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  • Learning the tools to manage chronic pain

    Like many motivated Airmen, Staff Sgt. Robin Morrow is determined to make the most of her career.Chronic back pain after an automobile accident and spinal surgery almost shortened the career of the noncommissioned officer in charge of point-of-care testing for the 859th Diagnostics and Therapeutics

  • Graduate program offers advanced tools for terror war

    A one-of-a-kind curriculum offered here at the Naval Postgraduate School is helping shape future leaders for the challenges they will confront in the war on terrorism.Unlike some academic programs with seemingly little real-life application, the Defense Analysis program focuses on issues commanders

  • Most BRAC '05 environmental restoration remedies in place

    The Defense Department has identified and provided remedies for environmental restoration issues associated with most of the installations on the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list, a senior DOD official told the BRAC commission Aug. 11."From a base-reuse perspective the department will enter

  • Deadliest week in summer lurks near

    As summer comes to a close, the “101 Critical Days of Summer” fades away, but keeping safety in the forefront should remain a priority, officials here said.This year, the Air Force lost 24 Airmen. Most of these losses were preventable. However, the worst week historically in the Air Force, Aug. 21

  • Aeromedical evacuation improvements saving lives

    Better training, more advanced equipment and aeromedical evacuation procedures that are constantly being improved are helping save the lives of thousands of wounded servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan, Air Force medical officers said.Lt. Col. (Dr.) Warren Dorlac, chief of critical care and trauma

  • Command chief outlines direction for Airmen

    After recent trips to Air Combat Command bases throughout the United States and a trip to Southwest Asia, Chief Master Sgt. Dave Popp, Air Combat Command's command chief master sergeant, said he is impressed with the quality of America's Airmen and that his meetings with them filled him with pride

  • Video raises suicide awareness

    Creators of a video filmed here are hoping it will educate, prevent and lower the risk of suicides across Air Combat Command as well as the rest of the Air Force.“Air Combat Command Off-Duty Survivor Stories: Suicide Choices; Terminal Consequences,” is the second in a series of videos by the 436th

  • DOD launches deployment health, family readiness library

    Servicemembers, their families and their health-care providers have a new online Defense Department resource for deployment health issues.The DOD’s Deployment Health Risk Communication Working Group and the Joint Task Force for Family Readiness Education on Deployments have joined together to create

  • Safety officials offer advice to remedy vehicle risks

    Vehicle rollovers comprised 3 percent of nearly 11 million reported traffic accidents in 2002, yet accounted for 33 percent of highway fatalities that year, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The danger of rollover accidents is well known here. Since January

  • Historic Cape Canaveral tower toppled

    What took years to build required only seconds to knock down Aug. 6 when 171 pounds of strategically placed explosives toppled a historic 179-foot mobile service tower here.The 1,300-ton structure was used to launch 51 Atlas/Agena space vehicles in the 1960s and 1970s. The most famous of those

  • Rhein-Main transition on track

    The more than $465-million project to return Rhein-Main Air Base to Germany by Dec. 31 is “on track,” the Rhein-Main Transition Program chief said.Col. Tom Schnee, of U.S. Air Forces in Europe here, also said by Oct. 31 the command will finish shifting Rhein-Main’s key airlift mission to Ramstein

  • Staging flight sees lull in hectic routine

    The 435th Contingency Aeromedical Staging Flight’s large, 86-bed, open-bay ward was empty, so Staff Sgt. Desiree Wilson busied herself doing chores.The brightly lit ward was eerily peaceful, thanks to an unexpected lull here Aug. 8 in the busy business of aeromedical evacuation. So, all alone in the

  • Bagram runway reopens after C-17 incident

    A C-17 Globemaster III rolled off the runway while landing here Aug. 6, damaging its nose and right main landing gears.As a result, the runway was closed, but quick action and creative thinking by Air Force and Army engineers had the runway fully active again in less than 30 hours.There were no

  • 'Freedom Walk' to commemorate 9/11, celebrate freedom

    Defense Department officials announced Aug. 9 the first "America Supports You” Freedom Walk to honor the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, and America's servicemembers, as well as to celebrate freedom.The Freedom Walk will begin at 10 a.m. Sept. 11 in the Pentagon south parking lot, near the site where the

