Formerly called the AACS Alumni Association (1977 to 2008), AACS stood for both the Army Airways Communications System and the Airways and Air Communications Service. Over the years, because the missions were basically the same, the AACS Alumni Association expanded membership to include AFCS, Air Force Communications Command (AFCC), Air Force Command, Control, Communications & Computer Agency (AFC4A), Air Force Communications Agency (AFCA), Air Force Flight Standards Agency (AFFSA), and other Major Commands up to and including today's Air Force organizational structure.    
   
TAX STATUS   
   The Air Force Communicators and Air Traffic Controllers Association is an IRS Code 501(c)(19) organization.  In accordance with current IRS tax regulations, donations to the Association are tax deductible when filing a IRS Form 1040.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION HISTORY
    The AACS Alumni Association was formed on Sept. 30, 1977. Larry and Doris Camp were visiting Dux and Pearl LeDoux in Eunice, LA in the fall of 1976 when the subject of old military friends came up. Larry and Dux were assigned to the 5th Army Airways Communications System Wing in Europe. What began as an invite to a Poker Weekend in Columbus, OH (Larry and Dux were part of a London, England, poker group for AACS detachment commanders) to be hosted by the Camps, turned out to be the first AACS annual reunion. 
    The couples contacted as many old friends as they could, who in turn contacted others, and so on. A large number of former AACS troops and their spouses made their way to Columbus and the result was the formation of what is now one of the strongest Air Force Alumni Associations. The name AACS Alumni Association was adopted as the official title and was derived from the Army Airways Communications System and the Airways and Air Communications Service organizational titles.
    Individuals who were part of the first reunion had been assigned to AACS units before, during and after World War II, the Korean Conflict, and up to 1961 when AACS became a Major Air Command and was renamed the Air Force Communications Service (AFCS). Over the years, the AACS Alumni Association expanded membership to include AFCS, AFCC, AFC4A, AFCA, AFFSA, and other Major Commands.
    The Association was incorporated in the state of Michigan and obtained 501 (c) (19) IRS approved status. 
    An annual convention is held in different cities each year. Conventions usually begin on the last Thursday of September and end on the following Sunday. The Association operates on membership dues and donations.  Association dues are minimal, $15 per year, payable in two-year increments of $30.

ABOUT AACS
    In 1938 the Army Airways Communications System (AACS) was formed.  During World War II, for a short time it was renamed the Army Airways Communications Wing and then the Air Communications Service, but that only lasted 9 months.  When the clamor reached the halls of the Pentagon to retain the AACS designation, it was renamed the Airways and Air Communications Service (AACS) in 1946. This new designation was also a better fit due to the high volume of airplanes flying through US and US-controlled airspace and the need to control airways. 
    In 1961 AACS was elevated to Major Air Command status and it was renamed the Air Force Communications Service (AFCS).  This designation remained until 1979 when it was renamed the Air Force Communications Command (AFCC).  The old blue original AACS logo is our official Association logo.

LEGACY COMMANDS/AGENCIES (dates created)

15 Nov 1938 -- Army Airways Communications System
13 April 1943 -- Army Airways Communications System Wing
26 April 1944 -- Army Airways Communications System
13 March 1946 -- Air Communications Service
11 Sept 1946 -- Airways and Air Communications Service
1 July 1961 -- Air Force Communications Service
15 Nov 1979 -- Air Force Communications Command
28 May 1993 -- Air Force Command, Control, Communications, and Computer Agency
13 June 1996 -- Air Force Communications Agency
15 July 2009 -- Air Force Network Integration Center

The first Board of Directors:
Executive Director: Haskell "Hack" Neal
Executive Secretary: Mary Louise Gordon
Treasurer: Paul Haas
Publicity: Jean Winbigler
Newsletter Editor: Ted Carlson
Ham Radio Coordinator: George Walborn
Nominating Chairman: Larry Camp

In addition to the first Board of Directors, Regional Representatives were created to coordinate and recruit ex-AACS members in different parts of the country (these positions have been eliminated)

Initial Regional Representatives:
Ken Klise and Glen Turner (Northwest)
John Hoff (Rocky Mountains)
Gene and M.L. Gordon (So. California)
John Stevenson (Southwest)
Larry Camp (Midwest)
Dick Dickerson (Greater Washington D.C. area)
Max Mankofsky (New York)

Click on button to view list of AACS, AFCS, and AFCC communications units (by location and area), 1938-1993 (and beyond). 

Flares to Satellites:
History of Air Force Communications
Long Version (PDF)
"What hath God wrought?" questioned Samuel F. B. Morse in May 1844 in the first long-distance message transmitted over his invention, the telegraph.  Over 30 years later, in Mart 1876, Alexander Graham Bell's more prosaic first message, "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you," ushered in the age of the telephone. Unlike these two inventions, no single scientist or inventor can be credited with bringing the idea of radio to fruition . . . .

Over the years, the composition of the Board changed and the following individuals have served:
Executive Directors:
1977-1978  Haskell "Hack" Neal
1979-1980  Bob "Dick" Dickerson
1981-1982  Joe Beler
1983-1984  Don Donnell
1985-1986  Wally Bailey
1987-1991  Bob Brewer
1992-1993  Cal Venable
1994-1997  Jasper Vaughn
1998-2001  Richard "Hank" Sauer
2002 - 2005  Dick Frye
2006 - 2007  Richard "Hank" Sauer     
2008 - 2011 Stan Phillips
2011 -      Doug Donnell

Vice Directors: 
Randy Randall
Bob Leske
Maurice Schuman
Gil Kania
Stan Phillips
Bill Bethea
Doug Donnell
Gerald Sonnenberg

Treasurer: 
Paul Haas
Bob Brewer
Barney Glettler
Ray Sharpless
Cindy Allison

Executive Secretary:
Jean Beler
E.O. Wogstad,
Clair Lofchie
Ed Evans
Mary Lou Fitzpatrick
Bob Akard

Publicity: no longer a position
Maxine Porter
Nancy Donnell
Shorty Bailey
Vietta "Offie" Dowd
Chester Hankins
Ed Hooker
Wilbur McCracken
Rich Kao
Dan Morabito

Newsletter Editor: 
Betty Doyle
Wally Bailey
Vietta "Offie" Dowd
"Smitty" McClellan
Mary Venable
Dewey McClellan
Ted Carlson
Hank Sauer

Editor/Publisher:
Ted Carlson
Hank Sauer  
NOTE: Editor/Publisher is now one position.

Historian:
E.O. Wogstad
Dewey McClellan
Hank Sauer
Gene Sheridan

Ham Coordinator:  No longer a board position.
George Walborn
Dewey McClellan
Ed Evans
George Reeves  

Membership (was initially performed as an extra duty in the Executive Secretary position):
Ted Carlson
C.B. "Mac" Maginnis
Walt McLain

Director of Information:  
David Moore
Bill Mosley
Gerald Prather

Air Force Liaison:  No longer a position
Gerald Prather

Sgt-At-Arms:
Hank Sauer
Bob Rimmer
Bill Bethea
Gerald Prather
Bill Bethea

Judge Advocate:  John Milano

Chaplain: 
P. C. Brown
Jim Burch
Fr. Donald Seeks

Director at Large: No longer a board position
Vic Doyle

Web Site Manager:  Not a board of directors position; it is an appointed position by the executive director.
Hank Sauer
Lori Manske

PX/BX Supply Manager:
Ray Sharpless
Bill Cassatt