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  • Moody Airman's innovation 'triggers' AF-level change

    One innovative Airman at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, used attention to detail paired with problem solving skills to remove unnecessary and costly stages of maintenance that will save the Air Force money, resources and manpower.

  • US, South Korean forces integrate at Daegu for Buddy Wing training

    Fighter squadrons across the Korean Peninsula routinely participate in Buddy Wings to enhance the interoperability of U.S. and South Korean air forces. For Buddy Wing 16-7, F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots from the 36th Fighter Squadron traveled to Daegu Air Base, South Korea, to train with F-15K Slam

  • Goldfein talks air coalition ops during CENTCOM region visit

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein recently visited the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to get a sense of not only how the campaign is going as a member of the joint chiefs but also to get an understanding of how he can better support Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and

  • CSAF letter to Airmen

    Attached is the first in a series of short papers I will share that outlines my thinking in key focus areas. You will find each in our Strategic Master Plan (SMP) and Air Force Future Operating Construct (AFFOC); and each nests nicely under SecAF’s priorities of: Taking Care of Airmen; Balancing

  • MacDill Airman competes in ultramarathons

    Inspiration for the modern marathon, a 26.2-mile race, stems from military origins. Legend tells of a Greek soldier who ran from Marathon to Athens to deliver news of the defeated Persian army. More than two millennia later, one Airman at MacDill Air Force Base is writing his own story.

  • A-10s land on highway in Estonia

    Eight Air Force Reserve Command A-10 Thunderbolt IIs conducted highway landings on the Jägala-Käravete Highway in Northern Estonia Aug 1.

  • Airman trains to be better in the long run

    Staff Sgt. Benjamin Glenn is a 352nd Special Operations Maintenance Squadron CV-22 Osprey crew chief and a dedicated runner. He’s running half and full marathons in elite-level times, and the Air Force Special Operations Command chose him to represent the command in this year’s Air Force Marathon in

  • Compass Call receives navigation upgrade

    Since it became operational, the EC-130H Compass Call has demonstrated its electronic combat power in tactical air operations around the world, and this year the aircraft has achieved another first. The aircraft has received an avionic viability program upgrade to make it more effective in combat

  • Beale Airman recognized for heroic act

    An Airman from Beale Air Force Base, California, was awarded the Airman’s Medal July 29 for his heroic actions in saving the life of a fellow Airman.

  • Around the Air Force: Aug. 2

    On this look around the Air Force, the F-35A Lightning II becomes combat ready; Airmen at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, revamp a C-130H Hercules for fighting wildfires; and the Air Force selects the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year. Hosted by SSgt Traci Keller.

  • AF declares the F-35A ‘combat ready’

    The F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation fighter aircraft was declared ‘combat ready’ by Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the commander of Air Combat Command, Aug 2.

  • A honey of a mission: Airmen help save, relocate 25,000 bees

    Earlier this month, Malmstrom Air Force Base encountered a wildlife phenomenon, and through perseverance and understanding, handled what could have been a sticky situation in the most natural way possible. Airmen utilized quick thinking and humane treatment to save the lives of approximately 25,000

  • F-35A program continues to make improvements

    Airmen of the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, have been preparing the F-35A Lightning II for combat readiness since the first operational aircraft was received in September 2015.

  • Policy changes allow Airmen to retrain into special ops

    In a move to meet the high demand for battlefield Airmen, the Air Force announced changes to retraining and cross-flow, outlined in a policy memorandum from April. The changes allow Airmen to be released from their current jobs in the Air Force to cross-train into the special tactics career fields,

  • Professional bad guys: Space aggressors prepare Airmen for the enemy

    Walking out to an F-16 Fighting Falcon, Staff Sgt. Erick Vega is told upon landing that the pilot experienced loss of GPS. An hour passes before Vega, an avionics specialist from Aviano Air Base, Italy, determines that adversaries have degraded the system through an attack on space assets.

  • Blue Flag exercise marks 40th Anniversary

    Airmen from 505th Combat Training Squadron are the creators and controllers of a live, virtual and constructive world that takes air operation centers and Air Force forces staff through a quest to sharpen their skills at planning, executing and controlling war and relief operation scenarios. The

  • Weather team award honors legacy of fallen Airman

    To honor the legacy and devotion of a fallen brother-in-arms, an award was dedicated to the life of Lt. Col. William Schroeder and given to a Special Operations Weather Team training pipeline graduate here July 21.

  • New commander takes charge of AFCENT

    Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian assumed command of U.S. Air Forces Central Command from Lt. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. during a ceremony at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, July 22.

  • Amputee regains wings

    An HC-130J Combat King II pilot at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, became the sixth amputee and the first female amputee to return to the cockpit. After an above-the-knee amputation and nearly 15 months of rehabilitation -- learning to walk, run and fly again -- Air Force Capt. Christy Wise, a 71st

  • STRATCOM deputy commander receives fourth star

    Air Force Gen. Stephen W. Wilson, the U.S. Strategic Command deputy commander, received his fourth star July 22 during a promotion ceremony at the parade field on Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.

