The end of the Cold War created a golden opportunity for reducing the defense burden and providing taxpayers with a "Peace Dividend." For the United States Air Force, this resulted over the past six years in drastic reductions: 23% in aircraft inventory, 30% in personnel, and 32% in the number of bases and other major installations. Well-known and long-serving aircraft, such as the A-7D/K, the B-52G, the F-4C/D/E, the F-111A/D, the FB-111A and the SR-71, have been withdrawn from active and reserve components, and some states, such as California, have lost nearly half of their Air Force...