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  • Five generations keep proud tradition alive

    His life was spent fighting for freedom; his own freedom and the freedom of a country not yet born.Not only did he give his life in prelude to revolution from a tyrannical king, he left a legacy that continues to serve this country's continuous fight to preserve freedom at home and abroad. And one

  • Airmen answer National Call to Service

    Since its inception in October, more than 240 trainees who enlisted under the National Call to Service Program have attended basic military training here.Under the terms set by the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act, the new airmen can serve a 15-month enlistment, followed by a possible

  • Modeling, simulation agency names best performers

    The Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation recognized its best performers for 2003 during its yearly conference here Feb. 24 to 26. Best performers were recognized in four categories as either teams or individuals. Winners included: -- Acquisition Category: The Simulation and Analysis

  • Officers selected for development

    More than 170 company grade officers from five career fields were recently selected by the Development Team Special Selection Board to attend developmental education programs.They will be sent to attend the Air Force Institute of Technology; education with industry; space lift education and

  • Aircrew error cited in investigation

    An investigation here found aircrew error led to the unintentional release of an inert training munition Jan. 8 in Yorkshire.Officials from the 48th Fighter Wing said the aircrew involved in this mishap was on non-flying status while investigation took place. Subsequent to the determination of

  • BRAC criteria focus on 'military value'

    Military value will be the focus for the final selection criteria to be used in the 2005 round of base realignment and closures.That value represents the ability of the installation to contribute to the Defense Department’s future mission capabilities and operational readiness, said Philip Grone,

  • Desert Storm veterans return after 13 years

    When Saddam Hussein ordered his forces to march south through Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, little did he know of the resolve of the young airmen who would rise to the occasion to repulse the attack.From November 1990 to May 1991, Senior Airmen Darrell Wiedenbeck, Elbert Bembry and Edward Timberman, and

  • Policy changes affect civil service employees

    The 2004 National Defense Authorization Act put in to motion changes to civilian pay, overtime and leave.The legislation also launched the National Security Personnel System, the biggest overhaul of the government's civilian personnel system in decades.Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld called the

  • Airpower highlighted in joint exercise

    Airpower was put on display as a part of a show of force demonstration here during a joint capabilities exercise Feb. 24.Operation All-American Lightning, a joint Army-Air Force operation, was designed to demonstrate joint U.S. capabilities for rapid deployment and employment of forces worldwide to

  • Services initiative lets 'you be you'

    A new initiative to introduce new airmen to the leisure and recreational activities available to them on base will kick off in March.A joint venture between Air Education and Training Command and the Air Force Services Agency, the new UBU program lets “you be you.” It allows airmen basic through

  • Academy adds editorial, speech writing to curriculum

    Writing editorials and speeches is not always easy for the “techno-centric.”Since most of the Air Force's senior enlisted leaders are people managers experienced as mechanics, number crunchers or computer fixers, they often have limited experience putting their thoughts on paper. The idea of having

  • Cocaine use lands officer second dismissal

    A conviction for wrongfully using a controlled substance for the second time in eight months earned an officer here a second dismissal from the Air Force, 12 months confinement and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.Second Lt. Bryce Terpstra was convicted of cocaine use after a required urinalysis

  • Officials release report of Sheppard review

    The preliminary findings of a special review team sent to Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, to examine reports of sexual assaults indicate students feel the base provides a safe training, working and living environment.Gen. Donald G. Cook, commander of Air Education and Training Command, released the

  • Defending homeland a 'must-win' game

    The mission of homeland security is like playing an "away game and a home game," said the U.S. military's homeland defense commander. In war, just as in sports, it is the away game that you "want to win," but it is the home game that you "must win."Gen. Ralph Eberhart, head of U.S. Northern Command

  • NASA names MacDill landing site for space shuttle

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials have named this base an alternate landing site for space shuttle missions.Alternate sites are typically selected based on weather conditions or the power level of the shuttle during re-entry.Software updates to the shuttles’ landing programs

