HomeNews

NATO Air Policing operations

U.S. Air Force News

  • Airmen blend science of healing with art of caring

    Air Force medical troops are playing an instrumental role in restoring the quality of life of individuals experiencing problems from physical trauma or general “wear and tear.”The seven-person physical therapy team from the 374th Medical Group here provides services that help restore function,

  • CSAF adds books to reading list

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper announced May 5 the addition of three books to his recommended reading list.In a Chief’s Sight Picture, Jumper said the new books will help provide a broad understanding of where the service is as an air force, the challenges and demands it faces, and a

  • The faces behind the faces on the 'most wanted' deck

    The faces of Saddam Hussein's defeated regime on the now-famous "most wanted" card deck have become ever familiar with more than 1 million decks printed and sold.The faces of the cards' creators, however, were a mystery, until now, that is.Enter Army Staff Sgt. Shawn Mahoney, 31, and Sgt. Scott

  • Civil engineers repair runway in Afghanistan

    Tech. Sgt. John Foster sits in a truck on an active runway at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, and simply covers his ears as a C-130 Hercules races by just yards away and takes off into the blue.Foster is not lost. As the cargo plane heads over Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush mountain range, Foster climbs

  • Robins spouse wins Joan Orr Award

    When her phone rang on an otherwise routine afternoon last week, Tammie Bocook was surprised at what she heard: "Please hold for General Wetekam."In seconds, Maj. Gen. Donald Wetekam, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center commander, was congratulating Bocook on being named winner of the 2003 Joan Orr

  • Employee celebrates 50 years with Air Force

    After 50 years of Air Force service, Paul Barber shows no signs of slowing down. “I don’t want to quit unless I absolutely have to,” said Barber, an electrical equipment repairman in the Maintenance Directorate commodities division here. “I am 67 years old, and I’ll be 68 in July. I still feel

  • DOD reaches out to help families during wartime deployment

    The Defense Department is working to lessen the burden that deployments are having on family members left at home.Many are faced with tasks of juggling finances, doing car and home repairs, cooking, and raising children.John Molino, deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family

  • 'It's just heartbreaking' what Saddam did to Iraq, Rumsfeld says

    The neglect and damage deposed dictator Saddam Hussein inflicted on Iraq and its people "is just heartbreaking," U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters here today.Back after his one-week, whirlwind trip to the Gulf region -- which included visits to Iraq and Afghanistan -- Rumsfeld

  • Jamming squadron accomplishes mission

    After more than 220 sorties, almost 2,000 combat flying hours and more than 6,000 jammed enemy signals in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the airmen of the 41st Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron can call it a day.As part of the 64th Air Expeditionary Wing deployed to Southwest Asia, the

  • Domino effect began with weather forecast

    Trace any Operation Iraqi Freedom mission back to its origin, and you will find the first action in the series of events was a weather forecast, said the senior weather officer for U.S. Central Command Air Forces.“We’re domino pushers,” said Lt. Col. Tom Frooninckx, commander of the 28th Operational

  • Iraq's future in hands of its own people, U.S. officials say

    Three senior U.S. government officials agreed that humanitarian efforts to renew and restore Iraq have gone well so far, and movement will continue to return Iraq to the Iraqi people.Undersecretary of Defense Dov Zakheim, DoD comptroller and chief financial officer, Undersecretary of State Alan

  • Ceremony ends Operation Northern Watch

    The Combined Task Force Operation Northern Watch guidon was encased May 1, in a ceremony signifying the successful end to its mission of enforcing U.N. Security Council Resolutions north of the 36th parallel. Gen. Charles F. Wald, U.S. European Command deputy commander, officiated the ceremony -- an

  • Air Force preparing for next contingency

    Even as deployed airmen return home from Operation Iraqi Freedom, Air Force officials are focusing on what they need to do to reload the service for the next contingency.According to Lt. Gen. Ronald E. Keys, deputy chief of staff for air and space operations, the three priorities in reconstituting

  • Youth center goes global

    Children at the youth center here are going global -- the old-fashioned way.In a world of e-mail, modems and ever-changing technology, the center's “Journey Around the World” club gives its members the chance to make friends with others their age who live on Air Force bases worldwide, by simply

