Cutting parts of text using other text in adobe illustrator

I have created a logo in adobe illustrator however as you can see the picture below I wanted to cut part of the E in airforce of using the shape of the A in advice. I normally have the logo on a white background so for the time being I added a white stroke to advice to create the illusion of cutting part of the E of as well having a bit of a gap. However now I need the logo to sit on different backgrounds I think it is time to cut part of the e off properly and not cheat by using a stroke. Can anybody show me how?

Thanks in advance