  • Drop-zone experts ensure success during Balikatan 2004

    “Winds are calm. Clear to drop.” With these words Capt. Laura Curvey, an air mobility liaison officer from the 36th Airlift Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan, officially signaled the start of bilateral airdrop operations during exercise Balikatan 2004 here. The term Balikatan is a Tagalog word

  • Military working dogs help keep base safe, secure 24/7

    When military people are in trouble, they call the cops. When cops need help, they call the K-9 unit.Working dogs here provide explosive detection support and establish a force-protection presence that will halt or deter hostile action against coalition forces.“Our main mission here it to provide

  • Incirlik airman found guilty of assault

    An airman here was sentenced to five months confinement, forfeiture of $795 of pay per month for five months and a demotion to airman basic after being convicted of several crimes. This was Incirlik's first court martial since 2002.Airman Basic Lionel Young, of the 39th Logistics Readiness

  • Reservists vital for seamless flow of business

    In this time of heightened operations tempo, Air Force units are constantly cycling in and out of different conflict zones worldwide. With a few exceptions, servicemembers in almost every career field in the military have the potential to be sent on a temporary duty assignment for extended periods

  • Raptor program still flies

    Air Force officials said they will continue with the F/A-22 Raptor program. Fervor over the Army's cancellation of the $6.9 billion Comanche helicopter program Feb. 23 raised questions about the future of the Air Force's F/A-22, said the director of Air Force combat force capability requirements.

  • Airmen help community by building homes

    Spending a Saturday morning working on your house may not seem like anything new, but what about spending that Saturday morning working on the house of someone you do not even know? This is what a group of airmen from throughout the base here have been doing with their spare time for Habitat for

  • Servicemembers encouraged to invest in TSP

    A money savvy servicemember serving in Iraq did not wait to get back home to buy a shiny new car with his $30,000 re-enlistment bonus. Instead, he invested all of it into the Thrift Savings Plan."Assuming a 7-percent rate of return, his $30,000 is projected to be $345,000 by the time he reaches age

  • Cope India brings out fighter ops

    Residents who live in the nearby city of Gwalior are accustomed to the sounds of fighter-jet operations -- the noise of takeoff, landings and sonic booms. But the roar of U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle aircraft in the sky above this north central Indian air force station is something completely new.The

  • Strike Eagles make debut in Cope Tiger exercise

    Aircrews battling it out over Thailand during Cope Tiger ’04 are facing an unfamiliar foe. F-15E Strike Eagles are participating for the first time in the exercise’s 10-year history.“We can relate to all of the exercise players by virtue of flying a dual-role fighter with both air-to-air and

  • Leaders call for re-energized suicide-prevention efforts

    After 11 active-duty suicides since Jan. 1 and 14 during the final quarter of 2003, Air Force senior leaders are asking commanders and leaders across the service to assess and re-energize suicide prevention efforts at all levels. The 2003 calendar year suicide rate of 10.5 per 100,000 people was

  • Navs get you from here to there

    With today’s technology, navigators have become an endangered breed. One of a decreasing list of aircraft to use navigators is the C-130 Hercules, an aircraft that is playing an important role in moving people and supplies during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The role played by the navigator has

  • OSI comes face-to-face with evil

    For a group of specially trained airmen serving in Afghanistan, coming face-to-face with evil is just "another day at the office" as they conduct counterintelligence and anti-terrorism operations. Tasked with providing military leaders current, accurate information about enemy threats, the Air Force

  • Airmen train Navy's 'Rocky' to become contender

    In the 1980s, Rocky Balboa knocked out many contenders. At Charleston a new Rocky is poised to arise and become victorious in 2004.The 437th Security Forces Squadron canine unit here is helping the Charleston Naval Weapons Station develop a kennel program. The unit here has opened its doors to

  • B-24 pilot receives DFC, Air Medal

    A B-24 bomber pilot has finally received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal he earned in World War II. The presentation took place during a ceremony here recently that relived the perils airmen faced during the 1940s.Then a first lieutenant, Kenneth Kinsinger earned the Distinguished

