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  • Initiative to help injured troops gets startup funding

    Department of Defense officials have startup funding for a new initiative for servicemembers injured in the war on terrorism, a senior official said here Dec. 7."We're looking at possibilities for internships and other types of trial employment," John M. Molino, the acting deputy undersecretary for

  • Initiatives save Airmen processing time

    First experiences here used to consist of waiting in lines, dragging bags, waiting in more lines -- and then meeting the people being replaced. Not exactly the warm welcome Personnel Support for Contingency Operations Airmen wanted to bestow upon new arrivals. New arrivals to this Southwest Asia

  • Initiatives to improve Air Force acquisition

    Addressing an audience of industry and government employees in Lexington, Massachusetts, May 13, the Air Force’s Service Acquisition Executive spoke about acquisition priorities, challenges and initiatives.

  • Injured Airman celebrates re-enlistment

    Almost five years and 120 surgeries after his vehicle passed over an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan that exploded, burning more than 80 percent of his body, Tech. Sgt. Israel Del Toro raised his right hand Feb. 8 and re-enlisted in the Air Force.Maj. Gen Anthony Przybyslawski, the vice

  • Injured Airman credits training for saving her life

    The training one Airman received during the Advanced Contingency Skills Training Course at the Air Force Expeditionary Center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., and the quick reaction of her teammates is what she attributed to saving her life. While on a convoy in Iraq Aug. 21, Capt. Wendy

  • Injured Airman returns to duty, celebrates promotion

    Staff Sgt. Brian Williams of the 87th Security Forces Squadron is just like any other Airman. He has been in the Air Force for 13 years, has deployed six times and served as a military working dog handler at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., since 2011.

  • Injured Airman reunites with family just four days after IED attack

    Staff Sgt. Brian Williams, who is deployed from the 87th Security Forces Squadron here, suffered serious injuries after an improvised explosive device detonated while he was on a mission April 25 outside Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan.That same day, Williams, who is a military working dog

  • Injured arrive at Wilford Hall

    Forty-seven servicemembers injured during Operation Iraqi Freedom arrived here April 9 while waiting for flights to medical centers near their home stations.The patients arrived aboard a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft after an 11-hour, non-stop flight from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Once here, they

  • Injured EOD Airman returns to fuller life

    In an instant, he went from living his dream to being utterly destroyed on a dusty road in Iraq. An improvised explosive device exploded about two feet from his face, throwing him about 20 feet and leaving him unrecognizable. As his arm dangled to his side, he stumbled up and yelled for the medic.

  • Injured Idaho hiker rescued by Fairchild crews

    Airmen from Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, rescued a 36-year-old female rock climber Sept. 20, near Priest Lake, Idaho, after she suffered injuries to her face, lower leg and foot.

  • Injured Iraqi child flown to America

    A C-130 Hercules crew from here flew a critically wounded Iraqi child on the first leg of an aeromedical evacuation mission to the United States on Nov. 8.The 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing crew’s mission was to help save the child’s life, officials said.Nine-year-old Saleh Kahlaf was critically

  • Injured servicemembers get away from hospital to fish

    A bad day fishing is a whole lot better than a good day at work, said one Soldier here. For 38 injured servicemembers from the Warrior Transition Unit from the Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, a day of free fishing meant a day away from treatment to have some fun on this south

  • Injured, separated from the Air Force, but not forgotten

    Training medical personnel as a member of the 59th Logistics and Readiness Squadron's Medical Readiness Training team was not the path that George Torres had planned to pursue when he trained as an Air Force Pararescueman. A broken back and compound fracture to his ankle, caused by a combat-related

  • Injury compensation team saves AF millions

    Last year the Air Force Personnel Center injury compensation team saved the Air Force $5.9 million in future dollars.The team accomplished this partly by identifying compensation process flaws, and partly through thorough assessment of injury compensation claims.According to Marty Watson, the chief

  • In-lieu-of Airmen excel in Iraqi provincial reconstruction

    More than ever before, Airmen are serving combat deployments traditionally filled by the Army and Marine Corps. Because of sister-service personnel shortages, Airmen are serving in-lieu-of, or ILO, the Soldiers and Marines who would normally execute these combat missions. In Iraq alone, nearly 1,700

