<p>The Air Force did not go after every flying record it might claim, but on occasion it looked for chances to demonstrate its far-reaching power. In September 1974, a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing made two world record flights. On 1 September, the aircraft flew from New York to London in 1 hour, 45 minutes and 56 seconds, averaging 1,809.96 mph (2,912.77 km/h). On 13 September, the SR-71 flew from London to Los Angeles in 3 hours, 47 minutes and 39 seconds at an average speed of 1,435.59 mph (2,310.29 km/h).
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<p>The Air Force entered the 1970s with the Vietnam-era warplanes Vought A-7, McDonnell F-4 Phantom and General Dynamics F-111 still in production. Others, including the B-52, were no longer being built but were far from retirement.
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<p>Decisions made in the early 1970s expanded combat roles for the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard which had lost their one-time identity as 'weekend warriors': these reserve components were now part of day-to-day operations and integral to warfighting plans. The Reserve and the Guard were still asked to do the job with less than the newest and latest in equipment. Gradually, the large inventories of A-7s and F-4s found their way to the reserve components.
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<p>A new generation of warplanes arrived to equip the Air Force until the 21st century and beyond. The McDonnell F-15 Eagle, delivered to combat squadrons in January 1976, was conceived as a dual-role fighter-bomber but went into service in the air-to-air role. The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, which entered service in January 1979, began as a lightweight fighter but grew increasingly robust as capabilities were added. The F-15, F-16 and F-111F (in service since 1972, but with Pave Tack laser targeting system added in 1979) were decidedly hi-tech, but newly recruited airmen needed comic books to understand them. When President Carter took office in 1977, the 'all volunteer' concept was stumbling and the level of education in the US armed forces was at its lowest since the Civil War. A commander had to worry not about fighting the enemy, but about blacks and whites beating up each other in the NCO Club, or airmen shooting heroin behind the barracks.