  • Webb takes command of AFSOC

    Lt. Gen. Brad Webb assumed command of Air Force Special Operations Command in a ceremony July 19 at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

  • Airmen practice rescuing downed pilots in Pacific Thunder 16-2

    Units from the U.S. Pacific Air Forces practiced rescuing downed pilots during exercise Pacific Thunder 16-2 in South Korea. The two-week training event combines U.S. and South Korean forces to enhance interoperability for combat search and rescue missions across the Korean Peninsula.

  • Airman selected to attend culinary forum for top US military chefs

    Airman 1st Class Alexandra Ayub, a 90th Force Support Squadron missile chef, won the Arthur J. Myers Food Service Excellence Award for the Western Hemisphere earlier this year. As a result, she’s now been selected to represent the Air Force at the Armed Forces Forum for Culinary Excellence at the

  • Research, technology aid effort to help TBI patients

    Since the Vietnam War, doctors have seen an increase in service members returning from combat with traumatic brain injuries from blasts. At the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE), a directorate of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, doctors and therapists

  • 100-plus aircraft fly in for exercise Red Flag 16-3

    The three-week long Red Flag 16-3, a U.S.-only exercise that tests all participating units’ combat capabilities in a joint environment that centers on multi-domain integration, kicked off at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, July 11.

  • A-10s deploy to Slovakia for cross-border training

    The 122nd Fighter Wing, which flies the A-10 "Warthog" airframe, has deployed eight A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and approximately 140 Airmen in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve for a month-long combined training event, overseas, to Sliač Air Base, Slovakia.

  • Around the Air Force: July 19

    In this look around the Air Force, the head of Air Combat Command testifies before members of the House Armed Services Committee, the KC-46 Pegasus hits another milestone, and U.S. Air Force Academy cadets experience what the deployed life is like.

  • Love for the job fuels crew chief’s passion to fix jets

    Instead of the usual roar of F-16 Fighting Falcons preparing for another flight here, a soft, warm breeze skirting across the flightline carried the sound of tools clanking against metal. In the depths of a hangar, an Air Force crew chief worked diligently to solve the most recent maintenance

  • Air dominance and the critical role of fifth-generation fighters

    Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the Air Combat Command commander, discussed the importance of air superiority and the need to assure it by modernizing the combat air force during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee in Washington, D.C., July 13.

  • Airman links deployed operators to human performance experts

    Many scientists and engineers go directly from school to laboratories and do not get the opportunity to work side by side with customers who use the products they create. For a behavioral scientist in the 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, that’s not the case.

  • New era of airpower exhibited at world’s largest air show

    The newest additions to American airpower, the F-35 Lightning II A and B variants, as well as the F-22 Raptor and numerous legacy and special mission aircraft from U.S. forces were on display at the The 2016 Royal International Air Tattoo at Royal Air Force Fairford, England.

  • Airman vaults to spot on US Olympic team

    First Lt. Cale Simmons, who cleared the bar at 5.65 meters -- 18 feet, 6.4 inches -- in the men's pole vault finals, secured a spot on the U.S. Olympic team at the U.S. Olympic team track and field finals at Eugene, Oregon.

  • July issue of Airman magazine now available

    The July issue of Airman magazine is now available to download and is viewable through a web browser. In the cover story, titled “Arctic Vigil,” you’ll go behind the scenes with the 176th Air Defense Squadron and the Combat Alert Cell of F-22 Raptors that monitor the sovereign airspace around Alaska

  • MQ-9 crashes in northern Syria

    An MQ-9 Reaper crashed in northern Syria July 5. The aircraft was flying a combat mission when positive control of the aircraft was lost. The remotely piloted aircraft crash was not due to enemy fire. There are no reports of civilian injuries or damage to civilian property at the crash site.

  • First USAF F-35A takes overseas flight to England

    The Air Combat Command F-35A Heritage Flight team accomplished America’s first transatlantic flight in an F-35A Lightning II, with refueling support from a KC-10 Extender, when it touched down June 30 at Royal Air Force Fairford, England.

  • Small team ensures special tactics career fields grow with the best

    Special tactics career field training pipelines are some of the most physically and psychologically challenging in the Air Force. To ensure the correct individuals are on the battlefield, the Recruitment, Assessment and Selection team at Hurlburt Field, Florida, puts the cross-training candidates

  • Airmen help save fishermen at sea after ship catches fire

    Members of a special operations surgical team assigned to the 720th Special Tactics Group at Hurlburt Field, Florida, worked to save the lives of two critically-burned fishermen rescued 500 miles off the coast of Bermuda on June 22.

  • Wargame provides reality check for war plans

    More than 70 mobility and logistics professionals from the U.S. and three allied countries convened for an exercise known as Global Mobility, Agile Combat Support (GLOMO/ACS) at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, June 20-24. Air Mobility Command has led the biennial wargame since 2002. In

  • Montana's last Doolittle Raider honored

    Seventy-four years after the historic Doolittle Tokyo Raid, former Staff Sgt. David J. Thatcher, one of two remaining Doolittle Raiders, was laid to rest June 27 in Missoula. He was 94.

