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  • New bird radar tracks patterns

    A bird-radar system here is a step toward the future of being able to advise air-traffic controllers and pilots of bird activity in the base’s airspace. “The bird-radar program could go amazing places,” said Herman Griese, 3rd Civil Engineer Squadron wildlife biologist. The system will be able to

  • Airman sentenced in bank-theft scheme

    An airman here was sentenced by a military judge during a special court-martial Nov. 5 for his involvement in a bank-theft scheme. He was sentenced to a bad conduct discharge, confinement for eight months and a demotion to airman basic.Senior Airman David Leaven, of the 48th Aircraft Maintenance

  • New equipment improves cancer treatment

    Wilford Hall Medical Center’s radiation oncology department recently purchased a new linear accelerator that is significantly improving patient care.Wilford Hall officials said they began performing radiation therapy more than 30 years ago, using a cobalt unit with an active radiation source, a

  • Reserve forces management reviewed

    Recruiting and retention has "held up nicely despite stress on the force as a whole," said David Chu to members of the House Armed Services Committee here Nov. 5. He is the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. A survey of active and reserve forces, which is done every four months,

  • Airmen arrive for AEF Silver

    About 20 airmen from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., arrived here on a C-130 Hercules as part of Air and Space Expeditionary Force Silver. They are assigned to the 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. The 354th EFS will replace the 81st EFS from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, as AEF Silver

  • Top soldier advocates AF relationship

    The relationship of the Army to the airlift and tanker community is one of the “most important relationships that we have,” said the Army chief of staff during the 35th Airlift/Tanker Association convention here.In the convention’s closing address Nov. 1, Army Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker discussed

  • Airmen bring fallen firefighter home

    Two of the pallbearers who carried the casket bearing the body of California firefighter Steven Rucker had fought alongside him as he defended a house from the Cedar Fire. Another two had served as his captains in the Novato Calif. Fire Protection District where he worked. The pallbearers brought

  • More than 500 selected for chief

    The Air Force 2003 chief master sergeant promotion board has selected 526 senior master sergeants for promotion to the service's highest enlisted rank.The promotion list will be released the first duty hour Nov. 5. For units across the international date line, the list will be released Nov. 6. The

  • CSAF: The time for air mobility is now

    In a major speech to the Airlift/Tanker Association convention here Oct. 31, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper said air mobility is coming into its own.“The time for air mobility is now,” Jumper said. “It’s here, and it’s time to take it to the next level.”Jumper was one of the main

  • Reservist gives life-saving breath

    A craving for bacon and eggs one recent Saturday morning put a 919th Special Operations Wing reservist in the right place at the right time to save the life of a man in the parking lot where she went to shop for breakfast. Senior Airman Sonya Brownhill, a resource manager for 5th Special Operations

  • U.S., Australian airmen defend base

    They come from different countries, wear different uniforms and have different accents, but they do have similarities -- they work relentlessly day and night on the same team defending the air base here.Airmen of the 447th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron and the Royal Australian Air Force

  • Scholarship program kicks off Nov. 4

    The application period for the children of active-duty, retired, Guard and Reserve members to apply for $1,500 academic scholarships kicks off Nov. 4. The application window for the 2004 Scholarships for Military Children program extends through Feb. 18.In four years, the Defense Commissary Agency

  • November issue of Airman available

    Take a look at aerial gunners from World War I to Operation Iraqi Freedom; read about the intelligence school at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas; and learn about the honor and privilege of being an American Indian serving in war. These features and more highlight the November issue of Airman

  • Fly Away teams provide remote security

    A C-130 Hercules crew landing at a classified location does not find many, if any, familiar faces when they step off their aircraft. Airfield officials seem polite and perhaps even friendly, but the ring of local security workers outside the airplane is more interested in the Hercules and its crew

  • Airman witnesses deadly attack

    A scheduling mistake that stranded an Air Force photographer overnight in the Al Rasheed Hotel lobby in Baghdad made him an eyewitness to the rocket attack that killed one soldier and injured 15 others Oct. 26.Airman 1st Class Brian Ferguson, from the 447th Expeditionary Communications Squadron, was