  • Camera maintainers are two of a kind

    Endangered species are scattered around the world, sometimes in the least likely of places. The few hundred remaining mountain gorillas are found deep in the Congo. A few dozen Amur tigers exist in out-of-the-way Siberia. The surviving giant pandas are located in secluded southern China.But the

  • Barrier technicians ensure mission safety

    Their hard work and dedication is revealed in times of crisis, and throughout each flight mission, they are there.Mobile Aircraft Arresting System barrier technicians from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, are here for Cope India 04, the first bilateral dissimilar air combat exercise between the

  • Air Force Safety Center announces annual awards

    Air Force Safety Center officials recently named the Air Force Safety Award recipients for fiscal 2003.They are:-- Secretary of the Air Force Safety Award: Category I, U.S. Air Forces in Europe; Category II, U.S. Air Force Academy.-- Maj. Gen. Benjamin D. Foulois Memorial Award: Air Mobility

  • Air Force announces OTS selections

    Air Force officials selected 84 enlisted airmen to trade in their stripes for gold bars by choosing them to attend Officer Training School, officials here announced Feb. 18.OTS Selection Board 0403, which met here Jan. 13 to 16, considered 396 applications. The board selected 263 people, including

  • Deployed airmen represent honor, dignity

    The American flag waves in a light breeze, its bright colors standing out in stark contrast over the gray, cracked concrete of hardened, Soviet aircraft shelters that once represented a communist state. Below the flag, airmen wearing perfectly pressed desert camouflage uniforms stand at attention.

  • Sexual assault review panel visiting Sheppard

    A cross-functional review panel is examining reports of sexual assault by students at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas.Gen. Donald G. Cook, commander of Air Education and Training Command, selected Col. K.C. McClain, AETC deputy director of operations for technical training, to lead the panel's review

  • Goodwill project fosters relations

    Allied forces from the three countries participating in exercise Cope Tiger ’04 are fostering good relations in the local community by donating supplies to a rural Thai grade school.More than 1,370 servicemembers from the United States, Thailand and Singapore are taking part in the annual two-week,

  • Cope India 04 begins

    The first bilateral dissimilar air combat exercise between the U.S. Air Force and the Indian air force in more than 40 years began here Feb. 16. Approximately 150 airmen from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, are here for the exercise.Dissimilar AIR COMBAT TRAINING, otherwise known as DACT, is

  • AFMC pilot initiative aids test, operational worlds

    An Air Force Materiel Command initiative to trade more than 20 unfilled military pilot positions for civilian personnel funding may bring more experience to the test world while putting more pilots in operational aircraft.The trade allows AFMC officials to hire civilian test pilots, primarily

  • Cope Tiger exercise kicks off In Thailand

    Aviation units from the U.S. Air Force, Thailand and Singapore, as well as the U.S. Marine Corps, are honing their combat skills in exercise Cope Tiger ’04 here Feb. 16 to 27.More than 1,370 people, including 770 U.S. servicemembers and 600 servicemembers from Thailand and Singapore, are

  • Secretary reveals future systems at AFA symposium

    Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche revealed a list of new focus areas, as well as planned changes to existing systems and proposals for new aircraft that could significantly increase the service’s lethality and effectiveness.The secretary laid out plans to improve special operations,

  • Eglin people deliver valentines to veterans

    Valentine’s Day came early for more than 200 local veterans.The veterans were recipients of “Valentines for Vets,” thanks to a program that was initiated by former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald Fogleman, as an offshoot from the National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week, fittingly Feb. 8

  • Human factor is primary cause of aviation mishaps

    The "human factor" is the primary cause of military aircraft mishaps.That testimony by Air Force Chief of Safety Maj. Gen. Kenneth W. Hess came as part of a congressional hearing on military aviation safety, Feb. 11, where safety directors from all four service branches testified before the House

  • Stretching program loosens up work force

    Robins workers will soon be loose and ready for whatever may come along thanks to a new stretch and flex program. The program provides a five- to six-minute series of stretching exercises before beginning work shifts and throughout the day as needed.The program's activities focus on musculoskeletal

