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U.S. Air Force News

  • Combat controller recognized for leadership on, off battlefield

    A combat controller with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron recently received Air Force recognition for his leadership in his personal and professional life. Technical Sgt. Nathaniel Hoag was awarded the Lance P. Sijan Junior Enlisted of the Year Award for 2011. "I was honored to be nominated," Hoag

  • Combat controller recounts battle for AFA audience

    A combat controller assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., brought an Air Force Special Operations Command perspective on the war on terrorism to attendees at the Air Force Association's 2007 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition Sept. 24. "You will

  • Combat controllers call in big guns for troops in Afghanistan

    They are respectfully referred to as “the guys with the beards,” by their fellow Airmen here. It is distinction that few American servicemembers in Afghanistan can claim. Dressed in unmarked desert camouflage uniforms, these distinctive Airmen convoy across the Afghan plains, trek through mountain

  • 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

  • Combat controllers crucial to Haiti earthquake relief

    Thanks to a specialized group of Airmen used to working in austere locations, airlift operations in Haiti were possible in the initial days after an earthquake destroyed much of the capital, and since then these Airmen have made the airport one of the busiest in the world.Combat controllers are used

  • Combat controllers honor fallen comrades

    Valerie Chapman (left), widow of fallen combat controller and Air Force Cross recipient Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, and Doris Maitland, sister of Andre Guillet, listed as missing in action from the Vietnam War, lay wreaths in honor of all the fallen controllers during the Combat Control Association

  • Combat controllers play key role in war on terror

    The largest class of future combat controllers is training at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., to provide critical skills required in the war on terrorism. The current class of 32 students will help bolster the cadre of 360 combat controllers -- special-operations forces who deploy quickly into

  • Combat controllers recognized for heroic actions

    A combat controller assigned to Hurlburt Field proved his combat skills during a recent deployment to Afghanistan.Tech. Sgt. Christopher Grove embodied the combat controller motto "First There," demonstrating the combat controller's commitment to undertaking the most dangerous missions behind enemy

  • Combat controllers support Northern Edge

    Air Force combat controllers are a rare breed of elite specialists who accompany U.S. ground troops to serve as a liaison between those forces and the air support they rely on. Each combat controller is a fully qualified air traffic control expert, able to manage the complex air operations above a

  • Combat convoy course expands to driving 18-wheelers

    The Basic Combat Convoy Course here now includes teaching Airmen to drive tractor-trailer supply trucks and gun trucks as convoy operations in Iraq have evolved into longer, more dangerous missions, course leaders said.All Airmen in the course also are now receiving combat lifesaver training during

  • Combat dentists keep troops’ teeth healthy

    The familiar high-pitch sound of a drill floats out from behind the curtain. Bits and pieces of decayed tooth are chipped away as the drill bores deeper and deeper. A cavity or other tooth emergency is never fun, but for soldiers and airmen in Iraq, help is just a dental visit away.The staff at

  • Combat exercise showcasing proposed uniform

    As the Air Force continues its wear test of the proposed new utility uniform, its sister services are getting a chance to get an up close and personal look at the uniform during exercise Northern Edge '04."There are a total of 90 Airmen on base participating in the wear test of the new blue, green

  • 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

  • Combat Hammer 2014: Boosting RPA strike proficiency

    Airmen from the 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing and the air-to-ground weapons system evaluation program, or WSEP, team participated in the 2014 Combat Hammer exercise May 12-15, to operationally assess and evaluate the reliability, maintainability, suitability, and accuracy of remotely

  • Combat Hammer offers opportunity to evaluate precision-guided munitions

    In a "remote village" west of Salt Lake City, a 2,000-pound enhanced guided bomb unit-15 slips suddenly through an open window of a 30-foot building with immaculate precision. Zero fatalities result from this TV-guided infrared intrusion that occurred May 13. The village -- stacks of cargo