  • Air Force announces OTS selections

    The Air Force is giving 18 enlisted members the chance to trade in their stripes for gold bars after being chosen to attend Officer Training School.Air Force Recruiting Service officials conducted OTS Selection Board 0305, which considered 239 total applications, selecting 164 for a 67-percent

  • President Bush proclaims end to major combat operations in Iraq

    Major combat operations in Iraq are over, and America and her allies have prevailed, President Bush said this evening on the flight deck of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. "In this battle we have fought for the cause of liberty and for the peace of the world. Our nation and our coalition are proud of

  • Cheney declares Iraqi Freedom 'most extraordinary military campaign'

    Vice President Richard Cheney knows what it takes to launch a war in the Persian Gulf. He did just that in 1991 as the nation's 17th defense secretary. Who better then to compare operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom 12 years later? In a speech to the Heritage Foundation today, Cheney called

  • Cadet suspected of organizing inappropriate parties

    Officials here announced May 1 that a senior cadet is under investigation for suspected misuse of government equipment and Internet services while organizing inappropriate activities off the installation.Charges have not been filed. The name of the cadet is being withheld pending completion of the

  • Powell thanks Spain for political, material support in Iraq

    Secretary of State Colin Powell today thanked one of America's staunchest allies for their support before and during the war in Iraq."I hope that the Spanish people will understand that their government and their leader was on the right side of history in this matter," Powell said in a joint media

  • Air Force earns two public service awards

    Organizations at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., and Schriever AFB, Colo., recently earned Public Service Excellence Awards from the Public Employees Roundtable.The 355th Aerospace Medicine Squadron’s airman’s attic at Davis-Monthan, earned the award in the community service category.The

  • POL troops fuel massive air campaign

    Equipped with not much more than grit and determination, deployed airmen have dispensed jet fuel at a pace up to nine times faster than their stateside counterparts.According to Col. Duane A. Jones, chief of logistics for the Combined Forces Air Component Command, three bare-base airfields

  • 2002 mission support awards announced

    Officials recently announced the winners of the 2002 Air Force Mission Support Awards.The awards recognize airmen and their units for outstanding performance in the areas of personnel, military equal opportunity, professional military education and training.The winner of the Gen. Robert J. Dixon

  • CSAF: Instructor duty vital to future

    The Air Force’s top uniformed leader is stressing the importance and value of instructor duty to all officers.In a Chief’s Sight Picture released in April, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper encouraged officers to invest in the future force by considering instructor opportunities an

  • Test sets world land speed record

    A 192-pound, fully instrumented Missile Defense Agency payload traveled a little more than three miles in 6.04 seconds April 29, validating Holloman's high-speed test track hypersonic upgrades and setting a world land speed record.Air Force Materiel Command experts conducted the test in New Mexico's

  • Mr. Rumsfeld goes to Baghdad

    Perhaps symbolizing the importance of special operations forces to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld arrived in Baghdad on an MC-130 from the Air Force's 919th Special Operations Wing today. Less than a month after the fall of Baghdad, Rumsfeld flew from Kuwait to Basra

  • AFSOC taking combat search, rescue

    The Air Force will turn over functional management of the combat search and rescue mission to Air Force Special Operations Command on Oct. 1.The transition to AFSOC from Air Combat Command is meant to consolidate the management of CSAR and to take advantage of the synergies of combining like

  • Program documents art of war

    Four aviation artists spent two days visiting Tallil Air Base in southern Iraq to visually document and experience firsthand bare-base Air Force operations there. John Witt, Phil Weisgerber, Gregg Thompson and Harley Copic traveled to Southwest Asia to support the Air Force Art Program. Their job

  • Force development prepares airmen for success

    Force-development efforts are under way to ensure the Air Force’s enlisted corps remains the best in the world, said the service’s top enlisted leader.According to Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald R. Murray, force development is simply a methodical approach to giving airmen the tools,

  • U.S. aircraft leaving Saudi Arabian base

    Department of Defense officials said the combined air operations center here will be mothballed and all U.S. aircraft operating at the base will be gone by August.The decision was made by "mutual agreement," said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld following a meeting with Saudi defense minister