  • Roche opens airlift, tanker convention

    Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche opened this year’s Airlift/Tanker Association national convention here with one main purpose in mind.“I especially wanted to attend to say thank you to the air mobility team … for your contributions to our war on terrorism and for the vital mission you

  • Turbine blade caused June F-16 crash

    Air Force officials determined a manufacturing defect of a turbine blade caused an F-16 Fighting Falcon to crash June 10 at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.In the recently released accident-investigation report, the board determined the crash was caused by a manufacturing defect in Blade 1 of the 4th

  • Fire blamed for Altus C-17 mishap

    A fire on a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Altus Air Force Base, Okla., caused a flight to be aborted and the plane to be evacuated during a mishap June 25.An Air Force investigation team determined a fire in the vicinity of the No. 1 engine started when a hose burst, allowing hydraulic fluid to

  • Troops deliver child in Tallil tent city

    The cluster of tents in the corner of tent city here that make up the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group was bustling with unusual activity recently. In facilities designed to support the needs of a deployed combat unit, 332nd Expeditionary Medical Support troops gathered together to deliver a

  • Air Force role in Basra is different

    For anyone flying into Basra International Airport, the feeling certainly must be different than flying into Baghdad International.First of all, anyone stepping off the plane is immediately greeted by British Royal Air Force airmen, which is certainly different than Baghdad. Additionally, the area

  • New DOD mortuary opens at Dover

    Military officials opened a new $30 million mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, Del., on Oct. 27. The Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs, which replaced a 48-year-old facility, is the Defense Department's only stateside mortuary.Since 1955, the remains of more than 50,000 servicemembers

  • Pilot’s final flight a ‘family affair’

    After flying more than 8,700 hours in Air Force planes, an Arkansas Air National Guard C-130 Hercules pilot flew the most memorable two hours of his entire 34-year career Oct. 28.Lt. Col. Larry Hill, a 154th Training Squadron pilot, said his last two hours of flying were the best because he was

  • Airmen dispose of enemy ordnance

    Crawling over more than a ton of explosives the way a child would go over a jungle gym requires a little something special, but it is just another day for explosive ordnance disposal airmen here.The 506th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s EOD flight airmen have recovered and blown up about 1.5

  • American forces join Qatari basketball league

    Varsity basketball and history are in the making here, and the host nation’s king may be the reason why.The newly formed American Forces basketball team, made up of servicemembers in the area, will play a Qatari army team in the nation’s capital city, Doha on Nov. 9. The game will mark the first

  • Quality of life improving at Kirkuk

    Airmen supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom here will leave their dusty tents for the last time when new modular dormitories open.The dorms, scheduled to open Dec. 1, will house up to 1,664 airmen in 13 buildings with six to eight people to a room.The construction project is moving rapidly, said Lt.

  • Latest enlisted AFIT nominations due

    Air Force Institute of Technology officials are again offering noncommissioned officers the opportunity to pursue an advanced science, engineering or management degree at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.Eight NCOs from around the Air Force will be selected in early 2004 to attend the

  • Airmen mentor Kyrgyz NCOs

    Airmen here had a chance to shape the development of the Kyrgyzstan’s noncommissioned officer corps when 20 local NCOs attended a daylong seminar here Oct. 24.The visit by Kyrgyz NCOs followed a tour taken by 19 host-nation officers in August. The combined visits exposed all the active components

  • Deployable civilians provide expertise

    When their units are called to deploy, they line up for their smallpox and anthrax shots, they pack camouflage uniforms and dog tags, they get weapons training, and brush up on their self-aid and buddy-care skills. But these warriors are not airmen -- at least not in the traditional sense.They are

  • Edwards program wins DOD award

    The Drug Demand Reduction program here received the 2002 Secretary of Defense Community Drug Awareness Award on Oct. 27 at the Pentagon.The Secretary of Defense Community Drug Awareness Award is an annual award presented to one base within each branch of the armed forces."The award is given to the

  • Falconer major player in Red Flag

    The airmen from U.S. Air Forces in Europe’s Falconer Air Operations Center are here integrating their craft with pilots and controllers who fly the missions over the “enemy” during Red Flag.The center is comprised of 100 airmen, mostly from the 32nd Air Operations Group at Ramstein Air Base,

