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U.S. Air Force News

  • A new way to go from blue to green

    While Airmen and new recruits at basic training still "cross into the blue," Airmen at Pacific Air Forces are looking for new ways to cross into the green -- through reducing energy demands, increasing energy supplies and changing the culture.These methods form the three pillars of the Air Force

  • Photo essay: San Antonio forces honor fallen members

    Security forces and civilian police officers from the San Antonio area take part in an obstacle course and ruck march competition at Camp Bullis, Texas, May 12 during National Police Week.View slideshow.

  • Portal offers new secure network tool similar to Facebook

    Air Force Portal Web designers are keeping up with the Web 2.0 era by offering portal users a new means to engage in professional communications in a secure social media environment.After initial tests among some 7,000 users in the Air Force's logistics community, the portal's newly developed

  • Air Force Week in Photos

    This week's photo highlights feature Airmen around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.View the slideshow.

  • Hanscom Airmen to participate in annual interoperability demo

    Members of the 653rd Electronic Systems Wing's Enterprise Integration Division are preparing for Hanscom AFB to once again become a key site for this year's Coalition Warrior Interoperability Demonstration from June 14 through 24.CWID is a global, annual event directed by the chairman of the Joint

  • Leaders issue risk management message

    The Air Force's top leaders have issued a service-wide message discussing  environmental, safety, occupational health, or ESOH, risk management for Airmen to recognize and take action in their workplace."The Air Force ESOH vision is to be a world leader in environmental, safety, occupational health

  • Luke Airmen welcome Danish air force

    Nearly 100 members from the Royal Danish air force fighter wing recently deployed to Luke Air Force Base for a month-long F-16 Fighting Falcon combat enhancement training mission. RDAF Maj. Michael Rosenkrands, the detachment commander, said they do a lot of their training outside of Denmark because

  • Air Force officials to release master sergeant promotion list

    Air Force officials here May 20 selected 5,424 of 21,829 eligible technical sergeants for promotion to master sergeant for a selection rate of 24.85 percent.The average score for those selected was 341.18, with an average time in grade and time in service of 4.49 and 15.88 years respectively. The

  • Reserve officers hone leadership skills

    More than 60 Air Force Reserve officers from throughout the nation traveled here recently to hone their leadership skills during the Junior Officer Leadership Development course.Hosted by officials with the Air Force Reserve Command's 512th Airlift Wing, the four-day course featured three general

  • Guard security forces members protect exercise participants

    While more than 250 participants of Exercise Ardent Sentry '10 are here honing their skills to protect American citizens against threats from the air, Airmen from the Georgia Air National Guard's 165th Security Forces Squadron are protecting them on the ground. The unit is part of the 165th Airlift

  • Training command becomes energy-efficient force

    Officials released a new energy plan in December to serve as the framework for communicating Air Force energy goals to expand a culture shift where Airmen make energy a consideration in everything they do.The priorities now involve energy-focused considerations from initial design and acquisition

  • Air Guard officials open access to social media sites

    Air National Guard officials have announced that access to popular social media networking sites would become available to all Airmen who use their network. They began to allow access to popular social media networking sites May 10 and were scheduled to have access available to all bases and regions

  • Program links troops with career resources

    As the United States' economic crisis lingers, returning veterans are finding it harder to translate the skills they have learned on the battlefields onto a resume, but some employers are working with the military to bridge the gap.Staff members with the Employer Partnership Office of the Armed

  • Reserve major promotions announced

    Air Reserve Personnel Center officials here announced results of the Calendar 2010 Air Force Reserve Line and Health Professions Major Promotion Selection Boards May 18. The selection boards convened at the center here Feb. 1 through Feb. 6 to determine those officers qualified to assume the next

  • 86th AW supports AFAFRICA in Flintlock 10

    Flintlock 10 is a U.S. Africa Command-sponsored exercise conducted by the Special Operations Command Africa's Joint Special Operations Task Force - Trans Sahara that is scheduled to conclude May 23. Centered in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, the exercise focuses on military interoperability and

  • AETC fields new management tool

    Air Education and Training Command officials will field new user-friendly software called the Task Management Tool, which is designed to support the task management process for AETC headquarters, Air University, 2nd Air Force, 19th Air Force and wing staff leadership beginning in September.The TMT

  • Air Force fitness program revisions begin July 1

    In less than two months, Airmen across the globe will begin testing against new fitness assessment standards. These standards were deemed necessary by senior Air Force leaders to ensure a fitter and healthier fighting force. Changes include bi-annual testing, minimum requirements within testing