  • Dover airmen bring their parents to work

    More than 100 parents beamed with pride and admiration as they walked arm-in-arm with their sons or daughters here. For many of these parents, this was their first exposure to the Air Force’s inner-workings and lifestyle.Bring Your Parents to Work Day, held at the Air Mobility Command Museum on

  • Services strives for better frontline meals

    The immediate requirements of conducting war demand a no-frills approach to frontline living. However, that does not mean conditions have to stay that way.The chief of logistics for the Combined Forces Air Component Command said that once the basic resources needed to effectively fight a war have

  • Military Appreciation Month begins May 1

    Organizers for National Military Appreciation Month are asking Americans to show their appreciation for the military by displaying the American flag and the POW/MIA flag May 1 through Flag Day on June 14.In 1999, a resolution was passed in Congress proclaiming May as National Military Appreciation

  • OIF contracting effort proves successful

    The early insertion of contracting officers into mobility packages may prove to be one of the most cost-effective decisions the Air Force made during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the coalition air force’s top logistics officer said.“At first blush, you might ask why we’d deploy a contracting officer to

  • DOD expands vaccination eligibility list

    Adult family members of some servicemembers have joined the list of those eligible to receive smallpox and anthrax vaccinations.According to Department of Defense officials, the voluntary vaccinations are available in designated higher-threat areas, including State Department missions. Eligible

  • Now showing: April 28 edition of AFTVNews

    The gradual Air Force shift from war to support in Iraq is highlighted in the latest edition of Air Force Television News.Staff Sgt. Chris Vadnais reports from Bashur Airfield in northern Iraq on how airmen are helping get supplies to troops on the ground. In the United Kingdom, Staff Sgt. Michelle

  • Deployed airman attacks educational dreams

    Most airmen serving overseas supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom use their spare time catching up on sleep or writing to loved ones back home. But one sergeant kept education as a priority in his busy schedule.Master Sgt. Craig Pate is the first student to complete an Air Force Institute of

  • Aziz brings total of 'Top 55' in custody to 12

    With Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and sometime-spokesman Tariq Aziz now in American custody, 12 of the 55 most wanted Iraqis are accounted for, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today. Rumsfeld said during a noon Pentagon press briefing that coalition forces also have "a number" of other

  • People are the key to air power, CSAF says

    The men and women of the Air Force are the basis of America’s air and space power, according to the Air Force chief of staff.“It’s all about smart people and the tools they’ve used in new and different ways,” Gen. John P. Jumper told an audience April 24 at the National Air and Space Museum

  • Officials announce AF comm, info awards

    Officials announced the Air Force’s communication and information awards for 2002 here recently.Individual winners:-- Outstanding Field Grade Officer: Maj. Eric J. Bjurstrom from Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.-- Outstanding Company Grade Officer: Capt. Robert K. Lyman from the 50th Space

  • Tinker employees awarded $10K for ideas

    Collectively saving the Air Force more than $700,000 in the next year recently made two employees here $10,000 richer thanks to suggestions submitted to the Innovative Development through Employee Awareness program.Karen Goss, a publications systems specialist earned her $10,000 by discovering a

  • More regime leaders captured, three Marines die in accident

    The Iraqi deck lost three more cards April 23, and coalition special operations forces took into custody another regime member who might be able to name all the Iraqi spies in the United States. Also, three Marines died and seven more were injured the same day when the rocket-propelled grenade

  • Team brings captured base online

    Warfighters had a big problem as coalition combat forces pushed through Iraqi defenders: their tactical communications systems were not enough for the job at hand, but a better, more permanent solution wasn't yet available anywhere near the front.Air Force engineering installation teams stepped up

  • Engineering installation team brings captured base on line

    Warfighters had a big problem as coalition combat forces pushed through Iraqi defenders: their tactical communications systems were not enough for the job at hand, but a better, more permanent solution wasn't yet available anywhere near the front.Air Force engineering installation teams stepped up

