Thailand), Guatemala, Argentina, Sweden, Mexico, Turkey (now Turkiye), Chile, and China. See Figure 1 for more details.

Figure 1.

There were various solutions for airpower training and education through WWII, but nothing like our current Air War College happened until General Order No. 11 was issued and the AWC came into existence (as part of Air University) at Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Alabama, established in March 1946.

From that time, Royal Air Force Officers were part of the student body. Joining the students in year two, officers from the Royal Canadian Air Force were also enrolled. See Figure 2 for students from the RAF and RCAF. In addition to individual students, forty members of the RCAF Staff visited the AWC from 8 to 12 May 1950. They joined in the curriculum and lectures.

As the curriculum changed many times over the years, so the student body grew, and the program became a master’s degree awarding a Master of Arts degree in International Affairs AY62. In AY65, the degree changed to a Master of Science in International Affairs. Along with the masters level degrees, a few Bachelor degrees were occasionally awarded, but that degree seemed to cease in AY67.[3] Later in AWC’s history, the degree was changed to a Master of Strategic Studies. To accommodate those international officers who do not need a full master’s degree, the AWC offers a diploma program which assigns JPMEII credit for officers choosing the diploma track.

Figure 2. RAF (United Kingdom, Royal Air Force) and RCAF (Canada, Royal Canadian Air Force) officers attending AWC AY47 to AY68

The beginning of enrollment for international officers beyond the UK and Canada came in AY74. The first international officers to graduate from the AWC were from Germany, Imperial Iran, and Australia.

Today, a quick glance at our class pictures in the hallways of the second floor shows many officers from all over the world in every class (class pictures of the first class and most recent graduating class hang on the wall on the first floor, near the entry of Jones Auditorium). We are honored to have had many students every year from allied and partner countries over the last fifty years. The best part may be that the numbers for international officers attending the AWC have steadily grown to our current class of AY25. See Figure 3 for a list of international students from 1974 until the present, listed by country.[4]

With this essay, we honor our current International Fellows here for AY24 and value all international allies and partners who have shared in modern international joint airpower education. This academic year, AY25, commemorates the 100th anniversary of US airpower education and international cooperation that began with one Spanish officer in ACTS in 1925. To celebrate, we created a coin (below).[5]

This work is dedicated to our International Fellows: thank you for spending this year with AWC. And to all our International Officer students: you are an important part of our history and our future. Thank you for being here, for learning at our institution, for developing as senior and strategic leaders.

Figure 3. Countries and numbers of students at AWC from AY1974 to AY2025.

