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U.S. Air Force News

  • Missile successfully launches from Vandenberg

    A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile configured with a National Nuclear Security Administration, or NNSA, joint-test assembly, launched at 3:04 a.m. May 22 from Vandenberg Air Force Base.The launch was an extended range test which proved the weapon system's reliability and accuracy.

  • Missile support teams deploy, but closer to home

    Those assigned to care for missile alert facilities and launch facilities containing Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles do not deploy to forward areas overseas. Instead, they deploy to areas in the central and north central United States."We don't deploy to foreign theaters of operations," said

  • Missile testing unit validates strategic deterrent

    The 576th Flight Test Squadron, which conducts Minuteman III launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, holds the unique distinction as the sole intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test unit in the Department of Defense.

  • Missile wings conduct remote code change with ICU II

    The 90th, 91st and 341st Missile Wings have begun the process of converting their missile alert and launch facilities to ICU II, a system that allows for a remote code change – and will save the Air Force millions of dollars in resources and labor hours.

  • Missileer gears up, pulls first alert

    Early October, 2nd Lt. Holley Macpherson, a 320th Missile Squadron deputy missile combat crew commander, took a major step in her career. She manned a launch control center (LCC) for the first time.

  • Missileers receive new computer capabilities

    Airmen who pull alert in ICBM launch control centers deep underground in remote locations around the country are virtually cut off from the outside world. Ensuring America’s intercontinental ballistic missile force is ready at a moment’s notice may be considered a lonely, isolated job with an

  • Missileers reunite for 45th anniversary of first Minuteman launch

    The return of the “missileers” here Feb. 1 marked the 45th anniversary of the first launch of an Air Force Minuteman missile. About 100 people who worked on various intercontinental ballistic missile programs here during the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s gathered for a reunion in the city of Cape Canaveral.

  • Missile-warning satellites contract awarded

    The Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center awarded a $1.86 billion contract to Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Sunnyvale, California, for production of the fifth and sixth Space-Based Infrared System, or SBIRS, geosynchronous, or GEO, missile-warning satellites.

  • Missing Air Force pilot from Vietnam War identified

    Officials from the Department of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office announced Oct. 18 that the remains of a U.S. servicemember missing from the Vietnam War have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors. Maj. Robert G. Lapham of Marshall, Mich.,

  • Missing Airman declared dead

    Andersen AFB officials announced Airman 1st Class Michael McDonald has been declared dead Jan. 31. Airman McDonald was reported missing Jan. 27 off Tarague Beach here. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Airman McDonald's family and friends during this tragic event," said Brig. Gen. Douglas Owens,

  • Missing airman found dead

    An airman, missing since Nov. 27, was found dead Dec. 8 near Trier, Germany.German police found the body of Master Sgt. Randall D. Callison near his vehicle on Autobahn 1 at around 2 p.m.Callison, from Walcott, Iowa, was assigned to U.S. Air Forces in Europe headquarters here and worked in the

  • Missing Airman’s body found

    The body found in a Freckenham field four miles from this tanker base was that of missing Master Sgt. Bernard Huggins, 100th Air Refueling Wing officials said. Found Nov. 18, the sergeant was last seen Nov. 12. He was reported missing Nov. 14 when he did not show up for work. Wing commander Col.

  • Missing Airman's body found

    The Spokane County Sheriff's department recovered the body of Airman 1st Class James Lassiter on May 6 in Long Lake near here.The discovery comes more than a month after Lassiter, a student who was assigned to the 336th Training Group, went missing on the Spokane River on March 31."We mourn the loss

  • Missing Airmen from Vietnam War identified

    The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office, or DPMO, announced today that the remains of Air Force pilots Maj. James E. Sizemore of Lawrenceville, Ill., and Maj. Howard V. Andre Jr., of Memphis, Tenn., have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full