  • Indecent assault gets airman discharge, prison, demotion

    Committing an indecent assault on a female airman earned a 377th Security Forces Squadron airman here a bad conduct discharge, 15 months confinement and demotion in rank to E-1.Senior Airman Alfredo Preciado was convicted in a general court-martial here. He elected to be tried by a military judge

  • Air Force plans first official charity ball

    The Air Force is holding its first official charity ball April 3 at Bolling Air Force Base, D.C. The proceeds will go to the Air Force Aid Society, the official charity of the Air Force.“This is the first-ever official charity ball, and we only want it to get bigger and better,” said Cathy Chilton,

  • Wrestler's eyes fixed on Athens

    Sitting in a quiet corner of the wrestling room at the Olympic Training Center, Jacob Hey stares into the bright yellow color of the floor mats mentally preparing himself to conquer his next obstacle.A year after successful reconstructive shoulder surgery, the Greco-Roman wrestler is back to 100

  • Soldiers experience Air Force military education

    The Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Gunter Annex here has some new faces among its students: those of Army soldiers.The Army is back after pulling its students out of other service senior NCO academies in 1998 to teach them exclusively at the Army Senior NCO Academy in Fort

  • Retired NCO credits blood donations for saving his life

    Blood drives are almost as common as commander's calls here because Air Force leaders stress the importance of donating blood.Retired Tech. Sgt. Derrick Duncan, a former jet-engine mechanic instructor here, knows better than most the significance of those lifesaving donations.Sergeant Duncan packed

  • Reserve system streamlines Air Force travel processing

    Accurate and secure records, universal e-mail copies of vouchers and possibly faster payouts are what Air Force travelers have to look forward to starting this spring.Financial management offices throughout the active-duty Air Force are set to begin using Air Force Reserve Command’s Reserve Travel

  • Storytelling serves as favorite pastime

    In Africa, storytelling is a tradition and a favorite pastime. After a hard day's work and after dinner, elders and children sit around the fire to tell stories.Some are fables with fictional characters, but others are true stories of great warriors from long ago.When Africans were captured and

  • Officials update enlistment test norms

    Department of Defense officials announced Feb. 6 that new norms for the enlistment test, Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, will be implemented this summer. The ASVAB is a multiple aptitude test battery originally designed to predict training and job performance in military occupations.

  • Test uniforms hit the streets

    Airmen at two bases will get a first-hand look at the proposed new utility uniform Feb. 9 when the tiger-striped blue-, green- and gray-patterned ensemble begins its wear-test phase.Officials will deliver the distinctive uniforms to testers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and Langley AFB,

  • Doors open for active duty to join Air Force Reserve

    The Air Force is opening doors and modifying programs to give people leaving active duty an opportunity to continue their military careers in the Air Force Reserve.As the active force tries to reduce manning by about 16,600, the Air Force Reserve is seeking to hire many of those experienced airmen

  • Special operators recount Iraq missions

    Multiservice special operations troops have led the way to victory in overseas campaigns during the war against terrorism, a senior U.S. military officer said.Special operators' expertise was a factor in driving the Taliban out of Afghanistan as well as in the ouster of former Iraqi dictator Saddam

  • Air Force, FAA continue air traffic control modernization efforts

    Air Force sites in Michigan and Arizona joined the growing list of airfields replacing aging legacy air traffic control systems with state-of-the-art technology through the National Airspace System upgrade.The Alpena Air National Guard Combat Readiness Training Center in Michigan and Luke Air Force

  • Security forces announces annual award winners

    The deputy chief of staff for air and space operations recently announced the 2003 Air Force Outstanding Security Forces Individual Award winners.These annual awards recognize the top security forces members in each category.The 2003 winners are:Career field-wide award:-- Col. Billy Jack Carter

  • Basic trainees now clean M-16s in new facility

    A recently completed 9,000-square-foot facility here has added a few hours and a new activity to the Air Force basic training program: M-16 cleaning.The more than 40,000 trainees who attend basic training each year will now use the $365,000 weapons cleaning pavilion to clean their rifles after

