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U.S. Air Force News

  • First female assumes command of ANG fighter wing

    Col. Sherrie McCandless , the first woman selected to command the 124th Fighter Wing and first female wing commander in Idaho Air National Guard history assumed command in a ceremony on March 2, at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho.

  • First female aviator receives Kolligian Trophy

    In April 2020, during a routine training sortie, Bye’s A-10’s gun experienced a catastrophic failure, her canopy was sent soaring through the sky during flight and forced her to decide to either eject or attempt a gear-up “belly” landing.

  • First female CV-22 pilot completes training

    After nearly three years of flight training with the Air Force, she recently became the first qualified female pilot of the CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. It started with pictures of aircraft in her grandfather's home. Then it was on to starting lessons to earn her private pilot's license as a

  • First female four-star general promoted

    Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody became the first female four-star general in U.S. military history in a Pentagon ceremony Nov. 14 and later assumed command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command here from outgoing commander, Gen. Benjamin S. Griffin. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. presided over the

  • First flight a success for future Afghan flying crew chiefs

    Four Afghan airmen attached to the Kandahar Air Wing recently flew their first flights as part of the inaugural flying crew chiefs course here.The month-long course pairs U.S. flying crew chiefs and Afghan crew chief trainees and focuses on the operational capability of the MI-17 transport

  • First Future Total Force wing proves successful

    The first Future Total Force wing, the 116th Air Control Wing, is nearing its third birthday since merging active-duty Air Force, Army and Air National Guard units to form a “blended wing.”In October 2002, America’s first total force wing took flight as the 116th ACW and made history by combining

  • First GPS IIF satellite on station

    Officials from the Air Force Space Command's Global Positioning Systems Wing at the Space and Missile Systems Center here have announced the first GPS IIF satellite arrived on station Aug. 1. This indicates the satellite is in its designated orbital position and ready for its final phase of on-orbit

  • First GPS III satellite successfully launched

    The Air Force and its mission partners successfully launched the first Global Positioning Systems III satellite Dec. 23 from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The Lockheed Martin-built satellitewas carried to orbit aboard a Space Exploration Technologies

  • First group of Air Force civilians now part of NSPS

    Although there have been only two pay periods since the Department of Defense’s new civilian pay system began, the transition to the National Security Personnel System has been smooth, said an NSPS official here. “The system conversion to NSPS went very well,” said Deborah Carlton, NSPS deputy chief

  • First group of BMT graduates begin sensor operator technical school

    Fourteen Basic Sensor Operator Training students, eight of whom are the first to begin the course fresh from Basic Military Training, began their first day of academics Jan. 15 here.The class, which also includes six prior-service students, will undergo 168 hours of training during the next 21

  • First group of UPT pilots graduate from Predator training

    The first group of Undergraduate Pilot Training students completed the MQ-1 Predator Formal Training Unit's Initial Qualification Training Course here April 24. Along with the UPT students, the class graduated 20 students, which translates to 10 crews. A crew comprises a pilot and sensor operator.

  • First Hispanic woman grad credits academy for her success

    Not only was Linda Garcia Cubero the first Hispanic woman to graduate the Air Force Academy, she was the only Hispanic woman to graduate from any of the nation's service academies in 1980, when the first classes with women graduated.President Gerald R. Ford signed legislation Oct. 7, 1975, allowing

  • First impressions

    Tech. Sgt. Joseph Vest, a support airman for the 8th Fighter Squadron here, meets his 1-week-old son, Joseph Jr., for the first time after returning from a deployment. He was one of the airmen who returned April 17 after supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. About 300 people from Holloman AFB who

  • First in, last out: Members of first RED HORSE squadron back in Iraq

    Members of the 200th Rapid Engineering Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer Squadron have arrived here to draw down the 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron from Iraq. As they complete the last construction and engineering projects and pack up their equipment and materials in the

  • First international student pilot flies F-35

    The first international student aviator at the 33rd Fighter Wing, training to be an F-35B Lightning II instructor pilot, completed his first sortie in the joint strike fighter here March 19.United Kingdom Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Frankie Buchler flew with Marine Fighter Attack Training

  • First Iraqi air force instructor pilot begins training students

    The first Iraqi air force instructor pilot to be certified since American forces ousted Saddam Hussein took a major step forward for the Iraqi air force March 19 here. Lt. Col. Hussein Hamid, Iraqi air force Squadron 203 commander, flew a training mission with an Iraqi student pilot in a T-6 Texan,

