NATO Air Policing operations

U.S. Air Force News

  • Airmen operate America's fortress

    Known as America's Fortress, Cheyenne Mountain is portrayed in movies, books and documentaries as a top secret base similar to that of Area 51.

  • Following in her father's flight plan

    Some families have a history of military service, whether it be cross-service or within the same branch. It is somewhat less common however, to have two consecutive generations not only serve in the same branch of the military, but to pursue the same career field.

  • Kandahar's Liberty operations reach end of mission

    After four years of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, the 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron will complete their MC-12W Liberty operations in southern Afghanistan at the beginning of September 2014.

  • Sudan 'Lost Boy' serves as Kadena NCO

    "At the age of 10, I have seen death; I have buried other kids -- at the age of 10," he said, a sadness moving into his eyes. "But at the same time, I've rebounded. If I have to stay in that hole and think of those horrible situations I've been in, then I would not be here today."Labeled a "Lost Boy

  • Counter-IED Branch receives top AFA award

    A team of Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Branch members from Hanscom will take center stage and receive one of the Air Force Association's top honors during the 2014 Air and Space Conference Award Ceremony in National Harbor, Md., Sept 15, 2014.

  • Yokota Airmen strengthen bilateral, joint disaster response exercises

    As the C-130 Hercules dove through the clouds toward its target 300 feet off the deck, the crew began its drop zone entry checklist. In the back of the aircraft, two loadmasters readied the cargo and eyed the amber light, awaiting its turn to green. Suddenly, the navigator's voice alerted over the

  • Airman's service helps unite his family

    Being away from family is nothing new to Airman 1st Class Nana Sefa, who is currently deployed to Afghanistan on a six-month tour; after all, it's only a quarter of the time he has spent away from his wife.Sefa, a 455th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle management analysis craftsman, deployed

  • Air Force uses lasers to preserve space history

    Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 14 is best known as the launch site for NASA's "Friendship 7," the flight that brought John Glenn fame as the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. Now, more than 50 years later, the complex and other National Historic Landmarks are rapidly falling into decay.

  • Know your POV shipping entitlements

    Many service members may not know of their entitlements when shipping personal vehicles as they move overseas or return stateside, according to U.S. Transportation Command officials.

  • Airman saved lives 'the right way'

    Last December, Senior Airman Cody Nuñez, 21st Airlift Squadron, spent two weeks in Entebbe, Uganda providing humanitarian care to the war-torn Central African Republic.

  • Pistol champion shoots to the top

    When at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, Jackson is an aircraft metals technology craftsman with the 23d Equipment Maintenance Squadron, but during his off time, he's an avid pistol shooter and member of the Air Force National Pistol Team.

  • ANG engineers help Coast Guard

    More than 30 Airmen from the 134th Civil Engineer Squadron in Knoxville, Tennessee, traveled to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London Jun 1 to assist the Coast Guard in a joint effort to complete multiple projects on the USCGA campus.

  • Edwards, NASA say goodbye to historic landmark

    A structure synonymous with NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center for the past 38 years, the grey-colored space shuttle Mate-Demate Device (MDD) at Edwards Air Force Base is being dismantled and demolished as a part of the final chapter in the U.S. space shuttle program.

  • Spiritual resilience fuels the heart, soul

    Similar to a sine wave, everyone has ups and downs, but it's their spirituality that gets them to the next day. No matter the faith background, where a person is from or who their family is, everyone has some sort of spirituality to lean on during both the hard times and the fun ones.

  • End of an era: AF EOD mission wraps up in Afghanistan

    There have been 20 rotations of more than 600 explosive ordnance disposal technicians who have left their mark in the history of Operation Enduring Freedom since the 2004 inception of the 466th EOD Operating Location Bravo Flight here. With more than 10,000 missions completed, Aug. 19 marked the

  • SecAF makes first visit to Robins AFB

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James visited Robins Air Force Base, Ga. Aug. 21-22 to get an up close look at the installation's diverse and dynamic missions.

