JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson continues the 75-year old Air Force Aid Society tradition of Airmen helping Airmen and educating America’s future leaders.
During World War II, the commanding general of the Army Air Forces noticed the toll wartime took on service members and their family. General Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold and his wife, Bee, wanted the best for the future, and so on March 9, 1942 they created the Army Air Forces Aid Society, chartered to establish a trust fund invested in providing for the Air Force by meeting the needs of the Airmen.
The Air Force Aid Society donates around $15 to 16 million each year. The funds were distributed for primarily emergency assistance in the form of either no-interest loans or small grants. Some of the Airmen’s emergencies would be immediate car repairs or a family funeral that they could not pay for at the moment.
In 1988, the society added an education grant which branched off into the Gen. Henry H. Arnold Education Grant Program, a merit scholarship, and the Supplemental Education Loan Program. These programs and scholarships allow service members and their dependents the opportunity to receive an education if they could not otherwise
afford it.
Additionally the Air Force Aid Society assists the community through various other programs – all of which are supported on JBER. Assistance such as Car Care, Give Parents a Break, and Spouse Employment help the service member and family in times of need and growth.
The Air Force Aid Society is the official charity of the U.S. Air Force and fulfills the needs of Airmen and their families through emergency financial assistance, educational support, and community programs since 1942.
For more information, call the JBER-E Military and Family Readiness Center at 552-4943.