  • First Iraqi enlisted chief visits Air University

    The first chief master sergeant of the Iraqi air force visited Air University here Dec. 7, to examine how U.S. officials educate their Airmen.The visit marks the first time the Iraqi chief has been to the U.S., and was designed to give him a sweeping look at enlisted and officer education across the

  • First Iraqi ISR aircrew members graduate

    The first class of Iraqi Air Force Squadron 87 King Air intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircrew members completed their yearlong training May 17. The Iraqi King Air program, headed by Air Force and Navy aircrew instructors, trained four Iraqi pilots, seven co-pilots and five mission

  • First Iraqi student graduates from Aviation Leadership Program

    Iraqi air force 2nd Lt. Omar AlNuaimi became the first Iraqi to complete the Air Force Aviation Leadership Program upon his graduation from aviation training July 24 here after three years of training. The Iraqi airman earned his pilots wings with his fellow student pilots of Specialized

  • First Iraqi weather officers graduate

    The first class of Iraqi air force meteorology officers graduated March 25 from a formal technical training course in Baghdad taught by U.S. Air Force weather forecasters.Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission-Air Force officials have Airmen assigned to teach Iraqi personnel how to create a

  • First Japanese F-35A arrives at Luke

    The F-35 program hit another milestone Nov. 28 with the arrival of the first foreign military sales F-35 at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The arrival marked the next step for the international F-35 training program as Japan took ownership of the first FMS aircraft to arrive at Luke AFB.

  • First JPADS improved system airdrop over Iraq a success

    Eight aircrew members from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing's 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron used the Joint Precision Airdrop System, or JPADS, mission planning software for the first time over Iraq Feb. 16 to deliver six 1,200-pound Improved Container Delivery System, or I-CDS, bundles. The

  • First KC-46 assembly begins

    Boeing's announcement this past week that they have begun assembly of the first KC-46 wing spar is a significant event for the Air Force tanker program. It marks the start of assembly of the first KC-46 Engineering and Manufacturing Development aircraft. "We are excited and pleased that KC-46

  • First lady aims to improve military families' lives

    First lady Michelle Obama stood behind a podium in the White House's East Room, her husband close at hand, as she addressed an audience of high-ranking military and government officials.Although it was a high-powered crowd, the first lady wasn't there for the officials or for the star-studded brass.

  • First Lady announces certification plan for veteran jobs

    First Lady Michelle Obama today unveiled the new Information Technology Training and Certification Partnership to put thousands of service members to work with industry-recognized IT certifications in hand before they leave the military.Obama, who made the announcement at the White House Forum on

  • First lady announces family program budget boost

    President Barack Obama's fiscal 2011 budget request calls for a record $8.8 billion for military family support programs, First Lady Michelle Obama told military spouses Jan. 26 at Bolling Air Force Base here. The request represents a 3 percent increase over current funding, and includes more money

  • First lady announces military family review

    READY FOR REVIEWPresident Barack Obama has directed the national security staff to lead a 90-day review aimed at developing a federal-government-wide approach to supporting military families, First Lady Michelle Obama announced May 13 here."With just 1 percent of our population -- our troops --

  • First lady calls on nation to support military families

    First Lady Michelle Obama issued a national challenge today to all sectors of American society: mobilize and take action to support and engage military families."One percent of Americans may be fighting our wars, but we need 100 percent of Americans to support them and their families," the first

  • First lady invites Guard, Reserve kids to fitness event

    Alongside about 80 children of National Guardsmen and reservists, first lady Michelle Obama showed off her dance moves and football-handling prowess yesterday during a "Let's Move" fitness and nutrition event for military families on the White House's South Lawn.The first lady invited the kids to

  • First lady lauds 'A force of families'

    The nation's military is built and sustained on the strength of families, First Lady Michelle Obama told the U.S. Military Academy's Class of 2011 and their families at a banquet last night in West Point, N.Y., on May 20, the eve of graduation ceremonies. No matter where their careers take them,

  • First lady meets Airmen in Southwest Asia

    First lady Laura Bush met more than 40 Airmen from the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, U.S. Embassy employees and their families Oct. 22 in Southwest Asia. The first lady talked to them about her tour to the region and her interaction with women from the host nation during her tour of the Persian Gulf