AY1974  AY2001 Continued AY2017 Continued
Australia Qatar Lebanon
Canada Romania Malaysia
West Germany Saudi Arabia Mexico
Imperial Iran (2) Senegal Morocco
United Kingdom (4) Singapore Netherlands
AY1975 Slovakia New Zealand
Australia Spain Nigeria
Canada Sweden Norway
Imperial Iran (2) Switzerland Oman
United Kingdom (3) Taiwan Pakistan
AY1976 Thailand Peru
Imperial Iran Turkey Philippines
United Kingdom (4) Ukraine Poland
AY1977 United Arab Emirates South Korea
Australia United Kingdom Romania
Canada Venezuela Saudi Arabia
West Germany Zimbabwe  Senegal
United Kingdom (3) AY2002 Spain
AY1978 Argentina Sweden
Australia (2) Australia Taiwan
Canada Bangladesh Tunisia
West Germany Belgium United Arab Emirates
Imperial Iran (2) Bolivia United Kingdom
India (2) Brazil AY2018
Singapore Cameroon Algeria
South Africa Canada Australia
United Kingdom (2) Czech Republic Belgium
AY1979 Denmark Brazil
Australia Egypt Canada
Canada El Salvador Chile
Egypt France Colombia
West Germany Gabon Finland
Imperial Iran Germany France
Israel Greece Germany
Japan Hungary Greece
Jordan India India
South Korea Israel Indonesia
United Kingdom (3) Italy Israel
Venezuela Japan Italy
AY1980 Jordan Japan
Australia Kenya Jordan
Canada South Korea Kuwait
France Kuwait Lebanon
West Germany Macedonia Mauritania
Greece Mexico Mexico
Israel Netherlands Morocco
Japan New Zealand Netherlands
Jordan Nigeria New Zealand
Portugal Norway Nigeria
Saudi Arabia Pakistan Norway
Spain Poland Oman
Turkey Saudi Arabia Pakistan
United Kingdom (2) Singapore Peru
AY1981 Slovenia Philippines
Canada Spain Poland
Egypt (2) Taiwan South Korea
West Germany Thailand Romania
Indonesia Turkey Saudi Arabia
Jordan United Arab Emirates South Africa
South Korea (2) United Kingdom Spain
Pakistan (2) Venezuela Taiwan
United Kingdom (3) AY2003 Tunisia
AY1982 Argentina Turkey
Australia Australia United Arab Emirates
Canada Brazil AY2019
France Bulgaria Afghanistan
West Germany Canada Argentina
Greece Chile Australia
Indonesia Colombia Bahrain
Israel (2) Croatia Bulgaria
Japan Ecuador Cameroon
Jordan Egypt Canada
Malaysia France Chile
Nigeria (2) Germany Colombia
Norway Greece Croatia
Pakistan India Egypt
Peru Israel France
Philippines Italy India
Saudi Arabia (2) Japan Indonesia
Singapore Jordan Israel
Spain South Korea Italy
Thailand Kuwait Japan
Turkey Macedonia Jordan
United Kingdom  Malaysia Kenya
AY1983 Mexico Kuwait
Brazil Morocco Morocco
Canada Netherlands Netherlands
Colombia Nigeria New Zealand
Dominican Republic Norway Niger
Egypt (2) Oman Nigeria
France Pakistan Norway
West Germany Peru Oman
Indonesia Philippines Pakistan
Israel (2) Poland Philippines
Japan Qatar Poland
Jordan Saudi Arabia South Korea
South Korea (2) Singapore Romania
Morocco Slovakia (2) Rwanda
Nigeria (2) Spain Saudi Arabia
Pakistan Taiwan Spain
Peru Turkey Taiwan
Philippines (2) Ukraine Thailand
Portugal United Arab Emirates Tunisia
Australia (2) United Kingdom Turkey
United Kingdom (2) Venezuela Uganda
Saudi Arabia (2) AY2004 United Arab Emirates
Singapore Argentina AY2020
Somalia Australia Australia
Spain Bangladesh Brazil
Sudan Belgium Bulgaria
Thailand Bolivia Canada
AY1984 Bulgaria Colombia
Australia (2) Canada Czech Republic
Canada Czech Republic Denmark
Colombia Denmark Egypt
Egypt (2) Ecuador France
France Egypt Georgia
Greece Finland Germany
Honduras France Greece
Indonesia Germany Hungary
Israel (2) Greece India
Italy India Indonesia
Japan Indonesia Italy
Jordan (2) Israel Japan