  • Airmen keep theater mail flowing

    Eighteen airmen, most wearing two or three stripes, spend several hours a day in a sun-baked warehouse just off the tarmac here. They are touching the lives of each deployed servicemember and civilian in Iraq.“We’re responsible for all mail, in and out,” said Tech. Sgt. Darrin Robertson, mail

  • Welch receives Fubini award

    Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz presented the 2003 Eugene G. Fubini Award to retired Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Larry D. Welch on Oct. 23.The Fubini Award is given annually to individuals from the private sector who have made significant contributions to the Department of Defense in

  • Military works on all-digital targeting system

    The U.S. military is developing an advanced communications capability for tactical fighters that will tightly connect the sensors and cockpits of many aircraft.The 2-year-old Tactical Targeting Network Technologies program links tactical jet fighters' sophisticated sensors and avionics with

  • Desert Hawk helps protect Tallil

    Not every unmanned aerial vehicle in the sky here is a Predator.The 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron is using its “Desert Hawk” UAV here, providing an extra set of eyes in the sky for looking for potential terrorists and criminals.“Desert Hawk allows us to interdict our adversaries

  • EOD eliminates ‘explosive’ problems

    Some might call a bomb squad living in a bunker ironic; the 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s explosive ordnance disposal flight airmen here call it practical.The EOD airmen are on alert 24-hours a day, seven days a week, and respond to an average of 25 to 30 calls each week.“By living

  • Airmen complete Bagram runway

    With help from the Army and coalition nations, airmen poured the final load of concrete for the new $2.3 million runway here Oct. 24 after nearly six months of construction. During this period, civil engineer airmen and soldiers worked on one 90-foot-wide strip, while aircraft landed and took off on

  • Airmen keep things moving in Manas

    A few hundred kilometers north of Afghanistan, in the small country of Kyrgyzstan, is Manas Air Base. Here, airmen are doing their part to ensure coalition servicemembers can maintain the fight on the frontlines of the war on terrorism.Airmen of the 376th Expeditionary Air Wing work 24-hour

  • Airman sentenced for drugs

    An airman assigned to the 552nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron here will spend the next 16 months in a military prison, receive a bad conduct discharge, and forfeit all pay and allowances for illegal drug use and distribution.Airman Basic Raymond Reibel told a military judge Oct. 21 he smoked

  • Malmstrom remembers Cuban missile crisis

    Forty-one years ago, people here played a role in one of the most dangerous events of the Cold War. For 14 days during October 1962, the world held its breath as President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev tried to reach a compromise and avoid nuclear war. In May 1962, Khrushchev,

  • Langley names first Raptor squadron

    The 27th Fighter Squadron will be the first of three squadrons here to transition to the F/A-22 Raptor. The Air Force’s newest fighter begins arriving in late 2004, said Col. Frank Gorenc, 1st Fighter Wing commander.“A major factor in this decision is heritage,” Gorenc said. “The (27th FS) is the

  • Inaugural Eagle Flag concludes

    In 10 days, Air Force expeditionary combat-support people opened and established a new air base here during the Air Force's newest flag-level exercise, Eagle Flag. The inaugural exercise ended Oct. 22. Eagle Flag challenged airmen to open and establish a bare base for any mission or aircraft type,

  • Moseley discusses reconstitution

    Department of Defense leaders met with the House Armed Services Committee subcommittee on readiness Oct. 21 to discuss force reconstitution. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley told committee members that reconstitution is one of the Air Force's top concerns."Our No. 1 task is to

  • Airmen move from tents to huts

    Airmen here are now in the process of transitioning from living in temper tents to wooden structures called B-huts.“These semi-permanent timber structures are replacing our tents which have exceeded their life expectancy in this harsh environment,” said Capt. Trey Sledge, 455th Expeditionary Support

  • Cadre makes Eagle Flag come alive

    Eagle Flag brings together expeditionary combat-support people, role players, observers and exercise controllers to create one of the most dynamic exercises in the Air Force, officials said. Eagle Flag, which ran for the first time Oct. 13 to 22, is the Air Force’s newest flag-level exercise. It is