  • First lady plans 'Joining Forces' events

    First Lady Michelle Obama will take part in three events over the next several days to promote "Joining Forces," a national initiative that mobilizes all sectors of American society to support service members and their families. The first lady and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden,

  • First lady praises troops, families in Germany

    For U.S. troops fighting the war on terror, "heroism with a human touch is part of the mission," first lady Laura Bush told troops and their families at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, during a visit Feb. 22.Mrs. Bush traveled to Kaiserslautern, the largest American military community outside the United

  • First lady samples Food Transformation Initiative at Little Rock

    Michelle Obama visited the Hercules Dining Facility here Feb. 9 to survey the food transformation initiative program on base. The visit was part of a three-day tour by the first lady, commemorating the second anniversary of her "Let's Move!" program designed to combat childhood obesity.In addition

  • First lady speaks on taking care of military families

    The first lady today addressed a group of servicemembers and their families here on the importance of taking care of the military family. During her short speech, Michelle Obama praised Air Force leadership for designating this the Year of the Air Force Family program adding it is also a priority of

  • First Lady strong advocate for improving quality of life

    While primarily known as an advocate for education, First Lady Laura Bush is also an advocate for improving the quality of life for servicemembers. During the stopover in Hawaii on their way back to Washington, D.C. Mrs. Bush used the opportunity to meet with servicemembers, retirees and family

  • First lady touts 'Troops to Teachers' program

    The birthplace of aviation became a launching pad for new career possibilities Oct. 16 as first lady Laura Bush spoke here about the Defense Department's Troops to Teachers program.Bush recognized educators and the potential roles departing military members can play in education during a rally

  • First lady unveils new military spouse hiring effort

    First lady Michelle Obama today announced a new hiring effort intended to deliver thousands of portable, flexible job opportunities to military spouses and veterans in the coming years.Eleven companies have pledged more than 15,000 jobs for military spouses and veterans, the first lady said, noting

  • First Lady urges 'National Day of Service'

    First Lady Michelle Obama issued a statement Sept. 10 urging Americans to participate in a "National Day of Service" on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.Here is the first lady's statement:Nine years ago, nearly three thousand Americans lost their

  • First lady urges vets to join volunteer campaign

    First lady Michelle Obama urged all Americans, including military veterans, to put their skills to use in volunteer service to assist U.S. communities and citizens in need Nov. 11. "One of the greatest privileges that I have as first lady is the chance to meet with veterans and to meet with

  • First lady visits Aviano

    On her way to the 2006 Winter Olympics, the First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush, visited Aviano Air Base, Italy today. As the head of the official U.S. delegation to the games in Turin, Mrs. Bush traveled here with her daughter, Barbara, and five former Olympic medalists. “These athletes

  • First lady visits Pentagon, salutes military families, wounded warriors

    First lady Michelle Obama visited the Pentagon April 9 to thank military members, their families and civilians for their ongoing sacrifices in service to the nation.Defense Secretary Robert Gates introduced Mrs. Obama, who emerged before hundreds of spectators in the Pentagon courtyard. "She

  • First lady visits RAF Mildenhall, meets military families

    Military families stationed in the United Kingdom had the opportunity to meet the first lady of the United States on July 29, before she returned home after attending the opening ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics.Michelle Obama took about 30 minutes here to personally meet more than 150 family

  • First lady visits, praises troops at Al Udeid AB

    The service members at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, are performing demanding duty without complaint as they represent the United States, first lady Michelle Obama told troops on the base Nov. 3.Joined by late night talk show host Conan O'Brien and other entertainers to perform a USO-style show, Obama

  • First lady, Dr. Biden kick off Sesame, USO tour

    Calling out over thousands of screaming fans, Elmo introduced a few new friends to Sesame Street here April 14.First lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, stepped onto the auditorium stage and into the arms of Elmo and friends as a crowd of local military and

  • First lady, Dr. Biden launch 'Community Challenge'

    First lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, recently unveiled a new program intended to celebrate Americans going above and beyond to improve military families' lives.The Joining Forces Community Challenge will award prizes to people and organizations that

  • First lady, Dr. Biden to launch family-support initiative

    First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, will launch a national initiative tomorrow that will call on all sectors of society to support and honor America's service members and their families.The initiative is intended to educate, challenge and spark action