  • Missing Elmendorf Airman found dead; fellow Airman arrested

    Anchorage police and Air Force officials announced May 10 that the body found earlier this week in Eagle River, north of Anchorage, Alaska, is that of missing Senior Airman Clinton Reeves. A fellow Airman was arrested and charged with six felony counts of tampering with evidence in the case. "We

  • Missing F-16 pilot's crash debris found in ocean

    Coast Guard searchers found crash debris Oct. 16 in the Atlantic Ocean believed to belong to a missing Air Force pilot's F-16 Fighting Falcon that collided Oct. 15 with another F-16 near the South Carolina coast during a night-training exercise, said an Air Force spokesman. "The Coast Guard has

  • Missing F-22 pilot identified

    The pilot of the F-22 aircraft that crashed Tuesday night has been identified as Capt. Jeffrey Haney, assigned to the 525th Fighter Squadron. Capt. Haney's current status is missing.The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control at 7:40 p.m. Alaska time Tuesday, while on a nighttime training

  • Missing F-22 pilot update

    Air Force officials here announced that search and rescue teams have found conclusive evidence the pilot of the F-22 Raptor missing since the night of Nov. 16 did not survive the crash.Capt. Jeffrey Haney, assigned to the 3rd Wing's 525th Fighter Squadron, has been missing since the crash, however,

  • Missing for 46 years, air commando laid to rest

    An air commando who died when his C-123 Provider flare ship was shot down over Ahn Khe, Vietnam, was laid to rest Oct. 26 at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.The 310th Air Commando Squadron loadmaster, Airman 1st Class Jerry Mack Wall, 24, was killed when his plane was hit by enemy fire and

  • Missing Korean War Airman identified

    Department of Defense officials announced Feb. 25 that the remains of an Air Force pilot, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will soon be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.Capt. Troy Cope of Norfolk, Ark., will be buried in Plano, Texas, on May

  • Missing major found

    Police in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, found Maj. Jill Metzger alive Sept. 8, four days after she disappeared during a shopping trip there. Bishkek police notified the U.S. embassy in the capital city at 3:15 p.m. EDT that they had found the officer. In Southwest Asia, U.S. Central Command Air Forces

  • Missing major in process of returning home

    Initial details of the ongoing investigation into the Air Force major reported missing Sept. 5 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and found alive Sept. 8 by Kyrgyz law enforcement officials indicate she may have been abducted, according to a statement by U.S. Embassy officials at Bishkek. The investigation by

  • Missing personnel records impact more than promotions

    When Senior Master Sgt. Randy Scanlan wasn't promoted to his current rank the first time his records met the board, he was a little confused. As a maintainer and an aerial gunner, he deployed often and received many decorations. When he was asked if he wanted to review his records before they met

  • Missing pilot from Vietnam War identified

    The remains of an Air Force pilot missing in action from the Vietnam War have been identified and returned to his family in Savannah Ga., according to the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office. A burial service is scheduled for July 3.Capt. David Phillips Jr. of Miami Beach, Fla., was

  • Missing pilot from Vietnam War identified

    The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced Aug. 15 that the remains of an Air Force pilot, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is Lt. Col. Alton C. Rockett Jr. of Birmingham,

  • Missing World War II Airman identified

    The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is 1st Lt. Shannon Estill, U.S. Army Air Forces, of Cedar

  • Missing World War II Airmen identified

    Nine Airmen missing in action from World War II have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors, officials from the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced June 27.The nine are 2nd Lt. Hugh Johnson Jr., Montgomery, Ala.; 2nd Lt. Byron Stenen,

  • Missing World War II Airmen identified

    The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office, or DPMO, announced today that two members of a four-man Army Air Forces crew missing in action from World War II have been identified. They are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors. The crew is pilot Capt. Douglas Wight of

  • Missing World War II Army Air Forces soldiers identified

    The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced Aug. 1 that remains of 12 U.S. servicemen, missing in action from World War II, had been identified and would be returned to their families for burial with full military honors. They are Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Jack E. Volz, 21,