  • Combat Hammer tests air-to-ground bombing capabilities

    Eglin Air Force Base's western range, Bravo 70, was the site for the largest-ever Combat Hammer weapons system evaluation program Dec. 4 to 8, sponsored by the 86th Fighter Weapons Squadron. More than 40 precision-guided weapons were dropped, including laser-guided bombs, joint direct attack

  • Combat leadership course takes PME to next level

    What does an Air Force supply noncommissioned officer and an Army infantry NCO have in common? What can someone who spends their days troubleshooting computers learn from someone who spends their days on convoys? The answer to these questions is leadership. Regardless of the branch of service or

  • Combat metals flight fabricates essential aircraft parts

    When maintainers here need new parts for their C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, they can't just head down to the local parts store and pick one up. That's where the 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron's Combat Metals Flight comes in. The unit fabricates aircraft parts from

  • Combat metals team innovates repair, saves AF thousands

    You don’t always have everything you want on a deployment. No sixty inch plasma with video game console in your room, so you bring a laptop to play your games. Your cell phone doesn’t have coverage unless you pay exorbitant roaming fees, so you video chat with your family over Wi-Fi when you can

  • Combat metals: The modern-day blacksmiths

    While there are a lot of precautionary measures in place to prevent bird strikes and other aircraft incidents, they are not 100 percent preventable.When these incidents occur, there’s a small group of Airmen who are called upon to do patchwork to get the aircraft back to base and to fix the damage

  • Combat mobility element moves cargo quickly, safely

    The 15th Airlift Wing at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, sent a pair of its C-17 Globemaster IIIs here to support the Australian Defense Force. U.S. crews are shuttling cargo and Australian military forces to strategic locations within the country.This operation involves moving massive amounts of cargo, and

  • Combat Nighthawk increases awareness

    Company grade and senior noncommissioned officers here are teaming up to further develop their leadership skills and increase their overall understanding of all aspects of the operational mission, as part of a Combat Nighthawk initiative.Combat Nighthawk is a leadership development and

  • Combat Ops continue in Iraq, humanitarian aid pours in

    U.S. and coalition troops are searching out and eliminating pockets of Saddam-regime diehards, while providing much needed humanitarian relief to the Iraqi people.That's the message Army Brig. Gen. Vince Brooks, U.S. Central Command spokesperson delivered today at a press conference in Qatar.For

  • Combat personnelists get Airmen in, out of deployment

    They do not fly combat missions, build bombs or conduct perimeter patrols, but the PERSCO team here processes the documents that make it possible for pilots, ammo troops and security forces to do those things supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. From hail to farewell, a two-person Personnel

  • Combat photographer braves bullets to tell stories

    An award-winning Air Force photographer routinely braved bullets and bombs to tell the military's story through the lenses of his cameras to be named the Defense Department's Military Photographer of the Year for 2007. Combat photographer Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Lock also earned that honor in 2002 and

  • Combat photographer to compete in Warrior Games

    Not once, but twice. Twice, in 2004 and 2007, a combat photographer who was assigned to the 1st Combat Camera Squadron, Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., was wounded in Iraq.It was her combat wounds in 2007 that caused retired Staff Sgt. Stacy Pearsall to give up her dream as a combat photographer

  • Combat ready

    Capt. Helen Howell, a C-130 Hercules pilot from the 36th Airlift Squadron here, prepares to taxi during a combat readiness exercise. The exercise is designed to test the combat capabilities of the base. (Photo by Master Sgt. Val Gempis)

  • Combat rescue helicopter acquisition process underway

    More than 30 potential civilian contract companies were in attendance during Industrial Days sponsored by the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Jan. 9-11. The event, hosted by the Air Force Combat Rescue Helicopter Program, gave potential contractors a glimpse

  • Combat rescue officers celebrate 10-year anniversary

    Officials celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the creation of the combat rescue officer career field Dec. 8."Our personnel recovery forces need to be organized, trained and equipped to operate across the full range of military operations, including humanitarian operations, irregular warfare and