  • NCO retraining programs begin

    The Air Force recently began the voluntary phase of its fiscal 2003 and 2004 noncommissioned officer retaining programs. The program is designed to help the Air Force balance its enlisted force by moving NCOs in specialties with surpluses to those with shortages, personnel officials said. It

  • Roche, Jumper to speak at academy graduation

    Air Force officials announced April 23 that Dr. James Roche, secretary of the Air Force, and Gen. John Jumper, Air Force chief of staff, will speak at this year's Air Force Academy grauation. "Both personally are very much involved in the Air Force Academy and Air Force military education, and

  • Cooperation key for coalition success, Hailston says

    The key to the success of Operation Iraqi Freedom was the outstanding cooperation among all of the services and coalition partners, the top Marine in the command said today.Speaking from his headquarters in Bahrain, Marine Lt. Gen. Earl Hailston said that force planned and executed the operation as

  • Bomber group heads home

    After dropping 3.2 million pounds of explosives and 9 million leaflets during 120 combat sorties, more than 1,000 airmen are packing up and going home from this forward-operating location. The redeployment of the 457th Air Expeditionary Group began April 24 with approximately a dozen B-52

  • Space units provide impact during OIF

    During Operation Iraqi Freedom, thousands of Air Force reservists helped drop bombs on the enemy, deliver supplies and fuel to coalition forces, and rescue stranded or besieged troops on the ground.Many of these reservists worked behind the scenes, including several hundred Air Force Reserve Command

  • Mobile aeromedical staging facility cares for war's wounded

    Providing medical care to injured soldiers and airmen is the main job for 26 active duty and Reserve airmen of the 387th Air Expeditionary Group, deployed to a location in Southwest Asia.Comprising the Expeditionary Mobile Aeromedical Staging Facility staff, the team members are a model of the

  • Murderer killed in coalition raid in Kandahar province

    Coalition forces in Afghanistan believe they killed the man who murdered a Salvadoran Red Cross worker March 27, officials at Combined Joint Task Force 180 said today.The action occurred April 21 in Kandahar province in the southern part of the country. Coalition forces worked with officials of the

  • Former POW recounts 67-month experience

    Even after 67 months as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, Col. George "Bud" Day could still recognize his wife Doris' footsteps as she walked up behind him at March Air Force Base, Calif., March 17, 1973.He said it was because of his lifelong faith in God and his deep-rooted love of country and

  • Feedback from survey to improve civilian leadership development

    A sampling of Air Force civilians in the grades of GS-12 through GS-15 have received and completed the civilian long-term training survey via e-mail in recent days.The 12-question survey, which is being distributed through April 25, is an opportunity for people to express their thoughts or concerns

  • Damage docs patch, repair battle aircraft

    With aircraft battered and torn from the fight, aircrews depend on the "damage doctors" to get them and their aircraft back into the fray.During the conflict in Iraq, members of the 653rd Combat Logistics Support Squadron here have been the "docs" carefully patching and repairing aircraft, making

  • Ground commander lauds land troops' success in Iraq

    Coalition forces are nearing the end of combat operations, but the campaign will continue, the chief of coalition land forces said during an interview from Baghdad.In a videoconferenced briefing with Pentagon reporters, Army Lt. Gen. David McKiernan said the ground campaign against the regime of

  • Mobile aeromedical staging facility touches lives in Iraq

    From Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to Tallil Air Base, Iraq, may seem a long way, but for Air Force Reservists of the 433rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, it was the chance of a lifetime to practice skills that are literally a matter of life or death to a wounded soldier.Their journey to Tallil

  • Total force team excels at bare base

    A total force team of active-duty, reserve and Guard airmen deployed to this austere deployed location have worked together to provide "amazing" support for Operation Iraqi Freedom, their commander said.The 485th Air Expeditionary Wing here is composed of active-duty F-15 Eagle fighters from Langley

  • Team cleans up unexploded ordnance

    While troops help Iraqis gain independence in the streets of Baghdad, Basra and Kirkuk, people from the 386th Explosive Ordnance Disposal team at one forward-deployed location are cleaning up remnants of the 1991 Gulf War."Unexploded ordnance poses a threat to both military members and the civilian

