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U.S. Air Force News

  • Acting secretary addresses VFW

    Acting Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley spoke before an audience of Veterans of Foreign Wars members Aug. 18 at their national convention here. He gave a snapshot of today's Air Force and its contributions to the war on terrorism. "Our veterans have answered their country's call to duty,

  • Acting Secretary Donley speaks at AFA conference

    From uniforms to deployments, nuclear priorities and the service's future, acting Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley spoke of a variety of topics at the Air Force Association convention here Sept. 15. "We are providers of tremendous capability of air and space," Secretary Donley said. "All

  • Acting secretary shares his perspective with Airmen

    The U.S. Air Force core values of integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do will remain in place, said Acting Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley during a July 1 visit here.In his first visit to an Air Force base since being named to the position, Secretary Donley

  • Acting Under Secretary of the Air Force visits Alaska

    Acting Under Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Jamie Morin visited with Airmen from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska,  Nov. 13 during his first trip to the region. "It's great to be here," Morin said. "It's great to have the opportunity to hear from some of the folks out in the wings and to

  • Acting Under Secretary of the Air Force visits basic military training

    Acting Under Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Jamie Morin visited with Air Force basic military training officials and trainees here July 30.During a trip to San Antonio, Morin met with the 37th Training Wing leadership and toured the BMT campus. In June, Gen. Edward A. Rice Jr., Air Education and

  • Acting Under Secretary presents AF small business achievement awards

     In a Dec. 17 ceremony held on the 109th anniversary of Wilbur and Orville Wright's first powered flight, the Air Force honored 15 Air Force employees and organizations for significant contributions to the Air Force Small Business Program.Acting Under Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Jamie Morin was

  • Acting undersecretary of the Air Force appointed

    On July 3, President Barack Obama appointed Dr. Jamie Morin to serve as the acting undersecretary of the Air Force.He will serve in this capacity effective immediately and until such time as a new undersecretary is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.Morin said he welcomed the new

  • Acting USECAF visits Nellis AFB

    Kristyn Jones, who is performing the duties of under secretary of the Air Force, and Congress members toured Nellis Air Force Base.

  • Acting VA secretary outlines problems, actions taken

    In testimony before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs July 15, Acting VA Secretary Sloan D. Gibson outlined serious problems regarding access to health care and key actions the department has taken to get veterans off waiting lists and into clinics.

  • Activation of space operations group feted at Tyndall

    Members of the 601st Air and Space Operations Center here held a ceremony Aug. 21 to commemorate the activation of the 101st Air and Space Operations Group.The 101st AOG, which is a Florida Air National Guard unit, provides the manning for the 601st AOC to fulfill their mission of defending the

  • Active associate unit to be established at Scott AFB

    As part of the Air Force Total Force Integration initiatives, an active associate unit will be established with Air Force Reserve Command's 932nd Airlift Wing at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., in 2007. The Air Force Reserve unit will receive three C-40 aircraft the same year. Under the active associate

  • Active C-130 unit unites with Wyoming ANG

    The U.S. Air Force has proven active duty and citizen Airmen can successfully operate together daily with the right amount of communication and the right amount of heart - just ask the Airmen of the 30th and 187th Airlift Squadrons at the Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing. The

  • Active duty associate squadron a first for Air Guard

    In a ceremony at Cheyenne Municipal Airport today, the 30th Airlift Squadron became the first active-duty associate squadron, marking a groundbreaking partnership between Air Mobility Command and the Wyoming Air National Guard. Under the active-duty associate concept, the 30th AS will be the first

  • Active duty components make recruiting goals

    All active-duty components made their recruiting goals in November, Defense Department officials said today. The Army made 105 percent of goal, the Navy 100 percent, the Marine Corps 104 percent and the Air Force 100 percent. In raw numbers, and the Air Force recruited exactly 1,877 Airmen, the Army

  • Active duty service commitment waiver request window closing soon

    Active duty Airmen who would like to retire or separate but have an active duty service commitment that prevents them from doing so may be eligible for a waiver, said Lt. Col. Tara White, Air Force Personnel Center retirements and separations chief."We announced this opportunity last December as one

  • Active duty, Guard, Reserve integrate during Checkered Flag 17-1

    Active-duty, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard Airmen from around the country worked together through total force integration at Checkered Flag from Dec. 5-16. They prepared to rapidly respond to any current, real-world conflict, and trained for the future of air dominance.