  • Two airmen extend their desert duty

    Two airmen at an undisclosed location did not mind raising their hands when asked to pull an additional 30 days for Air and Space Expeditionary Force Blue. They said they knew they were going to be working in 120-degree heat, scurrying into tents during dust storms that turn the noon-day sun into

  • Airmen deploy for fuel-spill-response exercise

    Airmen from the 611th Civil Engineer Squadron deployed recently to a remote radar site 250 miles northwest of here for an annual three-day fuel-spill-response exercise.The airmen tested their skills at the Tatalina Long Range Radar Site, one of the 18 remote radar sites that make up the Alaska Radar

  • AF plans to fill first sergeant slots

    Before the end of the year, Air Force officials will have taken the first step toward eliminating a 10-percent manning shortfall in first sergeant billets. In November, as part of the new First Sergeant Selection Process, Air Force officials expect to release a list of master sergeants selected as

  • Red Tail Express makes final delivery

    Trucks. Lots of trucks. Trucks with aircraft parts, refrigerators, wall lockers, office desks, computer equipment, construction vehicles -- some even hauling other trucks, along with hundreds of other odds and ends. All these items are loaded and strapped onto 18-wheelers and flatbed trailers,

  • Medics enter long-term partnership

    Helping get a medical clinic off the ground in this war-torn country is one thing, but three medics from the 447th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron are taking their relationship with this village to an unexpected level.Capt. (Dr.) Jeff Skinner, Senior Master Sgt. Tommie Tracey and Senior Airman Matt

  • Airmen ‘connect’ with Iraqi villagers

    Most airmen deployed to nearby Baghdad International Airport live and work there, but a few have managed to mingle among the local residents.Besides doing their jobs, they said they feel they are building a bridge in American-Iraqi relations.“The Iraqis I’ve met are great,” said Senior Airman Matt

  • AF releases fitness standards

    Air Force leaders released the fitness-scoring charts that will be used beginning Jan. 1.“The amount of energy we devote to our fitness programs is not consistent with the growing demands of our warrior culture. It's time to change that,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper in a Sight

  • Air Force medics treat Iraqis

    A three-member medical team from the 101st Expeditionary Rescue Squadron here recently helped treat more than 60 Iraqi citizens during a medical and humanitarian assistance mission.Capt. Jeff Skinner, Senior Master Sgt. Tommie Tracey and Senior Airman Matthew Read provided their assistance when

  • Preventive medicine keeps airmen on the job

    Expeditionary medicine is more than just medics treating trauma and illness at Camp Sather here.It is all about prevention for Staff Sgt. Nigesa Scales, a medical technician with the 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron.“There is always the possibility of a disease being introduced to the area of

  • Honor Guard recruits airmen

    Air Force Honor Guard officials are always looking for motivated and dedicated airmen and noncommissioned officers for what they call the world's best job.Located here, the 250-person unit seeks airmen E-4 through E-7 for their experience, said Chief Master Sgt. Michael Buckley, the Air Force Honor

  • Airmen keep Baghdad online

    Their jobs may not be highly visible, such as flying or launching aircraft, or get them media attention by standing guard under the blazing Iraqi sun.They do, however, have an important job within the 447th Air Expeditionary Group.“They” are members of the 447th Expeditionary Communication

  • AFIT honors 2003 distinguished alumni

    The Air Force Institute of Technology honored two 2003 distinguished alumni here Oct. 16. Retired Gen. Lawrence A. Skantze and Retired Lt. Gen. Richard K. Saxer were selected for their pioneering roles in science, engineering and education.“The title of ‘distinguished alumnus’ is the highest honor

  • DOE dominates Defender Challenger

    Air Force and British security forces teams already have their targets picked out for next year’s Defender Challenge competition: The men in black from the Department of Energy. The DOE federal agents may be a tough target to hit, based on the dominance of their 10-man team at Defender Challenge