  • 'In-lieu-of' Airmen keep Army rolling along

    A team of Air Force professionals is keeping the Army rolling and the mission moving every day over the rugged terrain of Afghanistan. Deployed on a year-long "in-lieu-of" tasking to a forward operating base near the city of Qalat, Afghanistan, four Airmen keep more than 30 vehicles mission-ready

  • Innovating education: New commander of Air University challenges Airmen

    The new commander and president of Air University charged all assigned Airmen to think of ways to reinvent military education at AU as well as leverage the intellectual potential of the university. He challenged AU Airmen to offer innovative solutions to address problems facing the Air Force in a

  • Innovation challenge brings possible advancement in F-22 test capabilities

    The 412th Test Wing’s Experimentation Center for Ideas/Technology Exploration team, known as XCITE, hosted a one-day innovation challenge July 10, 2017.Several engineers from around Edwards Air Force Base partnered with members of the Desert High School Robotics team to come up with a solution to a

  • Innovation enhances safety, leads to international recognition

    Air traffic control is serious business. Every day thousands of flights take off and land all across the U.S. Dedicated professionals known as air traffic controllers are responsible for monitoring every flight and coordinating with aircrews and people on the ground.

  • Innovation extends ORS-1's life, mission

    The Operationally Responsive Space-1 satellite launched June 29, 2011, and has been a star Air Force performer since its first day on orbit. Members of the 1st and 7th Space Operations Squadrons celebrated the spacecraft's second birthday recently. "This is a great time to recognize all of ORS-1's

  • Innovation in tight spaces

    As Hurricane Michael churned toward the Emerald Coast of Florida, F-35A Lightning IIs from the 33rd Fighter Wing evacuated to Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, to avoid the storm’s path and potential catastrophic damage. As Michael passed, narrowly missing Eglin AFB, a different type of storm

  • Innovation is in our DNA

    Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson talks about Air Force adaptation and innovation.

  • Innovation is key to stabilizing the Pacific

    The only way to continue forward is through innovation, Gen. Hawk Carlisle, commander of the Pacific Air Forces Command, said during a speech at the 2014 Air Force Association’s Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition, Washington D.C., Sept. 16.

  • Innovation leads to OSI cold case closure

    Two years ago, Patrick Pipkins, Air Force Office of Special Investigations special agent, did what his chief of the OSI Cold Case Team called, “some amazing work,” to locate an Air Force deserter who went missing in 1984.

  • Innovation pays in more ways than one

    Innovation has paid off, not once, but four times for one 552nd Air Control Wing airman.Since his arrival at the 552nd ACW four years ago, Staff Sgt. Daniel McSwain has continually looked for ways to improve processes in his shop. He is an avionics test station and aircraft component specialist in

  • Innovation Rodeo moves ideas closer to reality

    Three innovative ideas to support worldwide warfighter success are one step closer to reality today thanks to the first Air Force Innovation Rodeo, $650,000 in total seed money and a partnership with AFWERX and tech accelerator companies.

  • Innovation saves AMC $2 million annually

    The 437th Airlift Wing began modifying the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft with new mounts for the Electronic Flight Bag Sept. 25, 2017. The new mounts will increase flight safety in C-17s and are estimated to save Air Mobility Command $2 million in repairs annually.

  • Innovation, education benefit ongoing PEB mission

    Facing an increased caseload since Sept. 11, 2001, innovation and education have improved the Air Force Physical Disability Division's service to the Air Force and boarded Airmen, those who enter the disability evaluation system to determine their fitness. Some are returned to duty, while others may

  • Innovative Airmen make jobs, lives easier

    Airmen from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing have applied the axiom "work smarter, not harder" to come up with solutions on the job that are saving manpower, time and money here in Southwest Asia. Examples of innovation are not limited to just one group. Each of the four groups assigned to the 379th

  • Innovative Airmen modify mobile A/C unit

    Performing in extreme temperatures is the norm for many deployed service members, and adjustments in operations tempos are necessary to complete the mission on time to accommodate heat stress conditions. Two innovative Airmen assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron here

  • Innovative Airmen recognized by AF vice chief of staff

    Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry O. Spencer presented the inaugural General Larry O. Spencer Innovation Awards July 23 at the Pentagon, to Airmen who made the most significant contributions to saving Air Force financial and manpower resources this year.

