HomeNews

NATO Air Policing operations

U.S. Air Force News

  • Bagram getting new passenger terminal

    Engineers are building a new $932,000 passenger terminal that will expand operations at this base. Twenty-four Airmen from the 1st Expeditionary Red Horse Group, deployed here from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., began laying the terminal’s foundation earlier this month. The group expects to finish the

  • Bagram honors fallen Airmen

    Service members from Bagram Airfield came together Dec. 23 to honor the memories of six Airmen killed in an improvised explosive device attack two days earlier.

  • Bagram hospital provides care to all who need it

    The announcement over the hospital intercom blared the news: more casualties were arriving, many that the staff knew would need near-heroic measures to survive.The Staff Sgt. Heathe N. Craig Joint Theater Hospital, one of the largest and best-equipped trauma facilities in Afghanistan, was preparing

  • Bagram hospital staff saves baby after IED blast

    A blast from an improvised explosive device claimed the lives of two Afghan parents, however, their 9-month-old daughter, Salma, survived the attack and is recovering at the Craig Joint-Theater Hospital here. After more than two weeks of fighting for her life, Salma, which means "protected" in

  • Bagram mail team delivers

    Delivering messages from home to more than 700 deployed Airmen is a “mission of morale” being carried out on a daily basis by the mail team here.Anywhere from seven to 20 pallets of mail arrive here daily -- anywhere between 15,000 to 50,000 pounds of mail.“We have a core team of seven Airmen --

  • Bagram medical staff 'Smooth Operators'

    The Task Force Med operating room staff at the Craig Joint Theater Hospital display the true meaning of teamwork, as they care for wounded American and Afghan patients here. Nicknamed the "Smooth Operators," the team arrived in May and made the surgical suite mission-ready in less than 48 hours.

  • Bagram medics remove unexploded ordnance from patient

    Airmen from the Craig Joint Theater Hospital trauma team here removed an unexploded ordnance from a patient's scalp March 18 here.The patient, an Afghan National Army soldier, was involved in an improvised explosive device attack and had a 14.5 mm high explosive incendiary round with approximately 5

  • Bagram officials host women's affair seminar

    Education, employment and security were the common themes addressed by eight influential Afghan women during a women's affair seminar at Bagram Air Base. Business owners, government leaders, educators, multi-media and non-governmental organization representatives from Kabul, Kapisa and Parwan

  • Bagram officials stand up 4 new squadrons

    Bagram Airfield officials have added four new squadrons to their growing list of units during an assumption of command ceremony here May 5. More than 1,200 joint expeditionary tasking and provincial reconstruction team Airmen deployed to more than 40 forward operating bases and camps throughout

  • Bagram opens $68 million runway

    Despite inclement weather and the possibility of snowfall, a new $68 million runway was opened and celebrated by Air Force and Army servicemembers, civilian contractors and Afghan officials Dec. 20 at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The project was executed by Contrak International workers from Cairo,

  • Bagram PRT awards $3 million contract

    A landmark road-construction contract that will link all districts in the Kapisa province of Afghanistan was awarded to a local contractor by the Bagram Provincial Reconstruction Team Sept. 18.When the road is complete, Kapisa province will be the only province in Afghanistan with roads connecting

  • Bagram PRT gives torched school second chance

    Soldiers and Airmen from the Bagram Provincial Reconstruction Team traveled to Nyazi Geranshakh in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan on July 19 to replace eight tents at its local school that were burned down earlier this week by arsonists.Team members were equipped with replacement tents as well

  • Bagram PRT rebuilds Afghanistan one school at a time

    The Air Force-led Bagram Provincial Reconstruction Team attended a ceremony March 26 marking the first day of class at a high school in Kapisa Province. The PRT also donated approximately 3,000 pine and fruit trees and boxes of school supplies. Both gestures were in support of the Afghan New Year

  • Bagram receives first relocatable dormitory

    The standard of living improved dramatically for more than 100 Airmen on Camp Cunningham here with the opening of the first relocatable dormitory here Feb. 26. Texan Hall was officially dedicated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and called home for 120 Airmen deployed in support of Operation Enduring

