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U.S. Air Force News

  • 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.

  • AF Museum breaks ground on $35.4M expansion

    The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force broke ground today on a new $35.4 million building that will house aircraft from the museum's Presidential, Research and Development (R&D) and Global Reach collection, as well as a new and expanded Space Gallery.

  • 'Final frontier' now complex domain for space safety culture

    Space, long thought to be America’s final frontier, has transformed over the past several decades into a complex domain the Air Force must operate in safely. Recent Hollywood productions depicting dangerous space events - hurtling space debris blowing satellites to bits; disconnected astronauts

  • U.S., Polish Airmen support largest combined training

    U.S. and Polish airmen started training together at Lask Air Base, Poland, June 2, during the largest theater security cooperation event ever hosted by the U.S. Air Force Aviation Detachment in Poland, according to Av-Det officials.

  • Secretary James visits 403rd Wing

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James met with civic leaders, toured facilities and spoke to the Airmen and senior leaders of the 403rd Wing alongside Mississippi's 4th district U.S. Representative Steven Palazzo and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker during a visit to Keesler Air Force Base in

  • AF 'impossible' rescue mission recognized

    On the remote coastline of Eastern Iceland, inaccessible to ordinary travel, a plaque was dedicated May 30 to commemorate a U.S. Air Force rescue team operation accomplished 20 years earlier.On Jan. 10, 1994, members of the 56th Rescue Squadron, then located at Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland,

  • AF pilot helps in airline emergency

    An in-flight medical emergency caused Capt. Mark Gongol, a B-1B Lancer pilot, to jump into action and help safely land a commercial 737 on Dec. 30, 2013.

  • Biden to Class of 2014: 'You carry America on your back'

    The Air Force Academy's Class of 2014 will face new missions as the United States draws down in Afghanistan, but the challenges they encounter will be no less formidable and complex, Vice President Joseph R. Biden said during the Academy's commencement May 28.

  • Combat Hammer 2014: Boosting RPA strike proficiency

    Airmen from the 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing and the air-to-ground weapons system evaluation program, or WSEP, team participated in the 2014 Combat Hammer exercise May 12-15, to operationally assess and evaluate the reliability, maintainability, suitability, and accuracy of remotely

  • DOD sends UAV, 80 Airmen to help Nigerian search

    The Defense Department's addition of an unmanned aerial vehicle and 80 Air Force troops to U.S. efforts supporting Nigeria's search for over 200 missing schoolgirls has turned the mission into an air operation. The UAV system and Air Force personnel were deployed not to Nigeria but to neighboring

  • USecAF touts Air Force capabilities at 30th Space Symposium

    At an annual gathering of civil, military and industry professionals from across the globe, Under Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning emphasized Air Force contributions through space and cyberspace. Fanning was the featured keynote speaker during the 30th Space Symposium dinner May 20 in

  • Technology offers more ‘face time’ with commanders

    New advances in digital technology now allow commanders to speak directly to Airmen, despite geographical separation. The Global Content Delivery Service, or GCDS, is a real-time video moderated forum, which enables Airmen to ask questions, receive information and engage in face-to-face

  • Running the globe for Parkinson's

    It is estimated more than 5 million people live with Parkinson's disease worldwide and many do not have access to the medicine that makes the symptoms of the disorder manageable. Col. Marcus Cranston, 99th Medical Group director of medical education endocrinology and preventive medicine was

  • AF senior leader: more Air Force needed

    The one thing everyone wants, and needs, is more Air Force, Undersecretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning told Airmen during a town-hall meeting and members of the Fifth Annual National Summit on Strategic Communications at the Washington Plaza Hotel recently.

  • Premium DOD exercise hones special operations skills

    More than 1,500 Special Operations Forces from around the services participated in Emerald Warrior, a two-week joint service, inter-agency and partner nation exercise that concluded May 9 at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

  • Air Force moves closer to KC-46A beddown

    The Air Force is a step closer to bedding down its anticipated fleet of KC-46A Pegasus aerial tankers. Officials recently announced Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma will serve as the Air Force's KC-46A formal training unit and McConnell AFB, Kansas will be the first active duty-led main operating base

  • DOD shows science, technology success despite hard year for workforce

    Despite a year of workforce furloughs and dwindling budgets, the Defense Department’s science and technology enterprise reports advances ranging from a full hypersonic weapon system and high-energy lasers to light-based brain treatments and new core capabilities in cyber warfare, senior DOD

  • Comptroller notes progress in DOD financial management

    Despite financial uncertainties, the Defense Department has made significant progress in improving financial management, DOD Comptroller Robert F. Hale told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee May 13 while in attendance with military senior leadership.

  • Expeditionary group wraps-up Baltic deployment

    The 48th Air Expeditionary Group handed over the reins of NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission to the air forces of Poland and the United Kingdom during a ceremony at Šiauliai Air Base, Lithuania April 30.

  • Morale, welfare, recreation customer survey rolls out

    Does your base fitness center need new equipment? Do you want more recreational traveling opportunities? Do you think there aren’t enough recreational opportunities for single service members, or do you think there are too many?

  • Mental health: Essential to comprehensive fitness

    As Airmen begin to return from more than a decade of combat in the Middle East, and cope with the perils of war, distinguishing mental health clinics as valuable resources rather than detrimental career-enders is paramount.

