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  • Pilot mushes dogs for noble cause

    A pilot with the Alaska Air National Guard and a team of 27 Siberian Huskies are currently breaking new strides while mushing through the icy Interior of Alaska to help children in need. Maj. Blake Matray, 168th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 pilot and weapons and tactics chief here, joined forces

  • Pilot Prep Program: 'Right answer for the Air Force'

    The new Air Force initiative to fill the need for military pilots was forged by Brig. Gen. Christopher M. Short, director of the Aircrew Crisis Task Force at the Pentagon. It’s one of many Total Force partnerships between the Air Force and its longtime auxiliary, CAP.

  • Pilot program enhances Autism care, treatment

    A congressionally mandated pilot program set to launch July 25 will enhance an existing Defense Department program that provides care and treatment for military children with autism, a senior DOD official said.Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs and director of

  • Pilot program helps streamline disability evaluation process

    Department of Defense officials here are working with the Department of Veterans Affairs staff to expand a pilot program that simplifies the current disability evaluation process for wounded, injured and ill servicemembers. The Disability Evaluation System pilot program is aimed at assisting wounded

  • Pilot reaches 1,000 combat hours flown

    A 332nd Expeditionary Operations Group F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot here will reach two career milestones in a matter of weeks. According to information extracted from the Aviation Resource Management and Military Personnel Data Systems, Lt. Col. Andy Uribe is the only current Air Force fighter pilot

  • Pilot recalls Sept. 11 medical flight mission

    Three years after terrorist attacks killed more than 3,000 people, Capt. Kenneth Langert is deployed fighting the war on terrorism.The terror war is a direct result of those attacks -- taking the fight to the enemy in an effort to prevent any future “9-11s.” For Captain Langert, this effort has

  • Pilot receives ball, honor from NFL football player

    Though they wear different uniforms and fight different battles, for a brief moment, an NFL football player and an Air Force pilot met eye to eye. Capt. Ryan Silver, a pilot with the 89th Flying Training Squadron at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, stood on the sidelines in Tampa, Fla., on Nov. 21 as

  • Pilot referred to court-martial

    Lt. Gen. Bruce Carlson referred Maj. Harry Schmidt to court-martial for dereliction of duty June 30 after Schmidt refused to accept nonjudicial punishment June 25.The 8th Air Force commander referred Charge 1 of the original charges against Schmidt for a bombing incident which killed four Canadian

  • Pilot reprimanded, fined in friendly fire incident

    Lt. Gen. Bruce Carlson, 8th Air Force commander, has found Maj. Harry Schmidt guilty of dereliction of duty for his role in an April 17, 2002, bombing incident which resulted in the deaths of four Canadian soldiers and the serious injury of eight others. Major Schmidt’s punishment includes a

  • Pilot safe after runway crash

    An F-16 ran off the runway today, December 3, 2012 at approximately 2:15 p.m. at Kunsan AB. The pilot is safe and sustained no injuries. An official accident investigation will take place to determine the cause. Additional details will be provided as soon as they become available.(8th Fighter Wing

  • Pilot safe in Kunsan AB F-16 crash

    An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed near Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, during a routine training mission March 21. The aircraft, assigned to the 36th Fighter Squadron here, was flying a mission as part of the 51st Fighter Wing's ongoing exercise. The pilot safely ejected from the single seat

  • Pilot survives jet crash

    An Air Force T-38 Talon aircraft crashed into two houses in nearby Valparaiso on March 8. The pilot ejected safely, and no one was injured on the ground.The pilot was on a training mission from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., when the accident occurred.An interim safety board has been established to

  • Pilot survives U-2 crash, recovery continues

    An Air Force U-2 Dragon Lady pilot ejected safely before his aircraft crashed Jan. 26 near Hwa Song city, south of Seoul.The pilot was taken to the base hospital here where his was listed in stable condition. He is being treated for a back injury and is expected to recover fully. The pilot is