  • First lady, Dr. Biden to launch military family awareness campaign

    Dr. Jill Biden and first lady Michelle Obama will campaign to raise awareness of military families, the vice president's wife told spouses of National Guard adjutants general Feb. 28."In the coming weeks, we are going to be launching a formal campaign," said Dr. Biden, who hosted the spouses for

  • First lady, Dr. Biden urge support of military families

    First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, launched an "unprecedented" national initiative April 12 that calls on all sectors of society to join forces to support and honor service members and their families. Flanked by their husbands, the first and second

  • First lady's priority: Taking care of military families

    First lady Michelle Obama was the featured speaker at the Joint Armed Forces Officers' Wives Club's 32nd annual luncheon Jan. 26 at the Bolling Officers Club here.About 400 spouses from all branches of the military gathered to hear Mrs. Obama share her insights on military families, and announce a

  • First laser test conducted using recycled fuel

    The world's first firing of a laser using recycled fuel was conducted at the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate recently by an Air Force and Boeing Company team. During the test, conducted at the directorate's Davis Advanced Laser Facility, a chemical laser was supplied with

  • First look at Wake: Less damage than feared

    Members of the 36th Contingency Response Group from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, completed their initial assessment of Wake Island Sept. 11, finding the island's runway intact and operational with fuel tanks secure, but runway lights are missing and there is minor damage to the fuels transfer

  • First Luke F-35 student takes to the sky

    The 56th Fighter Wing officially began training new F-35 Lightning II pilots when the first student, Brig. Gen. Scott Pleus, the commander of the 56th Fighter Wing, flew the wing's first training sortie March 18.

  • First Mach flight propels Yeager, Air Force into history

    It was just another test mission for Capt. Chuck Yeager. Captain Yeager arrived at Muroc Air Force Base, Calif., the morning of Oct. 14, 1947, for what would be his ninth powered flight piloting the Bell X-1. Each of the previous flights demonstrated incremental speed increases as the aircraft

  • First M-ATVs arrive in Afghanistan

    Two mine-resistant, ambush-protected all-terrain vehicles arrived at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, on Oct. 1, after being offloaded from a C-17 Globemaster III. The M-ATVs arrived less than a day after leaving Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., Sept. 30. The M-ATV's are the first of their kind in

  • First MC-130J training program takes flight

    As the first MC-130J Combat Shadow II rolled off the Lockheed Martin factory line, a training flight class recently conducted sorties in preparation for transition to the new airframe.The Air Force Special Operations Training Center's first MC-130J training program flight class practiced air drops,

  • First Minotaur IV Lite launches from Vandenberg

    Members from the 30th Space Wing here launched the first Minotaur IV Lite launch vehicle at 4 p.m. April 22 here. The rocket carried the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2.The Minotaur family of launch vehicles are provided by the Orbital/Suborbital

  • First Moroccan F-16 pilots to complete training in Arizona

    In July, the Kingdom of Morocco, a strategic partner for U.S. forces in North Africa, will become the 25th country to own and operate F-16s. The pilots tapped to fly them are scheduled to finish training here in time to bring them home, July 30.Four Royal Moroccan Air Force officers, former F-5

  • First MQ-9 Reaper makes its home on Nevada flightline

    The MQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle's  younger, yet larger and stronger, brother, the MQ-9 Reaper arrived March 13 at its new home at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The remotely piloted aircraft completed initial testing in California, then flew more than 250 miles in two hours to land here. The

  • First MQ-9 squadron looks good for 100

    From training to operational--bombers to remotely piloted aircraft, the Panthers of the 42nd Attack Squadron have been a key part of United States airpower for the past 100 years. On June 13, 2017, the squadron celebrates its centennial anniversary with a lineage as the 42nd Aero Squadron, part of

  • First next-generation communications satellite launches

    The Air Force launched the first of a next generation of military communications satellites from here Oct. 10 at 8:22 p.m. EDT, when a United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster carried a Wideband Global SATCOM satellite into space. WGS is the nation's next-generation wideband satellite communications

  • First operational F-35As arrive at Hill AFB

    The Air Force ushered in a new era of combat air power today as Hill Air Force Base received the service's first two operational F-35As.Hill's active duty 388th Fighter Wing and Reserve 419th Fighter Wing will be the first combat-coded units to fly and maintain the Air Force's newest