  • Air Force clubs offer scholarships

    Air Force Clubs is offering $25,000 in scholarship money to any club member or his or her family members. There will be six scholarships awarded, with the top prize of $6,000 for higher education costs.Scholarships will be awarded based on a 500-word essay written about "Air Force Clubs -- Help Us

  • Officials announce Air Force fuels, supply awards

    Air Force officials recently announced the outstanding supply and fuels individual and unit awards for 2002.The individual supply winners are:-- Col. F. Badger Johnson III Senior Supply Manager of the Year: Lt. Col. Kenneth Hession from the 363rd Expeditionary Supply Squadron at Prince Sultan Air

  • U.S., Poland finalize deal on F-16s

    This month's signing of a military hardware deal with Poland is expected to kick off a long-term relationship between the United States and the former Warsaw Pact nation, according to Air Force officials.On April 18, Polish officials signed a deal to purchase 48 new F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft

  • Security forces keep base secure

    At this forward-deployed Operation Iraqi Freedom location, two security forces airmen in an observation post keep a close watch on local shipping traffic with high-powered binoculars.At the search pit, military working dogs sniff through a vehicle before it is released to approach the entry control

  • JPRA helps return captives to normal life

    It's going to take more than returning Pfc. Jessica Lynch to the United States for her to get back to a normal life.Much the same could be said about the seven prisoners of war - her five unit comrades and two pilots - rescued April 13.After spending eight days in Iraqi captivity and a nearly equal

  • Pilots receive Distinguished Flying Crosses for first strike of OIF

    Two F-117A Nighthawk pilots from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing at a forward-deployed desert air base in were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross recently for extraordinary achievement while flying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.On the opening day of the air campaign Lt. Col. David

  • Bone marrow donor, recipient meet

    Tech. Sgt. Daniel MacDonald and Gregg Smith have shared the same bone marrow for a year and a half, but they did not meet face to face until recently.MacDonald, an instructor with the 366th Training Squadron's Detachment 7 at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., donated his bone marrow to Smith on Oct. 16, 2001.

  • U.S. not asking for long-term Iraqi bases

    The United States has neither asked nor considered asking a future Iraqi government for use of four air bases, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today.Rumsfeld called a New York Times story that suggested such a thing "unhelpful." He said such articles left people in the Middle East with the

  • Promotion study guides arrive in May

    The 2003 promotion fitness exam and supervisory examination study guides are expected at Air Force locations worldwide in May.Air Force Occupational Measurement Squadron officials here said Air Force Pamphlet 36-2241, Volumes 1 and 2, Promotion Fitness Examination and U.S. Air Force Supervisory

  • SARS has minor impact on upcoming exercises

    With major combat operations for Operation Iraqi Freedom wrapping up, airmen are watching the news closely for a potential new enemy -- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.Recent intense media coverage may make it seem as though the virus, known as SARS, is spreading uncontrollably. However, the

  • Air Force, Central Command set war trophy policy

    Servicemembers deployed supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom may be tempted to bring home souvenirs of their war experience, but Air Force legal officials are urging them to think twice. Depending on the item, bringing home a "war trophy" could lead to court-martial, said Lt. Col. Karen L. Manos,

  • Tax relief, danger pay eligibility expands

    Tax relief and special pay for servicemembers involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom have expanded.On April 11, a Defense Department memo certified that OIF troops stationed in Turkey and Israel and deployed to Mediterranean waters east of 30 degrees east longitude are now eligible for combat zone tax

  • Another regime leader captured; Coalition forces transition

    Iraqi Kurds handed over the Ba'ath Party regional command chairman for East Baghdad to coalition special operations forces yesterday, U.S. Central Command officials said this morning.Samir abd al-Aziz al-Najim was the "4" of clubs in the deck of cards issued to coalition troops to identify the 55

  • Doolittle Raiders honor fallen comrades

    The Doolittle Raiders held their traditional goblet ceremony April 16 during the group's 61st annual reunion, held here and in the local community this week. During the goblet ceremony, the men toast with cognac and then turn over the goblets of those who have died since the last meeting.Each

  • DOD's leaders thank military for heroism, courage, talent

    Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld thanked the men and women of the department for their service in the campaign in Iraq, but said much still remains to be done.Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Richard Myers spoke to Pentagon employees during a Town Hall meeting