  • Pilot tackles Typhoons during exchange duty in England

    When an American F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot was given the opportunity of applying for an exchange posting, he had no hesitation in selecting a tour to fly the F-2 Typhoon with the Royal Air Force. "I was attracted by the opportunity to fly a new airplane, to go somewhere different and be part of

  • Pilot takes top spot at Air Force half-marathon

    Although not as fast as the aircraft he flies, a PC-12 pilot from the 34th Special Operations Squadron blasted past the competition in the men's half marathon during the 2010 Air Force Marathon at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Sept. 17 through18. Capt. Ben Payne finished the 13.1-mile race

  • Pilot talks about Enola Gay mission

    “Airspeed and altitude” was the flight strategy that positioned the Enola Gay to deliver the first atomic bomb used as a weapon nearly 60 years ago, said the pilot who planned and flew the mission.Retired Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets spent several days in the nation’s capital attending events leading

  • Pilot talks about Enola Gay mission

    “Airspeed and altitude” was the flight strategy that positioned the Enola Gay to deliver the first atomic bomb used as a weapon nearly 60 years ago, said the pilot who planned and flew the mission.Retired Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets spent several days in the nation’s capital attending events leading

  • Pilot tours with his ‘Dream Machine’

    Air Force Reserve Command’s recruiting service has teamed up with a veteran F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot and aerobatic performer to increase command awareness and attract young people interested in aviation.Maj. Ed Hamill is a private contractor in civilian life. He owns and operates the Air Force

  • 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.

  • Pilot Training Next graduates 14 in learning experiment's second iteration

    PTN is an experimental program under the “Learning Next” umbrella with a focus on understanding how Airmen learn, as well as exploring and potentially prototyping a flying training environment that integrates various technologies to produce pilots in an accelerated-and learning-focused manner.

  • Pilot Training Next lands at Sheppard AFB

    The Pilot Training Next program is made up of 15 officers and five enlisted Airmen who have begun an experimental training program designed to use emerging technology combined with a new paradigm for pilot training intended to discover ways to create what is being termed fighter training unit-ready

  • Pilot values liaison work with Army

    It takes more than a pilot in a plane to put bombs on target.Air Force pilots, acting as air liaison officers and assigned to Army units, paint a roadmap in the sky for pilots overhead so they can drop bombs on the enemy without harming nearby friendly forces.Capt. Danny Stout, a liaison officer and

  • Pilot wins Good Housekeeping award

    An unwavering faith, a good clean life and a sparkling career -- not necessarily a clean house -- earned a 524th Fighter Squadron F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot here a Good Housekeeping award.Capt. Christina Hopper was presented Good Housekeeping magazine’s Woman in Government Award for 2003 recently

  • Pilot’s final flight a ‘family affair’

    After flying more than 8,700 hours in Air Force planes, an Arkansas Air National Guard C-130 Hercules pilot flew the most memorable two hours of his entire 34-year career Oct. 28.Lt. Col. Larry Hill, a 154th Training Squadron pilot, said his last two hours of flying were the best because he was

  • Pilots contribute to sorties milestone, much more

    At 6 a.m., it's another early April morning in Iraq as the two pilots deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, get ready to venture into harm's way yet again. It's a day like many others the pilots, assigned to the 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, have experienced since arriving here in

  • Pilots eject from A-29A Super Tucano

    Two pilots from the 81st Fighter Squadron ejected safely from an A-29A Super Tucano aircraft during a routine training flight near Homerville, Georgia, at about 2:50 p.m., March 6, 2017.

