CAF Rise Above

CAF RISE ABOVE is the Commemorative Air Force's educational outreach programme that brings the history and legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of the Second World War to communities and classrooms. Its aim is to inspire young people to rise above adversity using the lessons and stories of these aviators, presenting them as examples of how to overcome obstacles through hard work and persistence rather than as a page from a history book. The programme is run by staff and volunteers of the CAF Red Tail Squadron, with a home office in Minnesota, and is supported by donations and merchandise campaigns.

Programmes

• The RISE ABOVE Traveling Exhibit and the CAF Red Tail Squadron's P-51C Mustang, painted in Tuskegee Airmen colours, travel nine months of the year across the United States to tell the story of America's first Black military pilots, available for booking at air shows, schools and community events
• Six Guiding Principles for the Tuskegee Airmen and Six Guiding Principles for the WASP, used as the framework for its educational message
• A free RISE ABOVE Resource Kit and online materials for teachers and youth leaders, plus newsletters and a blog
• Virtual museums for the Tuskegee Airmen and the WASP, featuring items shared by supporters and by the Texas Woman's University archives, and video interviews such as a Back to School campaign interview with Tuskegee Airman Dr Harold Brown

History preserved

The site documents the Tuskegee Airmen of the 99th Fighter Squadron and the 332nd Fighter Group, sent to North Africa in April 1943 and nicknamed the Red-Tail Angels by bomber crews for the red tail markings on their aircraft, as well as the 477th Bombardment Group and the Freeman Field protest of April 1945, and the post-war achievements of the airmen as doctors, entrepreneurs, educators and senior officers. Its WASP section honours the women who flew military aircraft from PT-17 and BT-13 trainers to B-25 and B-26 bombers during the war, with individual biographies listing classes, training at Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, aircraft flown and assigned bases. The programme's honorary board has included original Tuskegee Airmen such as the late Brigadier General Charles McGee, and it points visitors to the Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center at Dallas Executive Airport, the flagship of the American Airpower Heritage Museum, a CAF affiliate.

Shows

CAF Rise Above appears in the sponsor lists of the ICAS Convention 2026, where it is listed as a bronze sponsor.

Contact

Home office: Minnesota, United States; Commemorative Air Force headquarters at Dallas Executive Airport, Texas
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