NATO Air Policing operations

U.S. Air Force News

  • Dover entomologists help curb spread of Zika

    After Italy issued aircraft guidelines to combat the Zika epidemic, the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron Pest Management section is ensuring Air Force aircraft are able to fly in country.

  • Guardsman sprints to multiple medals at Invictus Games

    Staff Sgt. Gideon Connelly, the only Air National Guardsman on the American team, earned a silver medal in the 4x100 relay and bronze medals in the 100- and 200-meter races during this year’s Invictus Games at the ESPN World Wide of Sports Complex in Orlando.

  • Raptors complete successful European deployment

    Twelve F-22 Raptors from the 95th Fighter Squadron and about 220 Airmen from Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, completed on May 8 a month-long deployment to Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England.

  • Cadaver training prepares AF medics for real-world encounters

    The study of human anatomy has helped further medical science since the third century. Often reserved for medical students or researchers, cadaver training at the 59th Medical Wing is helping medical technicians today build confidence and hone critical life-saving skills.

  • AF Ranger instructors prep Airmen for rigorous course

    About 50 to 60 Airmen a year volunteer to attend the bi-annual Air Force Security Forces Center Pre-Ranger Course at Fort Bliss, Texas. Passing the course, which mirrors the first two weeks of Ranger School, is a requirement to attend the school.

  • AF defenders, SKorea soldiers train to fend off opposing forces

    Defending the men and women of Osan Air Base is one challenge to the 51st Security Forces Squadron, but defending an entire country is quite another. To bring a force multiplier to the table, the 51st SFS defenders trained with South Korean army special operations forces during a training scenario

  • Around the Air Force: May 10

    On this look around the Air Force we go to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where the Air Force Research Laboratory is testing transcranial direct-current stimulation, and also at Wright-Patterson AFB, the HH-60W combat rescue helicopter is in development.

  • Assuring maintenance quality for the RPA mission

    Quality assurance Airmen in the maintenance world are known by many titles -- the “best of the best,” the “eyes and ears,” and even “sharks in the water” for their no nonsense attitudes toward maintenance. No matter how they’re viewed, Airmen of the 432nd Maintenance Group QA shop are accountable

  • Hill F-35s form up for combat training

    F-35 Lightning II pilots from Hill Air Force Base began flying routine four-ship combat training missions at the Utah Test and Training Range in the west desert May 2.

  • Academy grad returns to the mat for chance at becoming a champion

    Coming from a small town in southern Pennsylvania, 1st Lt. Clayton Gable, a 2nd Space Warning Squadron supervisory statistician, grew up in a family that had a heritage in wrestling. He would excel in high school and at the Academy and now wrestles on the Air Force team.

  • Air Force civic leaders visit USAFE

    The Air Force Civic Leader Program is an Air Staff-level program whose membership is comprised of community leaders selected by the Air Force major commands, National Guard Bureau and Headquarters Air Force.

  • Air University wargamers battle to keep America's lights on

    Cyber experts from across the military, government agencies and private industry joined forces at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, April 27, to mitigate future cyberattacks within the U.S. The Air Force Cyber College's two-day wargame brought the CIA, FBI, Goldman Sachs and others into

  • Forces converge for Emerald Warrior 2016

    Several hundred U.S. and partner-nation military members gathered inside King Auditorium at Hurlburt Field, Florida, May 2 for a mass in-briefing session that marked the official kick off of Emerald Warrior 2016.

  • AMC Rodeo competition evolves into Mobility Guardian exercise

    Air Mobility Command's first Mobility Guardian readiness exercise is planned for 2017, from July 30 - Aug. 12, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The exercise will be one of the most realistic, real-world, scenario-driven exercises the command has ever undertaken, said Maj. Gen. Jerry

  • KC-10 serves 25 continuous years in CENTCOM

    For more than two decades, the KC-10 Extender has been refueling U.S. and coalition aircraft from an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. This year marked 25 years of continuous operation for the aircraft from this location, and it is a vital piece in accomplishing U.S. Air Forces Central Command

  • Goldfein nominated as 21st CSAF

    Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced April 26 that the president has nominated Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein to be the 21st chief of staff of the Air Force, succeeding Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, who has served in the position since 2012.

  • Beale selected for Resilient Energy Demonstration Initiative

    The Air Force has selected Beale Air Force Base, California, as the lead site for its Resilient Energy Demonstration Initiative (REDI) to develop and deploy innovative energy resilience technologies and business models, and then apply the results to other missions and installations across the Air

  • F-35 program accelerating, at 'pivot point,' program chief tells Congress

    The program executive officer of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft program said the rapidly changing, growing and accelerating program is at a "pivot point" as officials address a number of challenges. The F-35 program, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter program, is of vital importance to U.S.