South Korea (2) Italy Jordan
Kuwait Japan Kenya
Malaysia Jordan South Korea
Nigeria (2) South Korea Lebanon
Norway Kuwait Lithuania
Pakistan Lithuania Mexico
Peru Malaysia Morocco
Philippines (2) Mexico Netherlands
Saudi Arabia (2) Netherlands New Zealand
Spain Norway Nigeria
Sudan Oman Norway
Thailand Pakistan Oman
Turkey  Philippines Pakistan
United Kingdom  Poland Peru
AY1985 Qatar Philippines
Australia (2) Romania Poland
Brazil Saudi Arabia Romania
Canada Singapore Saudi Arabia
Colombia South Africa Spain
Ecuador Spain Sweden
Egypt Sweden Tunisia
France Taiwan Turkey
West Germany Thailand United Arab Emirates
Israel (3) Turkey United Kingdom
Italy Ukraine AY2021
Japan United Arab Emirates Argentina
Jordan (2) United Kingdom Brazil
Kenya AY2005 Bulgaria
South Korea (2) Algeria Canada
Malaysia Argentina Croatia
Nigeria (2) Australia Estonia
Pakistan (2) Bahrain Ethiopia
Peru  Botswana Finland
Philippines Bulgaria France
Saudi Arabia (2) Canada Germany
Singapore Colombia Greece
Spain Czech Republic India
Sudan Egypt Indonesia
Thailand France Italy
Turkey Germany Japan
United Kingdom  Ghana Jordan
AY1986 Greece Kenya
Algeria Hungary Lebanon
Australia (2) India Mexico
Bolivia Israel Mongolia
Canada Italy Netherlands
Colombia Japan Norway
Egypt Jordan Pakistan
France Kenya Philippines
Germany South Korea Poland
India Kuwait South Korea
Indonesia  Macedonia Romania
Israel (2) Mexico Saudi Arabia
Japan Morocco Slovakia
Jordan (2) Netherlands Spain
South Korea (2) New Zealand Taiwan
Malaysia Norway Thailand
Morocco Oman Tunisia
Nigeria Pakistan Turkey
Norway Philippines Ukraine
Peru Poland AY2022
Saudi Arabia (2) Qatar Argentina
Spain Romania Australia
Sudan Singapore Austria
Thailand Slovakia Bahrain
Turkey (2) Spain Bangladesh
United Kingdom (2) Taiwan Belgium
Venezuela Thailand Brazil
AY1987 Tunisia Bulgaria
Algeria Turkey Canada
Australia (2) United Arab Emirates Chile
Brazil Ukraine Colombia
Canada United Kingdom Czech Republic
Egypt AY2006 Egypt
France Algeria El Salvador
Greece Argentina France
India Bahrain Greece
Indonesia Bangladesh India
Israel (2) Belgium Indonesia
Italy Botswana Israel
Japan Brazil Italy
Jordan (2) Bulgaria Japan
Kenya Canada Jordan
South Korea (2) Colombia Kenya
Nigeria Czech Republic Malaysia
Pakistan Egypt Mexico
Philippines El Salvador Morocco
Portugal France North Macedonia
Saudi Arabia (2) Germany New Zealand
Somalia Hungary Niger
Spain India Nigeria
Thailand Indonesia Norway
Tunisia Israel Oman
Turkey Italy Pakistan
United Kingdom  Japan Peru
Zaire Jordan Philippines
AY1988 South Korea Poland
Australia  Lithuania Romania
Canada (3) Mexico Saudi Arabia
Colombia Morocco Spain
Egypt Netherlands Sri Lanka
France New Zealand Taiwan
Germany Norway Thailand
Greece Oman Tunisia
Honduras Pakistan United Arab Emirates
Indonesia Philippines Uruguay
Israel Poland AY2023
Italy Romania Argentina
Jordan (2) Spain Australia
South Korea (2) Taiwan Bahrain
Malaysia Thailand Brazil
Nigeria Tunisia Bulgaria
Norway Turkey Canada
Pakistan Ukraine Chile
Philippines (2) United Arab Emirates Colombia
Saudi Arabia (2) United Kingdom  Czech Republic
Senegal AY2007 Denmark
Spain Algeria  Estonia
Sweden Argentina France
Thailand Australia Germany
United Kingdom  Bahrain Hungary
Yugoslavia Brazil India
Zaire Bulgaria Indonesia
Zimbawbe Canada Iraq
AY1989 Chile Israel
Brazil Colombia Italy
Canada Czech Republic Japan
Egypt Ecuador Jordan
France Egypt Lithuania
Germany El Salvador Malaysia