  • Combat rescue officers ready for field

    Nineteen men began their Sunday morning Oct. 21 with a three-mile run and 1,500-meter swim here. The intensive physical training test set the stage for six days of grueling workouts and evaluations -- so demanding, in fact, that by Friday only eight men were left. Those eight men are now combat

  • Combat rescue, special tactics officer bonus still available

    For the second year in a row, qualified special operations officers are still eligible for a maximum of $80,000 in critical skills retention bonus money if they voluntarily extend their active-duty service commitment for up to four years."With the continued high demand for combat rescue and special

  • Combat rescue, special tactics retention bonuses available

    Qualified special operations officers are now eligible for a maximum of $100,000 in critical skills retention bonus money if they voluntarily extend their active-duty service commitment for up to four years. The bonuses are due in part to a $2.5 million deposit from Department of Defense

  • Combat RPAs integral in defeating ISIS

    U.S. forces, coalition partners and Syrian Democratic Forces liberated Raqqah, Syria from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s control in early October 2017. ISIS used the city as its capital for terrorist operations since January 2014.

  • Combat runs on BACN

    The Battlefield Airborne Communications Node will reach 10,000 combat missions within the next month, hitting a significant milestone just as the program office here works to expand the current fleet to eight combat-ready platforms.

  • Combat search, rescue highlighted in new commercial

    A commercial highlighting combat search and rescue, or CSAR, Airmen began airing Oct. 5 in television markets and select movie theaters across the country."CSAR" shows the teamwork involved to locate, communicate with and recover downed aircrews and isolated personnel. The commercial is the third in

  • Combat search, rescue team saves two soldiers

    A U.S. Air Force combat search and rescue team saved the lives of two critically wounded U.S. Army special operations soldiers despite severe weather conditions April 7 about five miles south of Baghdad.The soldiers were transferred to a hospital in Kuwait, where it was determined that they have a

  • Combat Shadows helping with Liberia

    Airmen from the 398th Air Expeditionary Group embarked on a refueling flight Aug. 6 in an MC-130P Combat Shadow, originally from Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, now supporting operations in Liberia. The mission was to refuel three HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, also part of the 398th AEG, from

  • Combat skills course offers Airmen lifesaving training

    In preparation for the Air Force's next Air and Space Expeditionary Force rotation, 94 people attended the Pacific Air Forces-sponsored combat skills course April 23 to 25 here. Several combat skills training course instructors came to Misawa to provide information that is not only designed to

  • Combat skills training is a must for today's Airmen

    Since Airmen are taking on more non-traditional rolls and missions in deployed locations, the need for individual combat skills is imperative. Airmen selected to deploy for Air Expeditionary Force Cycle 5 and 6 from the 15th Airlift Wing recently took the three-day Expeditionary Combat Skills

  • Combat skills training prepares security forces

    The 60th Security Forces Squadron here offers a two-day expeditionary combat skills training course to prepare Airmen for deployments."(We want to) give the students a set of basic skills to work with so if they ever encounter a force protection scenario, it'll give them that basic skill set to act

  • Combat skills training preps Airmen for war

    Grunts, shouts and gunshots echoed through the fields here recently as nearly 90 Airmen pushed their bodies to the limit during expeditionary combat skills training. The Airmen dragged their bodies through the grass and mud in a low crawl, propelled themselves forward on their elbows in the high

  • Combat stress team strives to connect

    Maj. Kim Floyd and Senior Airman Jessica Delgado just want to talk. Major Floyd, a psychologist deployed from the 92nd Medical Group at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., and Airman Delgado, a mental health technician deployed from the 5th Medical Group at Minot AFB, N.D., make up the Combat Stress