  • Air Force bids farewell to Welsh

    Stealing a moment of silence, looking into the eyes of his wife, he takes a deep breath and prepares for what’s to come. Standing tall and proud, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III walks into a hangar in front of hundreds of onlookers, all there to bid him farewell.

  • ACC: F-35 on track for IOC

    The F-35A Lightning II is on track to declare initial operational capability between August and December. Col. David Chace, the F-35 systems management office chief and lead for F-35 operational requirements at Air Combat Command, answers questions on the fifth-generation fighter.

  • Family first: A story for Air Force spouses

    Jeff Hogg knows the role of the military spouse better than most because he understands the needs of the military lifestyle and the military family. He served in the Air Force for over 20 years before retiring and is the spouse of Maj. Gen. Dorothy Hogg, the Air Force deputy surgeon general.

  • Commander fatally shot at work laid to rest at Arlington

    Two months after Lt. Col. William “Bill” Schroeder was fatally shot during an incident of workplace violence, the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard laid him to rest with full military honors June 16 at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.

  • Archers compete in first visual impairment category at Warrior Games

    Wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans continue to break personal records and show fans and friends amazing feats and June 17 was no different, as archers competed in the first-ever visual impairment category at the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games at the U.S. Military

  • Global Hawk gets innovative ISR payload adapter

    Using a cooperative research and development agreement, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, partnering with Northrop Grumman and Air Combat Command, has developed an innovative solution to the tricky problem of how to connect existing and future information gathering sensor capabilities, not

  • No limits: Airman pushes past near death experience

    Staff Sgt. Sebastiana Lopez Arellano was riding a motorcycle when an animal scurried onto the road, causing her to swerve and hit a curb. As she high-sided over her bike, the momentum catapulted her body into a tree. The impact severed her right leg. As she recovered, she found comfort in sports and

  • A backseat view of combat airstrikes

    Throughout the month of May, the air coalition has been able to strike lucrative targets including: logistics lines, command and control and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant financial resources through more than 1,800 strike sorties.

  • Beale takes next step in energy resilience

    The Defense Logistics Agency and the Air Force released a request for information regarding the pursuit of energy resilience at Beale Air Force Base, California, on June 8.

  • Tuskegee Airman laid to rest

    The Air Force paid its final respects to former 2nd Lt. Malvin G. Whitfield, an Army Air Forces and Air Force veteran, at Arlington National Cemetery, June 8. Whitfield distinguished himself as the first U.S. military member to win Olympic gold medals while serving his country. Whitfield joined the

  • Around the Air Force: June 7

    On this look around the Air Force, President Barack Obama speaks at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s commencement ceremony; battlefield Airmen get their own training group; and an update on C-130J Super Hercules aircraft destined for Yokota Air Base, Japan.

  • Ready to receive: B-52s touch down in England

    With the sharp screech of rubber meeting asphalt, two B-52 Stratofortress bombers from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, touched down June 2 at Royal Air Force Fairford, England.

  • That others may live: Silver Star medal for fallen Airman, son

    Capt. Matthew Roland, of the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, posthumously received the Silver Star on June 1 for actions taken during an ambush Aug. 26, 2015, in Afghanistan. Roland's family accepted the decoration on behalf of the fallen special tactics officer.

  • Nominations sought for 2016 Sijan Award

    The Air Force Personnel Center is currently accepting nominations through Aug. 31 for the 2016 Lance P. Sijan U.S. Air Force Leadership Award. The award recognizes the accomplishments of total force officers and enlisted leaders who demonstrate the highest qualities of leadership in the performance

  • Air Force trailblazer returns to Ramstein after 54 years

    It doesn’t happen often but occasionally Airmen get the opportunity to meet an Airman who, in 1947, was there when the Air Force first stood on its own -- those trailblazers who laid the first bricks of airpower on the long blue line.

  • Voices from the past, lessons for the future

    If walls could talk, and pictures are worth a thousand words, the Air Force’s Art Gallery’s new exhibit honoring the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War could tell the story of a generation of service men and women who served during the conflict.

  • Crew chief scores AF ‘hat trick’

    Master Sgt. Jeremy Michael Hord, the 379th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron aircraft section chief, recently scored an Air Force hat trick by finally launching every active bomber in the Air Force’s inventory into combat.

  • USAFE band member discovers family history on Memorial Day

    Senior Airman Colby Fahrenbacher, a tuba player in the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band, grew up hearing stories about his great-uncle Merle Noffsinger, who served with the Army Air Force. Fahrenbacher's great-uncle, Tech. Sgt. Merle Noffsinger, was a gunner and bombardier on the B-24 Liberator, and

  • Luxembourg, US uphold Memorial Day significance

    Luxembourgers and Americans united to pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their freedoms, fulfilling a promise to never forget that price. More than 200 citizens of both countries paid their respects to the legacy and valor of fallen American service members as part of a

  • EOD craftsman balances family, mission

    Tech. Sgt. Kelly Badger, a 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal craftsman, continues to do what he does downrange not only for his immediate family, but also for his military family.