  • Mission complete for C-130, C-17 aircrews supporting flood relief

    As flood waters recede and Pakistan's aid delivery shifts focus from air to ground transportation, the Pakistan government informed the U.S. recently that U.S. military aircraft and other international cargo plane airlift support was no longer required. At Pakistan's request, the U.S. military has

  • Mission complete: Reapers finish base security role in Afghanistan

    After a five-hour vehicle and foot patrol outside of Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Tech. Sgt. Gary Rand sets his gear down and talks to his fellow Airmen about the mission.The Reapers have just pulled into their compound after the final “outside the wire” mission patrolling an area around the

  • Mission continues during grounding of F-15s

    Lt. Gen. Gary L. North, U.S. Central Command's Combined Forces Air Component commander is maintaining assigned F-15E Strike Eagles on ground alert and will accomplish all assigned missions with a variety of fighter, attack and bomber aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles, under his command and

  • Mission failure means 'lights out' for engineers

    Every Air Force job is vital to accomplishing the mission. But the work of civil engineers affects anyone who uses power; if there is no one do to their job, it's lights out. Staff Sgt. Brian Sawyer is one of those civil engineers. When asked what he loves most about his job, Sergeant Sawyer

  • Mission focus combats complacency

    Two narrow wire fences -- one of looped concertina wire, one of interlaced metal strands a quarter inch thick -- are all that appear to stand between coalition forces and potential enemies.Appearances, however, can be deceiving, as integrated layers of defense provide protection for forces here.

  • Mission is out of this world

    Its material is found nowhere else on Earth but here, while its mission is out of this world. Detachment 5, 22nd Space Operations Squadron has an antenna that uses a durable Kevlar mix as its cover, the first of its kind in the world. They use it because the material must withstand 195-mph typhoon

  • Mission Monster Mash builds camaraderie

    A pilot who has been shot down and injured during a combat situation relies on the skills of an Air Force pararescueman to save his life and get him to safety. Known as PJs, these elite military men train to dodge bullets while protecting the people they rescue. To help prepare them for the

  • Mission of security forces constantly evolving

    Through the eyes of Staff Sgt. David Brown, the mission of the security forces has changed since the beginning of the war in Iraq. After all, this is his eighth deployment since Operation Iraqi Freedom started. As a sign of things to come, Airmen from the 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron

  • 'Mission One' at NORTHCOM: Defending the homeland

    Developing regional response capabilities, stepping up preparations for a no-notice catastrophe and maturing partnerships are among priorities at U.S. Northern Command, the new deputy commander said here Nov. 2."We're working very closely with the National Guard and (the Office of the Secretary of

  • 'Mission One' at NORTHCOM: Defending the homeland

    Developing regional response capabilities, stepping up preparations for a no-notice catastrophe and maturing partnerships are among priorities at U.S. Northern Command, the new deputy commander said here Oct. 26."We're working very closely with the National Guard and (the Office of the Secretary of

  • Mission success depends on refuelers

    The B-1 Lancers that drop bombs on targets cannot get to those targets without the support of the KC-135 Stratotankers and KC-10 Extenders that refuel them en route. The general premise of the missions seems simple: refuel the B-1s on the way to and from the area of responsibility. In reality,

  • Mission support

    Staff Sgt. Jennifer Shockley volunteers at the laundry facility at a forward-deployed air base in Southwest Asia. Since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, servicemembers from different organizations have taken over the duties of non-U.S. civilians who are no longer permitted on base. With more

  • Mission to McMurdo: Helping science in Antarctica

    A recent mission for U.S. Transportation Command proves its service members can get just about anything, anywhere.Members of the command stepped to the fore by building a pier in the southernmost harbor in the world: McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. This enabled the National Science Foundation staff to

  • Mission-ready Airman course graduates 11,000 strong

    The 372nd Training Squadron’s Detachment 12 graduated its 11,000th mission-ready Airman, or MRA, here recently. With their training complete at Luke Air Force Base, the newly-graduated crew chiefs will be able to use their specialized skills at their first permanent assignment.