  • Combat Support Wing exercise showcases agile lethality

    More than 150 Airmen from seven major commands participated in a combat support wing proof-of-concept exercise Sept. 5 to 19 that tested a small team’s capability to conduct agile downrange operations. The exercise, conducted at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, with forward deployments to Moody Air

  • Combat Talon crashes in Albania

    An MC-130H Combat Talon II aircraft that crashed while on a joint training mission with the Albanian military, U.S. European Command officials announced April 1. There were nine people on board. A EUCOM news release said the crash occurred in a remote, mountainous area southeast of the Albanian

  • Combat Talon ends career as historic monument

    Exactly one year after making its final operational flight, the MC-130E Combat Talon I 64-0567 reached the end of its 47-year journey with a stirring dedication ceremony here May 6.The Talon, or as it came to be know by 919th Special Operations Wing Airmen, "Wild Thing," will now be a historic

  • Combat Talon undergoes risk reduction testing

    An MC-130E Combat Talon I completed the first risk reduction flight here March 15 after undergoing several months of improved avionics modifications. Airmen from the 418th Flight Test Squadron conducted the flight.The aircraft arrived here in October from the Air Force Reserve Command's 919th

  • Combat to cowboy boots: Airman uses horses to spread resiliency

    (This feature is part of the "Through Airmen's Eyes" series. These stories focus on individual Airmen, highlighting their Air Force story.)Growing up, she recalled running around the woods of North Carolina trying to catch a wild horse. She had fallen in love with a flea bitten, little and gray

  • Combat training adds to Airmen's skills

    Combat training is critical for Airmen deploying downrange. Senior Airman Joshua Issermoyer, a tactical air controller stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, already has deployed but continues to strengthen his skills with more training. Some of that training involved approximately 2,300 American and

  • Combat training goes rangeless

    The P5 Combat Training System introduced recently promises to revolutionize training by allowing warfighting pilots to test their skills anywhere, versus in limited air space, according to Air Armament Center officials here.The system uses pods that communicate with each other. The pods enable

  • Combat training supports 21st century strategy

    As the nation winds down from a decade of combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Department of Defense is shifting its focus to the future and recently introduced new strategic guidance describing the projected security environment and key military missions for which the department will

  • Combat truckers fill mail call void in Southwest Asia

    The 586th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron's 70th Medium Truck Detachment Airmen took on the mission to ensure thousands of servicemembers received their mail Dec. 28, when a Department of Defense contract with a transport company was abruptly halted within Southwest Asia."This is an

  • Combat truckers roll out for last time

    The guideon furled silently and slid into its sleeve, signifying the mission was officially complete for the 387th Expeditionary Logistics Squadron during its inactivation ceremony March 6.Since the mission began in 2003 at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, the Airmen and Soldiers of the

  • Combat vets wage public-info campaign

    Four Air Force combat veterans began a new campaign March 27 -- informing the public of the Air Force's role in Operation Iraqi Freedom.The airmen -- three aircrew members and a combat controller -- spoke to reporters from across the nation in a television studio here on topics including the latest

  • Combat weather Airmen test out new initiative

    Combat weather Airmen from the 93rd Air Ground and Operations Wing, as well as units from all over the world are currently participating in a training exercise here to test a new total-force initiative. The total-force initiative proposes the need to consolidate training locations and resources for

  • Combat weather forecasters fight ‘fog of war’

    It rolls in when it wants to, covers everything in its path and makes visibility so poor you can barely see your hand in front of your face. It is what some here call “the fog of war.”This fog, however, is the real thing. It is a fog so thick it makes missions for Operation Enduring Freedom here

  • Combat weather forecasters help keep pilots out of harm’s way

    It’s a tough job trying to predict Mother Nature and when it comes to weather, everyone’s a critic. Thinking the day holds nothing but sun and your picnic gets rained out can be aggravating. Now try to tell a pilot he can’t fly because the weather patterns shifted. This dilemma is something deployed