  • Equipment accountability vital to partnership

    The F-16 Fighting Falcon maintainers evaluate, test, check, sustain and replace the different parts to enable fighter pilots to do their job safely and securely. And at a bilateral training exercise between the Hellenic and U.S. air forces at Souda Bay, Greece, Aug. 11-23, there is a centralized hub

  • Improvement program keeps officer engaged in missile mission

    Capt. Billy Terry, a 341st Operational Support Squadron intercontinental ballistic missile senior combat crew instructor, was given the opportunity to chase a dream he had for most of his life - to change career fields and work as a space systems operator.

  • AFSOUTH strengthens space ties with partner nations

    Three officers from the Dominican Republic, Peruvian and Brazilian militaries partnered with active-duty and guard Airmen at Davis-Monthan for a rare opportunity to work collectively on the space component of PANAMAX 2014, Aug. 8-15.

  • CSAF Call to Airmen: 2015 Reading List

    The Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III has issued a call to all Airmen, to help create the 2015 CSAF Professional Reading Program, asking for submissions that center on the profession of arms and more specifically the Air Force core values: Integrity first, service before self

  • CHIEFchat: ACAs and the future Enlisted Performance Reports

    Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody addressed the Airman Comprehensive Assessment, or ACA, how it influences enlisted performance reports, and how those reports will affect future promotions during his latest CHIEFchat at Defense Media Activity, here.

  • 2015 AFA Aerospace Award nominees sought

    Nominations for the 2015 Air Force Association Aerospace Awards for outstanding contributions to national defense in a variety of fields are being sought, Air Force officials said.

  • Journalist recalls travels with Robin Williams

    U.S. service members truly lost a friend with the death of Robin Williams yesterday, Aug. 11. Williams made multiple USO tours to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Kuwait and other bases in Southwest Asia to give soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and DoD civilians a little taste of

  • ANG Outstanding Airmen honored

    The six Air National Guard 2014 Outstanding Airmen of the Year shared their inspiring field experiences and enthusiasm with senior leadership at the Air National Guard Readiness Center here during the "Focus on the Force Week," held Aug. 4-7.

  • USecAF visits with Spangdahlem Airmen

    Under Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning recently visited Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, and spoke with Airmen during an all call, which he kicked off by complimenting their attention to detail.

  • Air Force's new maritime radar becomes operational

    The Air Force Technical Applications Center has a welcome addition to its treaty monitoring capabilities - the Cobra King radar system aboard the USNS Howard O. Lorenzen. Cobra King is a new, state-of-the-art mobile radar system consisting of S- and X-band phased radars that AFTAC employs to provide

  • Airman finds true passion in mechanic career

    Let's face it; every guy has an inner child screaming to get out. And what little boy doesn't like ripping apart his toys and making a mess of things? But the older most men get the more expensive and fancier the toys. Senior Airman Christopher Moore, a vehicle mechanic with the 386th Expeditionary

  • James: Air Force grapples with Congress to fund readiness

    To balance readiness today and modernization tomorrow, the Air Force’s fiscal year 2015 budget request is shrinking like today’s defense budget thanks to Congress’s own priorities and the approaching threat of sequestration in 2016, Air Force leaders said July 30.

  • AF launches successful satellite mission

    The 45th Space Wing supported a successful United Launch Alliance Delta IV vehicle carrying Air Force Space Command mission assets for the Air Force July 28.

  • Healthy eating: A recipe for success

    Airmen from the 374th Force Support Squadron are working in concert with Certified Master Chef James Hanyzeski to improve the nutritional quality of the meals served to Airmen at the Samurai Café dining facility on Yokota Air Base, Japan.

  • AF Assistance Fund may not hit 2014 goal

    In spite of persistent economic difficulties, active-duty and retired Airmen have contributed more than $6 million to the Air Force Assistance Fund, or AFAF, during this year’s fund drive.

  • Airman tops off 8,000th hour career milestone

    Senior Master Sgt. Floyd W. Atkins, a 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, recently reached 8,000 refueling hours in his career, a rare feat for a boom operator.