  • Ellsworth K-9 team finishes fourth in nation

    The top military working dog team in the nation has been marking its territory atop the national rankings since the Ellsworth team formed more than two years ago. The team finished in fourth place at the U.S. Police Canine National Field Trials in Atlantic City, N.J., on Oct. 5 to10 For the second

  • Eagle Flag's importance stressed

    The Air Force’s top two leaders got a first-hand look Oct. 15 at the service’s newest flag-level exercise, Eagle Flag. They also talked about what they want every airman to know about the exercise.Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper

  • Airman honors Army friend

    Tech. Sgt. Robert Moore wanted to do something for the friend he had made and lost while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. So he got permission to name an airport fuel storage facility after Army Sgt. Roger Rowe, an Army transportation specialist killed by a sniper July 9.Moore, a fuels

  • Critical-care teams quick to respond

    Critical care air transport teams, charged with moving the seriously wounded or ill, have a job similar to firefighters.“Our gear is packed, ready and positioned near aircraft loading points. We can be airborne in minutes and fly anywhere in the area needed,” said Maj. William H. Cody. He is a

  • Falconer will control Red Flag sky

    America’s ability to dominate air and space during war is being tested Oct. 19 to 31. About 90 airmen from U.S. Air Forces in Europe’s 32nd Air Operations Group will descend on Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., to participate in Red Flag 2003.The airmen comprise what is called a Falconer Air Operations

  • Airman boosts host-nation relations

    During the pre-dawn hours of Oct. 11, Jackal Two, a 380th Air Expeditionary Wing security forces patrol, noticed a vibratory roller -- better known as a steamroller -- with its headlights on, parked outside the perimeter of the base fence. The night-shift patrol feared the worst at this undisclosed

  • Airman gets hard labor, discharge

    An academy airman was sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge in a special court-martial Oct. 15.Airman Brent Mann of the 10th Communications Squadron pleaded guilty to providing alcohol to a minor and failing to obey a lawful order to register his vehicle or remove it from the base. Mann also pleaded

  • Tops in Blue entertains Bagram troops

    The Air Force’s Tops in Blue team contributed to the war on terrorism when they performed for more than 800 soldiers, airmen and coalition partners here Oct. 11. This year’s tour celebrates 50 years of performances around the world.Known as the Air Force’s “expeditionary entertainers,” Tops in Blue

  • Dyess B-1s surge to 114 flights in 68 hours

    During a "surge" in flying here that ended Oct. 9, 7th Bomb Wing crews pushed their B-1 Lancers to a record-breaking 114 flights in 68 hours resulting in 321 simulated bombing runs on targets. The crews began Operation Iron Thunder on Oct. 7, flying sorties around the clock until late in the night

  • Aircraft pull raises CFC nearly $5,000

    Twenty-four teams pulled their way to nearly $5,000 in Combined Federal Campaign donations here recently during the U.S. Air Force Museum's fifth annual aircraft pull.People joined 15- to 20-member teams, each contributing $200 team entry fees to CFC, to see who could drag a 60,000-pound F-111F

  • NORAD monitors U.S. sky to protect homeland

    On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, the staff at the North American Aerospace Defense Command was poised to identify a missile test or space launch anywhere in the world, or to tell exactly how many items of "space junk" were circling the globe.What they did not know was that four commercial

  • HVAC/R -- Al Udeid’s thermostat

    How fast can your day go from good to bad, from comfortable to hot?Give up? Fifty-nine minutes. That is how long it would take.Without air conditioning inside a tent, the temperature can increase by more than 35 degrees in less than an hour. Without the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and

  • The birdmen of Baghdad

    Some airmen who routinely go into harm’s way to assist others, have taken another injured creature of the air under their wings.The New York Air National Guard’s 101st Expeditionary Rescue Squadron has adopted a pigeon that was injured during the Operation Iraqi Freedom conflict.According to Staff

  • First Eagle Flag exercise begins

    More than 150 expeditionary combat-support leaders from around the Air Force arrived here Oct. 13 for the inaugural Eagle Flag, the Air Force’s newest flag-level exercise. The goal of the exercise is to test the ability of the participants to open and establish an air base to an initial operating

