JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Jan. 2, 1942 - Gen. H.H. Arnold directed the establishment of a new numbered air force, later designated the 8th Air Force.

Jan. 3, 1968 - Col. Henry Brown and Lt. Col. Joe Jordan became the first U.S. Air Force pilots to use an F-111A's emergency escape module when their plane crashed near Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Jan. 4, 1985 - Maj. Patricia Young became the first woman commander of an Air Force Space Command unit - Detachment 1, 20th Missile Warning Squadron.

Jan. 5, 1954 - Col. Willard Millikan set a speed record when he flew an F-86F Sabre between New York and Washington, D.C. in 24 minutes.

Jan. 6, 1965 - The General Dynamics F-111A demonstrated the ability to fly with its wings swept back in its first flight.

Jan. 7, 1959 - A 1959 U.S. Air Force study of Unidentified Flying Objects revealed less than one percent could be classified as unknown.

Jan. 8, 1986 - Military Airlift Command accepted delivery of its first C-5B Galaxy at Altus Air Force Base, Okla.