  • Airman laid to rest 62 years after crash

    Never leave an Airman behind. These words are a staple in the Air Force and echoed by men and women everyday through the Air Force Creed. Following this code, whether on the battlefield or even a lost plane from more than 60 years ago, is a way of life.

  • AF satellites to contribute to space neighborhood watch

    The Air Force plans to launch two operational satellites and one experimental satellite into near-geosynchronous Earth orbit July 23. According to Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, "these operational and experimental systems will enhance the nation’s ability to monitor and assess events

  • From trash to treasure: Converting Academy waste into renewable energy

    During August 2013, the Defense Department Environmental Security Technology Certification Program funded CDM Smith, a national engineering and construction firm, to test how the U.S. Air Force Academy can reduce energy use and cost at its wastewater treatment plant, and convert food waste from its

  • Medical training in hyperreality

    The Air Force Medical Modeling and Simulation Training, or AFMMAST, is improving medical training is by adding hyperreality and high fidelity through the use of the Tactical Combat Casualty Care Cut Suit.

  • Airman to publish story of tragedy, perseverance

    He could have faced another life, one that included becoming a child soldier and subsequently a lost boy from the Liberian Civil War. Instead, luck, hard work and true grit led Joseph Boyou to the Air Force where he now holds the rank of staff sergeant. Boyou, the 2nd Air Force special projects and

  • Acting VA secretary outlines problems, actions taken

    In testimony before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs July 15, Acting VA Secretary Sloan D. Gibson outlined serious problems regarding access to health care and key actions the department has taken to get veterans off waiting lists and into clinics.

  • Wanted: Airmen selfie videos

    Do you have a unique story about the path that led you to the Air Force? Are you proud of your job and how it impacts the bigger Air Force mission? Do you work in an exceptional unit? If so, the Air Force wants to hear from you!

  • Air Force will provide assured access to space

    Gen. William L. Shelton, Air Force Space Command commander, stressed the importance of maintaining assured access to space to the Senate Subcommittee on Strategic Forces and Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation during a hearing on the options for assuring domestic access to space, July

  • 45th Space Wing launches ORBCOMM satellites

    The 45th Space Wing supported Space Exploration Technologies’ successful launch of their Falcon 9 rocket carrying six second-generation ORBCOMM communications satellites July 14, from Space Launch Complex 40, here.

  • Air Force to highlight S&T priorities at industry event

    Creating tomorrow's Air Force is a delicate balance. It requires a mix of science and technology, or S&T, investment to meet current warfighter needs, as well as cutting edge research to develop revolutionary capabilities which today's Airmen can only imagine, and may not see fielded this decade.

  • Weapons Airman keeps F-22s in the fight

    Airman 1st Class Kyron Abraham worked the day shift during those winter months. He drove to work through the cold night of day to the 3rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and joined his three-man team in relieving the night shift. Then the order came to load

  • 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year announced

    Air Force officials selected the service's top enlisted members, naming the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2014, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced July 10.

  • Father, daughter share deployment to Bagram

    The military becomes a tight knit family for people who are away from home. Service members share many unique experiences and when the time comes to deploy, they need "family" support that much more. For Tech. Sgt. John Trujillo and Senior Airman Kimberly Buzzell, the support network is not only

  • SecAF visits missile wings, highlights progress

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James visited Air Force Global Strike Command's three missile wings June 30 - July 1 to meet with Airmen and discuss changes made in the force over the past six months.

  • 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.

  • Aerial surveillance key to NATO efforts

    The E-3A Component based here is an integrated, multinational, rapidly deployable asset to NATO providing airborne surveillance, command, control, and communication capabilities

  • CSAF to sponsor three captains for PhD program

    The chief of staff of the Air Force will sponsor three eligible captains to pursue a doctorate degree through the fiscal year 2015 CSAF Captains Prestigious PhD Program, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced.

  • Air Force Art Program highlights Reserve Airmen

    Lt. Gen. James Jackson, the chief of Air Force Reserve, and Maj. Warren Neary, the Air Force Space Command historian, presented two pieces of art depicting Reserve Airmen in operational roles to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, June 20.