  • Bagram remembers Operation Anaconda’s fallen

    Senior Airman Jason Cunningham and six of his special forces comrades including Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts, Army Sgt. Bradley Crose, Army Sgt. Phillip Svitak, Army Spc. Marc Anderson and Army Cpl. Matthew Commons, traded their blood for freedom 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

  • Bagram security forces Airmen pass torch as unit inactivates

    Airmen of the 755th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron stood together for the last time Jan. 11 to bid farewell to their squadron as the unit was inactivated during a formal ceremony at Bagram Air Base. The 755th ESFS was originally formed in December 2005 in response to an Army request for

  • Bagram security forces fly away to support airlift mission

    Security forces protect Air Force people and resources worldwide, even when those resources are on the move at more than 300 mph. The C-130 Hercules cargo plane is the primary means of moving supplies and troops around Afghanistan. Aircrews frequently land at remote, dirt landing strips to support

  • Bagram unit opens new bridge, road

    When local contractor Asil Khan first thought of building a bridge over the Gogamanda River, he was knee-deep in it, evading the Soviet army on a trip to Pakistan to procure weapons for the mujahedeen. More than 15 years later, that idea became a reality, as Gov. Jabar Taqwa officially opened the

  • Bagram upgrade taken on by Red Horse engineers

    Aircraft parking space is getting a boost from the ground up here as a team of Red Horse engineers remove and replace 60,000-square meters of ramp space. Once complete, the $4.4-million airfield construction project will provide U.S. and coalition aircraft supporting Operation Enduring Freedom a

  • BAK-12 installation strengthens Slovak partnership

    Airmen from the 435th Air Ground Operations Wing completed the installation of a new Barrier Arresting Kit-12 allowing U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa F-16 Fighting Falcons to land at Malacky Air Base, July 10.

  • Baked Alaska

    Karen Hanaway prepares to bake holiday cookies for dormitory residents here. Dozens of volunteers from several base organizations and school-age children are baking the goods as part of the annual Elmendorf Holiday Cookie Caper. About 900 dozen cookies are expected to be delivered to dorm dwellers

  • Bakers, baggers deliver sweet treats to dormitory Airmen

    Thousands of homemade cookies, candy, hot chocolate and other goodies were collected, bagged and delivered to dormitory residents Dec. 16 at Peterson Air Force Base.Hundreds of people donated cookies and sweets, totaling more than 6,600, for nearly 400 single servicemembers of Peterson, Schriever

  • Balad add-on armor shop comes to a close

    After the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, a need for extra armor on convoy vehicles arose. Insurgents were killing Airmen and Soldiers through roadside improvised explosive devices. Airmen here have been protecting convoys and the people who ride in them since then by installing extra armor to

  • Balad aerial port bests cargo movement record

    The 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron Aerial Port Flight broke the single-day cargo-movement record here Dec. 6. The aerial port Airmen surpassed the previous record set in 2006 by more than 100 tons, moving 930 tons of cargo from 77 aircraft. "It's not surprising we broke the record,

  • Balad Air Base now part of Air Force Public Web

    Airmen in Iraq supporting the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad Air Base can expect to see a new look on their public Web site. The Air Force plan to consolidate and standardize the appearance of its sites has reached deployed bases as part of the Air Force Public Web program. The Secretary of

  • Balad air traffic controllers maintain safer skies for Iraq

    With 5,000 air operations per week within a five-nautical-mile radius from surface level to 3,000 feet, the airfield here is the busiest in the Department of Defense. In fact, the runways at Balad Air Base are part of the world's busiest combat operation. At this pace, the 22 Airmen assigned as air

  • Balad Airman creates wounded warrior program

    An Airman here helped develop the Balad Wounded Warrior Program, a program created to ease the transition of wounded servicemembers through the medical evacuation process.Senior Airman Raymond Jones, a plans and programming projects manager with the 332nd Expeditionary Communications Squadron,

  • Balad Airman earns national air traffic control honors

    When the Air Traffic Control Association announced its annual air traffic control awards earlier this month, one of Balad AB's own was acknowledged. Senior Airman Joshua Matias, 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron air traffic control apprentice, was named the 2006 ATCA Lingiam Odems