Guatamala France Morocco
India Germany Netherlands
Indonesia Greece Niger
Israel (2) India Nigeria
Italy Indonesia Norway
Japan Iraq Oman
Jordan Israel Pakistan
Kenya Italy Philippines
South Korea (2) Japan Poland
Mexico Jordan South Korea
New Zealand Lebanon Romania
Nigeria Mexico Saudi Arabia
Pakistan Morocco Slovakia
Philippines Netherlands Spain
Saudi Arabia (2) Norway Sweden
Somalia Oman Taiwan
Spain Pakistan Thailand
Thailand Philippines Tunisia
Turkey (2) Poland Turkey
United Arab Emirates South Korea United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom (2) Romania United Kingdom 
Venezuela Saudi Arabia AY2024
Yugoslavia Singapore Australia
AY1990 Spain Azerbaijan
Algeria Taiwan Bahrain
Australia (2) Thailand Bangladesh
Brazil Tunisia Belgium
Colombia Turkey Brazil
France Uganda Canada
India United Arab Emirates Colombia
Indonesia United Kingdom Czech Republic
Israel (2) AY2008 Ecuador
Italy Algeria Finland
Japan Australia France
Jordan Bahrain Ghana
Malaysia Bangladesh Hungary
Mexico Botswana India
Morocco Bulgaria Indonesia
Nigeria Canada Iraq/Kurdistan Region
Norway Czech Republic Israel
Oman Egypt Italy
Pakistan El Salvador Japan
Philippines France Jordan
South Korea Germany South Korea
Saudi Arabia Ghana Kuwait
Singapore Greece Lithuania
Spain Honduras Malaysia
Sweden India Mexico
Turkey Indonesia Morocco
United Arab Emirates Israel Netherlands
United Kingdom (2) Italy Niger
Venezuela Japan Nigeria
AY1991 Jordan Norway
Australia (2) Kenya Oman
Brazil South Korea Pakistan
Colombia Kuwait Peru
Cote D'Ivoire Lithuania Philippines
Egypt Malaysia Poland
France Mexico Turkey
Germany Morocco Romania
Greece Netherlands Saudi Arabia
India Nigeria Spain
Indonesia Norway Sri Lanka
Israel (2) Pakistan Taiwan
Italy Philippines Thailand
Japan Poland Tunisia
Jordan Qatar Ukraine
Kenya Romania United Arab Emirates
South Korea (2) Saudi Arabia United Kingdom 
Malaysia Spain AY2025
Mexico Taiwan Algeria
Morocco Tunisia Argentina
New Zealand Ukraine Australia
Nigeria United Arab Emirates Botswana
Pakistan United Kingdom Bangladesh
Philippines AY2009 Brazil
Saudi Arabia (2) Afghanistan Canada
Singapore Algeria Czech Republic
Spain Argentina France
Thailand Australia Ghana
Turkey (2) Bahrain Greece
United Arab Emirates Brazil Germany
United Kingdom (2) Bulgaria Hungary
Uruguay Canada India
Venezuela Colombia Israel
AY1992 Denmark Japan
Australia (2) Ecuador Jordan
Bangladesh Egypt Kenya
Brazil France South Korea
Chile Germany Kuwait
Colombia Greece Slovakia
Egypt India Malaysia
Finland Indonesia Montenegro
France Iraq Morocco
Germany Israel Oman
India Italy Mexico
Indonesia Japan Netherlands
Israel (2) Jordan Nigeria
South Korea (2) Lebanon Norway
Mali Malaysia New Zealand
Mexico Mexico Philippines
Nigeria Morocco Pakistan
Norway New Zealand Poland
Oman Nigeria Qatar
Philippines Norway Romania
Saudi Arabia (2) Pakistan Senegal
Spain Philippines Spain
Turkey Poland Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates Romania Thailand
AY1993 Saudi Arabia Turkey
Argentina Senegal Tunisia
Australia (2) Singapore Taiwan
Canada South Africa United Arab Emirates
Colombia South Korea United Kingdom
Ecuador Spain Ukraine
Egypt Tunisia Zambia
France Turkey  
Germany Ukraine  
Greece United Arab Emirates  
India United Kingdom   
Indonesia AY2010  
Israel (3) Algeria  
Italy Argentina  
Japan Bahrain  
Jordan Belgium  
South Korea (2) Brazil  
Kuwait Bulgaria  
Mexico Canada  
Oman Czech Republic  