  • AF doctor leads medical team in Belize

    Lt. Col. (Dr.) Steven Acevedo found himself tasked as the lead for a team of medical providers during the New Horizons Belize 2014 medical readiness training exercise, in the southern Toledo district in Belize. In Belize, Acevedo and his team of doctors, nurses, technicians and educators from

  • Family, community involvement is key theme during Welsh visit

    Traveling hundreds of miles, Betty Welsh accompanied her husband, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, on his visit to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, May 1-2, and spoke with Airmen and their families on important issues such as the sexual assault prevention and response program,

  • Eyes in the sky

    Security Forces Airmen at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, aim to enhance comprehensive base safety and security through its Small Unmanned Aircraft System, or SUAS, program.

  • Eligible officers can request assignment with foreign allied AF

    Active duty officers interested in expanding their horizons by building, sustaining, and expanding international relationships while embedded in another country's air force have until May 22 to indicate their interest on their Airman Development Plan in time for the next assignment cycle, Air Force

  • Air Force tests new surveillance capability

    The Air Force successfully completed the first Maritime Modes program risk reduction flight April 14, 2014, as the service moves toward providing a new air-sea battle surveillance capability.

  • POV shipping program undergoes changes

    The Department of Defense’s privately owned vehicle shipping program will undergo several changes starting May 1. Several vehicle processing centers will relocate.

  • Exchange officer learns to use heart, mind to win friendships abroad

    When then-Capt. Paul Morris stepped off the aircraft in Lima, Peru, to report for his first assignment as a foreign exchange officer, he faced three years away from family and friends in an unfamiliar country. Ahead lay uncertainty, accompanied by the tempting sense of adventure and intrigue of the

  • Readiness key to Air Force responsiveness

    Air Force readiness is critical, especially as the time or place of the next crisis is never certain and is rarely what was expected, the Air Force vice chief of staff told a House panel April 10.

  • SecAF, CSAF testify on Air Force posture

    The fiscal and security challenges triggered by budgetary constraints are posing problems for Air Force strategy, the service’s secretary told the Senate Armed Services Committee April 10.

  • Force Improvement Program team moving forward

    Air Force Global Strike Command's Force Improvement Program team wrapped up their visits to the command's missile wings last month, where they were tasked with identifying challenges associated with performing missile duties and working with Airmen to propose solutions.

  • Space superiority remains vital to national security

    Gen. William Shelton, Air Force Space Command commander, highlighted a successful satellite launch to the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on strategic forces during a budget hearing for national security space activities, April 3.

  • Acting Deputy Defense Secretary talks budget, urges innovation

    Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Christine H. Fox spoke at Air University's Air War College about budget constraints and sequestration in relation to the Air Force's role in the Department of Defense, the importance of technology and innovation April 3.

  • Air Force leaders lay out budget priorities, concerns

    Air Force leaders testified April 2, before the Senate Appropriations Committee on their service’s top priorities now and for the future.Joined by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and National Guard leaders and Air Force Reserve leadership, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James

  • Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 19 launch

    The Air Force successfully launched the 19th Defense Meteorological Satellite Program or, DMSP, spacecraft at 7:46 a.m. PDT, April 3, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The satellite was carried aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle.

  • Airman serves Air Force and deaf community

    "I don't do what I do in pursuit of reciprocation. Instead, I do what I do in pursuit of the ongoing gratification that I feel each time I use my hands to provide a voice for those who may never actually hear one."

  • President Obama visits wounded warriors at Ramstein

    Air Force One touched down at Ramstein Air Base bringing President Barack Obama, to meet with some of America's heroes March 29.After a week of traveling through Europe and stopping in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the president made a short trip to Germany to meet with wounded warriors from the Landstuhl

  • First ever 'Tonnerre Lightning' refining language of war

    British, French, and U.S. Airmen wrapped up the inaugural exercise Tonnerre Lightning 14-1 here and other operating locations March 28. The tri-lateral exercise, which replicates a coalition response to a contingency operation, developed as a method for the U.S., the United Kingdom and France's air

  • Air Force officials take tactical aviation strategy to Capitol Hill

    Air Force officials said on Capitol Hill during a hearing March 26 that while the Bipartisan Budget Act has provided greater stability for technology and acquisition, “hard choices” must continue to maintain current readiness and prime the force over the next 10-15 years.

  • From Chinese citizen to American Airman

    After spending the first 20 years of his life in the capital of one of the largest cities in the Fujian province in China, U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Xing Zheng is now a 633rd Civil Engineering Squadron engineer technician

  • Maintenance Airmen encompass Forward, Ready, Now

    With a designated flightline office space, the self-proclaimed "quiet professionals" from the 31st Fighter Wing are continuing to support the 555th Fighter Squadron, both of Aviano Air Base, Italy, during their participation in an international training mission hosted by the Polish air force here.

  • USO offers support to grieving families

    In line with their long-standing tradition of supporting the troops and their families, the USO provides care for families of the fallen who travel to Dover Air Force Base, Del.

  • SecAF wraps up Afghanistan tour

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James visited multiple Air Force units at five bases in Afghanistan, March 19-22. This is her first official visit outside the United States since being appointed in December 2013.

  • Developmental education application windows open in March

    Eligible active duty officers and Department of the Air Force appropriated fund civilian employees can apply beginning in March for intermediate and senior developmental education opportunities, Air Force Personnel Center officials said March 24.

  • CSAF showcases Air Force, Airmen to Georgia civic leaders

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III spoke to approximately 180 members of Leadership Georgia, a group of influential state citizens and leaders, about the Air Force's contributions to national security and the innovative spirit of its Airmen at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., March 21.