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Laughlin historian honors AF image

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Angela Martin
  • 47th Flying Training Wing public affairs
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas-- --  This month, the Air Force will celebrate its 64th anniversary. Although young compared to its sister services, the Air Force is rich in history. From its early beginnings in WWII with the Army Air Corps to becoming the most technologically advanced Air Force in the world, its evolution is marked by success.

But its evolution is also marked by constant uniform changes. By reflecting on the last 20 years alone, Airmen can remember dark-green camouflage patterns, chocolate chips on desert fatigues and today's sage tiger-striped Airman Battle Uniform.

Since its beginnings in September 1947, the Air Force uniform has changed more times than the Army and Navy uniforms combined over the last 200 years, said Jack Waid, 47th Flying Training Wing historian.

Waid is no stranger to the Air Force uniform. He is the proud owner of more than 80 types of Air Force uniforms. Ranging from officer to enlisted and from WWII to present day, Waid's extensive collection encompasses every uniform era of the Air Force.

"Rather than owner of these uniforms, I consider myself a watchman of the Air Force image and I refer to my collection as a uniform display that should be shared with the world," said Waid.

Waid's interest in displaying the Air Force uniform began in 1997 at the Air Force Academy in Colorado, where he was put in charge of decorating for that year's Airmen's Banquet. Determined to create a fresh idea, Waid pondered displaying a timeline of the Air Force's uniform evolution.

"My vision was to create a display tracing the evolution of the military uniform from the very beginning, from the balloon corps in the 1860s to the double knits of the 1990s," said Waid.

However, this was no easy task. Neither Waid nor the Air Force Academy had a supply of vintage uniforms available. Air Force bases around the country lacked a supply and museums were not willing to lend out their uniforms. Although he was able to acquire 24 uniforms for the banquet, it became obvious to Waid there needed to be a centralized Air Force uniform collection.

After the banquet, Waid took on the challenge of creating a uniform display everyone could access. His vision was to create a large-enough collection that could easily be lent out for display.

"Sharing our Air Force heritage through the uniform collection became my number one priority," said Waid.

But displaying uniforms that have a story and personality also became important to Waid. Rather than obtaining uniforms from impersonal sources, such as the internet or thrift shops, he shopped from the closets of our nation's veterans.

"One of my most rewarding moments occurred when an emotional young lady, tears streaming down her face, handed me her father's uniform. Through my collection, she knew his image and contributions to our nation would live on forever," said Waid.

In fact, thousands of people have been witness to Waid's uniform display. From the 2009 Veteran's Day parade in New York City, to the 2006 Air Force Memorial dedication in Washington, D.C. and overseas locations including Southwest Asia, Japan and Greenland. At each of these events, Waid's uniforms are proudly displayed on live models taking the audience on a runway show of the past.

"So many people love to step into the shoes of an Airman from the past and have a great time showing off the uniforms," said Waid.

Waid explained that a sense of passion compels the audience and models of our overlooked image when they see the uniform display. The uniform is a strong symbolism of unity and identity. It's the first thing people notice when they see an Airman walking down the street. Often times, a uniformed Airman is the only perception the public has of our military members.

Among veterans, the uniform display sparks a series of memories when they see their favorite uniforms again.

"There have been numerous occasions when a veteran approached me saying, I remember deploying in that uniform, or wow, I really picked up the ladies when I wore that," said Waid.

From making connections with veterans from around the world, to being coined by the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, to personal invitations with his uniforms at prestigious dedications, Waid's uniform display has led to more opportunities than he could have ever imagined. However, Waid remains humble in his quest to bring remembrance back to our Air Force image.

"Our focus has always been on global reach, but we tend to forget how we got to that global reach capability. We got to that point through our heritage and part of our heritage is our image," he said.

As the Air Force continues towards excellence as a continuously evolving force, one other thing remains constant: Waid will continue to track its image through the ever-changing Air Force uniform.