  • Active duty, Guard, Reserve: One awesome force

    The Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, recently said, "You can't look at an Airman and tell if he or she is active, Guard or Reserve. We all wear the same uniform, do the same jobs and help make this Air Force the best in the world." Nowhere is that more appropriate than here,

  • Active duty, Reserve units consolidate command posts

    Signaling a move toward greater teamwork between active duty and Reserve forces here, Peterson AFB officials unveiled their newly-consolidated command post Dec. 16.The integrated Peterson Installation Control Center will serve as the command post for both the 21st Space Wing and the 302nd Airlift

  • Active duty, retired Air Force leaders gather

    Air Force leaders met with retired senior Air Force leaders at Bolling Air Force Base, D.C., this past week to discuss important issues facing the Air Force. "The Air Force is at a critical moment in history," Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne said. "Our nation needs to be proud of our

  • Active military meets January recruiting goals

    All active components of the military services met or exceeded their recruiting goals for January, the Defense Department announced Feb. 12. The Air Force achieved 100 percent of its goal with 2,552 Airmen; the Army, 111 percent of its goal with 9,306 troops; the Navy, 100 percent of its goal with

  • Active shooter! Are you prepared?

    "Active shooter" has become a common term in the Air Force since the Fort Hood tragedy, and unfortunately, a common term used throughout media to define such incidents as the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the University of Texas massacres. Since 2009, Schriever Air Force

  • Active, Reserve Airmen join forces to fight fires

    A total force team of firefighters from Yokota Air Base and the 440th Airlift Wing, Wisconsin's only Air Force Reserve unit, combined skills to extinguish flames during a live-fire exercise here the last week of April. The joint training offered an experience Yokota AB firefighters and the

  • Active, Reserve components assemble to become Total FSS

    The 349th and 60th Force Support Squadrons have always had a strong partnership, but coming March 6, the two units will form a union and join together in a shared location as the Travis Air Force Base Total Force Support Squadron.

  • Active-duty Airmen can pass education benefits to dependents

    More than 86,000 active duty Air Force members have transferred Post 9/11 GI Bill education benefits to dependent family members since the benefit transfer program was implemented in August 2009. However, many who did so were unfamiliar with the process and ended up in a difficult situation, while

  • Active-duty Airmen to have direct access to physical therapy clinics

    The Air Force Medical Operations Agency has recently directed all Air Force military treatment facilities (MTF) to establish direct access physical therapy clinics for active-duty members. The policy shift will now allow an active-duty member with an acute musculoskeletal injury to make an

  • Active-duty Airmen will test for HIV every two years

    Beginning June 1, all active-duty Airmen will be required to complete routine human immunodeficiency virus testing every two years. This is a Defense Department policy change geared toward standardizing testing across the services, officials said. The policy, recommended by members of the Armed

  • Active-duty officers sought for attaché duty

    Active duty line of the Air Force captains, majors and lieutenant colonels interested in attaché duty could find themselves on an international affairs team in Switzerland, Venezuela, Burma and others, but those interested must submit their applications by June 20 to be considered, said Air Force

  • Active-duty retirement applications centralized online

    The active-duty retirement program is going virtual and applications will be processed at the Air Force Contact Center effective May 22 as part of the first phase of the Personnel Services Delivery Transformation. Airmen eligible to retire will initiate the process online via the virtual Military

  • Active-duty unit marks first year under Guard wing

    Airmen of the 153rd Airlift Wing celebrated the first anniversary that marked the assimilation of active-duty Airmen into the Wyoming Air National Guard July 7 here. One year ago, active-duty Airmen reported to Cheyenne Regional Airport as the 30th Airlift Squadron stood up as Air Mobility Command's

  • Active-duty, Guard wings pave future alliances

    Two Fairchild Air Force Base air refueling wings merged Oct. 1 and forged into Air National Guard and active-duty wings. In response to the Congress-mandated 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process, the last of the KC-135 Stratotankers belonging to the Washington ANG's 141st Air Refueling Wing

  • Active-duty, reserve components meet recruiting goals

    All 10 active-duty and reserve military components met or exceeded their recruiting goals in March, with the Marine Corps adding the highest percentage of active-duty members, Defense Department officials announced April 10. The Army Reserve led the reserve components, and all four active

