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U.S. Air Force News

  • AF releases results of Space Launch Process review

    The Air Force announced March 23, that the phase one results of the independent review panel tasked by Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James to review the process for certifying SpaceX as an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) provider.

  • Coming to terms: Airman remains resilient through multiple TBIs

    For the tall, quiet Airman, speaking up about his injuries is difficult. His wounds aren't always visible, but they're very real.After two deployments and six bomb blasts, Tech. Sgt. Gabriel Wasnuk, who is assigned to the 775th Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Flight, is receiving a Purple Heart

  • From refugee camp to the Air Force

    Senior Airman Yia Thao, a 19th Airlift Wing Judge Advocate paralegal, was raised to know that hard work reaps great rewards. The work ethic and dedication that builds a better future runs deep in his family and continues through Thao and his siblings today.

  • SecAF outlines top priorities in visit to Kirtland

    In a visit to Kirtland Air Force Base March 9-11, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James visited Airmen, learned more about the installation's missions and shared her top three priorities.

  • 'Special Program' emerges to combat cyber insider threats

    It's not often that the public gets to hear about the Air Force's inner workings when pertaining to highly classified networks; however, a special programs team from Hanscom Air Force Base’s Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks Directorate has recently emerged, making their

  • AF research will improve camera for targeting munitions

    In order for an imaging munition to find and make its mark, a variety of information is required, including high-resolution video imagery. Future Air Force munitions will likely feature wide field-of-view (WFOV) imaging seekers that provide Air Force warfighters several advantages over using

  • AF attacks biological agents with heat, humidity

    A recent Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) on a C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft at Orlando International Airport, Florida, showed how hot, humid air can decontaminate large pieces of equipment from biological agents.

  • SecAF introduces diversity initiatives

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James kicked off Women’s History Month by speaking to attendees during the Center for a New American Security “Women and Leadership in National Security” conference in Washington, D.C., March 4, 2015.  “There’s simply no country in the world as widely diverse

  • AF responds to National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force

    The Air Force responded to the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force’s recommendations in a report to Congress March 4. Of the Commission’s 42 recommendations, Air Force officials disagreed with only one and are already in the process of implementing 25, as well as developing plans

  • Handheld imaging tool expands aircraft inspection capability

    When pilots climb into the cockpit they expect their aircraft to perform as expected, regardless if take off is from a home or deployed location; but ensuring that the aircraft is healthy enough to fly has become a challenge for the Air Force.

  • NY Air National Guard completes 27th year of Antarctic science support

    The New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing concluded a five-month mission supporting the National Science Foundation's Antarctic Program as part of Operation Deep Freeze.Airmen from the 109th AW flew 241 missions, delivering more than 3,000 passengers and 2,250 tons of cargo and fuel to

  • DARPA nomination packages due March 16

    Commander-endorsed nomination packages for officers interested in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) fiscal year 2016 Service Chiefs Fellows Program are due to the Air Force Personnel Center March 16, officials announced.

  • Academy, Kirtland Airmen rewarded for API ideas

    A human resources assistant at the Air Force Academy and an Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AFOTEC) officer at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, will be among the first to receive financial rewards from the Airmen Powered by Innovation program.

  • PMEL: The standard's standard

    Zero mistakes. That's the standard the precision measurement equipment laboratory (PMEL) technicians are held to on a daily basis. One mistake in their shop could mean the difference between a guided weapons system firing on target or missing by several feet.

  • Air Force Medical Service 2014 annual award winners announced

    It is with great pride that the Air Force Surgeon General announces the recipients of the Air Force Medical Service 2014 Annual Awards. The categories include both individual and team awards, based on criteria outlined in Air Force Instruction 36-2856, “Medical Service Awards.”

  • Female U-2 pilot blazes trail through society and space

    As a child she imagined flying amongst the stars, thousands of miles above the earth’s surface, and today Lt. Col. Merryl Tengesdal is one of eight female pilots to ever fly the U-2 and the only black female pilot during the aircraft's history.

  • vESD 2.0 rolls out Air Force wide

    A brand new version of the Virtual Enterprise Service Desk (version 2.0) is now available on unclassified computer desktops on the Air Force network.

  • AF top leaders mentor future Airmen

    More than 30 Air Force general officers offered their time and expertise to high school students during the Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) Conference Feb. 6, at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

  • Key defense suppliers recognized for stellar delivery to warfighters

    Getting top-notch materiel to the warfighters in the most cost-effective and efficient manner is what the American public expects of defense contractors. One of the things the military services are now doing to incentivize industry to improve is by recognizing their top performers. This is

  • Maintaining the technological edge

    Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Larry O. Spencer urged members of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to help the service maintain their technological edge at their winter board meeting Jan. 27.

  • ‘Super’ Airman becomes professional bodybuilder

    After a heavy weight workout, Senior Airman Terrence Ruffin walks over to a row of mirrors in the gym posing and flexing his muscles for more than half an hour. This behavior isn't an overabundance of ego or vanity, but a critical part of the training routine for Ruffin, a professional bodybuilder.