  • Missions begin with air tasking order

    Though Red Flag-Alaska 06-2 is an enhanced training opportunity for the U.S. military, the game is still the same: war. Air Force active duty, National Guard and Reserve units from across the United States are participating in the two-week joint training exercise that started April 24.Since

  • Mississippi Guard hosts Southern Strike exercise

    The large-scale, joint and international combat exercise featured agile combat employment, counterinsurgency, close air support, non-combatant evacuations, and maritime special operations.

  • Mississippi Guard unit helps with Hurricane Gustav preparations

    When Jamie Jobe heard the knock on her door, she thought nothing of it. Having lived in Gulfport, Miss. most of her life, she was used to her neighbors coming over for a chat or the occasional youngster asking if her lawn needed mowing. This time it was neither. Instead, two soldiers in uniform told

  • Missouri Air Guard band performs at White House

    Sidewinder, the rock band element of the St. Louis, Mo.-based 571st Missouri Air National Guard Band made famous by a YouTube video, performed at the White House today in front of the Obamas, National Guard senior leaders and other attendees.The 10-member ensemble was invited to perform for First

  • Missouri Air Guard C-130s, crews fly to Chile

    Two Missouri Air National Guard C-130 Hercules transport aircraft with 47 crewmembers are en route March 5, to aid earthquake-ravaged Chile. 139th Airlift Wing officials sent the two aircraft, crews and maintenance support personnel from Puerto Rico, where they had been supporting U.S. Southern

  • Missouri Air National Guard gets sneak preview of B-2

    Missouri Air National Guard Airmen got a peek at a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber when it visited the 131st Fighter Wing here Sept. 9. Col. Greg Biscone, 509th Bomb Wing commander, piloted the B-2 from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., to St. Louis. It gave the Missouri Guardsmen an opportunity to see the

  • Missouri Air National Guardsmen man checkpoints

    Jon Taggert is a full-time political science major at Missouri State University most of the year, but June 20, and for the next few weeks, he's Airman 1st Class Taggert and he's helping to maintain order in the partially flooded town of Foley, Mo.Airman Taggert, a member of the 131st Security Forces

  • Missouri Guard helps St. Louis area in recovery

    Missouri National Guard citizen Soldiers and Airmen are being mobilized to support storm recovery efforts in the St. Louis area."The Missouri National Guard is proud to help the St. Louis area through this difficult time," said Maj. Gen. King Sidwell, the adjutant general for Missouri National

  • Missouri Guard unit first ever selected for B-2 mission

    Air Force officials announced March 16 that the 131st Fighter Wing at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis will join the elite B-2 mission at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. The announcement means the 131st Fighter Wing's Airmen will team up with the world's only B-2 long-range stealth bomber

  • Misuse of prescription drugs could cost Airmen career, jail time

    Sitting in his room with a headache, an Airman contemplates whether or not to take pain medication that was prescribed to him for a tooth extraction several months ago.He decides it's pain medication, and he's suffering from pain, so there can be no harm. The next day, the Airman tests positive in a

  • MIT research enhances high-speed computers

    Air Force-sponsored research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is accelerating the development of quantum, or high-speed, computers which help Air Force specialists with cryptoanalysis, or 'code-breaking,' microwave electronics and materials science. Chief researcher Dr. William Oliver of

  • Mix it up

    ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. (AFPN) -- Senior Airman Mandy Duran mixes a medication compound for a patient. The medication is used to soothe sore throats or cold sores. Although most medications come pre-mixed and packaged, there are some occasions when pharmacists are required to compound

  • Mixed martial Airman

    Senior Airman Jeremiah Garber, an analyst with the 355th Maintenance Group, intends to take his mixed martial arts game to the next level with intense training in Arizona.