  • Pilots face increasing ground threats

    Coalition pilots have not yet had to face the intense air defenses over Iraq they had to deal with during the Gulf War.Still, the Iraqis fire on coalition aircraft on every mission, an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot with five combat missions in Operation Iraqi Freedom said. And as coalition forces

  • Pilots focus on air superiority, operations during Keen Sword

    Honing their skills against enemy air threats over the skies of Japan, Misawa fighter pilots participate in a two-week long training exercise here. Exercise Keen Sword, which began Nov. 6, is a  joint and bilateral exercise simulating the defense of Japan using more than 60 military units from 24

  • Pilots get taste of combat during Red Flag-Alaska

    The exercise is Red Flag, but it is in Alaska this time, not Nevada. There are similarities -- both exercises focus on advanced tactical training for aircrew members against air and surface threats. Both employ an aggressor force in the air and from the ground. Both have similar training objectives

  • Pilots give feedback on F-16 upgrade

    F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., were here recently to give feedback to members of the F-16 Systems Group on upgrades made to the aircraft.Lt. Col. John Montgomery, 55th Fighter Squadron commander, and Capt. Jim Govin, a 55th FS pilot, flew two of the newly modified F-16s

  • Pilots give new C-130J aircraft rave reviews

    Here at the "Home of the Herk" -- the affectionate nickname for the C-130 Hercules aircraft -- there is no ambivalence about the new "J" model.The C-130J is the latest addition to the C-130 fleet, bringing state-of-the-art technology to the tactical cargo- and troop-transport aircraft that has been

  • Pilots land safely after midair collision

    Two F-16 Fighting Falcons landed here safely after a midair collision over the Atlantic Ocean on March 9. Neither pilot was injured.At the time of the accident, the 79th Fighter Squadron aircraft were on a scheduled air-to-air training mission. A damage assessment is ongoing, and other aircraft

  • Pilots leaving active duty have safe landing place in Reserve, Guard

    As COVID-19 travel restrictions ease around the world, commercial airlines are looking to hire more pilots. Air Force officials want to remind active-duty pilots leaving the Air Force for the civilian aviation industry that such a move doesn’t have to end their service to their country.

  • Pilots make long commute to Global Hawk University

    For Global Hawk pilots, training is a little like going to a university with a large main campus and an extension campus a few miles away -- make that half a world away.While that is one heck of a commute, it is necessary because the Global Hawk, an unmanned aerial vehicle used to provide real-time

  • Pilots missing from Vietnam war identified

    Officials from the Department of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office announced Nov. 30 that the remains of two U.S. servicemembers missing from the Vietnam War have been identified. They are Maj. Robert F. Woods of Salt Lake City and Capt. Johnnie C. Cornelius of Maricopa County,

  • Pilots' missions relocate for Spangdahlem's runway repair

    Spangdahlem Air Base's runway closed June 15 and is scheduled to remain closed for repairs until mid-July. Although the 52nd Fighter Wing will cease flying operations from Spangdahlem, the pilots and crews from the 22nd, 23rd and 81st Fighter Squadrons will deploy to other locations and continue to

  • Pilots of yesteryear interact with Airmen of today

    Airmen can learn from past experiences, the Web and books, but on Sept. 10 Osan Air Base Airmen expanded their knowledge by learning from living legends.As if magically appearing from the pages of an Air Force history book, four Korean War veterans mingled with the young men and women stationed at

  • Pilots provide emergency close air support

    For F-15E Strike Eagle and A-10 Thunderbolt pilots deployed here, joint terminal attack controllers, or JTACs,  play a vital role in the close air support mission. However, there's not always a JTAC on the ground when close air support, or CAS,  is needed. In these rare situations, pilots step

  • Pilots receive Distinguished Flying Crosses for first strike of OIF

    Two F-117A Nighthawk pilots from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing at a forward-deployed desert air base in were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross recently for extraordinary achievement while flying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.On the opening day of the air campaign Lt. Col. David

  • Pilots reflect on being Tuskegee legacy heirs

    Something special began July 19, 1941. For the first time in the history of military aviation, blacks were given an opportunity to prove themselves in the sky. The first black aviators began their flight training at Tuskegee Army Air Field, Ala., and went to the famed 99th Fighter Squadron. The

  • Pilots safe after midair collision

    The pilots of two Air Force F-15 Eagles are safe following a midair collision of their aircraft March 17 about 65 miles northeast of here.One aircraft returned safely to the base while the other crashed on the Nevada Test and Training Range complex. The pilot of the second aircraft ejected and was