  • Emulator boosts GPS training

    Gone are the days of using a compass for direction finding.Now, through a constellation of 29 satellites, warfighters, banks, automobile drivers and others benefit from the Air Force's technological advancements with the Global Positioning System.Owned and operated by the Air Force, GPS provides

  • International student training requests increase

    The business of training international students is booming for a small unit here.Requests for globetrotting teams from the Air Force Security Assistance Training Squadron have skyrocketed in recent months with the expansion of the global war on terrorism.Already this year, AFSAT is ahead of pace to

  • Combat Flightline keeps C-130s flying

    The year was 1965. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was still alive and man had yet to land on the moon. Amazingly, most of the C-130E Hercules aircraft currently based here were flying in 1965; many were used during the Vietnam conflict. Like a car, these aircraft will last longer and perform better

  • Leave program helps activated fed employees

    Federal employees who are called up by a Reserve or National Guard unit to support a contingency can use special leave to supplement lost wages.They can receive their civilian income instead of military pay for 22 days if their civil service job pays more than the military.“Although not new to the

  • New dining facility opens in Iraq

    After several months of planning and construction, the new dining facility here officially opened for business Jan. 27. The facility broke ground in early December and served its first meal Jan. 22. With a full-sized kitchen, serving lines and a highly trained professional staff, Maj. Robert

  • K-2 airmen use innovation to prevent ‘Groundhog Day’

    For 25 members of the aerial port flight here, every day would be "Groundhog Day" if they focused only on the day-to-day task of moving passengers and cargo. But for this team from the Nevada Air National Guard's 152nd Airlift Wing, the mission is not just loading and unloading aircraft, it is

  • 'Force shaping' means some can leave active duty early

    There is good news for thousands of airmen considering leaving active duty who thought they could not because of existing service obligations.An effort dubbed "force shaping" is opening the exit doors to officers and enlisted servicemembers in select career fields and year groups by waiving some

  • Air Force boxer takes national crown

    The Air Force has its first national boxing champion since Jerome Bennett in 1977.James Johnson, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, took home the title in the 165-pound weight class at the 2004 Everlast U.S. Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo., recently.Johnson won four fights on his way

  • Multimedia shop keeps focus

    An airman peers through the lens of the weapon, anticipating the moment the target is in sight. The target steps off the plane. “Closer,” the airman murmurs as her eye shoots back and forth in the lens, checking the scene. Her finger squeezes gently. Click. She shoots, and another distinguished

  • Civil engineers’ work noticed every day

    Every day, airmen of the 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron are seen doing a multitude of tasks, from digging trenches for electrical wiring to setting up restroom facilities.The unit’s accomplishments can be noticed when one makes a 2 a.m. trip to the restroom and comes face to face with a

  • Now showing: Feb. 2 edition of AFTV News

    The growing effect long activations are having on reservists and Air National Guardsmen spotlights the latest edition of Air Force Television News. Staff Sgt. Melissa Allan visits a reservist at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., whose family is trying to decide if re-enlistment is an option because of

  • Airmen combat sickness in community

    Airmen of the 447th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron joined soldiers to provide medical care and humanitarian assistance to residents of a local community Jan. 23. The visit to a small, impoverished town about 10 miles from here was part of the Medical Civic Action Program. The program

  • Proposed budget shows AF path

    The fiscal 2005 Defense Department budget provides the foundation upon which the Air Force will continue the war on terrorism.Maj. Gen. Stephen R. Lorenz, Air Force deputy assistant secretary for budget, discussed how the service’s budget priorities would allow airmen to be a better air and space

  • USTRANSCOM tackles rotations

    The U.S. Transportation Command's basic mission is moving the nation's military wherever and whenever required. The current task is to redeploy the forces who defeated the Iraqi military and liberated that country and replace them with fresh troops. At the same time, forces must be redeployed from

  • TO management becoming easier

    Ever receive an update to a technical order that is out of sequence? For instance, update No. 11 came after update No. 12 rather than before.Ever ask for a specific technical order and never receive it? Technical orders provide the blueprint maintainers use for the upkeep of aircraft in the Air