  • Balad Airman receives American Legion award

    An award ceremony today in Salt Lake City will recognize an Airman for his dedication to improve his community. That Airman will spend his day 7,000 miles away performing force protection duties. Senior Airman Edward Slavik of the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron is the Air Force

  • Balad Airmen have sweeping task

    Keeping the busy airfield here free of debris is a lot of work -- and takes a lot of sweeping. But Airmen from the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron airfield management flight and 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron pavements and equipment shop see it as a challenge. "We

  • Balad Airmen help improve quality of life for Soldiers in Iraq

    A 13-man team from Balad Air Base made quality-of-life improvements, security repairs and facilitated more than 85 emergency maintenance repairs during a 30-day assignment in December and January to an Army patrol base in Samarra, Iraq. Among the improvements the group of Airmen made were

  • Balad Airmen honor fallen on Memorial Day

    About 300 Airmen here gathered May 28 to honor the servicemembers who made the ultimate sacrifice defending freedom. They also added a 33rd name to the Fallen Airman Memorial. The ceremony opened with the posting of the colors, the National Anthem and a chaplain invocation. For most people, Memorial

  • Balad Airmen maintain heavy lift capability

    Air Mobility Command's C-17 Globemaster III and C-5 Galaxy airlifters are resilient, but when they break, Airmen here work to get them back in the air.The mission of the 521st Air Mobility Operation Group, Det. 5 Airmen is to support all Air Mobility Command heavy airlift aircraft transiting Joint

  • Balad Airmen move helicopters for Iraq drawdown

    As the drawdown and redeployment of assets continues in Iraq, helicopters from bases in Northern Iraq have made their way here to be inspected, prepped and shipped to new operating locations with the assistance of the 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron Aerial Port team."We have about

  • Balad Airmen rescue U.S. teachers in Iraq

    Airmen from the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron here were called out to rescue two American citizens lost on a hiking trip March 2. "We initially started hearing information about a possibility of American citizens getting lost during a hiking trip at around 4 a.m.," said Navy Lt. Evan Scaggs, a

  • Balad Airmen say goodbye to fallen warrior

    Honored as a leader, brother, teacher and true friend, an Airman killed fighting the war on terrorism was remembered by Airmen of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, both at Balad Air Base, Iraq, and at Camp Liberty near Baghdad May 18. Staff Sgt. John T. Self lost his life May 14 while on his 79th

  • Balad Airmen take on galactic mission

    For Airmen assigned to the 721st Aircraft Mobility Operations Group Det. 5 here, going to work each day means taking on two of the largest aircraft in the Air Force inventory. Charged with maintenance support for the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III, the Airmen provide en route maintenance,

  • Balad Airmen teach contractors lifesaving skills

    When it comes to rescuing someone trapped in a vehicle, using the "jaws of life" can mean the difference between life and death -- but only if the tool is used properly. Members of the Balad Air Base Fire Department recently led refresher training sessions for U.S. government contracted personnel

  • Balad Airmen welcome USO tour

    Troops from here and Logistics Support Area Anaconda were treated to an early Christmas present Dec. 14.The United Service Organizations brought the servicemembers the Chairman’s Holiday Tour. Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and tour host, greeted more than 2,000 troops

  • Balad becomes divert base for wounded troops

    Senior U.S. Air Forces Central Command medical officers have temporarily named Joint Base Balad as the new hub for all aeromedical evacuations following worldwide air travel disruptions caused by ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruptions. The Air Force Theater Hospital received its first

  • Balad chapel staff opens center in fallen pilot's honor

    Airmen seeking a quiet place to relax in a space away from a crowded dorm room now have another place to spend off-duty time within the H-6 housing area at Balad AB. Troy's Place, an Airmen Ministry Center sponsored by the Balad AB Chapel, opened May 4 and is in honor of a pilot who died supporting

  • Balad collects first in-house plasma donation

    Donating platelets is a way of life for some Airmen and Soldiers here. Once a month, these volunteers stop by the donation center at the Air Force Theater Hospital, hop into a chair and sit for up to two hours while platelets are removed from their blood. One Airman recently became the first plasma