  • Combat weather team forecasts mission success

    Cloud reading may seem an ethereal art, but predicting the effects of alto cumulus clouds blowing over the southwest mountain range here is a pure science to aviators and ground troops traveling there.Leaders here rely on the technical know-how of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing’s Combat weather

  • Combat weather teams key in mission planning

    When reporters describe the successes of the air war on terrorism, they frequently speak of special operations forces using global positioning system receivers and radios to direct laser-guided bombs to their targets.These stories are accurate and make for good video, but they only touch the surface

  • Combat weather: More than just forecasting highs

    Monday, hot, 109. Tuesday, hot, 110. The rest of the week, extremely hot.Some people may think a deployment to a desert in Southwest Asia would be a weather forecaster's dream -- same forecast, different day. However, the 363rd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron combat weather team does

  • Combat, hardship pays remain for troops serving in Iraq

    The change from Operation Iraqi Freedom to Operation New Dawn does not affect the pays and entitlements troops serving in Iraq receive, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Sept. 1.Servicemembers deployed to Iraq will still receive hostile fire/imminent danger pay, hardship-duty pay and incidental expenses.

  • Combat-identification technologies tested

    War fighters from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom are testing new battlefield systems that can discern friend from foe during the "Bold Quest Plus" joint military demonstration being conducted at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The demonstration's purpose is to provide warfighters with

  • Combating common enemies

    Picture yourself as the aircrew of a military aircraft, dealing with an unfortunate situation that forces you to eject behind enemy lines. In order to survive, you must evade the enemy all while communicating with the appropriate personnel to be rescued.To train for this type of situation in a

  • Combat-ready for 50 years: B-52s fly past another milestone

    The B-52 Stratofortress reached a milestone March 12 with the 50th anniversary of the first B-52 wing being declared combat-ready. The 93rd Bombardment Wing was declared combat-ready March 12, 1956, after being activated June 29, 1955. Although it had been declared combat-ready for 10 years, the

  • Combined exercise tests interoperability between coalition partners

    Firefighters from the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing completed a training scenario with the French and host nation firefighters here July 25 to test their interoperability. The exercise helped break through communication barriers and foster relations between the firefighters."The purpose for this

  • Combined Federal Campaign kicks off

    The 2003 to 2004 Combined Federal Campaign began Sept. 1 and will run for six consecutive weeks through Dec. 15 for bases within the continental United States. The overseas CFC campaign will be conducted for Oct. 1 through Dec. 15.Exact dates and campaign goals are established in each geographic

  • Combined forces at leadership school benefit students

    Japanese and U.S. military forces have many training opportunities to interact and learn from each other, and that bilateral relationship is carrying over to the military education classroom. Walk into an Airman Leadership School class here and it resembles a coalition headquarters environment, with

  • Combined JTF-Operation Inherent Resolve releases strike video

    Coalition strikes on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters fleeing in a convoy near Habbaniyah, Iraq, were recently conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria and the wider international

  • Combined rescue crew delivers relief supplies

    A combined crew of rescue Airmen from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, 33rd Rescue Squadron and 31st Rescue Squadron delivered food, water and medical supplies to Kessenuma City from here March 20 in support of Operation Tomodachi.Kessenuma City experienced massive destruction from the earthquake

  • Combined security

    Jeko Jekov (left) and Staff Sgt. Olga Valery patrol the beach area here. Jekov is with the Bulgarian military police while Valery is assigned to the 409th Air Expeditionary Group's security forces. U.S. security forces airmen work with Bulgarian military police to maintain security on Camp Sarafovo

  • Combined security keeps Ganci safe

    Keeping people out of harm's way and protecting resources at Ganci Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, is the job of an elite group of professionals who tote radios, weapons and ride in vehicles equipped for rugged terrain.Americans from the 376th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron and their security forces

  • Combined service efforts, newly stocked medication saves Soldier's life

    Recent decisions by joint military medical officials here to outfit paramedics with specialized equipment and to stock medicine rarely needed by typical military patients in the Air Forces Central Command area of responsibility, saved a serviceman's life after he suffered a heart attack June