Philippines Ecuador  
Poland Egypt  
Russia El Salvador  
Saudi Arabia (2) France  
Singapore Germany  
Slovakia Greece  
Spain India  
Taiwan Indonesia  
Turkey (2) Israel  
United Arab Emirates Italy  
United Kingdom (2) Japan  
Venezuela Jordan  
AY1994 Kuwait  
Argentina Malaysia  
Australia Mexico  
Bangladesh Morocco  
Brazil Nigeria  
Bulgaria Norway  
Canada Pakistan  
Chile Philippines  
Czech Republic Poland  
Ecuador Qatar  
Egypt Romania  
France Rwanda  
Germany Saudi Arabia  
Hungary Serbia  
India Slovakia  
Israel South Africa  
Japan South Korea  
Jordan Spain  
South Korea Sweden  
Kuwait Taiwan  
Mexico Thailand  
Morocco Turkey  
New Zealand United Arab Emirates  
Niger United Kingdom   
Norway AY2011  
Oman Afghanistan  
Philippines Algeria  
Poland Argentina  
Russia Australia  
Saudi Arabia Bahrain  
Senegal Brazil  
Singapore Bulgaria  
Spain Canada  
Taiwan Colombia  
Ukraine Czech Republic  
United Arab Emirates Denmark  
United Kingdom (2) Egypt  
Venezuela El Salvador  
AY1995 Finland  
Algeria France  
Argentina Georgia  
Australia Germany  
Botswana Hungary  
Brazil India  
Canada Indonesia  
Chile Iraq  
Colombia Israel  
Czech Republic Italy  
Egypt Japan  
El Salvador Jordan  
France Kenya  
Germany Lithuania  
Honduras Mexico  
Hungary Morocco  
India Nigeria (2)  
Israel Norway  
Italy Pakistan  
Japan Philippines  
Jordan Poland  
Kenya Romania  
South Korea Saudi Arabia  
Malaysia Serbia  
Mexico South Africa  
Morocco South Korea  
Norway Spain  
Oman Taiwan  
Poland Turkey  
Qatar United Arab Emirates  
Russia United Kingdom   
Saudi Arabia (2) AY2012  
Senegal Afghanistan  
Singapore South Africa  
Spain Algeria  
Sweden Australia  
Taiwan Bangladesh  
Thailand Belgium  
United Arab Emirates Brazil   
AY1996 Bulgaria  
Australia Canada  
Botswana Colombia  
Brazil Czech Republic  
Bulgaria Egypt  
Canada El Salvador  
Chile France  
Colombia Germany  
Czech Republic Ghana  
Egypt India  
El Salvador Indonesia  
Finland Israel  
France Italy  
Germany Japan  
Hungary Jordan  
India Kuwait  
Israel (2) Lebanon  
Japan Malaysia  
Jordan Mexico  
South Korea Morocco  
Kuwait Nigeria  
Lebanon Norway  
Malaysia Pakistan  
Mexico Philippines  
Mozambique Poland  
Netherlands South Korea  
Norway Romania  
Poland Rwanda  
Romania Saudi Arabia  
Saudi Arabia (2) Spain  
Singapore Taiwan  
Spain Thailand  
Thailand Tunisia  
United Arab Emirates Turkey  
United Kingdom Uganda  
Venezuela United Arab Emirates  
AY1997 United Kingdom   
Argentina Zambia  
Australia AY2013  
Bolivia Algeria  
Brazil Australia  
Canada Brazil  
Chile Bulgaria  
Croatia Canada  
Czech Republic Colombia  
Ecuador Czech Republic  
France Egypt  
Germany El Salvador  
Greece France  
Hungary Germany  
India India  
Israel Indonesia  
Italy Iraq  
Japan Israel  
Jordan Italy  
South Korea Japan  
Kuwait Jordan  
Mexico Kenya  
Morocco South Korea  
Netherlands Kuwait  
New Zealand Malaysia  
Norway Morocco  
Oman New Zealand  
Poland Nigeria (2)  
Saudi Arabia Norway  
Senegal Pakistan (2)  
Singapore Philippines  
South Africa Poland  
Spain Qatar  
Sweden Romania  
Taiwan Saudi Arabia (2)  
Thailand Singapore  
Turkey South Africa  
Ukraine Spain  
United Arab Emirates Taiwan  
United Kingdom Thailand  
Venezuela Turkey  
AY1998 Uganda  
Argentina United Arab Emirates  
Australia United Kingdom   
Belarus AY2014  
Brazil Afghanistan  
Canada Australia  
Croatia Bangladesh  
Czech Republic Botswana  