  • NCO uses humor during life-threatening battle with cancer

    Master Sgt. Sean Arnold takes most things in stride, even being diagnosed with testicular cancer. The 60th Operations Group resource manager said he's "not even remotely shy about this," cracking jokes and making puns about the life-threatening battle he's faced during the past 19 months in the most

  • AF builds partnership with Baltic states

    Airmen from the 435th Contingency Response Group arrived at Lielvarde Air Base, Latvia June 16, to participate in the Air Force-specific portion of Saber Strike 2014.

  • Inter-American SOS candidate applications due in July

    Active-duty captains proficient in the Spanish language may be eligible to attend the Inter-American Squadron Officer School at the Inter-American Air Forces Academy, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Air Force Personnel Center officials said.

  • U.S. conducts successful missile intercept test in Pacific

    The U.S. military today successfully intercepted an intermediate-range ballistic missile test target launched from the U.S. Army’s Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, according to a Defense Department news release issued today.

  • RPAs meet mission goals safe and on time

    Airmen stationed in the continental U.S. and in deployed locations throughout the world drew on decades of Air Force aviation experience to achieve 65 simultaneous remotely piloted combat air patrols last month.

  • SecAF: Total force readiness has atrophied

    While elements of the Air Force are always prepared to meet the country's readiness needs, total force readiness has deteriorated, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told the Defense Writers Group here June 18.

  • Afghan air force learns self-sustaining casualty evacuation care

    The flightline is filled with aircrew and C-130 Hercules engines are starting up for another Afghan air force casualty evacuation mission.Within two years, the Afghan air force has made significant improvements to their casualty evacuation capabilities...

  • Westover airlifts 26 tons of aid to Nicaragua

    A training mission doubled as a humanitarian relief effort for Reserve Airmen from the 439th Airlift Wing, Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts, as 13 Airmen delivered 26 tons of cargo to Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport, Nicaragua, June 10.

  • Air Force C-130s land at Lielvarde AB for the first time

    Three U.S. Air Force C-130J Hercules from the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, landed on Lielvarde Air Base, Latvia, June 17, making them the first U.S. Air Force aircraft to land at the newly renovated installation.

  • Engineering and Installation Airmen keep the mission connected

    Every time a connection is made to the internet to contact loved ones back home, or an aircraft flies over head, a signal is running through a cable somewhere keeping everyone communicating. Learn more about the Airmen who make the connection.

  • AF test pilot school applications due in June

    The 2014 U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, or TSP, selection board will convene here Aug. 5-8 to consider candidates for July 2015 and January 2016 classes, Air Force Personnel Center officials said.

  • 1st Space Ops assumes space surveillance mission

    The 1st Space Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB, Colorado, will assume command and control of the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) this summer. The satellites are a space-based capability that will operate in the near-geosynchronous orbit regime supporting U.S. Strategic

  • AFCENT rolls out new leave, pass policy

    U.S. Air Forces Central Command officials released the command's revised leave policy June 6, which affects Airmen serving 12-month tours in Southwest Asia.In its recent recertification of the Imminent Danger Pay program, the Department of Defense determined that, effective June 1, personnel serving

  • Breedlove pays tribute to sacrifices made at D-Day

    The sacrifice made by World War II veterans is reflected in the legacy of freedom they left following their success in the “greatest endeavor ever undertaken in the name of liberty,” NATO’S Supreme Allied Commander Europe said.Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, also commander of U.S. European

  • WWII vet gives final salute to friend, lifesaver

    June 6, 1944, was a day forever marked in history books as D-Day, the invasion of Normandy, France. There are many tales of heroism from that particular day, but one account has surfaced regarding the day after the initial invasion, about a Soldier's search for the man who saved his life.

  • Space fence contract awarded

    The Air Force awarded a $914,699,474 contract to Lockheed Martin on June 2, 2014 to develop a system that will track objects in Earth's orbit with far greater confidence and fidelity.