  • First Partner Nation Silver Flag concludes at Andersen AFB

    After spending more than a week sharing civil engineering techniques, 54 engineers from the U.S. Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Republic of Singapore Air Force, South Korean air force and Japan Air Self-Defense Force concluded the Partner Nation Silver Flag exercise Feb. 19 at Andersen Air

  • First phase of legal complex nears completion

    The first phase of a $10.2 million project to construct the expeditionary legal complex here inches closer to completion as Air Guard civil engineers put their finishing touches on its various structures. With a scheduled phase one completion date of Jan. 15, Lt. Col. James Starnes, commander of the

  • First phase of Reserve mobility exercise concludes

    More than 150 Individual Ready Reservists finished a week-long active duty tour June 22 at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The five-day tour of duty was the conclusion of the "Push" portion of the "Push-Pull 2007" exercise. The exercise tests and evaluates the IRR mobilization process, said Lt. Col.

  • First piece of Air Force memorial placed

    Construction crews raised the first piece of the Air Force Memorial here on top of a hill overlooking Arlington National Cemetery. The 40-foot long piece of stainless steel, which weighs more than 28 tons, is the first of 15 pieces to be placed. When completed, the memorial will be 270 feet tall.

  • First pipeline F-35 crew chiefs graduate

    Nine Airmen became the first Air Force recruits to graduate initial skills technical training as F-35 Lightning II crew chiefs after completing Mission-Ready Airmen training here Aug. 7."The opportunity to be the first of something so important means a lot. I know many people are looking at us to be

  • First Predator strike takes out anti-air threat

    A U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator found and destroyed a radar-guided anti-aircraft artillery gun in southern Iraq March 22 making it the first Predator strike of Operation Iraqi Freedom, defense officials announced.The multirole Predator used one AGM-114K "Hellfire II" missile to strike an Iraqi

  • First production C-5M arrives at Dover

    The first production C-5M Super Galaxy arrived for duty at Dover Air Force Base Nov. 5.  Gen. Raymond E. Johns Jr., commander of Air Mobility Command, flew the Super Galaxy from Stewart Air National Guard Base, N.Y., to its operational home at Dover AFB."The creativity and hard work demonstrated

  • First production Global Hawk rolls out

    The first production RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle rolled out in ceremonies held Aug. 1 at prime contractor Northrop Grumman’s Antelope Valley Manufacturing Center at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif. Drawing back a large curtain, program officials unveiled Global Hawk in its

  • First Raptor arrives at Tyndall

    The first operational F/A-22 Raptor was delivered to the Air Force’s F/A-22 schoolhouse here Sept. 26. Tyndall, once known as “The Home of Air Superiority” became “The Home of Air Dominance,” with the arrival of its first F/A-22. The Raptor will eventually replace the F-15 Eagle and sets the

  • First refueling unit to reach 25,000 missions in single AOR

    Members of the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron here reached a milestone of 25,000 air refueling missions May 4.During the past year, 22nd EARS sortie support has grown 23 percent, allowing them to quickly eclipse the 25,000th mission mark."Like their squadron mascot, the mule, the 22nd

  • First Reserve unit conducts TASER training

    The 482nd Security Forces Squadron here recently became the first unit in the Air Force Reserve Command to complete training with TASER guns, adding a new, nonlethal option to their arsenal. Security forces members must undergo extensive training to be qualified to carry a TASER. Training includes

  • First responders train to support airport

    Members of the 8th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department here participated in Gunsan airport's G-20 summit on terrorism and civil aviation air incident training at the airport Sept. 17.According to airport officials, the exercise tested the "cooperative and emergency response systems" of the

  • First security guardsmen dispatched into missile fields

    Officials at the Minot-based 219th Security Forces Squadron of the North Dakota Air National Guard's 119th Wing have dispatched security Airmen into the missile fields at Minot Air Force Base for the first time. "Putting guardsmen into the field to work side by side with the active duty is a

  • First Senior Enlisted Leader Summit to convene

    The Air Force's senior enlisted leader convenes the first Senior Enlisted Leader Summit at Gunter Annex here July 22 to 27. This year, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Rodney J. McKinley expanded the list of invitees to include professional military education commandants, career field managers