  • Active-duty, reservists combine forces in Afghan sky

    In the Afghanistan sky, the 81st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron has a “rainbow” effect. Air Force Reserve and active-duty pilots have teamed together for an air and space expeditionary force deployment here to protect U.S. and coalition people from attackers whose aim is to disrupt the national

  • Actors, war heroes visit wounded troops

    Actor John Ratzenberger visits with wounded troops being loaded onto an aeromedical evacuation flight during his recent visit to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Jan. 25. Mr. Ratzenberger, Medal of Honor recipients Mike Thornton and Drew Dix, and actor Gary Sinise visited Ramstein to help boost morale

  • Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge test last flight

    A team of researchers from the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA and FlexSys Inc., accomplished a long sought goal in aviation research April 22, with the last flight of the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) Flight Research program.

  • Adaptive sports shift outlook on life

    “I was sitting at home alone one night and had taken out my pistol; I remember how cool it felt in my hands and knowing I was moments away from taking my life. In that split second, my phone went off with a text from one of my Airmen who said he needed my help getting to work the next morning, and I

  • Adaptive Warrior: No one fights alone

    Betty O'Brien went from mother to caregiver after her son, Senior Airman Kevin O’Brien, was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 23-years-old in 2013.

  • Addition extends weapon’s range

    Workers here have begun work to create greater range and accuracy for wind-corrected munitions dispensers.Area attack systems program office workers are helping design and develop wings for the dispensers as well as adding a global positioning system to aid the weapon’s inertial-guidance system.Both

  • Additional Airmen needed for Tops In Blue

    Air Force Services Agency officials here are still looking for Airmen to join the 2010 Tops In Blue team here.The primary team for 2010 was recently announced and the team will spend 2.5 months at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, learning the music, completing their deployment requirements, and

  • Additional bidder could enter tanker competition

    A company that had been partnering with Northrop Grumman before it withdrew from the KC-X tanker competition has asked for additional time to submit a proposal, a senior defense official confirmed March 19. Defense Department officials are considering European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.'s

  • Additional campaign phase identified for Afghanistan Campaign Medal

    Defense Department officials announced Nov. 1 an additional campaign phase has been approved for the Afghanistan Campaign Medal. Accordingly, an additional campaign star corresponding to the campaign phase is now authorized for wear on the ACM.ACM campaign stars recognize a service member's

  • Additional career enlisted aviator positions open

    Air Force officials recently added 20 openings for first-term Airmen to retrain into the airborne mission systems (1A3XX) and airborne operations (1A4XX) specialties. First-term Airmen interested in retraining into the flight engineer specialty will also find more than 30 positions available in the

  • Additional charges filed against cadet

    Academy officials have filed additional charges against a cadet. Cadet 2nd Class Christopher Wolff, a junior, was charged March 14 with two more violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The new charges are two specifications of violating Article 92 of the UCMJ, failure to obey an order or

  • Additional civilian employee self-service requests available online

    Air Force Personnel Center human resources officials have expanded a self-service initiative allowing civilians to request updates to their personnel records online.Employees can now request updates for résumés, name changes, veterans' preference for reduction in force, awards, education, training,

  • Additional F-35s coming to Luke AFB

    Air Force officials announced June 27 that Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., has been chosen as the location for 72 additional F-35A Lightning IIs, bringing the eventual total number of the fifth-generation fighters expected here to 144. The Air Force's initial decision to establish an F-35 pilot training

  • Additional remains of Air Force pilot found

    Additional remains of an Air Force pilot who died in combat in 2006 in Iraq have been found, service officials announced Nov. 19.Maj. Troy Gilbert was killed when his F-16C Fighting Falcon crashed 20 miles northwest of Baghdad, Iraq Nov. 27, 2006, while engaged in support of coalition ground combat

  • Additional resources online to support NSPS conversion

    Online training courses are now available to help smooth the upcoming transition of more than 40,000 current Air Force National Security Personnel System employees into non-NSPS personnel systems. To facilitate the conversion, multiple resources have been added to the NSPS's official Web site,

  • Additional voluntary retirements announced for officers

    The Air Force is offering additional voluntary retirements to a select group of officers, officials announced today. As a result of the Fiscal 2006 National Defense Authorization Act, the Force Shaping Program Phase II additional measures offer voluntary retirements to officers with at least eight

  • Adjustments essential to maintaining Tricare benefits

    Adjustments to the Tricare program are necessary to ensure military health benefits are maintained at a superior level for many years, said a Defense Department official here Feb. 1. The changes, which will be introduced next week with the release of the Quadrennial Defense Review and the