  • Commander selections get boost

    The latest 503 officers selected as support commanders highlights a new way of identifying future commanders using force development, said Air Force Personnel Center officials here."Squadron commanders are the heart and soul of the Air Force and support command is a prestigious leadership position,"

  • Guard legal team working hard

    For some, the base legal office is a place to take care of wills or powers of attorney, but the office staff here does a lot more than that.Lt. Col. Brent Wright, an Oklahoma Air National Guard staff judge advocate, and Master Sgt. Mary Alice Rebis, a New York ANG paralegal, are teamed together to

  • Reservist selected for NASA crew

    A reserve officer assigned to the F-16 Fighting Falcon system program office here is one of four NASA astronauts named to fly on space shuttle mission STS-121. The mission, planned for November, will follow a shuttle mission scheduled for September. Making his first flight into space will be

  • Sergeant sentenced for larceny

    A staff sergeant with the 377th Security Forces Squadron was found guilty of larceny, making false official statements and destroying and altering public records. He was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge, reduction in rank to airman basic, 10 months confinement and total forfeiture of pay and

  • February issue of Citizen Airman available

    Air Force Reserve Command's 908th Airlift Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., is on the leading edge of the Air Force's effort to modernize its fleet of C-130 Hercules aircraft.C-130H-2s from the 908th, along with C-130E models from the Idaho Air National Guard's 124th Wing in Boise, will be the

  • Airmen test skills on Korean peninsula

    More than 100 airmen, 12 F-15 Eagles and three KC-135 Stratotankers returned to Kadena Air Base, Japan, on Jan. 27 after a four-day deployment here. The mission was a test of the 18th Wing’s ability to deploy during a scheduled operational readiness exercise that began at Kadena on Jan. 24 and is

  • Randolph gets its first T-38C

    The first T-38C Talon destined for operations in the 12th Flying Training Wing touched down here Jan. 21 at 10:06 a.m.There were no brass bands or flag-carrying marchers to greet the new arrival. In fact, the small cluster of people waiting on the ramp gave no hint of the importance of the event.

  • New software eases workload

    Advanced software technology has arrived at the 43rd Fighter Squadron that will soon benefit all of Tyndall and beyond.Known as the Combat Crew Training Management System, the automatic tracking program checks the progress of F/A-22 Raptor students, what stage of training they have completed, and

  • Targeting pods bolster F-16 training

    The 149th Fighter Wing received something Jan. 14 that will literally put its current class of F-16 fighter pilots right on target with their training.The unit will be the first in the Air Force to graduate pilots from the F-16 Fighting Falcon basic course with targeting-pod training. The enhanced

  • Sergeant deploys with casino

    As a child, Master Sgt. Thomas Shircel enjoyed sharing games of rummy with his grandparents, and playing black jack on his video game system.Some years later, as a college student, his appreciation for casino games expanded to providing casino equipment for charity and social functions. He

  • Firefighters keep flames at bay

    Sixty seconds. Just 60 seconds is all it takes for a fire to decimate a tent in a deployed environment.But the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing’s team of firefighters is here to prevent that from happening. The team has many missions, but fire prevention is the most critical so the team never has to

  • Escorts keep base safe

    When it comes down to getting the mission done, there are few things more valuable than a reliable force multiplier.Each day dozens of mostly one-, two- and three-stripe airmen provide the multiple necessary to ensure base functions continue unimpeded. Wearing arm bands identifying them as “Force

  • Wife helps identify drug problem

    “No matter what kind of person you are, drugs will ruin you,” said an obviously uneasy, 21-year-old Airman Basic Michael Dancer as he nervously turned the wedding band on his finger.Wearing a blue correctional custody jump suit, Airman Michael spoke from experience. Though he was not caught driving

  • Changes in law environmental friendly

    Portions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2004 make it easier for the Air Force to execute its mission while protecting the environment at the same time.The act includes language allowing the National Fish and Wildlife Service to legally consider measures that may already be in