  • U.S. airfield troops sustain operations, assist Iraqi populace

    U.S. Army and Air Force troops at an airfield in southern Iraq are providing military air and logistical support -- and much-needed medical and other assistance to local Iraqis."Now that we've transitioned to the post-hostility phase, we're really getting our medical people out into the local

  • U.S. war leader visits airmen

    The leader of U.S. Central Command stopped April 18 at a forward-deployed bomber location to show his appreciation for the job the airmen here have done.Army Gen. Tommy Franks gave a hearty "thanks" to more than 1,200 airmen who supported and flew 100-plus B-52 Stratofortress combat missions in

  • Time-sensitive targeting adds combat flexibility

    An infusion of human decision making and 21st century technology has resulted in a system that has helped U.S. forces and their coalition partners dominate the battlefield in Iraq.Known as time-sensitive targeting -- TST for short -- this rapid response system is building a new level of flexibility

  • Coalition releases Iraqi noncombatants

    Coalition forces have released 887 Iraqi prisoners being held in the Theater Internment Facility near Umm Qasr.Pentagon officials said most were released because it was obvious they were not enemy combatants. The U.S. military did hold a tribunal under the Geneva Conventions Article V to determine

  • Boy Scout shows appreciation for deployed troops

    Patriotism and support for service members can even come from some of the country's youngest citizens.Corey Shoop, a member of the Boy Scouts of America Troop 43 in Carpentersville, Ill., recently made some members of the 40th Air Expeditionary Wing here, people whom he has never met before, part of

  • Situation in Iraq brightening; troops still in danger

    The situation on the ground "continues to brighten in Iraq," the Pentagon's chief spokeswoman said in the Pentagon today. "But our troops are still putting their lives on the line, and the work is still dangerous."American and other coalition forces are working with local Iraqi leaders, clerics and

  • DOD getting $62.9 billion to help pay for war

    The Defense Department is receiving $62.6 billion as a result of the emergency supplemental bill President Bush signed today.With the war in Iraq costing $20 billion to date, DOD officials said they are grateful that Congress acted so quickly, said Dov Zakheim, DOD comptroller.Of immediate interest

  • Operation Iraqi Freedom marks new way of war fighting

    The successful application of teamwork and technology in Operation Iraqi Freedom marks a turning point in American war fighting, the U.S. military's senior officer said here April 16."What we've done in Iraq has been dramatically different" than how the American military has fought wars since the

  • Joint effort stands up Iraqi air base

    The Army said it was "austere." The Air Force called it "downright primitive."Regardless of the description, commanders on both sides agree the effort to turn an Iraqi air base into a coalition operations hub has been one of the finest examples of teamwork seem so far during Operation Iraqi

  • U-2 reconnaissance plane helps bring POWs home

    The Seven U.S. Army soldiers who were formerly prisoners of war in Iraq are safe at a U.S. medical facility in Germany and are preparing to reunite with families. The reunion was possible not only because of the rescue operation by Marines but also because of assistance from an Air Force

  • Team reduces civilian casualties with exact targeting

    So "all's fair in love and war?" Not to the Time Sensitive Targeting Team -- at least the "war" part.Team members do everything they can to minimize civilian casualties in the Operation Iraqi Freedom air campaign. They work in Iraqi Freedom's Combined Air Operations Center at a desert air base in

  • President OKs independent panel to review academy

    President George W. Bush signed into law April 16 legislation establishing a panel to review allegations of sexual misconduct at the Air Force Academy.The independent panel's creation was part of the fiscal 2003 Supplemental Appropriations Act to Support Department of Defense Operations in Iraq,

  • Spouses make flags to honor ultimate sacrifice

    Two Air Force spouses are helping revive an old tradition to honor the families of servicemembers killed in battle.Julie Gindhart and Claudia Schmucker, both wives of Air Force majors, have joined with other members of the Military and Civilian Spouses Club here to make "gold star service flags."

  • JSTARS team always training for battle

    As military action continues in Iraq, coalition ground troops are in many ways counting on their guardian angels to guide the way.Those guardians, crewmembers from the 116th Air Control Wing here, are always ready. They are armed with the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System.Tech Sgt.