  • Combined support force refines relief efforts

    Relief efforts continue in the Southeast Asian region devastated by the Dec. 26 earthquake and resulting tsunamis.Water-production facilities are being established in Indonesia in coordination with host government officials, said Marine Lt. Col. Robert Krieg, lead future-operations planner for

  • Comedian donates $1m for welcome center

    Bob and Dolores Hope have donated $1 million to the Air Force Enlisted Foundation to build a facility here to honor retired Col. Robert W. Gates, a pilot on many of the comedian's United Services Organization jaunts across the globe.The 6,500 square foot welcome center will be built next to the

  • Comfort group takes care of servicemembers

    Needles, thread, cookies and warm hearts surrounded two folding tables covered in fabric. Holiday carols, cheerful voices and the low whir of sewing machines filled the room. Several women sat chatting and sewing what some may consider "irregular" articles of clothing. Members of the Sew Much

  • Coming Feb. 22: single 800 number for all Airmen

     Members of the total force -- regular Air Force, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, civilian and retired Airmen -- are on line to have one central phone number for help with their personnel questions starting at 5 p.m. Central Standard Time Feb. 22. Members of the Air Force community should

  • Coming home

    Fifteen C-130 Hercules from the 302nd Airlift Wing taxi down the runway here toward a crowd of anxious families Oct 1. Coming home were more than 250 Air Force Reserve members who were deployed in support of operations Joint Forge, Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle. A ceremony afterward signified

  • Coming home: Children of Pearl Harbor attacks tour former home on Hickam

    As children of an Airman stationed at Hickam Field, Hawaii, Larry Bush and Deloris Anderson were at home the fateful morning of Dec. 7, 1941, during the surprise Japanese attack. Today, 70 years later, they finally came home.The house where some of their earliest childhood memories were formed and

  • 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

  • Comm Airmen get tower-certified

    A team of Airmen making a stop here to do checks on the latest radio communications on the battlefield took time out to give some Airmen valuable qualification training. A team from the Combined Air and Space Operations Center came here to perform preventive maintenance on the Radio-over-Internet

  • Comm Airmen in 'high demand' in cyberworld

    Airmen assigned to the 1st Communication Maintenance Squadron are in high demand, providing specialized communication maintenance technicians that support cyberspace systems throughout U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command areas of responsibility.In 2012, the 1st CMXS spent more than 5,200

  • Comm Airmen keep $84M network running

    With hundreds of thousands of megabytes of data whizzing along miles of fiber optic wire, only stopping briefly to be digested by a network computer before blazing off to its next destination, managing this cyber domain requires a skilled team of expertly trained individuals; in the case of a

  • Comm Airmen keep OIR mission connected

    The demand for communication capabilities is on the rise at Incirlik Air Base with the addition of aircraft and service members in support of Operation Inherent Resolve missions. The 39th Communications Squadron is hard at work meeting those demands, keeping the lines of communication open and

  • Comm Airmen prepare for major career field transformation

    Twenty communications Airmen stationed in Germany took part in a training exercise Sept. 18 to 24 at Aviano Air Base, Italy, in preparation for the largest transformation in the history of Air Force communications which is to be completed this October. When it's all said and done, more than 27,000

  • COMM ensures information gets to rescuers, Air Force

    The safety of those stranded in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast could hinge upon 450 Airmen deployed here as part of the 347th Expeditionary Rescue Group and their ability to communicate rapidly and effectively across vast distances.From setting up Internet connections and radio systems to

  • Comm squadron develops Air Force Standard Desktop

    The 50th Space Communications Squadron here is spearheading development of the Air Force Standard Desktop Configuration. This move will strengthen network defenses on all Air Force active-duty, Reserve and Guard installations in 2006 and may become a part of an approved configuration for all federal