  • Pilots say training prepared them for combat

    Pilots flying combat missions over Iraq in recent days are saying that the real-world operations there are validating their years of training.The comments came from a March 26 teleconference in which pilots and other members of the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing at an undisclosed location described

  • Pilots serve as instructors in Saudi Arabia

    Six pilots with the United States Military Training Mission Air Force Division here embedded at several Royal Saudi Air Force bases to train, advise and assist Saudi Arabian pilots in their operations, all to support the common interest of both nations. The Airmen say some knowledge of Arabic is

  • Pilot's survivors thankful for determined historian

    Without the tenacity of an Air Force historian, the remains of a World War II era pilot who crashed in a remote region of Alaska in December 1943 may never have been discovered. Information on the crash "was put away in a drawer and just left there," said John S. Hoskin of Gorham, Maine, brother of

  • Pilots take brotherhood to new heights

    Maj. Matthew Shelly, the 23d Wing director of inspections and a pilot with the 74th Fighter Squadron, and his little brother, Capt. Christopher Shelly, the 76th Fighter Squadron chief of standards and evaluations, flew in formation together for the first time, April 8, 2017, over Moody AFB.

  • Pilots test collision-avoidance system

    The Air Force's Automatic Air Collision Avoidance System successfully put two F-16 Fighting Falcons into automated maneuvers Aug. 7 to avoid collision during tests at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Maj. James Less and Swedish air force Maj. Richard Ljungberg flew a specially equipped research

  • Pilots thrilled by CV-22 capabilities

    When he talks about his new aircraft, the CV-22 Osprey, the lieutenant colonel's face lights up like a kid opening presents on his birthday. After 10 years of flying the MC-130H Combat Talon II, CV-22 instructor pilot Lt. Col. Darryl Sheets, from the 8th Special Operations Squadron at Hurlburt

  • Pilots train on gunnery marksmanship

    Firing on a banner pulled behind a slow-flying aircraft, F-15 Eagle pilots worked on their gunnery marksmanship near here May 17 to 21.The training simulates air-to-air combat by using a Learjet 35 to drag a 68-pound banner 1,500 feet behind the aircraft. Pilots shoot at the banner as it is pulled

  • Pilots work to eliminate collateral damage

    Pilots who specialize in close-air-support missions do "exhaustive work" to prevent hitting the wrong targets, an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot told reporters April 7.Lt. Col. Mike Webb, operations officer with the 190th Fighter Squadron of the Idaho Air National Guard, explained the process of target

  • Pilots, air battle managers can get cash to stay in

    The fiscal 2006 Aviator Continuation Pay program will offer about 750 pilots and air battle managers a monetary incentive to continue their service. A five-year, fixed-length agreement is available to eligible pilots and air battle managers who apply. The agreement values in annual pretax amounts

  • Pilots, air battle managers to receive incentive pay

    The fiscal 2007 Aviator Continuation Pay program will offer eligible pilots and air battle managers a monetary incentive to continue their service. A five-year, fixed-length agreement is available to initial-eligible pilots and air battle managers who apply. The agreement values in annual pretax

  • Pilots, attack controllers sharpen war skills in Nevada

    Pilots and joint terminal attack controllers, or JTACs, here practiced skills needed in both Iraq and Afghanistan during training over two southern Nevada towns April 23 and 24. The two towns were Caliente and Panaca, with a combined population of about 1,500 residents, and the training was urban

  • Pilots, combat systems officers may be eligible for retention incentives

    Eligible active duty aviators have until Sept. 30 to apply for the 2013 Aviator Retention Pay Program, Air Force officials said today. The purpose of the program is to retain highly-qualified aircrew members at a fraction of the cost incurred to train new rated officers, said Lt. Col. Stuart Rubio,

  • Pin honors parents, bolsters support

    A new program will help airmen honor those who are often their biggest supporters -- their parents.All uniformed airmen can now sign their parents up to receive a new lapel pin. The pins are about three-fourths inch square and feature a silver letter "P" cradled within the Air Force symbol. A