  • Mobile aeromedical staging facility cares for war's wounded

    Providing medical care to injured soldiers and airmen is the main job for 26 active duty and Reserve airmen of the 387th Air Expeditionary Group, deployed to a location in Southwest Asia.Comprising the Expeditionary Mobile Aeromedical Staging Facility staff, the team members are a model of the

  • Mobile aeromedical staging facility touches lives in Iraq

    From Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to Tallil Air Base, Iraq, may seem a long way, but for Air Force Reservists of the 433rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, it was the chance of a lifetime to practice skills that are literally a matter of life or death to a wounded soldier.Their journey to Tallil

  • Mobile app connects Airmen to their base

    Want to connect with friends and family? There's an app for that. Need to find the best restaurant around? There's an app for that. Want to see what movies are playing nearby? There's an app for that.Discovering what events your base is hosting on a particular day? Now there is an app for that,

  • Mobile app helps iPhone users 'Be Ready'

    TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- The "Be Ready" mobile application is now available for download on most Apple devices like the iPhone and iPad.Previously offered for Motorola Android products only, this app was developed by the Air Force Civil Engineer Center's Emergency Management Division

  • Mobile app provides biofeedback for patients

    The Department of Defense released a smart phone mobile application to help service members use the therapeutic benefits of biofeedback.BioZen, a mobile app from the Defense Department's National Center for Telehealth and Technology based here, known as T2, uses wireless sensors to show users their

  • Mobile app supports new hire process

    The “Newcomers” feature on the Air Force Materiel Command instance of the Air Force Connect mobile application provides new employees with step-by-step pre-employment and onboarding process information, checklists, installation maps, pay and benefits data, making the first days of work easier for

  • Mobile CASF training course now available worldwide

    Sheppard Air Force Base medical training took another step toward the future with the certification of the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility Mobile Training Course taught here."Certification means we can go anywhere now and teach the course," said Maj. Tammy St. Armand, an instructor

  • Mobile communications system undergoes final tests

    The 682nd Air Support Operations Squadron performed one of the final tests on their new mobile, state-of-the-art Air Support Operations Center Gateway during the base's operational readiness exercise Feb 12 to 14. The Gateway, a vehicle mounted communications system, improves situational awareness

  • Mobile dental bus helps drive away plaque

    Being assigned to a geographically separated unit can sometimes create difficulties and lost man-hours when it comes to annual appointments like dental checkups. That is not the case for GSUs aligned with Spangdahlem.The 52nd Dental Squadron’s dental bus is a 40-foot long, fully functioning dental

  • Mobile language class makes impression

    With their clipboards and homework packets in hand, students at the Defense Language Institute English Language Center boarded the bus and headed for the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas.However, this is no ordinary field trip. It is a mobile classroom, and the students are

  • Mobile readiness team gets pallets back into the system

    The Airmen assigned to Task Force 586 here recently took on an additional tasking to redistribute equipment and supplies for the Army. Mobile redistribution teams go to forward-operating bases throughout Iraq to collect excess supplies, and the Airmen searched for pallets crucial for the air

  • Mobile readiness team supports Army in Iraq

    Members of the 732nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron Mobile Readiness Team are deployed here "in-lieu-of" Army forces and support the American Soldiers by recovering government assets that have been damaged, misplaced or unaccounted for in Iraq. The team recently deployed to Camp

  • Mobile surgical team trains under cover of darkness

    In the middle of a seemingly deserted field shrouded in darkness, a once vacant spot of grass became home to a fully functioning operating room Oct. 18 here. Under the cover of night, using little more than flashlights and carefully coordinated teamwork, Joint Task Force-Bravo Medical Element's

  • Mobile Web app makes personnel accountability easier

    Software developers have created a new mobile Web application that allows total force Airmen the ability to account for themselves and family members from their smartphone during a crisis or natural disaster.During a crisis, the Air Force uses the Air Force Personnel Accountability and Assessment