  • Air Force ROTC returns to Harvard

    Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James helped return the Air Force's tie to one of the country's most prestigious institutions April 22. The secretary signed an agreement at Harvard University, Massachusetts, re-establishing the Air Force ROTC detachment there.

  • Pentagon spokesman: Up to 250 more U.S. forces to deploy to Syria

    Up to 250 additional U.S. personnel are being deployed to Syria to support local forces on the ground and build on successes of U.S. forces already deployed there in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Pentagon's press secretary said April 25.

  • Lakenheath strengthens royal ties during Joint Warrior

    Airmen from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, recently completed three weeks of intense threat-reaction training missions during Joint Warrior 2016 in Scotland. Joint Warrior is a NATO exercise, which prepares rescue coalition force units for potential real-world scenarios that could be

  • Airman swims into university’s hall of fame

    For one 96th Test Wing Airman, the wild blue yonder isn't overhead but below and in front of his gaze as he stands on the starting block waiting for his signal. Upon the alert, he blasts off and pierces his calm blue horizon to begin a competitive swim. Senior Airman Francisco Perez Castillo, a 96th

  • Humanitarian aid delivered to Haiti through Denton Program

    Members from the 701st Airlift Squadron delivered humanitarian aid to Port-au-Prince on April 21 as part of ongoing Denton Program efforts. Two C-17 Globemaster IIIs were filled with 32 combined pallets as they transported more than 170,000 pounds of humanitarian aid to Haiti.

  • B-52 integrates, trains with French allies

    A B-52 Stratofortress from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, conducted a long-range training sortie April 20, to train and integrate with the French air force.

  • Battlefield Airmen pay tribute to fallen commander

    More than 200 Airmen from the 93rd Air Ground Operations Wing gathered at Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida, on April 15 to mourn and pay tribute to Lt. Col. William Schroeder, who was fatally shot a week before.

  • PACAF Airmen stand up air contingent in Philippines

    Airmen assigned to the Pacific Air Forces stood up the first rotation of an air contingent at Clark Air Base, Philippines, April 16, following a joint announcement by Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin in Manila that highlighted several initiatives aimed

  • Army, Air Force train for short takeoff, landing

    Airmen from the 321st Special Tactics Squadron out of Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, and Soldiers from the 173rd Brigade Support Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade out of Vicenza, Italy, secured the Hohenfels Training Area’s short takeoff and landing strip (STOL) April 13, as part of their

  • Exercise Max Thunder 16 launches at Kunsan

    U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy personnel and aircraft will train with South Korean air force counterparts in the bilateral training exercise Max Thunder 16, at Kunsan Air Base April 15-29.

  • Powerlifting duo competes, wins big

    Co-workers occasionally find common interests between them. For two Airmen at Scott Air Force Base that turned into powerlifting competitions.

  • AF names candidate bases, criteria for choosing next F-35A sites

    Air Force officials announced April 12 that Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona; Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida; Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas; and Whiteman AFB, Missouri, are candidate bases for the first Reserve-led F-35A Lightning II location.

  • Air Force approves RPA initiatives

    The Air Force recently approved two initiatives for the remotely piloted aircraft career field. First, eight RPA reconnaissance squadrons will be redesignated as attack squadrons. Second, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III authorized RPA aircrews to log combat time when flying an

  • AF presents 2014, 2015 Sijan award winners

    Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III presented the 2014 and 2015 Lance P. Sijan Leadership Awards to eight Airmen in the Airman’s Hall on April 7 at the Pentagon.

  • Carter praises National Guard Bureau chief nominee

    Defense Secretary Ash Carter congratulated Air Force Lt. Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel on his nomination April 5 to serve as the next chief of the National Guard Bureau and, if approved by Congress, to receive his fourth star. Lengyel, now the Guard Bureau’s vice chief, would succeed Army Gen. Frank J.

  • Around the Air Force: April 5

    This look around the Air Force takes us to Baltimore where military family members arrived after departing Turkey. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announces the creation of the Operation Inherent Resolve campaign medal and the 148th Fighter Wing, from Duluth, Minnesota, prepares for a deployment to

  • Flares keep birds in the sky

    They are hot, bright and a visual spectacle. But they are not your run-of-the-mill fireworks being shot off in celebration. Flares used by pilots are life-saving emergency countermeasures that keep Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, aircraft in the skies delivering airlift cargo to the warfighter.