  • AFRL announces winners of student satellite competition

    Students representing 10 universities competed for the chance to send a satellite they designed and built into space. The competition was sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate University Nanosat Program.

  • A dream born from chaos

    In the early hours of Dec. 20, 1989, when most of Panama City was sleeping, a 10-year-old boy and his family were awakened by explosions and helicopters overhead. The family exited their home, only to witness pandemonium: buildings burning down, people running and screaming. War was reality for

  • AF identifies Boeing 747-8 platform for next Air Force One

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James in coordination with Frank Kendall, the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, determined that the Boeing 747-8 will serve as the next presidential aircraft, commonly known as Air Force One.

  • The 'daily flap' brings morale, leadership to Total Force team

    When reporting for the duty day, most maintainers go to their areas, prepare for their shift and begin the day's work. Yet the day begins a bit differently for some members in the 92nd Maintenance Squadron, where an Airman found a way to motivate, inspire and lead others with just a few words of

  • 96th Test Group brings 'R2-D2' to life

    Remotely tucked away in the high desert of southern New Mexico, the 96th Test Group provides some of the most sophisticated military testing in the world. Often, their innovations and technological pursuits seem like works of science fiction, such as the group's latest project dubbed affectionately

  • Joint Base San Antonio selected to host AFIMSC headquarters

    Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, was selected as the host base for the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC) Headquarters.Air Force officials chose the installation after analyzing operational considerations, installation attributes, economic and environmental factors at four

  • Air Force brings ideas to Defense Innovation Initiative

    In dual remarks during the State of the Air Force press briefing here Jan. 15, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and the Air Force chief of staff announced plans to bring the service’s research, science and technology ideas to the Defense Innovation Initiative, led by Deputy Secretary of Defense

  • AF promotes 714 to captain

    Air Force officials selected 714 first lieutenants for promotion to captain during the calendar year 2014C Line of the Air Force, Chaplain, LAF Judge Advocate, Nurse Corps, Medical Service Corps and Biomedical Sciences Corps quarterly selection process.

  • 45th SW supports 5th SpaceX launch for ISS resupply mission

    The 45th Space Wing supported Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX) successful launch of their Falcon 9 Dragon spacecraft headed to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, Jan 10.

  • Air Force, DOD switch HOMES

    Air Force members now have access to HOMES.mil, a new official Defense Department website designed to modernize the way all service members search for housing when relocating.

  • AF, small business developing critical processors for satellites

    The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and a small business partner are developing technologies that they expect will enable successful use of high-power processors that operate on satellites with funding from the Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

  • Airman continues the family business

    Staff Sgt. Dana Walker is from a family focused on science. Her father and her siblings have careers in different science fields and Walker herself chose to become a meteorologist in the Air Force.

  • Roll up a sleeve, help patients in need

    January is National Blood Donor Month, and the Armed Services Blood Program is encouraging all service members to make a resolution to give blood regularly in 2015.

  • AMC chief scientist receives Harold Brown Award

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James presented Dr. Donald Erbschloe, the Air Mobility Command chief scientist, with the 2014 Harold Brown Award during a ceremony at the Pentagon, Dec. 9.

  • AF selects 38 Airmen for test pilot school

    Thirty-eight Airmen have been selected to attend the U.S. Air Force, U.S Naval, British, and French test pilot schools, with classes slated to begin in July 2015, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced Dec. 5.

  • Nellis Airman powered by innovation

    Last December, certain variants of the F-16 Fighting Falcon had their ejection seat's oxygen system modified, which created a new requirement for oxygen bottle testing. This new change improved overall pilot safety, but also brought with it a hefty price tag -- which inspired one Airman at Nellis

  • Air Force identifies nickel-free material for F-35 aircraft systems

    Through a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with the Air Force, Triton Systems, Inc., located in Massachusetts, developed a nickel-free material technology that is positioned for transition to several F-35 Joint Strike Fighter applications. Transition of this technology is

  • AFRL engineers awarded for fostering innovation, teamwork

    Two Air Force electronics engineers received the 2014 National Security and International Affairs Medal for saving the lives of Soldiers in Afghanistan by creating and deploying a new aerial sensor system to help U.S. Army and special forces units detect and destroy deadly improvised explosive

  • Air Force announces AFIMSC candidate bases

    Air Force officials announced today Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Joint Base San Antonio, Scott Air Force Base, and Wright-Patterson AFB as candidate bases to potentially host the headquarters (HQ) for the new Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC).

  • Research laboratory honors top scientists, engineers

    Air Force Research Laboratory honored 12 outstanding scientists and engineers at the 2014 AFRL Fellows and Early Career Awards Banquet recently for their exceptional contributions to advancing technologies for the warfighter.