  • Services meet or exceed April recruiting goals

    All four services met or exceeded their April recruiting goals for their active and reserve components, Defense Department officials reported today.Navy active-duty and reserve numbers are preliminary, however, because flooding required Navy Personnel Command officials to take some information

  • First in, last out: Members of first RED HORSE squadron back in Iraq

    Members of the 200th Rapid Engineering Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer Squadron have arrived here to draw down the 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron from Iraq. As they complete the last construction and engineering projects and pack up their equipment and materials in the

  • AF seeks officers for Defense research program

    Air Force officials are soliciting officer nominations through June 17 for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Service Chiefs Program beginning in September.The DARPA SCP will help increase awareness within key military commands of DARPA's technology development efforts and enhance the

  • U.S., Vietnam servicemembers continue humanitarian efforts

    U.S. and Vietnamese servicemembers continued their humanitarian efforts in villages surrounding Can Tho as part of Operation Pacific Angel 2010 scheduled through May 15 here. The U.S. and Vietnamese civil engineering teams supporting Pacific Angel 2010 have increased the maximum capacity of two

  • Photo essay: Launch of Atlantis

    Space shuttle Atlantis takes on another mission with six astronauts aboard here May 14. This is the 107th time the 106th Rescue Wing has participated in supporting a shuttle launch.View the slideshow.

  • Photo essay: Warrior Games cycling events

    During the inaugural Warrior Games, athletes from all services participated in three types of cycling events May 13 during unseasonably cold weather here.View slideshow.

  • Iraqi airmen closer to controlling Taji Tower

     Working with civilian contractors, Airmen here are preparing Iraqi airmen for the eventual transfer of air traffic control operations."We currently have 16 Iraqi Air Force students involved in training at this time," said Staff Sgt. Shannon Grice, 321st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron air

  • Pacific Angel medical team relocates without missing a beat

    After providing three days of free medical care to more than 1,200 patients at Can Tho, Vietnam, the U.S. military medical team relocated their mission May 13 here as part of Operation Pacific Angel 2010. Medical teams from Vietnam and the U.S. began treating residents in Truong Thanh with free

  • Leaders conclude successful Sensor Rally

    More than 50 group, wing and center commanders attended the spring Sensor Rally here May 4 and 5. The bi-annual conference for Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency commanders was hosted by members of the agency's 70th ISR Wing headquartered on this Army post just 30 miles

  • Recruiting command chief retires after 30 years

    When Chief Master Sgt. Vance Clarke wakes each morning, he turns toward his wife and gently reaches over and touches her, a reminder as to why he continues to get out of bed each and every day at 4:30 a.m., dresses and heads to work.For the Air Force Recruiting Service command chief, his wife, Pam,

  • U.S., Vietnam building great relationships says U.S. Consul General

    The U. S. Counsul General from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, expressed his thanks to the U.S. and Vietnam for expanding their relationship through Operation Pacific Angel after touring the hosting facility here May 10.Consul General Kenneth J. Fairfax witnessed first-hand the combined effort of the

  • Air Force Week in Photos

    This week's photo highlights feature Airmen around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.View slideshow.

  • Gold Star Mothers visit McConnell Air Force Base

    With heavy hearts and a true sense of the meaning of "service before self," eight members from several chapters of the American Gold Star Mothers recently visited here May 4 for a Mother's Day tribute.The American Gold Star Mothers, a national organization of mothers who have lost a son or daughter

  • Deployment opportunities available for civilians

    Qualified Air Force civilians can broaden their career experience and bring valuable knowledge back to the workplace by volunteering for deployments in a variety of career fields, including civil engineering, contracting, intelligence, logistics management and security administration.As part of the

  • Chiefs care for 451 American infants' resting place

    Members of the Ramstein Area Chief's Group volunteered May 8 providing maintenance at the Kaiserslautern Kindergraves Memorial Cemetery here in preparation for a yearly remembrance ceremony.The cemetery is the final resting place for 451 American infants who died in Germany, either at birth or

  • Photo essay: Warrior Games basketball begins

    Team Air Force prepares for wheelchair basketball, at the Warrior Games competition here May 11. Warrior Games will be held from May 10 through May 14.View the slideshow.

