August 29, 1958 – The United States Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado and begins educating qualified college freshmen to become officers.  Graduates of the school’s four-year program receive a Bachelor of Science degree and most are commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the United States Air Force (USAF).  Students, called “cadets” receive both a world class education as well as military training to prepare them for uniform service.

August 29, 1995 – NATO launches Operation Deliberate Force a sustained air campaign conducted  to undermine the military capability of the Bosnian Serb Army who threatened and attacked UN-designated “safe areas” in Bosnia. The operation involved 400 aircraft and 5000 personnel from 15 nations.

During the campaign, a total of 3515 sorties were flown against 338 individual targets. Aircraft involved in the campaign operated out of Italy and from the U.S. aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS America. 68% of the bombs used in this campaign were precision-guided munitions. The Bosnian Serb integrated air defence network, comprising of aircraft and surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), presented a high-threat environment to the allied air operations. A French Mirage 2000 was shot down by a Serbian SAM on August 30,1995. As a counter to the operation approximately 400 UNPROFOR peacekeepers were seized by the Bosnian Serb Army and used as human shields at key Bosnian Serb sites.

The air attacks increased the international pressure on Serbia/Yugoslavia to take part in negotiations that resulted in the Dayton Peace Agreement.