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U.S. Air Force News

  • Preventing the 'after-the-holidays bill blues'

    Walking through a shopping mall, it's difficult not to notice holiday decorations, crowded stores and retailers claiming to offer the best deals of the season. Before pulling out their wallets, Airmen are encouraged to keep a few things in mind to help prevent the "after-the-holidays bill blues."The

  • Prevention is the best medicine for enterovirus D-68

    With recent cases of the respiratory illness enterovirus D-68 being reported in multiple states within the U.S., doctors want to ensure all the members of the military community are informed and safe when confronting this illness.

  • Prevention, education key to winning war against HIV

    In the military's fight against HIV/AIDS, prevention is the key to winning the battle, said Dr. Judith Delmar, a staff physician with the Air Force's HIV program at Wilford Hall Medical Center. Speaking at the sixth annual international HIV/AIDS Strategic Planning and Policy Development course, the

  • Prevention, screening allow Airmen to come home healthy

    Surgeons general from the Army, Navy and Air Force testified before Congress on April 28 on the status of health care in the services. Air Force Surgeon General Lt. Gen. (Dr.) George Peach Taylor Jr. spoke to members of the Senate Appropriations Committee defense subcommittee. He said the Air

  • Preventive medicine keeps airmen on the job

    Expeditionary medicine is more than just medics treating trauma and illness at Camp Sather here.It is all about prevention for Staff Sgt. Nigesa Scales, a medical technician with the 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron.“There is always the possibility of a disease being introduced to the area of

  • Price family glad to leave New Orleans

    Ralph Price Sr. had a smile on his face Sept. 3 when he and his family got off the C-9 Nightingale aircraft that brought him here from New Orleans.He and his family had finally escaped what he called “the hell-hole of New Orleans.” And, he said, the nightmare of the New Orleans airport.The waters

  • Price is right for Nellis Airman

    Watching the “Price is Right” game show faithfully for years, an Airman here was invited to “Come on Down,” for his chance to bid in contestants row.“It has been my dream to be on a game show,” said Senior Airman Roger Thomas, an information manager with Air Combat Command Training Support

  • Price of perfection: AF Honor Guard Drill Team

    A standard U.S. Air Force Drill Team performance features a professionally choreographed sequence of show-stopping weapon maneuvers, precise tosses, complex weapon exchanges, and a walk through the gauntlet of spinning weapons. Airman 1st Class Larry Brown has trained for more than a year for the

  • Priest tackles life at Tinker

    He is new at cooking, new at cleaning and relatively new at English, but the new chaplain here still counts his blessings.In his Midwest City apartment, the Chaplain (Capt.) Gildardo Garcia could not be happier."Here, I live like a king," he said.Hundreds of miles from his family in Colombia, Garcia

  • Prime BEEF aids in hurricane rebuild

    Airmen from all over the country have joined Tyndall Air Force Base on the road to recovery. For some, the call of duty comes from right next door. Airmen from the 23rd Civil Engineering Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force Squadron, Moody AFB, Georgia, narrowly escaped Hurricane Michael themselves

  • Prime BEEF exercise develops agile, multi-capable Airmen at Nellis AFB

    In steps to innovate and modernize the Department of Defense, approximately 200 Airmen assigned to the 99th Civil Engineer Squadron’s Prime Base Engineer Emergency Forces participated in an Agile Combat Employment exercise at Camp Cobra in Area II of Nellis Air Force Base Nov. 8-10.

  • Prime BEEF improves living conditions in Afghanistan

    Recently, a small team from the 577th Expeditionary Prime BEEF Squadron traveled to forward-operating bases to improve the quality of life for service members at combat outposts in Southeastern Afghanistan. Prime BEEF stands for Base Engineer Emergency Force, and these teams of laborers, made up of

  • Prime BEEF squadron combines Air Force, Army engineers

    In today's joint operating environment, service members from different military branches are routinely unified to complete a mission. The 467th Expeditionary Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force Squadron here combines Airmen and Soldiers to build facilities and structures needed throughout the entire

  • Prime BEEF stamps hoof prints on Gitmo

    Airmen from the 474th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron have started the process to transform Guantanamo's McCalla Airfield into an expeditonary legal complex here last month. The airfield resembles a military construction site in Iraq, complete with blowing dust, heavy equipment and a sprawling

  • 'Primetime Thursday' featuring Alaska Air Guard

    ABC News program "Primetime Thursday" features airmen of the Alaska Air National Guard's 210th Air Rescue Squadron and their part in the rescue of two climbers on Mount St. Elias. The climbers witnessed two other climbers in their party die on the mountain. The show is scheduled to air Jan. 16.The

  • Prince Sultan AB boosts CENTCOM AOR refueling capabilities

    Just 48 hours before the KC-135 from the 349th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron left Al Udeid Air Base to conduct refueling missions in the region, the 378th ELRS was given a task: To develop, build and sustain a rapid refueling capability at Prince Sultan Air Base. That’s exactly what they did.