  • Grand Forks CGOA recognized as best in Air Force

    The Grand Forks Air Force Base Company Grade Officer Association was selected as the CGO Council of the Year, May 5, during the CGOA Professional Development Conference in San Francisco.The Grand Forks AFB CGOA competed against more than 70 other CGOA councils from around the Air Force to win the

  • Airmen help save lives by donating platelets

    Military members at Kandahar Airfield have a chance to help fellow servicemembers by donating blood platelets.The aphersis clinic at the Role 3 hospital uses a unique process to extract blood platelets from donors. Platelets are one of three basic components of human blood."Our mission is to collect

  • Photo essay: C-130 aircrew helps fight oil spill

    An aircrew prepares the release of oil dispersant while flying their specially equipped aerial spraying C-130 Hercules aircraft here May 7. The unit is from the Air Force Reserve Command's 910th Airlift Wing at Youngstown-Warren Air Reserve Station, Ohio.View the slideshow.

  • Air Force officials announce FY 2011 force structure alignments

    Air Force officials announced May 11 the proposed force structure realignment for fiscal 2011.  The proposal provides a summary of the civilian and military personnel changes and aircraft assignments at Air Force installations for the upcoming fiscal year. This announcement supersedes all previous

  • Photo essay: Medical team in Southwest Asia

    Members of the 455th Expeditionary Medical Group/Task Force Medical East work together to provide a speedy recovery for their patients here May 5. View the slideshow.

  • Officials warn of 'phishing' scams targeting troops

    U.S. Strategic Command officials are urging renewed vigilance against Internet-based identity theft after detecting a widespread "phishing" expedition against servicemembers.Phishing is a term used to describe deceiving people into divulging personal information such as passwords or account numbers

  • Officials still seeking those impacted by stop-loss

    More than 2,600 current and former Airmen have been approved for retroactive stop-loss special pay since Air Force Personnel Center officials here began accepting claims in September.Officials continue to seek Airmen who were involuntarily held on active duty between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 30,

  • May 3 airpower summary

    Coalition airpower integrated with ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force troops in Afghanistan during operations May 3 according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.Air Operations in AfghanistanClose-Air SupportAsadabadAir Force F-15E Strike Eagle

  • AETC commander to retire

    Air Force officials announced May 10 that the commander of Air Education and Training Command will retire after 37 years of service.Gen. Stephen R. Lorenz spent the last two years providing combat-focused training to every Airman entering the Air Force while leading the "First Command." With an

  • Afghanistan future already exists in Panjshir

    A mineral water-bottling plant, kabob restaurants and construction site of the Massoud Tomb Complex don't necessarily reflect images of a war-torn nation; nor does the permissiveness allowing American military and civilian members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Panjshir to move relatively freely

  • Warrior Games team completes training, ready to compete

    Members of the Air Force team competing in the inaugural Warrior Games here completed their final week of training May 7. The 17 wounded, ill and injured Air Force team members will compete against Soldiers, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and Sailors May 10 through 14. The teams will compete in a variety

  • Nominations open for 2010 GEICO awards

    Awards and decorations officials at the Air Force Personnel Center here are seeking nominations for the 2010 Government Employees Insurance Company's Military Service Awards. The annual GEICO Military Service Awards recognize enlisted servicemembers from all military service branches, active duty,

  • Air Force program learns from Airmen

    The Air Force Lessons Learned program gives Airmen the opportunity to share their combat experiences to help future service members, according to the director of Air Force Analyses, Assessments and Lessons Learned (A9). "Every Airman is valued and can initiate change across our Air Force by

  • Air Force Week in Photos

    This week's photo highlights feature Airmen around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.View slideshow.

  • Social media sites add dimension to sharing information

    A new Facebook fan page is giving the Air Force community an interactive platform for exchanging news, information and feedback about programs that affect their personal and professional lives. US Air Force Life and Career debuted earlier this year and has captured topics fresh on the minds of Air

  • 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' online inbox goes live

    A new online inbox that enables servicemembers and their families to comment anonymously about the impact of a possible repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law has gone live. The inbox will enable servicemembers and families to offer their thoughts about how a repeal of the law that prohibits gays

  • Air Force announces JAG award winners

    The Air Force Judge Advocate General announced April 30 the 2009 Judge Advocate General Award winners. "I am proud of each of our award winners; they represent the best of the best," said Lt. Gen. Richard C. Harding, the judge advocate general. "They have demonstrated excellence, initiative,

  • Photo essay: Flight of a T-52A

    Academy cadets and leaders fly the newest aircraft addition for cadet flight training here April 15. View the slideshow.

