 American air power was the decisive factor in preventing a communist victory in Korea. But after the Korean conflict, the Cold War went right on. All along it had been only too obvious that ever since World War II, the Soviets had been building their military strength. Their threat of world domination was real, and it was increasing all the time. The answer to this threat had to be air power, a greatly expanded air force. Upon it depended the security of the U.S. and of the free world. Because the Soviet threat was worldwide, our air power had to have global range and be instantly ready to respond. In the decade of the 1950s, the air force gained this objective, an achievement that stands as one of the most remarkable in military history. Our means of facing up to the Soviet menace took various forms. For one thing, we retained our bases in the Pacific, such as this one on the island of Guam which had served so well in World War II and during the Korean conflict. Here we see an example of another element of the new strength we gained in this period after the Korean War, modern aircraft. This is our B-47, the jet medium range bomber that became the dependable workhorse of strategic air command. The B-47 was the world's first operational jet bomber. Its six jet engines give it a speed of more than 600 miles per hour. It has a ceiling of over 40,000 feet and an unrefueled range of over 3,000 miles. The B-47 was an admirable modern replacement for the good old B-29. The Soviets too, as we knew very well, were developing formidable modern military aircraft. They had good bombers, they had their migs and other excellent fighters. And they made a point of showing the world that they had a modern arsenal. There was plenty of strength in the threat that faced us. The peril to Western Europe had resulted in 1949 in the formation of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The United States as a leading member contributed heavily to NATO's air power. In Britain, in Germany and for other examples in France and in Turkey. In addition to NATO, the U.S. supplied air power to other parts of the world. The Far East, the Middle East and the top of the world. Covering the threat of Soviet atomic power, on our side we thoroughly established the function of the strategic air command as our chief deterrent to attack from any quarter on the globe. In 1955, we had ready the B-52 Stratoportress, which we see here on snow-covered Loring Air Force Base in Maine, one of the far-flung system of sac bases. The B-52 is a true intercontinental bomber with an unrefueled range of more than 6,000 miles. It is a carrier of nuclear weapons and it can be equipped with formidable air-to-ground missiles. Here at Offit Air Force Base in Nebraska is where the strategic air command's powerful round-the-clock readiness is controlled. Here is the command post for every sac base for all of sac's men, all its aircraft and its missiles throughout the world. Here is the nerve center of a truly global striking force. It was in this decade of the 1950s that missiles were brought into the family of weapons of aerospace warfare. It was a revolutionary development that had the most profound effect on international relations, on the minds of men everywhere, on national objectives and on military planning. For missiles made necessary a new concept of aerospace power, the mixed force. Manned aircraft, now so powerful and reliable, would still be indispensable. But now we needed the advantages of missiles too. And after long and hard effort, we had them. At a number of our overseas installations we had the Matador, a limited-range missile that gave a new kind of capability to our tactical forces. Our British allies established bases for the use of the Thor, our own Air Force intermediate-range ballistic missile. And from stateside installations, the Atlas, our first intercontinental ballistic missile, became ready for use under control of the strategic air command. We had a complementary weapon to be used against any target which we could foresee in potentially hostile nations, no matter how far distant. Our worldwide Air Force derives its strength from many sources. We had our missiles ready to deliver deadly counter-blows upon any antagonist who dared to attack us. We had our modern bomber force, poised at widely scattered bases, to deliver a nuclear counter-attack if war was forced upon us. We had the fast and versatile fighter aircraft of our tactical forces stationed at home and overseas to bolster our readiness and flexibility. We had our many thousands of officers and airmen, many of them highly trained specialists in technical and scientific fields. We had hundreds of thousands of people in industrial plants who worked in support of air power. We had our wealth of electronic and mechanical devices to help our men and aircraft get the job done. And we had our pool of scientific know-how devoted to the direction and accomplishment of Air Force research. What does it all add up to? All of these elements have a single goal, to keep the United States all powerful in the air. The great and central objective of preserving peace by deterring those who might plan to dominate us and by being strong enough to win any war that might be forced upon us.