  • Adjustments put F-35 on track, program director says

    The Defense Department's joint strike fighter program is on track to field the F-35 Lightning II in fiscal 2016, the program's director said here Feb. 15.In remarks to the National Aeronautics Association, Navy Vice Adm. David Venlet said that although changes made to the program in January extended

  • ADL creator adds to AF e-learning

    Learning. For John Hawk it often starts here with someone needing to train thousands of Airmen as effective and easy and economical as possible.Hawk is the I.G. Brown Training and Education Center's creator of Advanced Distributive Learning products for the Air National Guard. He sorts though loads

  • Admin career field to make comeback

    A previous administrative career field will make its second debut across the Air Force in May 2014, providing support staff at all Air Force levels and eliminating a special duty echelon.

  • Administration sets agenda for veteran care

    President Barack Obama has promised to deliver the care and benefits the nation's military veterans deserve while transforming the Department of Veterans Affairs into a 21st century organization, according to an administration agenda posted on the White House Web site. "Keeping faith with those who

  • Admiral Lippert: DLA changes will take team effort

    Defense Logistics Agency Director Vice Adm. Keith Lippert said the agency’s transformation will be take a team effort. The admiral spoke of the change and other topics to more than 600 people Nov. 29 at the annual North American Defense Logistics Conference here. “The transformation is not going to

  • Admiral Mullen cites culture of change during address

    Change is the cornerstone and is at the heart of every aspect of today's military, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told more than 800 Air War College students Oct. 28 at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. "I see it in technology. I see it in people. I see it in missions. I see it in the joint

  • Admiral Mullen offers leadership lesson to National Defense University grads

    Flanked by rows of professors cloaked in traditional academic regalia, the nation's top military officer offered one final, brief lecture June 11 to a group of graduating senior military officers at the National Defense University here. But Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen

  • Admiral Mullen praises Newman's Own Foundation, military charities

    The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff praised the Newman's Own Foundation and nine military charities that shared a $2.5 million award from the foundation.At the annual "Newman's Own Awards" ceremony here Dec. 2, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said the foundation's role as a funding stream in an era when

  • Admiral Mullen sends best wishes for the holiday

    Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sends the following holiday message: Throughout our history, when faced with war at this special time of the year, American servicemen and women have risen with crisis and fought with valor while providing their fellow citizens precious

  • Admiral, Mrs. Mullen speak out on veterans' challenges

    With Veterans Day around the corner, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and his wife, Deborah, sat down with reporters this week to raise visibility on issues important to military families and veterans.The Mullens' interviews Nov. 3 with the Pentagon Channel and other news

  • Adopt-a-plane program preserves history

    George Jones is a man with a plan: to restore the static aircraft displays at the Air Force Armament Museum here.The aircraft are “dying a slow death” because of adverse weather conditions that are taking a toll on the 25 displays that surround the museum, said Mr. Jones, an aerospace museum

  • Adoptive mom gets Mother’s Day gift on TV

    The first time she looked into the eyes of the skinny little 7-year-old with long, straggly, blonde hair, she had no idea she was facing what was to be her greatest challenge and deepest love. But Marilyn Petricek, an employee in the Logistics Management Directorate here, said she did know that God

  • Advance planning key to successful deployment financial management

    Get ready early. This is the common theme among base agencies that assist Airmen preparing for deployment.The preparation can be stressful, time consuming and exciting, but above all, requires planning and thinking ahead to the future.Oftentimes, the focus of deployment is on taking care of the

  • Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft gets X-plane designation

    Air Force officials have approved X-55A as the new designation for the Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft. The X-55A is a technology demonstrator for the design and manufacturing of future aircraft using advanced composite materials. The X-55A is a modified Dornier 328J aircraft with the fuselage aft

  • Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft makes first flight

    Members of the Air Force Research Laboratory and Lockheed Martin's famed 'Skunk Works' launched a new era of aircraft manufacturing technology and performance with the successful initial demonstration flight of the Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft June 2 at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif.