Egypt

Brazil  
France Bulgaria  
Germany Canada  
Greece Chile  
India Colombia  
Israel Czech Republic  
Italy Finland  
Japan France  
Jordan India  
Kenya Indonesia  
South Korea Italy (2)  
Kuwait Japan  
Malaysia Jordan  
Mexico Kuwait  
Morocco Lithuania  
Netherlands Malaysia  
Norway Mexico  
Pakistan Morocco  
Paraguay New Zealand  
Poland Nigeria  
Qatar Norway  
Romania Oman  
Russia Pakistan  
Saudi Arabia Poland  
Singapore Qatar  
Slovakia Romania  
Spain Saudi Arabia  
Taiwan South Korea  
Thailand Sweden  
Turkey Taiwan  
Ukraine Thailand  
United Kingdom Turkey  
AY1999 United Kingdom   
Argentina AY2015  
Australia Algeria  
Austria Australia (2)  
Bolivia Botswana  
Bulgaria Brazil  
Canada Bulgaria  
Chile Canada  
Croatia Chile  
Czech Republic Colombia  
Egypt Czech Republic  
El Salvador Egypt  
France France  
Germany Ghana  
United Kingdom Greece  
Greece India  
Hungary Indonesia  
Israel Israel  
Italy Italy (3)  
Japan Japan  
Jordan Jordan  
Saudi Arabia Kenya  
South Korea Kuwait  
Kuwait Libya  
Mali Malaysia  
Mexico Mexico  
Morocco Morocco (2)  
New Zealand Netherlands  
Norway New Zealand  
Oman Nigeria  
Poland Norway  
Qatar Oman  
Singapore Pakistan  
Slovenia Philippines  
Spain Poland  
Taiwan South Korea  
Thailand Romania  
Tunisia Saudi Arabia  
Turkey Singapore (2)  
Ukraine Spain  
United Arab Emirates Taiwan  
AY2000 Tunisia  
Argentina United Kingdom   
Australia Yemen  
Botswana AY2016  
Brazil Algeria   
Bulgaria Australia (2)  
Canada Brazil  
Chile Bulgaria  
Ecuador Canada  
Egypt Chile  
Finland Colombia  
France Czech Republic  
Germany Denmark  
Greece Egypt  
Hungary Estonia  
India France  
Israel Germany  
Italy Greece  
Japan India  
Jordan Indonesia  
South Korea Israel  
Kuwait Italy  
Latvia Japan  
Morocco Jordan  
Netherlands Kenya  
Norway Kuwait  
Oman Lebanon  
Peru Malaysia  
Philippines Mexico  
Poland Morocco  
Romania Nigeria  
Saudi Arabia Norway  
Singapore Oman  
Slovenia Pakistan  
Thailand Philippines  
Turkey Poland  
Ukraine South Korea  
United Arab Emirates Romania  
United Kingdom Saudi Arabia  
Venezuela Spain  
AY2001 Taiwan  
Argentina Tunisia  
Australia Uganda  
Austria United Arab Emirates  
Bangladesh United Kingdom  
Brazil Yemen  
Bulgaria AY2017  
Canada Algeria  
Chile Australia  
Colombia Brazil  
Czech Republic Bulgaria  
Egypt Canada  
France Chile  
Germany Colombia  
Greece Czech Republic  
Hungary Denmark  
India Egypt  
Israel Estonia  
Italy France  
Japan Germany  
Jordan Greece  
South Korea India  
Kuwait Indonesia  
Mexico Israel  
Morocco Italy  
Netherlands Japan  
Norway Jordan  
Oman Kenya  
Poland Kuwait  

 

 

[1] I gathered information for this short paper from three sources: 1) History of the Air Corps Tactical School, 1920-1940 by Robert T. Finney (originally printed in 1955 by the Research Studies Institute, USAF Historical Division, Air University); 2) History of the Air War College 25th Anniversary, Command Edition, 1946-1971 (published by Air University in 1970); 3) “’Proficimus More Irretenti’” The Air War College at Fifty” by Dr. James A Mowbray, Department of Strategy, Air War College (included in the 2007 AWC alumni directory).

[3] I haven’t found sufficient evidence of what happened to this degree program at the present time, but I wanted to share nonetheless (31 Jan 2024).

[4] With the help of two young researchers assigned to work at our Office of Sponsored Programs this summer, who were graciously lent to me by Dr. Margaret Sankey, I was able to include all our International Officers, listed by country, from 1974 to 2025. Thank you, Ethan Pierce and Kennedy Holland—thank you for looking at every single picture in our hallways and checking twice.

[5] Thank you to Holly Shoemaker, at the Air War College, for creating this coin that will bring joy to many.

 

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