  • Balad exercise hones response skills

    A joint Army and Air Force exercise recently tested the emergency response skills of Airmen and Soldier firefighters at Balad Air Base, Iraq. "Our No. 1 goal is to coordinate an emergency response that'll safely take the injured to a medical treatment facility," said Chief Master Sgt. Kevin

  • Balad F-16s destroy terrorist training camp

    F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing here destroyed an al-Qaida training camp southwest of Baghdad July 21. In a coordinated attack, joint air terminal controllers on the ground cleared seven F-16s to drop 500-pound and 1,000-pound guided bombs on the terror complex near

  • Balad first base to host resiliency training

    Deployments cause stress and stress, if not managed, can lead to consequences such as arguments, fights, mission failures and possibly suicide.Joint Base Balad is the first base in Southwest Asia to test the Flash Forward Resiliency Training Program, which is one of many programs that will be

  • Balad first sergeants bare veins for IV training

    People assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron received life-saving medical training July 15 on the arms of first sergeants here.More than six Balad first sergeants rolled up their sleeves and "took one for the team" to give a few patrolmen intravenous therapy training for

  • Balad honors fallen EOD Airman

    Senior Airman William N. Newman, an explosive ordnance disposal technician who was killed June 7 south of Balad Air Base, Iraq, was honored in a memorial service here June 10. Airman Newman, 23, assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, was killed by an improvised explosive

  • Balad leads from front in season of giving

    No matter what holiday you celebrate -- Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or any other -- this time of year is generally regarded as the season for giving and a time to share. One might wonder, then, why the spirit of this season isn't observed all year. But it is here at Balad, where many Airmen

  • Balad medic takes 'fit-to-fight' to extremes for charity

    Fitness training is vital for Airmen to be prepared to meet the physical challenges of being deployed. An Airman here has taken physical fitness to a new level by using it to help others. Senior Airman Brendan Brustad, with the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group, is preparing for a 100-mile marathon

  • Balad medical team turns tragedy into triumph

    Sajad Hany Shaker Mahmud was involved in an improvised explosive device attack Jan. 24 in Iraq. He had just climbed into a vehicle for a short trip when an IED detonated. Sajad has no known enemies, disputes, business conflicts or political aspirations. He is only 6-years-old. Sajad is still

  • Balad medics aid villagers

    She could not walk or sit. The 5-year-old girl was the size of a child two years younger. In the United States she would have had surgery in infancy and would have likely grown and developed normally. That is in the United States. In Iraq, millions of Iraqis have gone without proper medical care

  • Balad medics perform critical mission

    Evacuation team members brace themselves against the rotor wash of a Blackhawk helicopter as it lands, stirring up swirling clouds of dust. They immediately make their way to the chopper and hurriedly bring patients into the trauma center. Within seconds, the emergency room is buzzing with activity

  • Balad 'Port Dawgs' help limit ground convoys

    With each pallet pushed onto an aircraft flying out of Balad, another dangerous convoy mission is avoided and lives are potentially saved. The "Port Dawgs" assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron Aerial Port Flight, ensure assets are delivered to forward-operating locations

  • Balad radar air traffic controllers run skies of Iraq

    It looks simple in theory. All you have to do is keep little blips on a screen from bumping into each other. Now consider that those blips represent billions of dollars of government assets and hundreds of lives, all relying on one person's ability to control air traffic. This is the job of the

  • Balad remains one busy airfield

    Aircraft pack the flightline here and operations are non-stop and intense. C-130 Hercules, MQ-1 Predators, F-16 Fighting Falcons and HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters all call this busy base home. The men and women who support the aircraft say Balad has the busiest single-runway airfield in the Department

  • Balad servicemembers strengthen bonds with community, Iraqi children

    e first Iraqi Kids Day of the year here served as part of the ongoing base effort to positively engage the local populace April 24.Although past events of this kind had an underlying theme to teach the children about health and safety, this event was held for one purpose, to have fun. Thirty-four