  • Battlelab turns ideas into innovation

    Anyone who has ever done business with the Air Force Information Warfare Battlelab here knows the people of that organization recognize a good idea when they see one.Just ask retired Master Sgt. Chuck Doig.Nearly four years ago the senior noncommissioned officer submitted an idea to the battlelab to

  • Report: Stabilator failure caused F-15 crash

    The failure of one of an F-15 Eagle's horizontal stabilators caused its pilot to lose control of his aircraft and crash during a training mission March 25, an Air Combat Command Investigation Board report on Aug. 9.The crash occurred during defensive basic fighter maneuver training with another

  • EOD Airmen rely on high-tech, steady nerves

    Soldiers of the 56th Brigade Combat Team encounter explosive situations daily as they travel along Iraq’s highways during convoy escort missions. But things hit closer to home when the Texas Army National Guardsmen found a suspicious package in a trailer near their headquarters recently. Security

  • Air superiority: 48 years of Falcon football

    Jim Bowman and Falcon football have been attached at the hip pad for 48 of the program’s 50 years. When Air Force kicks off Sept. 3 against the Washington Huskies, it will be the 534th Falcon game played during Mr. Bowman’s tenure.The former freshman and junior varsity coach turned associate

  • Class bell rings for cadets

    Sports has its opening day, Broadway its opening night, and the academy its first day of class.The anticipation of the new school year that begins Aug. 10 brings a book bag full of optimism for cadets and faculty as diverse as themselves.“There’s so much excitement in that first meeting. It’s the

  • Kadena Airmen rescue stranded surfer

    A day of surfing in Okinawa could have turned deadly for a Marine Corps family member the evening of Aug. 5 had it not been for the quick efforts of Airmen here.An HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crew jumped into action after the Japanese coast guard asked Kadena's 18th Wing for assistance in finding a

  • USO brings Rascal Flatts to Baghdad

    As the morning temperature passed 100 degrees Aug. 5 and even the shade under camouflage netting brought no relief from the heat, country music group Rascal Flatts offered Airmen and Soldiers at Baghdad International Airport a respite of music and calm.Traveling throughout the U.S. Central Command

  • Future Total Force in step with PACAF mission

    As the Future Total Force initiative integrates with Air Force operations in the Pacific, the transition is looking good, said the Pacific Air Forces commander.“The transformational pieces of our capabilities are clearly in the form of long-range bombers, the C-17 (Globemaster III), F/A-22 (Raptor)

  • Life support technicians inspect, maintain survival equipment

    The 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron's life support section is full of aircrew life support technicians who work hard every day since their work can mean "life or death" for C-130 Hercules aircrews and passengers.Life support equipment always has to be in tip-top condition to be ready whenever a

  • Airmen, Soldiers work with Hondurans to provide care

    Outside the double doors, the waiting area looked like any typical hospital. On Aug. 3, a couple waited tensely for news about their son’s procedure, while a young girl in a teddy bear hospital gown giggled with her family while waiting her turn to see the doctors. But the work taking place inside

  • Deployed Airmen reflect bravery, selfless determination

    Security forces Airmen here have demonstrated their bravery in the face of the enemy as they work side by side with Soldiers in detainee operations.Col. Jim Brown, 18th Military Police Brigade commander, praised the Airmen with the 447th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron for their noble

  • Security forces Airmen keep contraband off Kirkuk

    During the lunch-hour rush at a dining facility in Mosul, Iraq, a suicide bomber managed to penetrate base security and kill 22 Americans Dec. 21, 2004. Since then, American bases in Iraq have successfully increased security measures.Every day, 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron Airmen

  • Tricare seeks nominations to honor vaccination advocates

    In honor of National Immunization Awareness month, Tricare Management Activity officials are seeking to recognize an individual or team that has encouraged people in the community to catch up on vaccinations.This award will be the latest installment of the "Salute to the Heroes of Tricare" program.