  • Gorenc discusses European Reassurance Initiative, air police mission

    The commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa said April 5 that the increase in European Reassurance Initiative funds next year will allow his command to improve its presence and facilities on the eastern side of NATO and to deter Russia. Gen. Frank Gorenc also told the Defense

  • B-52 conducts long-range training with Colombian forces

    A B-52 Stratofortress from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, conducted a long-range training sortie to engage with South American military partners April 1-2. During the course of the 27-hour, nonstop mission, the aircrew trained with the Colombian air force before executing a flyover of the

  • F-16 crews soar in South Korean exercise

    F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots from the 80th Fighter Squadron practiced combined flying operations March 28-31 alongside counterparts from the South Korean air force’s 19th Fighter Wing at Jungwon Air Base during Buddy Wing 16-3.

  • Eielson selected to receive operational F-35A aircraft

    Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, was selected as the new home for the Air Force’s first operational overseas F-35A Lightning IIs. Air Force officials chose Eielson AFB after a lengthy analysis of the location’s operational considerations, installation attributes, environmental factors and cost.

  • Airfield management Airmen support combat sorties

    A team of Airmen at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, is responsible for inspecting almost 50 million square feet of pavement every day, as they support operations at the largest airfield in the U.S. Air Forces Central Command.

  • Cadets, special tactics Airmen honor fallen Academy grad

    More than 150 special tactics Airmen and U.S. Air Force Academy cadets honored fallen Academy graduate and Silver Star medal recipient Capt. Matthew D. Roland, dedicating a memorial display and completing memorial pushups in formation here March 30.

  • First families arrive at Ramstein from Turkey

    The first group of families arrived at Ramstein Air Base March 30 after the State Department and the secretary of defense approved the ordered departure of dependents of service members and Defense Department civilian personnel currently stationed in Adana, Izmir, and Mugla, Turkey.

  • Wartime medical innovation saves lives at home

    In January, the Food and Drug Administration approved the REBOA catheter, or resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta. The REBOA is a device that’s inserted into a hemorrhaging vessel and stops or slows blood flow to that injury, while allowing blood flow to continue to other body

  • Hanscom SFS captures best in AF again

    For the second year in a row, and the third time in four years, members of the 66th Security Forces Squadron at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, are celebrating their selection as the Air Force Outstanding Small Size Security Forces Unit award.

  • State Department, DOD approve dependents’ departure from Turkey

    The secretary of defense, in coordination with the secretary of state, has authorized the ordered departure of all Defense Department dependents not assigned to chief of mission authority from Adana (to include Incirlik Air Base), Ismir and Mugla, Turkey.

  • Airmen reflect on B-1 bomber attacks over Libya

    Five years ago, a phone rang in the 28th Bomb Wing vice commander's office and made history. Less than 72 hours later, on March 27, 2011, more than 1,100 maintenance personnel launched four B-1B Lancer bombers from the Ellsworth Air Force Base flightline in blizzard conditions to support Operation

  • Putting the Pegasus through its paces

    As the Air Force gets ready for the arrival of its newest aerial refueling and strategic military transport aircraft, a diverse group of Airmen is working hard to make sure the KC-46A Pegasus is ready to meet the service’s needs. Lt. Col. John Mikal is one of them.

  • Evolution of GPS: From Desert Storm to today's users

    In a desert, it's easy to get lost. There are no roads, no signposts, nor vegetation to give locational clues. That was the grim situation facing U.S. and coalition forces during the 1990-1991 crisis in the Persian Gulf, known as Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

  • Flying the RPA mission

    The aircraft is ready to fly, the ground control stations are up and running, and the crews have been briefed. Now it’s time to fly the remotely piloted aircraft. The pilot, sensor operator, and mission intelligence coordinator step into the control station to prepare for flight, but they’re not

  • Robinson tapped to be first female combatant commander

    Defense Secretary Ash Carter has named a new commander for U.S. Northern Command to be confirmed by the Senate. If confirmed, the new Northern Command chief will be the first woman to lead a U.S. combatant command.