  • AF creates personnel system team

    The Air Force has formed a team to implement the Defense Department’s most dramatic civilian personnel system transformation in the last 50 years.The National Security Personnel System gives DOD managers the flexibility to place civilian workers where they are needed most, without delay. It reduces

  • Battlefield calls go through MacDill

    American military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan reach for their satellite phones when they want clear, secure and fast communications. More often than not, the operator who patches through their calls is sitting in a building here.People at the one-stop-shop Regional Satcom Support Center here

  • Forces prepare for Yama Sakura

    U.S. airmen and Japan self-defense forces are gearing up for exercise Yama Sakura ‘04 taking place here Jan. 25 to 31. Yama Sakura is an annual joint/bilateral command post exercise, and is one of the most important simulation-driven, force-on-force battle staff training exercises in Japan, said

  • Dental techs to train as hygienists

    The Air Force has teamed up with Trident Technical College in Charleston to send dental technicians to an Air Force-sponsored dental hygiene training scholarship program.Tech. Sgt. Alycia Miller from Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, and Staff Sgt. Noreena Svoboda from McChord AFB, Wash., are the

  • Air traffic controllers own Iraqi sky

    From American and coalition aircraft to civilian airliners now traveling through the Iraqi airspace, the number of aircraft coming and going over Iraq has increased exponentially in the last year. In southern Iraq, 19 Air Force air traffic controllers here are ensuring the safety of the aircraft

  • Simulator gives airmen realistic training

    A new simulator is providing realistic, localized training for 72nd Operations Support Squadron air traffic controllers here.The simulator gives airmen the opportunity to operate in a computer-based environment before they take the helm in the tower.“Our new controllers customize what they have

  • Academy aircraft return to flight

    Forty-five aircraft previously grounded amid safety concerns were cleared for normal flight operations Jan. 17. Air Force officials regained confidence in the contract maintenance program and permanent fixes were established for all discrepancies identified.Three UV-18 Twin Otter aircraft of the

  • Tactical controllers stand strong

    For Air Force tactical air control party airmen, "The strong will stand, the weak will fall by the wayside," is more than just a motto; it serves as a battle cry.Wherever American military forces are found, TACP airmen are usually nearby. Unofficially nicknamed the "Air Force infantry" because they

  • Back pain becomes Childs’ play

    Capt. John Childs, a physical therapist, is literally taking on a pain in the backside. By studying how patients respond to certain treatments, Captain Childs is aiming to reduce lower back pain, a condition that afflicts millions of Americans.Captain Childs, an Air Force Institute of Technology

  • AAFES helping deployed troops

    Since setting up a mobile store at Tallil Air Base, Iraq, in April, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service continues providing "a little bit of home" to deployed troops.There are 30 exchanges in Iraq and 52 throughout operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, said Judd Anstey, AAFES public

  • Development changes affect chiefs

    The Air Force is transforming the way it manages and develops chief master sergeants as part of a servicewide change in professional development.“For more than a year now … we have begun major cultural changes in the Air Force, a new vision -- how to best develop our force for the future” said Brig.

  • Tyndall trains first Raptor pilot

    Maj. Michael Hoepfner said he has the greatest job in the world.As the first local fighter pilot to complete his F/A-22 Raptor checkout flight here, few would argue."I feel so lucky that I got to be the first to qualify," he said of his recent feat.The assistant director of operations for the 43rd

  • Prescribed fire destroys 30 acres at MacDill

    A raging fire decimated 30 acres of forest in 12 hours here Jan. 7. The good news is that was the whole idea.Since Tampa Bay is the lightning capital of the world, the prescribed burn dramatically cut the chance of a wildfire. Lightning strikes could naturally set off a fire that would be

  • Safety concerns ground aircraft

    Forty-five aircraft assigned here have been grounded amid safety concerns after Air Force quality assurance evaluators discovered contractor maintenance irregularities. The grounding affects cadets participating in soaring and parachute training, and the Cadet Flying Team.Safety concern was