  • 'Pink slime' products to be permanently removed from commissary shelves

    In recent weeks, "pink slime" oozed from the headlines.While commissary officials assure customers that the lean finely textured beef antibacterial process has been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration for decades, the officials made the decision

  • Pioneer of tactical airlift visits MacDill AFB

    He began his visit with a speech at U.S. Special Operations Command.“I was a part of the 492nd Bombardment Group, also known as the ‘Carpetbaggers,’ during World War II,” Cole said. “We started as an anti-submarine squadron, but instead began working with the Office of Special Services to drop

  • Pioneering officer to retire

    The 25th commandant of the National War College here and one of the first Air Force women to complete undergraduate pilot training will retire Sept. 1 after a 34-year military career. "There's a lot of magic, excitement and amazement in military aviation," Maj. Gen. Teresa Marne Peterson said Aug.

  • 'Pioneers in Blue' highlights Airmen's contributions

    On Sept. 18, the official birthday of the Air Force, Air Force Public Affairs Agency officials launched a project showcasing 38 veterans from different career fields and backgrounds who have contributed to the greatness of the Air Force. "Pioneers in Blue," a series of photographic portraits on

  • 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.

  • PIT crew brings realism to Pacific Lifeline exercise

    Airmen from the 446th Aerospace Medicine Squadron and 446th Aeromedical Staging Squadron aren't being graded on the test, but their work impacts those involved with the Pacific Lifeline exercise. Known as the PIT crew, 16 reservists from McChord Air Force Base, Wash., will add realism to the

  • Pit stop

    Staff Sgt. Randy Simmons and Senior Airmen Benjamin David, Steven Campos and Matthew Easton push a new B-52 Stratofortress tire toward its mount April 7 at a forward-deployed location. Two or three of the 500-pound tires get changed each day at this base. The process takes about 20 minutes for

  • Pit stops in 'hot' zone require quick off-loads

    When people deployed to Afghanistan say a location is "hot," it could mean one of two things. Either it feels like the sun is closer than the moon, or the enemy is lurking about. Here, both meanings apply. For pilots, that equates to making quick pit stops here so they can get in and out of this

  • Pitch Black 2022 concludes international interoperability exercise

    Approximately 110 U.S. Airmen from PACAF participated in Exercise Pitch Black 2022, the Royal Australian Air Force Chief of Air Force’s biennial capstone international engagement activity with forces drawn from a wide range of regional, coalition and allied nations.

  • Pitsenbarger rehonored at Moody after 42 years

    A fallen pararescueman was recognized for his heroic actions more than 42 years earlier during a Medal of Honor rededication ceremony April 18 at the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Monument Park at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Airman 1st Class William Pitsenbarger, known as "Pits" to his friends,

  • PJ medical training returns to Kirtland

    Medical instruction for Air Force pararescuemen, or PJs, returns to Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., on Oct. 2 when 19 students start their training.Air Force PJs will no longer receive medical training at Fort Bragg, N.C. Instead, Detachment 1 of the 342nd Training Squadron, the Air Force pararescue

  • PJs airlift those devastated by Hurricane Katrina

    Nearly 3,000 people have been airlifted out of the New Orleans area and taken to local care centers in the arms of 374th Expeditionary Rescue Group pararescuemen.Pararescuemen from three rescue squadrons nationwide are deployed here participating in what has been described as the largest

  • PJs carry blood again, increase survival rates

    Pararescuemen from the 46th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, have brought back the ability to carry and administer blood to patients on rescue missions, increasing survival rates for injured warfighters.Air Force rescue units haven't carried blood since the beginning of

  • PJs help rescue skier off glacier

    Exactly two weeks after participating in a joint search-and-rescue training exercise with other local rescue organizations, reservists from the 304th Rescue Squadron were back on top of Mount Hood, Ore., on May 6 for the longest-hauling, glacier-rescue mission ever accomplished on Mount Hood. Five