  • Innovative approach increases polygraph efficiency

    Recognizing this directly hindered conducting polygraph examinations, the AFOSI 2nd Field Investigations Squadron Polygraph Office, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, did something innovative about it.

  • Innovative brain therapies offer hope to injured troops

    Innovative therapies that have assisted previously comatose patients regain consciousness may be incorporated on a greater scale to treat troops diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries, a brain injury expert said here March 23. Dr. Philip A. DeFina, chief executive and scientific officer at the

  • Innovative calendar system tracks VIPs

    After employing a relatively simple Air Force Smart Operations 21 tool, Electronic Systems Center protocol office members here now have an innovative calendar system for tracking distinguished visitor information. AFSO 21 was designed to trigger ideas throughout the Air Force about how to streamline

  • Innovative computer chip has enhanced storage capability

    A chemical alloy, used in everyday electronic items such as rewritable CDs and DVDs, serves as the source of a new computer chip. Researchers hope that this alloy will demonstrate non-volatile memory, or information storage retention without a power source, in the radiation-hardened space

  • Innovative cyber program protects critical Tyndall AFB assets

    The 325th Communications Squadron became the first Air Combat Command squadron to join a new initiative to ensure Tyndall Air Force Base is able to train and project unrivaled combat airpower.The Cyber Squadron Innovation is a pathfinder program among Air Force communication squadrons, enabling

  • Innovative idea saves nearly $400,000

    Contracting officers recently leveraged the benefits of technology to save $395,000 for the Air Force at a Southwest Asia air base. Airmen from the 386th Expeditionary Contracting Squadron used electronic reverse auctioning or e-RA to save the Air Force hundreds of thousands of dollars. Reverse

  • Innovative maintainers save time, lives of front line troops

    Maintainers here have come up with an innovative phase maintenance process to keep as many close-air-support aircraft airborne in theater that is being hailed by U.S. Central Command senior leaders. A-10 Thunderbolt II maintainers deployed from the 23rd Maintenance Group at Moody Air Force Base,

  • Innovative parts washer improves environment and health

    An environmentally-friendly parts washer here is getting attention for using oil-eating microbes, which means workers are no longer exposed to the solvents previously used. The system uses bioremediation to avoid the waste streams of liquid found in traditional parts cleaning systems. Bioremediation

  • Innovative program helps troubled veterans turn lives around

    A unique center is helping troubled veterans turn their lives around by providing a military style program designed to help them beat addictions, develop career skills, land jobs, find homes and become productive citizens. The Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training, MCVET for short,

  • Innovative programs keep MWR relevant

    Military fitness centers, swimming pools, lodging facilities and outdoor recreation offices might sound to some like a footnote among competing budget requirements. But Ed Miles, DOD’s MWR policy director, and his counterparts across the military services see a close connection to military

  • Innovative PT program increases readiness downrange

    With the help of a colleague, Capt. Eric Walter, 386th Expeditionary Medical Group physical therapy element chief, has developed a proactive approach to physical therapy at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.

  • Innovative simulator solution enhances training, saves millions of dollars

    A significant milestone for remotely piloted aircraft was ushered in July 10, with the first student sortie in an innovative T-6 Texan II simulator.The new setup has dramatically increased the ability to train remotely piloted aircraft pilots, and the ingenuity behind the new simulator saves the Air

  • Innovative teaching idea saves Air Force $1.1 million

    An idea by the 982nd Training Group to make formal military instructor training available at field training detachments has saved the Air Force more than $1.1 million in temporary duty expenditures so far in fiscal year 2013.The FTD version of the Principles of Instruction course, or POI, was

  • Innovative techniques help Air Force meet manning goals

    The Air Force deputy chief of staff for personnel told lawmakers July 19 the service would meet its end-strength requirement by the end of the fiscal year. In March, Lt. Gen. Roger A. Brady told lawmakers the service would meet its end-strength goal by end of the fiscal year."End strength" is the

  • Innovative tool streamlines requirements process

    Air Mobility Command officials recently introduced an innovative tool that is transforming the command's process for gathering and prioritizing Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) requirements, and will soon be expanded to include other requirements.