  • ‘Dragon Lady’ celebrates 50th anniversary

    As people stood by eagerly awaiting its arrival, the U-2 "Dragon Lady," queen of the aerial surveillance and reconnaissance kingdom, glided onto the runway here Aug. 2 proclaiming the beginning of a celebration. Based at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., the U-2 was here as a static display in

  • AMC answers call to help rescue Russian sailors

    Air Mobility Command was called upon Aug. 5 to assist in the rescue effort to save seven Russian sailors stranded aboard a submarine off Russia's Pacific coast.The minisubmarine, an AS-28, became tangled in a fishing net Aug. 4 during a military exercise near the Kamchatka peninsula in Siberia.AMC

  • Piece of Rhein-Main history gets new home

    One of the most touching symbols of Rhein-Main’s history will soon find a new home at nearby Ramstein Air Base.The base chapel’s stained-glass memorial window, commemorating the U.S. servicemembers who lost their lives during the Berlin Airlift, was removed here Aug. 2.“The window will hang in the

  • Report: Failed pilot bearing caused Predator crash

    A failed pilot bearing caused an MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle to crash in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility March 30, according to an Air Force report released Aug. 4.The Predator, assigned to the 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., was performing an intelligence,

  • ‘Magic’ comes to North Carolina

    Magic filled the air and was on the basketball court here July 29 as Earvin “Magic” Johnson paid a visit to Fayetteville, N.C.Mr. Johnson, who led the Los Angeles Lakers to five National Basketball Association championships, spent his weekend with local Airmen and Soldiers.He also spoke with 200

  • Better than aviation education is a really cool patch

    About 43,000 Boy Scouts departed this Army installation Aug. 3 after 10 days of scouting, camping and learning. As part of the 2005 National Scout Jamboree, Boy Scouts nationwide gathered to make new friends, practice their scouting skills and earn "merit badges." Thanks to retired Lt. Col. Tom

  • Edwards, Eglin combine testing on next-generation F-16

    Combining two aircraft missions into one is not an easy feat, but that is exactly what engineers and pilots from here and Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., are testing. In the process, they have also combined operational and developmental into one testing effort.Five F-16 Fighting Falcons and aircrews

  • Contractor has supported every shuttle mission

    One hundred fourteen -- that is the total number of space shuttle missions launched by NASA. It is also the number of space shuttle missions Cliff Gatewood has supported here.Mr. Gatewood, a contractor, has been involved with every space shuttle mission to date beginning with Columbia in 1981. He

  • Air Force announces staff sergeant promotion rate

    The Air Force has selected 14,614 of 36,405 eligible senior airmen for promotion to staff sergeant, a 40.14-percent selection rate. The rate dropped slightly from last year.The Air Force will release the promotion list at 9 a.m. CDT on Aug. 10. The complete list of selectees will be posted online

  • Space weather forecasts clear communication

    Staff Sgt. Guillermo Ybarra III sits staring intensely at the sun. Unblinking, his furrowed brow wrinkles slightly as his eyes sharpen their gaze. After several more minutes, his piercing glance finds a change in the sun’s surface -- a change he has been anticipating. He purposefully scoops up the

  • Handy inducted into Order of the Sword

    Representatives from the 43,000-strong Air Mobility Command enlisted force honored the commander of U.S. Transportation Command and AMC during an Order of the Sword ceremony here July 29.More than 400 Airmen commandwide along with Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units attended the ceremony

  • Airmen support Soldiers with airdrop

    To keep yet another convoy off the road, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing aircrews at this forward-deployed location recently gave a textbook example of what agile combat support is all about.Several C-130 Hercules airdropped more than 69,000 pounds of Meals, Ready to Eat to U.S. and Iraqi Soldiers

  • McConnell pilot stabilizes girl after accident

    A KC-135 Stratotanker instructor pilot medically assisted a young girl after she was hit by a car, potentially saving her life.As Capt. Kevin Thomas, of the 349th Air Refueling Squadron, drove home the evening of July 28, he saw a car stopped in the westbound lane of a city road in Wichita, Kan.

  • Jumper: Airmen haven't changed at all

    The Air Force's top-ranked officer first donned a flight suit more than 39 years ago -- before 83 percent of active-duty Airmen had even been born. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper has seen a lot of changes during his time in uniform, but he said one thing remains the same -- the

  • Cold steel warms Airmen’s hearts

    The 446th Airlift Wing's aircraft maintenance crews are known for expertise on the job, but it is the tight, family like structure that helps keep them bonded together. Once again, they have come up with their own unique way to maintain that close-knit atmosphere, even while thousands of miles

  • Fuels Airmen keep more than planes operational

    For 19 years now, Master Sgt. David Chandler’s mother proudly tells everyone she meets that her son “passes gas for a living” in the U.S. Air Force.The fuels manager with the 407th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels management flight here is not fazed. He is heard them all and is ready

  • Critical days continue to take Airmen

    The fatal auto accident that claimed the lives of two Airmen in Germany recently raised the Air Force’s death toll to 24 during this year’s “101 Critical Days of Summer.”While that number is fairly typical for summer fatalities, it is still too high, said Tom Pazell, deputy chief of Air Force Ground

  • International affairs program available to officers, civilians

    Air Force officers and civilians have the opportunity to continue their education through the Global Master of Arts Program II.This graduate studies program is available to all midcareer officers and civilians serving in international affairs positions who have at least eight years of international

  • Jumper provides insight to BRAC, joint basing initiatives

    The largest Base Realignment and Closure proposal in history calls for the closing of 10 Air Force installations and the realignment of 62 more. In his Aug. 3 Chief’s Sight Picture, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper explains how BRAC and joint basing will help maximize the Air Force’s

  • Tomorrow’s leaders get first-hand look at life after academy

    While most college students enjoy the summer out of school, U.S. Air Force Academy cadets use their break for a look into the future.Operation Air Force sends cadets to Air Force bases worldwide to give them a taste of what life will be like when they become commissioned officers.For the past two

  • Rumsfeld lauds AF progress in adapting to fight terrorists

    Airmen worldwide have been filling nontraditional roles to contribute to the fight against a multifaceted, adaptive insurgency, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here Aug. 2.Addressing a meeting of the Air Force Sergeants Association, Secretary Rumsfeld highlighted the different jobs Airmen

  • Air Force seeks applicants for IAS program

    Air Force officials are looking to develop a cadre of Air Force officers with international insight, foreign language proficiency and cultural understanding to work in today's security and expeditionary operations environment.The Air Force will select officers at the midcareer point, normally seven

  • Crew chiefs turn bombers like fighters

    Postmen have nothing on these guys, particularly Tech. Sgt. Shannon Reynolds, a crew chief with the 40th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron at this forward-deployed location.He is one of 37 crew chiefs from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., who not only contend with bitterly cold winters and mountains of

  • Senate confirms Corley as new vice chief of staff

    The Senate confirmed Lt. Gen. John D. W. Corley on Aug. 1 as the next Air Force vice chief of staff. He will be promoted to the rank of general.General Corley, who is currently the principal deputy for the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, will replace Gen. T. Michael Moseley.

  • Airmen 'build bridge' for new mission at Spangdahlem

    About a dozen Airmen with the 817th Contingency Response Group from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., arrived here July 28 to support the Rhein-Main Transition Program.The five-year Rhein-Main Transition Program, scheduled for completion in December, calls for closing down Rhein-Main Air Base,

  • Air Force Intern Program develops future leaders

    The Air Force Intern Program Central Selection Board will convene at the Air Force Personnel Center here following the fall 2005 Developmental Team Review Process.The board will choose 30 junior and midlevel captains to study the application of air and space power and observe senior Defense

  • Long-term care insurance small price to pay

    Active-duty Airmen, some reservists, appropriated-fund civilian employees, retirees and qualified family members can still apply for the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program.The program can help federal employees defray the costs of in-home care, nursing-home care, or assisted-living facilities

  • Total force, joint, coalition team create synergy in CAOC

    Staffed by active-duty, Guard and Reserve forces from all the U.S. services along with coalition partners, the Central Air Forces Combined Air Operations Center at a forward-deployed location has proven to be a true total force, joint and coalition team.“The partnership (among) the people of these

  • Staging facility takes over where hospital leaves off

    It is 10:30 p.m., and the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group’s contingency aeromedical staging facility here is a flurry of activity. The doctors, nurses and technicians are making their rounds while other Airmen are checking in new arrivals, processing movement paperwork, palletizing bags and making

  • Team effort brings America’s wounded troops home

    Moving wounded American servicemembers from the frontlines in Southwest Asia to hospitals in the United States is no easy task. The effort requires everything from treating patients in forward-deployed locations to airlifting and caring for them as they move from overseas to stateside locations.One