  • Airman reacts to vehicle accident

    While some Air Force reservists were just hitting the snooze alarm at 5:30 a.m., Senior Airman Stacey Miller was hopping fences and wading through mud to get to an accident victim recently.Miller, an aerial porter with Air Force Reserve Command's 49th Aerial Port Flight here, left her Indianapolis

  • LASIK available for airmen

    The Air Force’s “warfighter” corneal refractive surgery program expanded its services to include Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis, or LASIK, for qualified people at its centers.Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force vice chief of staff, approved a memorandum written by Lt. Gen. George “Peach”

  • Now showing: Oct. 13 edition of AFTV News

    The Air Force program to use alternative fuels and means of transportation is examined in-depth in the latest edition of Air Force Television News. Tech. Sgt. Pachari Lutke leads off with a story at the program’s headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., by reporting about efforts to reduce the

  • Show features academy skydivers

    The U.S. Air Force Academy’s skydiving program will be featured on the History Channel’s new series, “Guts and Bolts.” The new series, which premiered Sept. 13, gives viewers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the history and inner-workings of today’s most fascinating technologies.Members of the 98th

  • Airman tells of grandfather's Flying Tiger days

    What do you do when your grandfather was played by John Wayne in a movie, a general at age 31 and a bona fide American war hero? If you are Maj. Reagan Schaupp, you write a book about him.Schaupp, of the 50th Space Support Squadron here, has spent the last five years working with his 88-year-old

  • C-17 replica becomes recruiting tool

    What started as a multipurpose vehicle will be transformed into an Air Force recruiting tool when a small-scale replica of a C-17A Globemaster III being built is completed. Volunteers from the 315th and 437th airlift wings here are working on the project.The idea for the project came from Michael

  • Fighting a different kind of enemy

    “What do you call a spider with no legs? “An octo-plegic,” joked Tech. Sgt. Charles Latshaw, a pest management technician with the 380th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s entomology division.But the job is not always fun and games for Latshaw and his counterpart, Tech. Sgt. Frank Flodin, also

  • Final tests begin on C-130J systems

    An electronic warfare test team here began the final phase of testing Oct. 7 of an integrated defensive system installed on a C-130J Hercules. Testing should be complete by Thanksgiving, with publication of the final test report scheduled for February 2004.The C-130J, a medium-range tactical

  • Tanker units integrate for teamwork

    In a deployed location, one thing is for certain: Teamwork makes a unit. For the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron here, teamwork went beyond that of one unit, combining assets of five KC-135R Stratotanker units.For a short time the 340th EARS comprised planes and people from the 6th Air

  • Preparing for Titan's final flight

    The last Titan IVB rocket to be launched here arrived from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., Oct. 5 while another Titan IVB was moved to Space Launch Complex 40 to launch an early warning satellite under the Defense Support Program. There are just three Titan IVB launches remaining before the

  • Airmen restore piece of history

    As civilian and military aviation enthusiasts throughout the world celebrate the “Centennial of Flight,” airmen from U.S. Air Forces in Europe’s 85th Group here completed a meticulous project to preserve and showcase a piece of Air Force history in Iceland.Recently, more than 60 airmen, sailors and

  • Airmen help fliers breathe easier

    Fuels specialists in the 78th Logistics Readiness Squadron’s liquid oxygen station here have the coolest job on base. It is so cool in fact it is boiling hot.Tasked with the job of storing liquid oxygen, which in its normal state is 297 degrees below zero, the airmen must stay on their toes, or

  • Board releases F-16 accident report

    An F-16 pilot's failure to follow emergency checklist procedures for a failed hydraulic pump caused the F-16CG Fighting Falcon he was taxiing to collide with a parked F-16 at a forward-operating location June 15.The aircraft, assigned to the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, was

  • Officials release F-16 accident report

    Air Force officials have determined a bird strike caused the crash of an F-16 Fighting Falcon on June 13 at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.The fighter jet's single engine lost thrust when it ingested a turkey vulture shortly after takeoff, according to the accident investigation report released Oct. 7 by

  • Warfighters reach back to Langley

    Each day during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Airman 1st Class Jamie O'Connell would drive home from Langley Air Force Base after fighting the war in Iraq, and with traffic, it took her about 15 minutes.She is an imagery analyst in the 30th Intelligence Squadron, working at Distributed Ground System 1