  • Schriever navigator makes movie magic

    He has been a Confederate infantryman, a Union surgeon and a prisoner of war killed at the Battle of the Bulge, but his best role is a navigator with the Air Force Space Command Battle Lab here.As a Hollywood extra, Maj. Allen Vickrey enjoys working in historic epics that bring the past to

  • Bands orchestrate aviation's first 100 years

    Celebrating the 100th anniversary of powered flight, Air Force Band of Flight musicians here are working with five professional composers to set history to music.This year marks the 100th anniversary of powered flight and celebrations are scheduled across the nation to honor the Wright brothers'

  • Coalition forces still conducting operations

    While major combat action is certainly winding down in Iraq, coalition forces are still conducting operations in the country, said U.S. Central Command officials in Qatar today.In Al Ramadi April 15, a commander with the 3rd Infantry Division accepted the capitulation of the Iraqi regular army 12th

  • C-130 delivers medical team to Iraq

    Some aircraft credited with delivering overwhelming military capability to coalition forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom are now distributing food, supplies and medical care to the people of Iraq, officials said April 16.One of the latest examples was the transport of a specialized medical team to an

  • Kirtland Guard, active duty work together in Bulgaria

    Supporting air-refueling operations for aircraft striking targets in Iraq has found Kirtland active-duty and Air National Guard airmen working together at Camp Sarafovo, Bulgaria.Security forces airmen from the New Mexico Air National Guard's 150th Fighter Wing and support people from the 377th

  • Theater frequency management organizes airwaves

    Along with the thousands of planes filling the sky over Iraq are more than 5,000 different electronic frequencies used for critical communications between the systems and people who make those flights possible.With numbers like these, there are plenty of chances for something to become a problem.

  • U.S. troops to be in Iraq 'not one day longer' than necessary, Myers says

    American troops will be in Iraq "as long as required and not one day longer," the U.S. military's senior officer said here today.Saddam Hussein's regime is history and "the process of returning Iraq to the Iraqi people has begun," Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of

  • CFACC provides guidance for coalition air campaign

    Before one of the most intense and precise air campaigns in the history of modern warfare began March 19, a video teleconference was held that included President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield, U.S. Central Command commander Gen. Tommy Franks and Combined Forces Air Component Commander

  • Bush: Coalition victory in Iraq certain but not complete

    "These are good days for the history of freedom," President Bush said during a Rose Garden ceremony this morning.In one month Iraq has transformed from being "a prison to its own people, a haven for terrorists (and) an arsenal of weapons that endanger the world," Bush said during remarks on his

  • Airlift takes toll on Bashur Airfield

    The landing of many heavy cargo aircraft at Bashur Airfield in northern Iraq, has forced the closure of 2,000 feet of runway that cracked under the constant strain.That still leaves a 5,000-foot runway, more than enough for C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules aircraft to continue the airlift

  • Shape of coalition forces will change as war winds down

    As the war in Iraq winds down, the shape and number of coalition forces in the area will change, DoD officials said during a briefing in the Pentagon.Two carrier battle groups centered around the USS Constellation and Kitty Hawk will leave the area, Navy officials said today. This still leaves three

  • Now showing: April 14 edition of Air Force Television News

    The Air Force's role in Operation Iraqi Freedom and an update by two Air Force senior leaders on what is being done to address the rape and sexual assault issue at the Air Force Academy highlight the latest edition of Air Force Television News.Most of the program's focus is on Operation Iraqi

  • Moody AFB attorneys support 'Operation I Do'

    Dressed to the nines in his best desert camouflage uniform and surrounded by his security forces family, a nervous but calm deployed senior airman took part in "Operation I Do."Even though they were separated physically, Senior Airman James Evans and his fiance, Andrea, were reunited via fax and

  • Support network available for families of deployed airmen

    For many years, families of active and reserve component airmen, along with Air Force civilian employees, have had to deal with the stresses associated with deployments and remote tours.However, families no longer have to endure these separations alone, according to Tech. Sgt. Rebecca Tester,