  • Princeton review gives academy high marks

    The Air Force Academy ranks 18th in the nation in overall academic experience, according to the Princeton Review's "The Best 357 Colleges -- 2005 edition."The annual rankings hit the streets Aug. 17 and are the result of input from more than 110,000 students at 357 colleges.Students and cadets

  • Principal military official stops moves to Egypt

    Military officials have temporarily halted movement of personnel, to include permanent change of station moves and most temporary duty assignments to Egypt, due to the Department of State's ordered departure of all dependents and non-mission essential personnel from Egypt.The stop movement order,

  • Printing delay for enlisted guide won't delay promotion testing

    Distribution of the printed version of the 2011 Air Force Pamphlet 36-2241, Professional Development Guide, will be delayed until late December. Promotion cycles, including the upcoming 12E8 senior master sergeant promotion cycle Dec. 5-16, will not be affected by the distribution delay. The delay

  • Prior enlisted retirement restriction waiver requests due by June 1

    Prior enlisted officers with eight years of active duty commissioned time may be able to retire through the Air Force 10-8 Commission Waiver Program, which was originally announced last December, Air Force Personnel Center officials reminded Airmen today. "AFPC announced this program last December

  • Priorities are key to getting organized

    Short suspenses, miles of e-mail traffic and clocks that never slow down can present road blocks on the daily path to getting the mission done. Even so, Rowdy Yates, 78th Air Base Wing Lean change manager, said people can get more done daily with the right approach. "I believe the reason people feel

  • Priorities of AF acquisition outlined at symposium

    Dr. William A. LaPlante, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, outlined the Air Force's top acquisition priorities during the Air Force Association’s annual Air Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition Feb. 13, in Orlando, Florida.

  • Priority placement program serves employee, DOD needs

    Civilian employees adversely affected by actions such as transfer of function or base realignment and closure may be eligible for assistance through the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program. "The priority placement program sometimes conjures concern when mentioned, but it is one of the

  • Prior-service airmen receive SKT exemptions

    Prior-service airmen who do not possess the minimum required primary Air Force specialty skill level commensurate with their grade will now automatically receive a two-year exemption from taking the Specialty Knowledge Test during promotion fitness exams.The change will become effective with the

  • Privatization helping DOD meet housing goal

    With funding levels making it increasingly difficult to maintain acceptable housing conditions at many military installations, Defense Department officials in the mid-1990s turned management and maintenance of some 200,000 "below standard" quarters over to private firms."We knew that we would never

  • Privatized housing now available at Scott

    The Air Force closed a housing privatization deal recently at an Illinois base, bringing the total of privatized homes across the service to more than 16,000, said housing officials here. Scott Air Force Base, Ill., will benefit from $250 million in total development of 1,593 homes within the first

  • Pro baseball player spends day as Airman

    Major League Baseball pitcher Al Leiter swapped his New York Mets uniform May 24 for an Air Force flight suit to become a boom operator here for a day.While here, the left-hander who has played in three World Series and has 146 career wins, learned the ropes of refueling from Senior Airman Chardo

  • Pro Bowlers sign autographs for service members after practice

    After each Pro Bowl practice session at Earhart Field, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Jan. 26, the players spent time with the servicemembers and their families by signing jerseys, helmets, footballs, towels and even surf boards.View the slideshow here.

  • Proactive Airmen get jump on passport process

    Airmen control the first steps to a successful passport process -- saving time, money and ensuring mission success downrange. The process to get the Department of State-issued document takes three to six weeks because of mailing, screening and coordination through official channels in Washington,

  • Probe finds Dover supervisors targeted whistleblowers

    The Office of Special Counsel has determined that supervisors at the U.S. Port Mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, Del., retaliated against four employees who tried to expose wrongdoing at the facility.Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley said that he and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A.

