CORONA South Logo

The 2021 CORONA South summit logo at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. According to an Air Force history of the summits, Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold, commander of the Army Air Forces, held the first meeting for top generals at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama in February 1944. The Army Air Forces, and then the newly formed Air Force, held occasional commanders' conferences afterwards, and they eventually turned into annual affairs. Former Chief of Staff Gen. Curtis LeMay formalized the conference tradition at Fort Myer, Virginia, in 1961 to improve cohesion and strategic planning among his MAJCOM commanders. To show his top generals the importance of teamwork and cooperation, LeMay had them work together to move 100 feet of heavy conference tables that had been linked together over to the conference room's window and back to the middle of the room. Afterwards, to continue to build esprit de corps among the generals, LeMay passed out fine brandy and his favorite cigars, the Corona, which gave the conference its name. (U.S. Air Force graphic)