  • Airmen participate in Malaysian exhibition

    Rain did not dampen the spirits of Pacific Air Forces airmen showcasing their aircraft at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace 2003 exhibition here Sept. 30 to Oct. 5. LIMA is one of the biggest defense trade shows in the world and this year more than 800 companies from about 40 nations

  • Software helps put bombs on target

    Since March 19, warfighters have dropped 21,300 munitions in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Tens of thousands more have been dropped or launched during Operation Enduring Freedom and that many more stand ready if and when the call comes.To account for all the munitions the Air Force owns, ammunition

  • Employee designs air traffic program

    The computer program an airfield manager here designed is streamlining flightline operations at nearly 45 Air Force bases, including all of those within Air Force Materiel Command.Brian Watson developed the Aircraft Traffic Logging Automated System that is helping airfield managers all around the

  • October issue of Airman available

    Learn about what it took to make the air war over Iraq a success, read about the end of an era in Saudi Arabia, and take a look into a drag-racing teen’s lifelong obstacles. These features and more highlight the October issue of Airman magazine, now available in print and online at

  • New changes in academy policies

    When the Class of 2007 cadets reported for in-processing at the U.S. Air Force Academy in late June, they found many new changes that are putting academy policies more directly in line with those of the active Air Force.Throughout the academy, privileges are now granted based not merely on

  • Bagram airmen boost village morale

    It is austere here. The rules are strict, the environment is harsh, and the enemy is near. Everyday is a workday. Alcoholic beverages and civilian clothes are prohibited. People cannot go anywhere unarmed. They eat and sleep with their weapons.Maintaining high morale in an environment like this

  • Young Iraqis arrive at Ramstein

    Eighteen Iraqi children are now receiving long-awaited medical care from the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, thanks to the help of the U. S. Air Force.The children, ages 6 months to 16 years, arrived here Oct. 6 on a C-141 Starlifter from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., out of Baghdad International

  • Helmet saves airman's life

    Airman 1st Class Michael Lashbrooks made a critical decision this summer. The veteran motorcycle rider decided to spend nearly $500 on a top-quality helmet to wear while riding his 2003 Kawasaki Ninja 636. Call it personal risk management or plain common sense -- it saved his life.The scars on

  • Boot Hill finds new home at Al Udeid

    The Boot Hill “cemetery” at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, has gotten the boot.For the second time in 11 years, the military’s tongue-in-cheek version of Tombstone, Arizona’s famous cemetery, has been exhumed, this time from the closed PSAB to its new resting place here.Cemetery builders

  • New citizen pursues dreams in AF uniform

    Ivelina Konstantinova started working in a San Antonio cafeteria three days after arriving from Bulgaria, and it terrified her. “I was afraid to speak or answer phones,” she said. “Customers would get frustrated because I couldn’t speak English well. I would have preferred they just correct my

  • Maintainers keep Al Udeid in drive gear

    Blood, sweat and muscle power keep hundreds of mission-essential vehicles here road-ready and rolling daily, and maintainers with the 379th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron are the reason why.Forklifts, bomb loaders, Humvees, passenger transporters -- you name it, they fix it. Recently,

  • Rescue mission moves to AFSOC

    A ceremony held at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., Oct. 1, marked the official transfer of Air Force combat search and rescue to Air Force Special Operations Command.The transfer is a result of an Air Force chief of staff direction to align the CSAR mission and assets under one command -- Air Force

  • Air Force will test Eagle Flag

    The Air Force will begin its newest flag-level exercise Oct. 13, targeting expeditionary combat-support skills and testing them to the maximum extent. Eagle Flag is to the expeditionary combat-support community what Red Flag is to the fighter community, said Maj. Gen. Christopher A. Kelly, Air

  • Airman faces court-martial

    An airman here faces a special court-martial on several charges of violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice.Airman Brent Mann, of the 10th Communications Squadron, was charged Oct. 2 with two counts of violating Article 92 of the UCMJ for failure to obey a lawful order or regulation. The