  • Mobility Air Forces Airmen shoulder success of fuel conservation efforts

    Experienced marathon athletes are rarely haphazard about running. From the morning's breakfast ingredients to stretching minutes before they start, marathon performance relies heavily on controlled efficiency. Similarly, air mobility performance increasingly relies on controlled fuel efficiency. As

  • Mobility Air Forces provide wartime capability, humanitarian assistance

    The same mobility machines and personnel that deliver critical capabilities to U.S. joint forces in combat have also proven their mettle in humanitarian missions, said Air Mobility Command's top officer at the Air Force Association's 2011 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition here Sept.

  • Mobility aircraft, personnel poised to support Haiti relief operations

    Air Mobility Command forces are actively working to support relief operations in Haiti after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated the Caribbean nation Jan. 12, AMC officials said here Jan. 13. President Barack Obama directed a swift, coordinated effort from the U.S., saying "the people of Haiti

  • Mobility Airmen continue Haiti relief operations

    Air Mobility Command Airmen have flown more than 470 sorties in support of Haiti relief efforts, rushing food, water and medical supplies to the people of Haiti.In fact, since Jan. 13, AMC Airmen and aircraft have delivered nearly 2,250 tons of cargo and about 2,000 passengers to Haiti and evacuated

  • Mobility Airmen continue peak pace for Operation Enduring Freedom

    When President Barack Obama authorized an additional 17,000 troops to "surge" into Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom in February, mobility Airmen answered the call. To move that many personnel, a concentrated effort in the mobility airlift and air refueling community was needed. According

  • Mobility Airmen continue to deliver for warfighters

    Mobility Airmen delivered 4.1 million pounds of goods were dropped to forward operating bases, combat outposts and other austere locations in support of ground forces in September continuing to feed, fuel and arm the fight.September marked the fourth consecutive month of an escalation of supplies

  • Mobility Airmen deliver a mission of love to Guatemala

    The Denton Program is a Department of Defense transportation program that moves humanitarian cargo, donated by U.S. based non-governmental organizations to developing nations to ease human suffering. The approved cargo is transported by DoD land, air or sea assets on a space-available basis and is

  • Mobility Airmen deliver aid to Georgia

    Air Force mobility Airmen and aircraft delivered more than 78 tons of humanitarian aid supplies Aug. 13 and 14 to the people of the Republic of Georgia. Two Air Force C-17 Globemaster IIIs carried relief supplies including medical items, blankets, sheets, cots, air mattresses and sleeping bags from

  • Mobility Airmen deliver rapid response to aid Haiti

    Airmen and assets from Air Mobility Command quickly mobilized for the Haitian relief effort to establish the capability for sustained air mobility operations here.A mere 13 hours after receiving the official tasking Airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing based at Joint Base

  • Mobility Airmen deliver search-and-rescue teams to Japan

    Two Air Mobility Command C-17 Globemaster IIIs departed the U.S. March 12 to deliver search and rescue equipment and personnel to Japan in support of humanitarian relief efforts after an earthquake and tsunami struck the island nation March 11. President Barack Obama pledged U.S. support,

  • Mobility Airmen drive Haiti relief forward with C-17 deliveries

    Staff Sgt. Caleb Carmody helps to unload supplies from a Charleston C-17 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti Jan. 15, 2010. Air Mobility Command is participating in a swift and coordinated relief effort to save lives and alleviate human suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake. Sergeant Barmody is an air

  • Mobility Airmen enhance ACE, MCA capabilities during three-week OST

    Completing 106 sorties, 254 flying hours, and nearly 2,000 training events, the 61st AS, 19th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 19th Logistics Readiness Squadron, and 19th Operations Support Squadron sought to tackle Agile Combat Employment, distributed operations, and the Multi-Capable Airmen concept.