  • PJ's rescue fallen ice climber in Denali National Park

    Two Air Force Reserve pararescuemen from the 920th Rescue Wing, Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., assisted in the rescue of a climber who fell more than 150 feet while climbing Moose's Tooth in Denali National Park April 21.The 11th Air Force Rescue Coordination Center received  the rescue call at 2:20

  • PJs sharpen skills during exercise Razor’s Edge

    Razor’s Edge is a two-week long exercise where pararescuemen train to be better prepared for unilateral and joint combat search and rescue operations in any situation and environment. To meet these expectations they endure rigorous training reflective of real-world scenarios that they may encounter

  • PJs train to keep U.S. waters safe

    The Air Force Reserve Command's 304th Rescue Squadron here hosted a Homeland Defense-sponsored underwater hazardous devices search course at the Portland Air National Guard base May 8 to 12 to help pararescuemen and local public safety divers keep Oregon and Washington’s ports safe from

  • Plan early for household moves

    For many military and federal government workers, spring signifies not only flowers in bloom and warmer weather, but also a good time to get the jump on peak moving season, which typically runs from May to August.Mitch Chandran, an Army Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command spokesman,

  • Plan for cyberspace available in near future

    Air Force leaders soon will define the service's plan for cyberspace. "I would expect, in a matter of weeks, to see us rolling out what I would call a cyberspace campaign plan on where we are going to go next," said Lt. Gen. Michael W. Peterson, chief of warfighting integration and Air Force chief

  • Plan in motion to bring support troops home

    When the Air Force deployed its fighting forces for Operation Iraqi Freedom, a substantial portion of that contingent, about 65 percent, came from the installations and logistics community. This included civil engineers, services, supply, transportation and maintenance troops and airmen from the

  • Plan outlines strategy for war on terror

    A document being released today by the Pentagon defines the national strategy for the war on terrorism for the U.S. armed forces. The National Military Strategic Plan for the War on Terrorism, developed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, supports the national U.S. government strategy by

  • Plan reduces risk for truck drivers in Iraq

    Recently 250 additional U.S. truck drivers per week were removed from the dangerous roads of Iraq because of expanded air operations that deliver cargo directly from the United States to airfields in Iraq. This, combined with existing air operations, now removes about 1,280 convoy drivers per week

  • Plan will get AEF back on track, fix ‘disparity’

    While many deployed airmen are returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom to hero's welcomes, others deployed for as much as three times longer are still waiting to hear when they will go home.What appears to some as an obvious disparity is actually a case of differing mission objectives, said the

  • Planes by day, cars by night; Airman's passion brings balance

    By day, Tech. Sgt. Gabriel, a 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing sensor operator and junior executive officer, helps support global operations by flying eight-hour MQ-9 Reaper sorties from the comfort of a cushy, thick seat inside a ground control station. But by night, he finds himself

  • Planes soar thanks to Baghdad's ‘tower of power’

    Except for a thick dusty haze squatting on the city from day to day, Baghdad and the surrounding Iraqi countryside would be completely visible from here. Being 180 feet taller than almost any other vantage point in the city, Baghdad International Airport's control tower has certain advantages.The

  • Planners keep Rodeo 2007 aircraft flying

    On a gray Pacific Northwest morning in the middle of July, McChord Air Force Base resembled a European airfield at the height of the Berlin Airlift. While the operations tempo for McChord AFB has been high for the last several years, the influx of aircraft here for the 2007 Air Mobility Command

  • Planning a larger role for 3-D printing

    The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex is finalizing a strategic plan to integrate 3-D printing technology into nearly every aspect of its airpower sustainment mission.

  • Planning continues for new Airman Heritage Museum

    Efforts are underway to expand the Air Force's enlisted heritage museum here. The Lackland Gateway Heritage Foundation plans to modernize the USAF Airman Heritage Museum with a new facility to be located on what is becoming Lackland AFB's Heritage Campus. The site location, at the North end of the