  • Balad squadron serves as Iraq's 'guardian angels'

    Coalition military members in Iraq have plenty of equipment, tactics and techniques at their disposal in the event of a worst-case scenario in the field. However, if those safeguards fail, a team of operators from the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron is standing by, ready to help. "Our primary

  • Balad team helps Iraqi women learn beekeeping trade

    The local buzz around Balad isn't just about a new agricultural development program, it's also literal.A beekeeper taught Iraqi women and families how to care for bees during a three-day class in Yethrib, a sub-district of Balad, to help spur economic independence and benefit local agriculture.In a

  • Balad trauma doctors gather to hone skills

    Approximately 20 deployed military doctors, U.S. civilian doctors and Iraqi doctors gathered at the Air Force Theater Hospital to share information about operations at their respective hospital facilities and discuss and how they could work to be more interoperable here March 24 and 25. The Joint

  • Balad’s pharmacy techs help save lives

    Within the chaotic center of the Air Force Theater Hospital here is a group of Airmen whose job is to ease pain and help people heal faster.The Airmen in Balad’s pharmacy ensure people on the way to surgery or on the way out of the hospital have their medications.“We support the whole hospital,

  • Balad's medics move into new facility

    Approximately 150 base volunteers and 380 Airmen with the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group moved patients and equipment as they closed the doors on the old Air Force Theater Hospital and opened the doors to their pre-engineered facility here Aug. 3. Starting at 4 a.m., Airmen in each tent tunnel

  • Balance keeps trailblazer on course

    Betty Mullis is quick to speak about her inspirations. The retired Air Force major general served more than 33 years on active duty and in the Guard and Reserve, and accomplished many firsts along the way. Now she uses that wealth of experience and inspires other women to advance in their careers.

  • Balancing capability portfolios key to Air Force success

    Every day, news headlines tout successes of the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, but seldom make mention of Air Force contributions. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. John D. W. Corley told lawmakers and defense industry insiders on Capitol Hill June 14 that that lack of coverage doesn't mean

  • Balancing career, family through career intermission program

    Being in the U.S. military can be a tough balance between career and family. For some, it comes down to a choice between the two; however, for Katie Evans, a temporarily separated captain and the former 18th Force Support Squadron manpower and personnel flight commander here, it's about keeping

  • Balancing force top priority say senior Air Force leaders

    Finding the right balance of regular, Reserve and Guard forces is the key to future Air Force capabilities and budget cuts senior leaders said Sept. 19, at the Air Force Association's 2011 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition here.More than 8,000 industry leaders, lobbyists, media, and

  • Balancing Reserve force discussed at Commander and Spouse Forum

    Air Force Reserve wing commanders and their spouses attended the annual Air Force Reserve Commander and Spouse forum here July 6 to 8 to gain increased awareness of the needs of Citizen Airmen and their families.Attendees engaged with Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr., the chief of Air Force Reserve

  • Balloon reconnaissance marks 150th anniversary

    The intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support critical to operations in Afghanistan got its start 150 years ago in June, when a balloonist showed then-President Abraham Lincoln how a gas-filled balloon could help the Union Army prevail in the Civil War.Thaddeus Lowe met with President

  • Baltic air policing mission complete

    The 493rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, United Kingdom, relinquished command of the NATO Baltic air policing mission to the German air force at Lithuania Air Force Air Base here Jan. 5.The 493rd EFS, deployed from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, assumed responsibility for Lithuanian, Latvian and

  • Baltimore hospital provides pre-deployment trauma training

    Master Sgt. Charles Halcome stood at a hospital bed, laying out vials and pointing out medical instruments to be used to treat an incoming patient.A 63-year-old woman was walking her dog when, in a freak accident, she got run into a tree and was basically scalped in the process. Her injuries were so

  • Band brings harmony to U.S., Russian relations

    U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band’s Check Six ensemble was music to Russian ears March 31 as they entertained and fostered relations between the United States and Russia.The command’s premier band served as musical ambassadors helping the U.S. Consulate General celebrate its 10-year anniversary