  • Innovative training aids support EOD mission

    Explosive ordnance disposal technicians are trained to apply classified techniques and special procedures to lessen or remove hazards created by the presence of unexploded military, criminal, biological, nuclear or terrorist homemade ordnance. Airmen here help provide this training by fabricating

  • Innovative training fosters acquisition transformation

    The Air Force acquisition community is transforming the way it does business by not only reforming its processes but also changing the way its workforce thinks and acts. To accomplish this, Paradigm Learning Inc., helped the Air Force develop a new learning tool for the entire acquisition workforce,

  • Innovative work center saves thousands

    U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently challenged Defense Department officials to innovate by introducing the new value, efficiency and saving tomorrow, or INVEST, contest in mid-August, and for at least one work center here, ingenuity has saved more than $131,000 since 2000.The Incirlik

  • Insertion program enhances security, saves money

    Members of the 642nd Electronic Systems Squadron's Transformational Technology Insertion program here are reaping monetary savings while further enhancing security at four Air Force sites as part of an ongoing Defense Department initiative. Transformational Technology Insertion, or TTI, involves the

  • Insertion/extraction exercise

    A HH-60 Pave Hawk carrying pararescuemen from the 48th Rescue Squadron, flies over a local training area near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Monday, March 13, 2006. The 55th Rescue Squadron and pararescuemen assigned to the 48th, were conducting alternate insertion/extraction training. (U.S

  • Inside look: A sensor operator’s first weapons strike

    The feelings experienced during combat missions can be intense for many aircrew members. For Airman 1st Class Matthew, a 20-year-old 15th Attack Squadron MQ-1 Predator sensor operator, his first air strike was an event he will never forget.

  • Inside the 908th AW: Fire Protection

    If you possess a stellar attitude paired with a desire to serve and protect, then you should consider becoming a fire protection specialist with the 908th Civil Engineer Squadron.

  • Insomniacs invade Manas

    They came fired up and ready to entertain the troops, and that is exactly what comedians Dave Attell and Scott Kennedy did here Sept. 14.The two stand-up comedians have been touring U.S. Central Command hot spots entertaining everyone from Florida Army National Guardsmen at a forward-deployed

  • Inspections ordered for A-10 Thunderbolt IIs

    Air Force officials have issued a time compliance technical order requiring immediate inspection and repair of wing cracks for a portion of the A-10 Thunderbolt II fleet. This action impacts approximately 130 A-10 aircraft with thin-skin wings installed during original manufacture and is being taken

  • Inspector General Hotline gives DOD employees options

    In an organization as large as the Defense Department, bad or outdated policies or regulations can remain in place, and sometimes there are bad actors. The DOD Inspector General operates a Hotline that has been instrumental in changing policies, uncovering fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement and

  • Inspector General investigates eight Air Force contracts

    Eight Air Force defense contracts not previously identified for in-depth review have been referred to the Department of Defense inspector general for investigation.The referral resulted from a review by Defense Contract Management Agency officials of 407 contracts under the control of or influenced

  • Inspector General keeps ADAB ready and compliant

    The IG office is open to all Airmen and federal employees to hear complaints of wrong doings; they also provide an independent look during exercises and inspections, giving them the ability to identify undetected non-compliance and possible risks.

  • Inspectors keep an eye on Raptor production

    Master Sgt. Richard Bailey and Staff Sgt. Mike Bedtelyon are administratively assigned to Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., but they are playing key roles in another state to ensure the base's future F-22 Raptors are delivered with the right stuff.Bailey and Bedtelyon, both from the 325th Operations

  • Inspired NCO spends career molding Airmen

    After troubles in high school, Joshua Smith found discipline in the Air Force and now teaches others as an Airman leadership school instructor at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas.