  • Spangdahlem pilots fly missions in Romania

    About 160 Airmen from the 81st Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, recently conducted the first Air Force fighter training mission in Constanta, Romania.The two-week exercise that ended July 31 aligned with Romanian-American Training Exercise 2005, a joint and combined effort with the

  • Officials announce services award winners

    Air Force Services Agency officials announced the winners of the 2005 services awards recently.Kadena Air Base, Japan, won the Gen. Curtis E. LeMay Trophy for best overall services unit at a large base. Spangdahlem AB, Germany, won the Maj. Gen. Eugene L. Eubank Trophy for best services at a small

  • Uzbeks ask U.S. to leave Karshi-Khanabad

    Uzbekistan has exercised its rights under an October 2001 bilateral agreement to end coalition use of Karshi-Khanabad airfield.The Uzbek government delivered a note July 29 to the U.S. embassy in Tashkent giving the United States 180 days to withdraw its forces from the strategic field. About 800

  • Guard, Reserve integrate seamlessly into Nellis organization

    Organizations at the Air Warfare Center here are taking the concept, “One Team, One Fight,” literally and are combining active duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command personnel in all mission areas.“This is a smarter, better way of doing business, because we’re able to capitalize on

  • ARPC supports one-stop service

    It is more than 7,000 miles to Baghdad from here, but for an individual mobilization augmentee serving in Iraq, personnel services are only seconds away.Air Reserve Personnel Center officials here recently released the Virtual Personnel Center Guard Reserve, a Web-based personnel service portal

  • Airmen medevac two wounded Afghans

    A combat search and rescue crew evacuated two Afghan nationals who had been wounded by stray shrapnel from an anti-coalition militia mortar attack against a forward-operating base in a village northeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan, on July 28.After the attack, the two -- an adult and a 12-year-old boy

  • Soldiers, Airmen care for Iraqi patients

    Only a few hours earlier, surgeons were working diligently to save his life and repair the damage a bullet caused when it entered his abdomen and ricocheted throughout his body. Now, the 11-year-old Iraqi boy sleeps peacefully with his favorite stuffed animal clutched in his hand. His father, next

  • Basic cadets focus on next training obstacle

    Academy cadets began their final two weeks of training recently with a 7.8 mile hike to Jacks Valley. Almost 1,400 basic cadets from the class of 2009 marched from the main campus to the field training site they will call home during the field portion of basic cadet training.The field portion of BCT

  • Academy medics save life of Peterson NCO in Iraq

    Staff Sgt. Jamie Dana, a dog handler assigned to the 21st Security Forces Squadron at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., was seriously injured a month into her six-month deployment when an improvised explosive device hit her convoy during a patrol near Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq. Airmen here who are

  • EQUAL available Aug. 2

    The Enlisted Quarterly Assignment Listing for Airmen returning from overseas April to June 2006 will be available Aug. 2.Airmen can contact their military personnel flights or their commander's support staff to update their preferences by Aug. 18. Deployed Airmen should contact their personnel

  • Officials announce anti-terrorism awards

    Air Force units and people won three of the five categories in the 2005 Department of Defense Anti-terrorism Awards.The top-level awards program was established in 1993 to recognize deserving individuals and units in the anti-terrorism field.The 2005 Air Force winners are:-- Best Anti-terrorism

  • Air Force women’s soccer season kicks off

    A school-record 13 home games highlight the 2005 Air Force women’s soccer schedule when the Falcons open their season Aug. 26 at the University of Northern Colorado.The Falcons play eight nonconference home games and will hold the Nike Invitational here Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. The nonconference slate

  • Geren designated acting Air Force secretary

    The president designated Pete Geren to be the acting Secretary of the Air Force on July 29, replacing Michael L. Dominguez.The appointment is in accordance with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, Air Force officials said.Mr. Geren, who was special assistant to the secretary of defense, assumes his

  • AFIT, research lab agreement boosts research capabilities

    Scientists, faculty and students will have greater access to research opportunities through a landmark Memorandum of Agreement signed July 26 between the Air Force Institute of Technology and the Air Force Research Laboratory.Maj. Gen. Perry L. Lamy, AFRL commander, and Brig. Gen. Mark T. Matthews,