  • Air Force officials clarify officer stratification

    Air Force officials are providing additional guidance to help clarify the use of stratification for officers after receiving feedback from senior leaders, promotion boards and Airmen around the globe. That feedback included concerns that our previous officer stratification guidance was unclear and

  • State-of-the-art equipment bridges the gap

    Army Corps of Engineers members along with members of the 84th Engineer Support Company, 6th Engineer Battalion, tested a new bridging system April 28, 2010, at Fort Richardson, Alaska, to help the military travel across a wide variety of terrain quickly. Testing of the Lightweight Modular Causeway

  • AF panel likens DOD acquisition to contact sport

    The Defense Department's journey to recapture acquisition excellence took a big step forward during two days of discussions and workforce training held at Sinclair Community College here April 20 and 21.That was the assessment made by several senior leaders at the DOD Acquisition Insight

  • Photo essay: Security forces training

    Security forces Airmen participate in Brave Defender training exercises to learn about weapons and improvised explosive devices here April 22.View the slideshow.

  • Air Force Week in Photos

    This week's photo highlights feature Airmen around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.View slideshow.

  • Combat controllers contributions honored in ceremony

    The Air Force chief of staff presented 13 medals to 11 combat controllers during a ceremony here April 29. Gen. Norton Schwartz pinned three Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, three Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts on Airmen from the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron for their actions during

  • Lynn discusses social media at Facebook headquarters

    You could call the Facebook headquarters the "un-Pentagon." The dress is casual, with far more T-shirts than sport coats, and many workers wear sandals instead of shoes.A skateboard was parked outside one office. An employee who spotted a group in business suits remarked, "If they're wearing ties,

  • Ramstein youth wins Air Force video competition

    A U.S. Air Forces in Europe youth was named the Air Force-level winner for his submission to the Year of the Air Force Family video competition April 21.Gen. Roger Brady, the USAFE commander, presented Hunter Koltes, 13, a $2,000 gift check toward the purchase of a new computer and video camera and

  • Airmen train on combat search, rescue missions

    Airmen participating in Exercise Angel Thunder 2010 here performed a combat search and rescue mission at the Barry M. Goldwater Range April 19 more than 140 miles northwest of Tucson, Ariz. Two HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopters carrying teams of pararescuemen accompanied by multiple A-10

  • TIME magazine recognizes Airman in top 100

    TIME magazine editors have named Chief Master Sgt. Antonio D. Travis to the 2010 TIME 100, the magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world for his efforts after the Haiti earthquake. Chief Travis was one of the first U.S. military members on the ground at the Toussaint

  • April 26 airpower summary

    Coalition airpower integrated with ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force troops in Afghanistan during operations April 26 according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.Air Operations in AfghanistanClose-Air SupportKonduzAir Force F-15E Strike Eagle

  • Lynn details approach to changes in warfare

    Warfare has changed, and the U.S. military must shift to meet the new threats, Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III said to members of the World Affairs Council here April 27.Mr. Lynn said he and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates have tried to shift military strategy "to move the tectonic

  • Guard kids are different, but programs still available to them

    Guard kids differ from active duty kids in only one way: access. This means access to support programs and access to peers who understand what they are going through.Everything else is the same: missing their parents terribly when they deploy, counting the days until they come home and trying to

  • Registration open for 2010 Air Force Energy Forum III

    The Air Force Energy III Forum, focusing on the service's most pressing energy issues, is slated to take place May 27 through 28 here. Highlighting the event's theme "A New Culture: Energy as an Operations Enabler," Air Force, government and industry energy representatives will discuss the service's

  • New recruits make commitment at Sun-N-Fun Air Show

    Eighteen new recruits recited the oath of enlistment at the Sun-N-Fun Air Show at Lakeland, Fla., April 17.Lt. Col. Chase Cunningham, U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron "Thunderbirds" commander, administered the oath of enlistment in front of about 60,000 patriotic onlookers. The oath is a

  • Pace of changes clouds future, Mullen says

    The pace of changes in the military and in the world has made looking ahead a difficult proposition, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said April 26.Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told members of the Colorado Air National Guard's 140th Wing during a town hall-style meeting at Buckley Air Force Base,

  • Air Force recruiters debut 'augmented reality' mobile tour

    The U.S. Air Force's newest mobile marketing tour, "Command Center Alpha," was unveiled April 22 at the Suwannee River Jam in Live Oak, Fla. Command Center Alpha is a first-of-its-kind augmented reality mobile tour experience that immerses visitors in the "sci-fi" world of the U.S. Air Force. The