  • Advanced CT scanner saves lives in Iraq

    In addition to having a standard X-ray machine, the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group Radiology Flight  has one of the most advanced CT scanners in Iraq, saving seconds that contribute to saving lives.Diagnosis is critical at the Air Force Theater Hospital here. For trauma victims the initial

  • Advanced engine, hearing protection on display at museum

    The first aircraft to fly by pulsed-detonation engine power, along with associated hearing protection technology -- both developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory here -- became additions to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force during an Aug. 25 ceremony at the museum annex here. Members

  • Advanced field hospital put to test in Puerto Rico

    The earthquake and tsunami that struck here left a streaming mass of civilians requiring medical attention, and Arizona Air National Guard members flew here to render assistance. Or, at least, that's the scenario. In Exercise Vigilant Guard, Airmen from the 161st Medical Group of the Arizona

  • Advanced scopes give engine mechanics an edge

    New digital borescopes are allowing mechanics here to more efficiently and accurately inspect aircraft engines getting aircraft back in warfighters' hands quicker.The fiber-optic borescopes detect, measure and retrieve damaging foreign debris from inside aircraft engines. This allows Oklahoma City

  • Advanced tactical laser aircraft fires high-power laser in flight

    Members of the 413th Flight Test Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla., and contractor Boeing recently successfully fired the high-power laser aboard the Advanced Tactical Laser aircraft for the first time in flight. The combined effort between Boeing and the 413th was instrumental to the "first light" of

  • Advanced training prepares boom operators for future

    Within the past year, KC-10 Extender boom operators have been receiving cutting-edge, three-dimensional simulator training and life-size cargo load training that benefits the boom operator career field around the world.

  • Advanced trauma life support training returns to Wilford Hall

    Trauma training designed to prepare physicians for war has returned to the 59th Medical Wing at Wilford Hall Medical Center for the first time since 2001. The Advanced Trauma Life Support, or ATLS, course, held May 4 and 5, is the standard on which all immediate trauma care is based, according to

  • Advantages outweigh disadvantages for military children

    There are many sacrifices children have to make for the sake of their military parents. They move every time their parents do. They leave schools in the middle of a term and enter new schools, having to make new friends everywhere they go. Some might say the life of the military child can be hard,

  • Adventure in Alaska: Officer looks to mush dogs in Iditarod

    Snow and trees are all that can be seen for miles while the bitter cold nips at any piece of exposed skin. Maj. Roger Lee can almost taste the frost touching his warm breath as he yells "mush" to command his 16 dogs to trudge across the vast landscape, breaking the deafening silence of his

  • Adversaries’ ever-changing tactics require quick responses

    In the ongoing fight between coalition forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, U.S. adversaries have added explosives-laden drones to their weapons arsenal, according to recent stories in the news. In October, adversaries used a drone, intended for surveillance use, to injure troops on

  • Advertising team spotlights special ops

    An aircrew displays teamwork while firing 105 mm artillery from their gunship at night. Special operators freefall toward Earth at terminal velocity. Battlefield Airmen descend from hovering helicopters by rope, pilot small unmanned aerial vehicles and call for close air support. The Air Force’s

  • Advisers aid weapons delivery to Iraqi partners

    Iraqi and U.S. weapons crews and pilots completed a $250,000 weapons-delivery mission from Sather Air Base, Iraq to here March 14.A half dozen Airmen assigned to the 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron here accompanied their Iraqi army aviation command partners to accept delivery of nearly

  • Advisers fight fire with knowledge

    Iraq Training and Advisory Mission-Air advisers provided critical training to Iraqi firefighters at New Al-Muthana Air Base Jan. 24. The class, spearheaded by NAMAB's Base Transition Team - Det. 3, taught 24 Iraqi firefighters how to safely handle a fire aboard an Iraqi C-130 Hercules. The class is

  • Advisers from 3 bases converge for evacuation training

    Air Force and Army medical advisers from bases throughout Iraq converged here to conduct aeromedical evacuation training with their Iraqi counterparts May 18 to 19.Medical advisers and helicopter pilots with the 171st General Support Aviation Battalion at Camp Taji, medics from Joint Base Balad's

  • Advisers open metals technology, sheet metal shops

    Advisers from the 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron held an inauguration ceremony here to commemorate the opening of a metals technology and sheet metal shop in Iraq's newest and largest maintenance hangar. The ceremony was held to honor the effort and dedication it took to build two fully

  • Advisers warn Congress about special operations retention

    Retaining special operations people is crucial to the war on terrorism, special operations senior enlisted advisers told Congress on July 20.Special operations troops are deployed around the world in greater numbers than at any time in history, officials said. These senior advisers -- responsible