The Missions of AAS and SW

While Arnold Air Society and Silver Wings are separate organizations, our strong partnership is based on highly complementary missions. The focus of the Arnold Air Society mission is to build strong officers for the United States Air Force. Silver Wings also focuses on leadership development, and both organizations work together to further each others’ goals.

In fact, Silver Wings’ predecessor organization, Angel Flight, had a specific objective of supporting the mission of Arnold Air Society. While this is no longer explicitly stated, Silver Wings remains committed to developing strong civilian leaders with an understanding of aerospace power–and obviously, the continuing partnership between AAS and SW is critical to building this understanding.

The Arnold Air Society Mission

The Arnold Air Society is a professional, honorary service organization advocating the support of aerospace power. The “service” aspect is perhaps the foremost in the mind of many members, because of the society’s continuing contributions to our campuses, our communities, and our corps–but it should always be remembered that our primary mission is to improve ourselves as future Air Force officers.

The following three objectives were adopted by AAS to enhance the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) and the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), and to project the image of the United States Air Force on the university campus and in the surrounding community.

First Objective:

To create a more efficient relationship among Air Force officer candidates, in particular within the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.

Function of the First Objective:

To provide opportunities for a greater interaction among collegiate level Air Force officer candidates and to encourage increased communication with Air Force officers and leaders in national defense, government, and industry.

Second Objective:

To aid in the development of effective Air Force officers.

Function of the Second Objective:

To provide more opportunities for Air Force officer candidates to exercise leadership, management, organizational, and public relations skills.

Third Objective:

To further the purpose, traditions, and concepts of the United States Air Force.

Function of the Third Objective:

To provide opportunities for officer candidates to participate in campus and community service activities, demonstrating the close relationship between civilian and military institutions.

The Silver Wings Mission

As specified in the Silver Wings National Constitution, Silver Wings (SW) is a national, co-ed, professional organization dedicated to creating proactive, knowledgeable, and effective civic leaders through community service and education about national defense. This mission includes the following interrelated objectives:

Personal Development of Individual Members:

Local chapter activities and projects provide character growth through service to the community, which enables the individual member to develop a sense of purpose within and a responsibility to the local community.

Professional Development of Individual Members:

Local chapter activities and the national organizational structure provide members with leadership opportunities and the chance to develop professional skills. These include, but are not limited to oral/written communication, public speaking, and project planning and execution.

Civic Awareness:

Exposure to Air Force issues and personnel enables members to develop a personal awareness of aerospace power and the role that it plays in the national defense. The leadership and skills development objectives are enhanced by opportunities for members to actively promote aerospace issues in the community through educational programs, seminars, public relations activities, and voter awareness projects.