  • AFRL 3-D audio research helps to make cockpit safer

    The Air Force Research Laboratory, Human Effectiveness directorate, Battlespace Acoustics Branch, has developed 3-D sound technology that creates a sound environment that mimics the way the human body receives aural cues -- much like 3-D movies create the perception that the viewer is part of the

  • Airman discovers grandfather's World War II story

    An Airman here recently discovered that his grandfather was among a small group of Americans who joined the Canadian military to thwart the tyranny of Nazi Germany prior to America entering World War II.

  • Historic hangars merge past with present

    Two historic hangars were fitted with solar walls last year, and the effort is saving the installation as much as $100,000 per year in utility costs. In addition to cost savings, the systems are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 470 metric tons per year -- the equivalent of

  • Air Force completes historic fuel conversion

    The Air Force took an important step in fiscal responsibility and supply chain efficiency as it converted its final stateside installation from Jet Propellant 8 (JP-8) fuel to the more common and commercially available Jet A fuel, Oct. 29 at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

  • Defense Department officials establish Ebola medical support team

    When Capt. Stacey Morgan’s squadron commander sent her a text message saying that she needed to immediately call him, her first thought was, “Uh-oh. What did I do?” But after a minute or two of talking to her commander, her apprehension was quickly replaced by anxious excitement, as he asked her to

  • AF to release small business research solicitations

    The Air Force Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program office is set to release its fiscal year 2015 list of topics Oct. 22, on the SBIR/STTR website.

  • Officer Training School graduates first total force class

    The Air Force Officer Training School moved one step closer to complete total force integration with its first simultaneous graduation of active-duty, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard officer trainees here, Oct. 10.

  • Scientific Advisory Board begins 2015 studies

    The U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board 2015 season officially kicked off at an event here in September that brought together new and returning members to discuss the Secretary of the Air Force’s approved studies.

  • Expert advice on sports medicine now one click away

    Under a new partnership between the Air Force Medical Service, or AFMS, and the Human Performance Resource Center, or HPRC, Air Force healthcare providers can now seek expert advice on a variety of sports medicine topics.

  • Airmen support remote arctic operations

    Located just 508 miles from the North Pole and 1,140 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Canadian Forces Station Alert and its small contingent of personnel provides signals intelligence there and for its detachment stations. Due to its remote geographic location at the northernmost inhabited location

  • From helicopters to bulldozers, McChord supports Operation Deep Freeze

    Continuing the Defense Department's longstanding support of the National Science Foundation, a Joint Base Lewis-McChord crew, made up of 62nd and 446th Airlift Wing members, safely completed another run to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, Oct 8, as part of their contribution to the U.S. Antarctic

  • Hackathon to help solve real-world problems

    The Air Force Research Laboratory is preparing to co-host LabHack, a 26-hour long coding competition which will task coding-savvy individuals, or "hackers," to creatively solve challenges that AFRL researchers face every day.

  • 1,882 officers selected for promotion to captain

    The calendar year 2014B Line of the Air Force, Chaplain, LAF-Judge Advocate, Nurse Corps, Medical Services Corps, Biomedical Sciences Corps Quarterly Selection Process selected 1,882 first lieutenants for promotion to captain.

  • Oct. 1 – Pulse on AF force management

    Featured in this force management update are details regarding changes to the reduction in force board eligibility and ongoing civilian force management programs.

  • A love story: healing the wounded warrior

    He was a young Air Force officer healing from a recent trauma and she was a dedicated single mother of two. Whether it was friends or fate that first brought them together, neither would have suspected that their chance meeting in Florida would be the key to his recovery. Their introduction to each

  • Warrior Games Profile - Jason Ellis

    More than 40 athletes will represent the Air Force during the 2014 Warrior Games from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This is a profile of one of those athletes, providing a behind-the-scenes look at who they are and the sport they will participate in.

  • Warrior Games Profile - Tech. Sgt. Lara Ishikawa

    More than 40 athletes will represent the Air Force during the 2014 Warrior Games from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This is a profile of one of those athletes, providing a behind-the-scenes look at who they are and the sport they will participate in.

  • Warrior Games Profile - Mitchell Kieffer

    More than 40 athletes will represent the Air Force during the 2014 Warrior Games from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This is a profile of one of those athletes, providing a behind-the-scenes look at who they are and the sport they will participate in.

  • Warrior Games Profile - Daniel Oosterhous

    More than 40 athletes will represent the Air Force during the 2014 Warrior Games from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This is a profile of one of those athletes, providing a behind-the-scenes look at who they are and the sport they will participate in.

  • CMSAF visits Keesler

    A common subject for discussion during Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody's visit to Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, was the impending changes to enlisted evaluation and promotion systems.

  • Roll Call: The Evolution of PME

    The Air Force senior enlisted Airman released the latest installment of Roll Call, outlining the way forward for enlisted professional military education.

  • Women’s legacy parallels Air Force history

    As we celebrate the Air Force’s 67th birthday, we talk of how far we’ve come and look ahead to what the future holds, but it’s just as important to look at where we’ve been. The story of women in the military, specifically the Air Force, parallels that of the Air Force itself. In fact, for women