  • Installation Acquisition Transformation revises implementation plan

    Air Force officials here recently completed a comprehensive restructuring of installation acquisition within the continental United States, dubbed Installation Acquisition Transformation, and adopted a revised implementation strategy. The Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century high-value

  • Instinctive action by Bagram Airman prevents catastrophe

    An Airman's quick action following an explosion of a jet fuel starter Feb. 26 that sent shrapnel across the Bagram Air Base flightline averted a possible explosion of an F-15E Strike Eagle.Staff Sgt. Jonathan Billie was working on the flightline near a fellow Airman prepping an F-15E when the small

  • Instruction clarifies enlisted Airmen’s roles, responsibilities

    Air Force officials further clarified and standardized the roles, responsibilities and duty titles of its enlisted Airmen with the latest version of Air Force Instruction 36-2618, The Enlisted Force Structure.The 19-page document, certified by Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald R. Murray,

  • Instructor pilots: Creating world-class aviators

    At Columbus Air Force Base, more than 300 instructor pilots are responsible for graduating close to 350 student pilots a year from programs such as Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals and the Aviation Leadership Program.

  • Instructor sentenced for unprofessional relationship

    An instructor here was sentenced after she pleaded guilty to two violations of Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice during a special court-martial Feb. 7.Staff Sgt. Jennifer Jones, an aerospace medical service apprentice course instructor in the 383rd Training Squadron, was arraigned

  • Instructors arm Airmen warriors with knowledge

    The contingency skills training instructors at one of the Air Force’s most realistic wartime training programs play many roles -- observer, controller, good guy, bad guy, politician -- however, their most important role is that of mentor. The Air Mobility Warfare Center instructors will do what it

  • Instruments enhance space weather forecasts

    Improving the prediction of ionospheric-created disturbances is the aim behind two weeks of digging through 3 feet of snow, ice and slush in the tundra of Greenland by four members of the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate, with assistance from Danish

  • Insurance alternative available for federal employees

    The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program offers federal employees an option when purchasing long-term-care insurance. The insurance policy helps defray the cost of in-home, nursing home or assisted living facility care for people who cannot care for themselves due to chronic health conditions.

  • Insurance companies to pay back GIs for deception

    Life insurance companies are being held accountable for their improper sales practices to military members. Four companies in the past three months have agreed to a multi-state settlement agreement after Texas Department of Insurance investigators uncovered a pattern of deception to young troops.

  • Insurance helps fire recovery

    When a fire destroyed the home of Airman 1st Class Brandon Voges and his family at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., the flames, smoke and water damaged everything they owned -- furniture, clothes and electronics. Despite this tragedy, the Voges family said they are not worried. An investment of $9 a

  • Insurgent to ambassador: Journal editor tells harrowing tale

    When Algerian-born Remy Mauduit, editor of the new French edition of the Air and Space Power Journal, sees terrorism and insurgency taking place in Iraq, he recalls a time when he, too, was an insurgent. Life was not good for Algerian citizens in the early 1950s. After French colonization, native

  • Integrated process team addresses logistics issues

    The consolidation of supply chain activities into the Air Force Global Logistics Support Center presented a fresh opportunity to address some systemic issues in how the Defense Logistics Agency supports the Air Force. Leaders representing both organizations received an update on these issues along

  • Integrated training smoothes future joint operations

    As the face of battle has changed with more and more multiservice operations, interservice training for all ranks is becoming an increasing necessity to win the fight on global battlegrounds, officials said.Command and staff war colleges have been holding integrated training for decades, ensuring

  • Integrating SIGINT for multi-domain total force

    The 16th Intelligence Squadron set on a path to become a reserve component partner with the 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, Oct. 1, 2014, creating a culture of seamless operations integration between active duty and reserve Airmen.

  • Integration builds on fighter wings' strengths

    The ongoing association between the 419th and 388th Fighter Wings here will make both organizations stronger by capitalizing on the strengths of each, said Lt. Gen. John A. Bradley, commander of Air Force Reserve Command. General Bradley welcomed reservists from the 419th FW home in late January

  • Integration center connects DOD members

    The Global Cyberspace Integration Center here is playing a key role in helping the Defense Information Systems Agency deploy a new service to the entire Department of Defense business and warfighting community. DISA recently awarded a contract to deploy Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional software