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U.S. Air Force News

  • 'Trial by Flag' for new F-35A pilots

    F-35A pilots who recently graduated their initial training and are currently deployed to Nellis Air Force Base as part of exercise Red-Flag 19-1. Now they are being battle-tested.

  • AETC launches podcast focused on “Developing Mach-21 Airmen”

    Air Education and Training Command has launched a new professional development podcast to help communicate and inform Total Force Airmen across the globe on relevant, timely topics related to the recruiting, training, education and development fields.

  • Pegasus Wings its way to 97th AMW

    The 97th Air Mobility Wing welcomed its newest weapon system, the KC-46A Pegasus, to the official training unit of the Air Force’s state-of-the-art tanker aircraft at Altus Air Force Base, Feb. 8.

  • Pilot training moving at the speed of innovation

    The 80th Flying Training Wing is moving at the speed of innovation and is bound to only get faster as visionaries incorporate the latest in mixed realities to boost undergraduate pilot training.

  • Kansas Guard Airman innovates superior training method

    With a high deployment tempo and limited aircraft, finding the aircraft available for boom operators to practice tying down cargo to the floor of the jet was almost always a problem. Master Sgt. Nathan Neidhardt, 190th Operations Group aircrew training noncommissioned officer in charge, solved this

  • Project HeRO improves squadron health habits

    A new Air Force Health and Readiness Optimization program, or HeRO, seeks to partner with squadrons by using data to help Airmen improve health habits that impact readiness.HeRO represents a reboot of Air Force Health Promotion efforts. It is designed to target at-risk squadrons using data and

  • Helping F-35A pilots operate, survive at Red Flag

    The F-35 Lightning II is lethal and survivable in almost any environment, but it’s just a machine, unable to do anything without a skilled pilot. Those pilots need gear to interface with the jet, operate and survive.

  • Silver Flag performs first exercise since Hurricane Michael

    Hurricane Michael altered the landscape where many Airmen worked, trained and lived. With the flood of changes, a return normalcy is a priority for the base. Tyndall Air Force Base's first step to normal operations was to reestablish its mission sets. The 823rd REDHORSE Squadron Detachment 1

  • Air Force ends promotion testing for E-7 and above

    The Air Force announced today it is removing the Weighted Airman Promotion System testing requirement for active-duty promotions to the grades of E-7 through E-9, beginning this fall with the 2019 E-9 promotion cycle.

  • Protecting the force day in and day out

    It takes Airmen from every base and job to execute the deployed mission at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. This same concept applies to the 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron’s Force Protection unit, where Airmen from every Air Force specialty code to help carry out the mission.

  • AFLCMC aids Kessel Run in recruiting new rebels

    An innovative effort to speed up talent acquisition for the Air Force compressed a months-long employment process to just weeks, when 28 on-the-spot job offers were made to candidates at the Kessel Run hiring event in Boston held January 23-24.

  • AtHoc Emergency Mass Notification System receives upgrade

    AtHoc, an interactive warning system that allows senior leaders to inform base personnel of urgent information such as base closures or delayed openings, recently received updates to its system that requires the user to verify contact information.

  • Air Force offers EOD retention bonuses

    The Air Force has been granted an exception to policy enabling it to offer Selective Retention Bonuses to a wider population of Explosive Ordnance Disposal senior noncommissioned officers, if they agree to continue serving in EOD for a minimum of three years.

  • Airlift unit tests mettle in joint Patriot Palm exercise

    Teaming up with Federal Emergency Management Agency, the FBI, Army, Coast Guard and Marine Corps, the 315th Contingency Response Flight completed Exercise Patriot Palm, a joint-service emergency and natural disaster response exercise, coordinated by the Air Force Reserve. The event is designed to

  • Around the Air Force: Pegasus Ceremony / Enlisted Academy Instructors

    On this look Around the Air Force, the secretary of the Air Force and chief of staff of the Air Force commemorate the first KC-46 Pegasus at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas and enlisted Airmen will be hired for faculty teaching positions at the Air Force Academy. Hosted by Senior Airman Cory

  • Registration opens for 3rd annual I-WEPTAC

    The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center announces registration for the third annual Installation and Mission Support Weapons and Tactics Conference is open.

  • Virtual training platform maintains, improves military surgeons' skills

    It is vital for medical Airmen to continuously maintain and improve their skills. To access more training opportunities, military surgeons are looking to virtual training platforms. The Air Force is working with sister services to study a virtual training platform called Crowd-Sourced Assessment of

  • 97 AMW boom operators prepare for future KC-46 students

    The 56th Air Refueling Squadron has been training the past few months to ensure they are ready for the arrival of the KC-46 Pegasus. While simulators are useful, scheduling and usage can create delays that slow the process of training. That is where part-task trainers, or PTTs come into play.

  • KC-46 hits milestone at Edwards AFB

    Fielding began last week on America’s newest air refueling tanker aircraft – the KC-46 Pegasus. Operationalizing a new military aircraft does not happen often, but when it does, it typically goes through Edwards Air Force Base – the center of the aerospace testing universe. Regardless of whether it

  • 375th MDSS team repairs life-saving equipment across 13 states

    The technicians who work here belong to the 375th Medical Support Squadron’s Medical Equipment Repair Center—commonly referred to as MERC. It is one of only a few centers scattered throughout the Air Force qualified to repair and maintain life-saving medical equipment.

  • Joint Simulation Environment inches closer to reality

    The 412th Electronic Warfare Group is one step closer to bringing the Joint Simulation Environment to life at Edwards Air Force Base. The 412th EWG recently began work to pave the way for ultimately building a new facility to house the JSE.

  • Goldfein gets up close view of new T-X trainer

    After his first up-close view Jan. 15 of a ready-to-fly T-X, the Air Force’s training aircraft of the future, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein could have been expected to marvel at the technical sophistication of a state-of-the-art plane designed and manufactured not only with future

  • Share your adventure

    Many Air Force reservists chat about their duty weekends with others, but that talk can be part of the “Get 1 Now” program to keep the Air Force Reserve strong by reaching new potential recruits.

  • AFIT earns new research classification ranking

    The Air University’s Air Force Institute of Technology entered the category of High Research Activity for a doctoral university from the 2018 update of the Carnegie classification. AFIT is the only Department of Defense academic institution to hold this specific categorization.

  • Offutt hub for new Air Force comptroller software

    The 55th Comptroller Squadron Financial Management Flight recently began testing a new scanning software, EPHESOFT. The software is used to send documentation to the Air Force Financial Services Center at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, responsible for the processing and payment of temporary

  • 380th ESFS and ECES conduct joint training

    The 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron military working dogs team conducted a small-scale training event with 380th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal and fire department Jan. 15 at Al Dhafra Air Base.

  • CSAF lauds combat RPA innovation

    Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David L. Goldfein visited Creech Air Force Base to meet with 432nd Wing and 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing Airmen, Jan. 15.

  • AFLCMC team working to acquire next generation fixed-wing helmet

    The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Human Systems Division working with members of the Advanced Tactical Acquisition Corps or ATAC, one of the center’s premier leadership development programs, are in the early stages of acquiring the next generation helmet for aircrews in fixed-wing

  • The 736th SFS are defenders of the force

    The dictionary defines the word “defender” as a person who defends someone or something. It’s no coincidence security force members throughout the Air Force use this moniker. Defender is well-suited; however, just one word could not speak to their flexibility, warrior ethos or enormous

  • Travis, Army transport Black Hawks to Alaska

    From Jan. 11 to 13, it was the job of the C-5M Super Galaxy aircrew and aerial port specialists at Travis Air Force, California to join in efforts with the Army to transport four UH-60 Black Hawks from California to the helicopters’ home base at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

  • BLUE: Blueprint to Battlefield

    Getting new technology from the lab bench to the warfighter has taken on new urgency as the Air Force explores innovative ways to move ideas quickly from blueprint to battlefield. Those efforts are already paying off with advancements that are having a direct effect on missions around the world.

  • Email in the cloud: CHES phase 1 completion

    On Nov. 8, 2018, the Air Force Network Integration Center, or AFNIC, concluded the first phase of the Air Force’s transition to Cloud Hosted Enterprise Services, completing the migration of 555,000 continental U.S. based Air Force hosted e-mail accounts to a Microsoft Office 365 collaboration

  • AF-wide lodging rate increase effective Jan. 1

    Effective Jan. 1, the Air Force Lodging Program has increased nightly lodging rates service-wide in support of Department of Defense reform objectives to make business operations more efficient and provide Airmen with an improved lodging experience.

  • Arkansas Airman fixes hospital equipment in Guatemala

    Throughout a week-long medical readiness training exercise, 30 Airmen from the 189th Airlift Wing and 188th Wing saw more than 2,000 patients. While that number is a feat in itself, one Airman used his knowledge to support the local community in a different way.

  • REDHORSE and Prime BEEF building up ADAB

    The 1st Expeditionary Civil Engineer Group provides theater-wide engineering technical services, light and heavy troop labor construction and repairs within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in order to engineer combat power and establish and sustain combat platforms for USCENTCOM and

  • JB Langley surgical team goes 'purple'

    A joint surgical team comprised of three separate branches assembled at U.S. Air Force Hospital Langley at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, in December 2018 to perform an operation.

  • 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

  • Uniform code of military justice changes

    Effective Jan. 1, 2019, the Military Justice Act of 2016 will instate the most reform to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and Manual for Courts-Martial in decades, modernizing dated aspects of the military justice system while also providing transparency.

  • First GPS III satellite successfully launched

    The Air Force and its mission partners successfully launched the first Global Positioning Systems III satellite Dec. 23 from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The Lockheed Martin-built satellitewas carried to orbit aboard a Space Exploration Technologies

  • Retired Airman’s resilience sets leading example

    Karah Behrend’s tattooed arms and wild blue hair aren’t the only reasons she stands out on the rugby field. Rugby is a relatively new hobby for Behrend, though her practiced technique paints a different picture. She performs with the intensity, coordination and endurance of an experienced athlete.

  • Air Force Marathon registration to open January 1

    WRIGHT PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) -- Registration for the 23rd Annual Air Force Marathon opens at midnight Jan. 1, 2019.  Runners can register at www.usafmarathon.com by clicking the registration tab.“We’re excited about offering an almost entirely new race experience that we believe

  • From start to finish: Air Force Reserve MTI's lead BMT total force flights

    Ten Air Force Reserve 433rd Training Squadron military training instructors guided four total force basic military training flights through eight and a half weeks of training and education in preparation for their Dec. 14 BMT graduation at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. It was the first

  • Joining forces: Test team completes fourth Orange Flag of 2018

    In the skies above California, an F-35 Lightning II and F-16 Fighting Falcon from Edwards Air Force Base, are joined by an F-15E Strike Eagle and F-22 Raptor from the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron out of Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, along with a Navy F-18 Hornet from Air Test and Evaluation

  • Santa, Elves jump for Operation Toy Drop 2018

    Santa Claus and his elves delivered toys to children via military freefall and static-line jumps as part of the 7th annual Operation Toy Drop event on Alzey Drop Zone, Germany Dec. 11-13, 2018.

  • Super Galaxy: Aeromedical evacuation's biggest ally

    During a cold, gloomy first week of December, total force Airmen teamed up at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, to test the capability of the Air Force’s largest aircraft to perform aeromedical evacuation during a proof of concept event.

  • The American Chopper of Aircraft Maintenance

    With the eight 13 hour flights the aircraft of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing have on a daily basis, some parts of the aircraft can wear down, crack or break over periods of time.The 380th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron fabrication flight, also known as “Fab Flight” or the “American Chopper”

  • A1C with Ph.D. lands job at nuclear treaty monitoring center

    It’s not often you see those three-letter titles A1C and Ph.D. used to refer to the same person. As a matter of fact, only one-hundredth of one percent of the Air Force’s enlisted force from E-1 through E-9 possess a doctor of philosophy degree, one of 33 enlisted Airmen in the Air Force with a

  • 421st Fighter Squadron and AMU receive first F-35A

    The 421st Fighter Squadron here received its first F-35A Lightning II Dec. 12. The squadron is the last of three squadrons in Hill Air Force Base’s 388th Fighter Wing to take possession of combat-ready aircraft, bringing the 388th Fighter Wing closer to full strength.

  • Cyber operators host cyber certification training courses for SA youth

    In mid-2016, four Air Forces Cyber operators teamed to create a free cyber certification academy for San Antonio teenagers. Master Sgt. Shaun Herron and Staff Sgts. Charles Hackett, Justin Gonzalez and Austin Ellsworth’s dream became reality when their non-profit, GhostWire Academy, was born. Today,

  • AFIMSC Innovation Office seeks game-changing ideas

    The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center Innovation Office will launch a program in the new year to help Airmen implement their innovative ideas. The campaign, open Jan. 1-31, 2019, gives military and civilian members of mission support groups worldwide a chance to fund their ideas and

  • Bunch nominated to command AFMC

    Lt. Gen. Arnold W. Bunch Jr. has been nominated by the president for a fourth star to become the next commander of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

  • How the Air Force got smarter about its aviation fuel use in 2018

    Did you know the Air Force is the largest consumer of fuel in the Department of Defense? This may not surprise you, if say, you’ve ever watched a sortie of F-35 Lighting IIs complete an aerial refueling, or witnessed a C-5 Galaxy lift (seemingly) effortlessly into the sky. In fact, the Air Force

  • AFSPC assumes COMSATCOM procurement responsibility for DoD

    The Air Force Space Command commander assumed responsibility for procurement of commercial satellite communications services for the Department of Defense from the Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency December 12. The move is in accordance with Section 1601(a) of the Fiscal Year 2018

  • Dover, Ramstein set standard for AMOW C-5 maintenance training

    More than 30 U.S. Air Force Reserve aircraft maintainers assigned to the 512th Airlift Wing along with a 436th Airlift Wing C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft and crew traveled to Ramstein Air Base, Nov. 23, to assist the 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing with vital hands-on, airframe-specific training.