  • Band builds international relations through music

    Japanese and U.S. military bands performed here Sept. 9, building good community relations between U.S. Forces Japan and this town in the northwestern corner of mainland Japan that is home to a new military radar site."The way they joined together is a perfect example of the great relationship

  • Band builds partnerships through music

    The U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band joined bands from seven other nations here at the Musikschau Der Nationen (Music Show of the Nations) Jan. 23 - 27 to remember veterans of all nations that fought in World War I and World War II. The five-day festival, which was attended by 22,000 people, displayed

  • Band kicks off holiday season with 4th annual flash mob

    Visitors at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum were delightfully surprised when their tour of the displays was suddenly interrupted by members of the U.S. Air Force Band and Honor Guard as they kicked off the holiday season with their fourth annual holiday flash mob Nov. 29.

  • Band makes impact on deployed members

    Approximately 200 U.S. servicemembers and coalition forces March 30 here were treated to the sounds of Max Impact -- an ensemble of the U.S. Air Force Band from Bolling Air Force Base from Washington, D.C. The traveling music group has been making its rounds in the deployed area of responsibility

  • Band member selected for ‘Hope’ award

    Air Force Personnel Center officials recently announced the U.S. Air Force Band’s superintendent here as the recipient of the 2005 U.S. Armed Forces Spirit of Hope Award for the Air Force.Senior Master Sgt. Ann Hinote has been a band member for 17 years.The Spirit of Hope Award is presented annually

  • Band members connect with Bishkek music students

    Members of the U.S. Air Forces Central Band Hot Brass treated approximately 200 students and faculty of the Bishkek College of Music to the sounds of rock 'n' roll, disco, country and classical music during a performance March 26 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The traveling Air Force band, which is

  • Band members, Kyrgyz babushkas share music

    Members of the U.S. Central Command Air Forces band, "Desert Ramblers," were treated to an impromptu show themselves on Oct. 19. The Desert Ramblers, a five-person ensemble that plays traditional and contemporary Celtic music, wrapped up a three-day visit here where they performed seven shows,

  • Band members, Kyrgyz citizens share culture through music

    Members of the Air Force Band Yuma played 10 concerts during an eight-day tour Sept. 4 through 11 throughout Kyrgyzstan. The band visited Manas Air Base and performed at a number of schools, orphanages and other venues in the local Kyrgyz communities. Yuma is a five-person band that fuses elements

  • Band of the Golden West rocks downtown Sacramento

    The Air Force Band of the Golden West's rock group, Mobility, performed for the downtown Sacramento community as part of Air Force Week during a June 7 performance at the Cesar Chavez Plaza here. The special lunch-hour performance was one of numerous events held in Sacramento as part of Air Force

  • Band of the Pacific-Hawaii participates in Red Ribbon Week

    One Band of the Pacific-Hawaii NCO here led a drive to use music to help spread the drug-free message of Red Ribbon Week by performing in concerts for local elementary schools in late October. Having three school-age children of his own created a desire in Tech. Sgt. Richard Vasquez, a Band of the

  • Band of the Rockies becomes academy band

    The U.S. Air Force Band of the Rockies will be renamed The U.S. Air Force Academy Band on Oct. 1. The band will continue its primary mission of "troop support" while refocusing its national touring mission to support the recruiting and community relations needs of the academy.This move realigns the

  • Band performs on 'Today' show

    Members of the Air Force Band Ceremonial Brass performed in New York City July 4 on NBC's "Today" show. The band has performed on every Independence Day since 1998 on the "Today" show, which reaches an estimated 5.38 million viewers each morning and more than 17 million on the Fourth of July. When

  • Band plays, audience rocks at space shuttle finale

    High Flight, the newest ensemble of the Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve, performed at the final landing of Shuttle Atlantis July 21 at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The landing marked the end of NASA's space shuttle program."It has been an honor and a privilege to perform at this event," said Master

  • Band ramps up engagement as command position returns to Japan

    As U.S. forces rebalance to the Pacific, one group of Air Force musicians looks to play its way to new levels of engagement throughout the world's largest region.After a five-year absence, the command position for the Air Force's Band of the Pacific has returned to Yokota Air Base, Japan -- and with