  • Airman crafts digital artwork for computer log-in scripts

    Staff Sgt. Chris Borslien does not consider himself much of an artist; however, his customers might disagree with him.Instead of using brushes and paint, the network control center technician creates digital art with alphanumeric characters known as American standard code for information

  • Air Force fighting fires at home

    Guardsmen and reservists are used to international situations that call for them to put out fires. Now, they are doing it here at home -- literally.More than 60 guardsmen and four specially equipped C-130 Hercules from North Carolina and Wyoming Air National Guard units are battling blazes in the

  • Dental flight keeps Airmen on track to fight war on terrorism

    Flossing, brushing, eating healthy and leaving with a sparkling white smile are not the only things the 20th Aeromedical-Dental Squadron’s dental flight wants Airmen here to have gained after leaving the dentist's chair."Our goal is to have everyone leave here medically qualified for a deployment,"

  • Aeromedical mission has healing touch

    On any given day, Airmen with the 386th Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility at a forward-deployed location provide support and medical care for patient movement and serve as an integral link in the global aeromedical evacuation system.“A (staging facility) is a modular and expeditionary concept

  • Battlelab develops C-5 aircrew night vision system

    C-5 Galaxy aircrews must tape over some white lights in the cockpit of their huge aircraft before missions into a “blacked out” environment when they must use night vision goggles.Sometimes crews use flashlights or even pull circuit breakers and light bulbs for other light systems to minimize the

  • ESGR gives support to reservists, guardsmen, employers

    A viable Guard and reserve force -- a critical weapon in the struggle against violent extremism -- depends on having viable employer support, said Gary Walston, newly appointed program specialist for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve in Texas.Mr. Walston, a retired Air National

  • Predator operators see whole picture

    Each MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle mission flown in the Iraqi sky begins and ends here.Predator operators deployed here put the aircraft in the air and make sure it lands safely. Sitting side by side in the “cockpit,” enlisted Airmen and officers work as a team providing top cover to

  • Nominee for undersecretary testifies before Congress

    The Department of Defense director of defense research and engineering appeared before a Congressional confirmation hearing July 28 to testify on his nomination as the new undersecretary of the Air Force. Dr. Ronald M. Sega, appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, told senators he was

  • Coalition: Withdrawal to be conditions-based

    The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq will be based strictly on security conditions in the country and the readiness of Iraqi forces to conduct independent operations, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman said in Baghdad on July 28.The United States will not withdraw forces until Iraqi security

  • Aeromedical evacuation process key to saving lives in Iraq

    In battle, one of the hardest challenges is saving the wounded. Medical professionals encounter injuries not normally seen in peacetime, and many times see multiple life-threatening injures requiring immediate treatment on the battlefield.Another problem is moving patients across hot desert sands on

  • Deployed leaders take ‘vest-ed’ interest in being cool

    The first test was in an outhouse.Saddled in the middle of Baghdad -- where temperatures are reaching at least 120 degrees -- that outhouse had all the qualities Capt. James Ross needed to test his idea to cool off flightline logistics workers from the stifling heat.His idea -- a “cool vest.” The

  • Servicemembers’ children fly high at Space Camp

    This summer, 15 military children took a giant leap for “kidkind.”It was 36 years ago on July 20, 1969, when astronaut Neil Armstrong announced he was taking "one small step for man, one giant step for mankind" on the moon.The students were selected from nearly 200 applicants who applied for the

  • Sword Order falls into hands of AFC2ISR Center Commander

    The commander of the Air Force Command and Control, and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center became the first inductee into the Air Force District of Washington’s Order of the Sword during a ceremony here July 22.Maj. Gen. Tommy F. Crawford received the highest honor and tribute

  • Officials: Troop withdrawals could begin next year

    A "fairly substantial" withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq could take place next spring or summer if the insurgency does not grow and the country's political process continues as scheduled, the commander of coalition forces said here July 27.U.S. Army Gen. George Casey, head of Multinational Force

  • Airmen donate soccer balls, supplies to African school

    Up and down a dusty grass and dirt soccer field, children chased a well-worn semblance of a ball. The ball more closely resembled a plastic bag wrapped in twine. The players stopped only to wave hello to the U.S. Airmen entering the airfield of Kigali International Airport.The students are from

