The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black combat pilots to serve for the United States armed forces. They came from all over the country to try out for the first ever experiment to train black pilots at Tuskegee Air Field in Alabama. As members of the 332nd Fighter Group, they not only had to face the daily challenges that came from serving in the battlefield, but they had to overcome racism from other pilots and those who were determined not to give them respect as soldiers. They had to struggle against a history of racism practiced by the armed forces that refused to give blacks the same recognition for their service that they would have given whites. The armed forces believed that blacks lacked the intelligence needed for combat duty and usually performed service jobs such as cooks or janitors. The 332nd challenged these racist stereotypes and proved that blacks were not just capable of serving alongside of white officers; they could perform just as well or better than their white counterparts. Their success in North Africa, Italy, and Europe earned the respect of those around them and would eventually play a huge role in the eventual desegregation of the armed forces in 1948 with the signing of Executive Order 9981.