  • Airmen build facilities for warfighters

    As 30,000 servicemembers continue to pour into the region as part of the troop surge in Afghanistan, a 15-man team of Airmen with the 1st Expeditionary RED HORSE Group here is building structures for warfighters."Our mission here is to construct the facilities that directly support the

  • Air Force-wide social media access begins

    Air Force officials began a two-week phased opening April 26 of access to social media sites Air Force-wide. Pacific Air Forces bases gained access to social media sites earlier in April, serving as the test-bed prior to the Air Force-wide initiative.Air Force Space Command, Air Education and

  • Italian navy, air force officials visit F-35 training wing

    Representatives from the Italian air force and navy visited the 33rd Fighter Wing here April 20 in an effort to check the progress of the first F-35 Lightning II integrated training center and learn more about this new coalition venture. "Things are moving, and this program is becoming real," said

  • Air Guard security forces at the top of their game

    Air National Guard security forces are at the top of their game, their top officer said here April 21. "We're better equipped, better trained, better (tasked) than we have ever been," said Col. John Wakefield at a conference of nearly 400 ANG security forces personnel.Thousands of them have deployed

  • Official urges Gulf War vets to seek VA care

    Gulf War veterans with medical symptoms should seek treatment through the Department of Veterans Affairs in light of a recent study stating Gulf War service is a cause of post-traumatic stress disorder, a senior military health system official said April 25 here.If Gulf War veterans seek care

  • Air Force officials announce candidate list for basing of MC-12W aircraft

    Air Force officials released their candidate list of basing locations April 23 for MC-12W aircraft. The list of candidate bases was approved by the secretary and chief of staff of the Air Force and include: Altus Air Force Base, Okla.; Beale AFB, Calif.; Key Field Air Guard Station, Miss.; Langley

  • Air Force officials announce criteria and candidate list for basing of C-17

    Air Force officials released the candidate basing locations April 23 and the criteria they used to determine the candidate basing locations for additional C-17 Globemaster III aircraft.The list of candidate bases was approved by the secretary and chief of staff of the Air Force: Eastern West

  • Warrior Games approaching fast

    With fewer than three weeks to go, the Air Force team is making preparations for the Department of Defense's inaugural Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 10th through the 14th.What started as an e-mail from one athlete asking questions about the upcoming event turned into a process of

  • VA officials strive to prevent veteran suicides

    With more than 6,000 veterans committing suicide every year, and 98 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan taking their own lives during fiscal 2009 alone,  Department of Veterans Affairs officials are redoubling their outreach to veterans and promoting the toll-free suicide-prevention hotline. National

  • Photo essay: Airmen train for cold weather survival

    Aircrew members with the 962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron participate in a refresher course April 12 for cold weather survival, evasion, resistance, and escape training  here.View the slideshow.

  • Airmen, Soldiers team up to tackle threats

    Air Force and Army members here performed a joint, force-protection patrol April 14 near one of the U.S. Air Force's Central Command's main airbases in Iraq.Members of the Air Force's 532nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron and the Army's 1st of the 28th Infantry Battalion  teamed up and armed

  • Air Force's most tenured recruiter retires

    Nearly 26 years ago Doug Sikat felt it was time for a change in his three-year Air Force career. The New York City native was a buck sergeant working as an F-15 Eagle crew chief at Kadena Air Base, Japan. While he loved his job, he knew there was something else out there for him.That "something

  • Air Force Week in Photos

    This week's photo highlights feature Airmen around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.View slideshow.

  • Dyess offers specialized housing through privatization

    Housing program officials here point to the privatized housing units managed off base as a success story, as the Air Force plans for 22 more bases to go "private" by the end of next year. "We started demolishing 1950s-era homes almost 10 years ago," said Dolores Green, housing program manager with

  • Air Force F-35 completes first test flight

    The Air Force version of the F-35A flew for an hour April 20 from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas, becoming the seventh F-35 Lightning II to fly. AF-2, the conventional takeoff and landing aircraft, is the Air Force's version of the Joint Strike Fighter. This fifth-generation

  • Air Force officials announce AFAF competition winners

    Air Force officials have announced their Group 1 winners of the annual Air Force Assistance Fund "Commitment to Caring" campaign, which provides Airmen the opportunity to contribute to four official Air Force charitable organizations.The campaign, which started Feb. 8 and runs until May 7, features