  • Airman keeps sight of dream despite obstacles

    In 1971, 20-year-old Victor Folarin set off on a journey to achieve his dream of becoming a doctor. During that journey, he immigrated to another country, earned five college degrees and joined the U.S. military.Col. (Dr.) Victor Folarin, outgoing 7th Aeromedical/Dental Squadron commander here, was

  • Rumsfeld holds town hall meeting with troops in Iraq

    Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld visited with troops here and at Logistics Support Area Anaconda July 27, addressing Airmen and Soldiers in a town hall forum.He began with a thank you to the Airmen and Soldiers present. The air base and LSA Anaconda share the same installation“I’m profoundly

  • Friendship stands strong when duty calls

    Two families here will share a life-changing event in August.Robin Lawley, McConnell Base Exchange barber shop manager, will receive a liver transplant in August.To her surprise, the donor is a longtime customer and friend, Charles Smith, 22nd Security Forces Squadron information and industrial

  • First Future Total Force wing proves successful

    The first Future Total Force wing, the 116th Air Control Wing, is nearing its third birthday since merging active-duty Air Force, Army and Air National Guard units to form a “blended wing.”In October 2002, America’s first total force wing took flight as the 116th ACW and made history by combining

  • Davis-Monthan woman recognized for helping environment

    An environmental engineer here won $2,500 from “Good Housekeeping” magazine as a runner-up for the magazine’s Women in Government award.Karen Oden is assigned to the 355th Civil Engineer Squadron.The women selected for the award worked endless hours overcoming huge hurdles to make big changes,

  • Medics overcome shortage through aeromedical evacuation

    U.S. Air Force aeromedical evacuation teams coordinated the first airlift for the transfusion of blood platelets for two patients in Iraq and Afghanistan recently. Medics saved a Soldier diagnosed with a rare and rapidly growing cancer and ensured a Jordanian servicemember survived a flight home,

  • Reservist gives ‘gift of life’ 100 times

    Seventeen years ago, Senior Master Sgt. Carl Donophan donated blood for the first time. He is now among an elite group of people who have reached the rare milestone of making his 100th apheresis donation.Apheresis is a type of donation where the donor gives only a certain part of the blood,

  • Shaw F-16s intercept shuttle airspace violator

    Two F-16 Fighting Falcons, enforcing a temporary no-fly zone around the Space Shuttle Discovery launch site at Cape Canaveral, Fla., intercepted and escorted a small civilian aircraft from the area July 26.It was during the nine-minute hold in the countdown when the pilots recieved the call from

  • Cope North bilateral exercise wraps up in Guam

    The thunder in the Guam sky has subsided with the conclusion of Cope North, a bilateral exercise between Airmen from the U.S. Air Force and the Japan air self-defense force.The exercise, which ended July 21, was designed to enhance U.S. and Japanese air operations by training in air combat tactics,

  • Airmen missing from Vietnam War identified

    Officials with the Department of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office announced July 26 that the remains of two Airmen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.They are Col. James Lewis of

  • Predictability added to deployed travel

    Most deployed Airmen know how far along they are in their rotation and when they expect to return home.Until recently, that date was mostly speculation, but, thanks to aggregation, Airmen will know exactly when their replacement is coming and when they will leave.U.S. Central Command Air Forces

  • Air Force medics conduct plastic surgery clinic

    A seven-person plastic surgery team from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, is currently providing free corrective surgeries to Ecuadorian civilians here.Operating on mostly cleft lips and pallets, the team is staging from the El Hospital Militar de Cuenca, an Ecuadorian military hospital located near

  • AF experiments to return home with Discovery

    After existing nearly four years on the International Space Station, more than 800 Air Force experiments will finally return home with the Space Shuttle Discovery on Aug. 7.The space shuttle launched July 26 from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on a 12-day mission to test new flight safety procedures and

  • 45th Space Wing supports successful shuttle launch

    The 45th Space Wing at nearby Patrick Air Force Base provided flawless support for NASA’s successful launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on July 26, officials said.This was the shuttle’s first flight since the Columbia tragedy on Feb. 1, 2003. The wing’s Department of Defense Manned Spaceflight