  • Cope Tiger 2016 enhances capabilities through teamwork

    Readiness and continued development of multilateral interoperability remains a key priority for Indo-Asia-Pacific partners participating in the 22nd year of exercise Cope Tiger, a joint multilateral field training exercise that began March 7 at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base. During the two-week

  • ACC commander addresses RPA health to Senate Armed Services Committee

    Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the commander of Air Combat Command, addressed plans to improve the health of the Air Force remotely piloted aircraft enterprise March 16 during a hearing of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the hearing was to

  • Air Force leaders present FY 2017 budget request

    The military services’ secretaries and chiefs presented their respective branch’s fiscal year 2017 budget plan March 16 on Capitol Hill.Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III testified on the Air Force’s fiscal 2017 national defense authorization

  • Goldfein: Optimistic about future of airpower

    Equals part challenge and opportunity -- that’s how Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein described as the current state of the Air Force March 10 during a Defense Programs Conference in Washington, D.C.

  • Mildenhall NCO risks everything; recognized with Airman’s Medal

    Staff Sgt. Vicente Gomez, a 100th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, made the usual right turn onto Eriswell Road toward Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, but came across smoke rising from two vehicles which had just collided moments earlier and a third car that had been run off the road.

  • Airmen to appear on ‘Weather Geeks’

    For some Airmen, being called a weather geek is a term of endearment. Two Airmen from the 557th Weather Wing recently embraced their inner geek and will share their passion and expertise on an upcoming episode of "Weather Geeks" on the Weather Channel.

  • Fairchild Airman named Red Cross Hometown Hero

    Master Sgt. Stephanie Horn, the health services manager for the 92nd Medical Group, was recognized as an American Red Cross Hometown Hero Feb. 26 by the American Red Cross Association for her lifesaving actions in January 2015 in Spokane, Washington.

  • F-35 to touch down at air shows around the world

    Aviation and F-35A Lightning II fanatics have something special to look forward to this 2016 air show season. The Lightning II qualified March 6 at the Heritage Flight Conference at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, to take part in the Air Combat Command Air Force Heritage Flight program.

  • Army Rangers exercise close air support with F-35s

    Although the Air Force separated from the Army in 1947, the two forces have a long history of working together to dominate the sky and ground in combat. This tradition continues today with the 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment's recent visit to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, to conduct

  • Combat camera Airmen hone battlefield capabilities through Scorpion Lens

    More than 100 photo and broadcast journalists from the 1st Combat Camera Squadron at Joint Base Charleston and the 3rd Combat Camera Squadron from Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, are participating in Scorpion Lens 2016, an ability to survive and operate exercise at McCrady Training Center on Fort

  • James, Welsh testify before Congress

    The Air Force’s top two senior leaders testified before the House Appropriations Committee on Defense March 2 and the Senate Armed Services Committee March 3. They attested to the critical need of readiness. With less than half of the Air Force’s combat forces prepared for a high-end fight, the

  • Airmen look ahead after historic GPS satellite mission

    Capt. Trung Nguyen was born the year the first of the latest series of GPS satellites was blasted into space. Twenty seven years later, the Airman helped process the final GPS IIF satellite, worth about $131 million, before it was launched on an Atlas V rocket in early February.

  • Tuskegee Airman reflects on diversity

    It was 1944 and the U.S. was in the midst of two battles -- a war on two sides of the world and the onslaught of cultural changes on the homefront. Meanwhile, a young African-American Soldier picked up trash on the white sandy beaches at Keesler Field, Mississippi. He had been briefed that although

  • C-17 Airmen expand global reach

    Forging combat mobility forces is something that the aircrew instructors of the C-17 Globemaster III take extremely serious, but that mission is not just limited to skies over the U.S. A team of Airmen from Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, recently spent two

  • Hill's F-35s drop first weapons

    Airmen from the 388th and 419th fighter wings dropped laser-guided bombs at the Utah Test and Training Range the week of Feb. 25, marking the first time an F-35 Lightning II combat unit has deployed weapons from the F-35A.

  • State of AF: Modernizing for next offset strategy

    Budget plans are poised to keep the Air Force atop of its game, with a new bomber and advanced technology to help Airmen execute a future offset strategy, the head of the service announced at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium Feb. 26.

  • Airpower leaders stress stronger role for Airmen in future ops

    Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the commander of the Air Combat Command, and Gen. Robin Rand, the commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command, kicked off the Air Force Association’s 32nd annual Air Warfare Symposium Feb. 25 in Orlando, Florida, with a presentation on global precision strike, a group of

  • AF discusses game-changing technologies during defense innovation hearing

    The Air Force’s pursuit of game-changing technologies and the need to attract and retain talented science, technology, engineering, and mathematics professionals were at the center of discussions during a hearing on defense innovation before the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on

  • Welsh presents AF update at AFA

    Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III outlined Air Force operations from 2015, the service’s plan for 2016, and what is to come in the future at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium Feb. 25.