  • Proceedings delayed for translator

    The military judge appointed to preside over the court-martial case involving an Air Force translator has delayed the proceedings. The initial session of Senior Airman Ahmad I. Al Halabi’s court-martial was scheduled for Dec. 15. It has been postponed until Jan. 13 to allow resolution of questions

  • Process for validating reserve early-retired pay explained

    Air Reserve Personnel Center officials here are finalizing procedures for validating the receipt of retired pay before Citizen Airmen, both guardsmen and reservists, turn 60 years old.Since Jan. 28, 2008, Guard and Reserve Airmen can reduce the age they receive retirement pay by three months for

  • Process speeds up IT acquisition

    The Secretary of the Air Force implemented Information Technology Lean reengineering improvements slated for the information technology acquisition process last month. The Electronic Systems Center's Operations Support Systems Wing will begin to use the process immediately, with the Air Force-wide

  • Process strips paint off B-1s

    Layer by layer, a B-1 Lancer here sheds paint under a pressurized assault by tiny bits of plastic.It is the first aircraft at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center to be stripped by the dry-media process in the high-tech facility used to remove paint.The medium is a mix of plastics, each with

  • Processing claims streaming online

    The Air Force Judge Advocate General's corps is consolidating the processing of certain claims, commonly known as personal claims, at a single location in Dayton, Ohio. These claims involve loss or damage during shipment of household goods and privately owned vehicles, as well as during storage at

  • Processing the evacuated

    As planes continue to leave Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., full of relief supplies bound for Haiti, a great number of planes return full of evacuees coming home. These people, many of them U.S. citizens or residents, must go through evacuation in-processing at Homestead ARB.Currently this process

  • Proclamation declares Gold Star Mother's Day today

    A proclamation issued by President George Bush Sept. 20 declares Sept. 24 as Gold Star Mother's Day. Since June 23, 1936, the last Sunday in September has been recognized as Gold Star Mother's Day, as established by to Senate Joint Resolution 115. "I call upon all government officials to display the

  • Proclamation kicks off Air Force Week Salt Lake City

    A proclamation officially naming June 1 through 7 as Air Force Week Salt Lake City was declared here June 1 during a ceremony on the steps of the Utah state capitol building. Attending the event were Utah Governor Jon Hunstman Jr., Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley and Gen.

  • Proclamation officially opens Air Force Week Sacramento

    Air Force Week here officially began Sept. 8 with a proclamation ceremony on the steps of the California State Capitol Building. In attendance at the event were California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley, Gen. Arthur J. Lichte, commander of Air

  • Procurement initiative secures DOD computers, saves money

    Department of Defense officials are among those of dozens of departments and organizations who have improved security for their laptop computers and saved taxpayers more than $92 million by using a new procurement initiative, a senior Defense Department official said here. DOD and the General

  • Procurement mission at Hill transfers to DLA

    A June 17 activation ceremony at the Hill Aerospace Museum marked the transfer of 43 Air Force employees to the Defense Logistics Agency here. The employees, mostly contracting officers from the 448th Supply Chain Management Group, procure depot-level reparable aviation parts for Ogden Air Logistics

  • Product center finishes $250 million comm program

    The Global Information Grid Systems Group installed an emergency communications system at Minot Air Force Base, N.D, the last of 50 identical systems of a more than $250 million program. The Minuteman Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network Program -- which began more than seven years ago

  • Products to revolutionize space weather forecasts

    Predicting the harmful effects of space weather on a U.S. military asset or mission has been advanced with the delivery of a prototype that combines environmental information with system specifications and thresholds. The prototype, which consists of five computer-generated products, provides

  • Professional bad guys: Space aggressors prepare Airmen for the enemy

    Walking out to an F-16 Fighting Falcon, Staff Sgt. Erick Vega is told upon landing that the pilot experienced loss of GPS. An hour passes before Vega, an avionics specialist from Aviano Air Base, Italy, determines that adversaries have degraded the system through an attack on space assets.

  • Professional Bull Riders honor Nellis Airmen at world finals

    Members of the international Professional Bull Riders, Inc., association saluted the Air Force and the accomplishments of several Airmen during their World Finals in Las Vegas Oct. 22.The special-themed Air Force Night kicked off with a swearing-in ceremony for 25 members of the Delayed Enlistment

  • Professional development key to Airmen's success

    In a culture where deployments are part of daily life and Airmen regularly perform duties above their rank, professional development is an important piece of cultivating the enlisted force to meet mission requirements, Air Force leaders said recently at the 2011 Air Force Sergeants Association

  • Professional wrestler visits former base school, home

    Walking into the center of the high school gymnasium, the illuminated stage grabs the professional wrestler's attention. "This is the very spot (my friend) Kenny and I did that skit -- my first wrestling match!" he says, pointing to the stage.It was during this performance for the 1982 Randolph High

  • Professional wrestlers thank Dyess Airmen for service

    When Airman 1st Class Fred Stewart was deployed to Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, the services troop improved the morale at the base by asking World Wrestling Entertainment for anything they might like to send to support the troops.“I’ve always been a die-hard wrestling fan,” Airman Stewart said. “A

  • Professional, personal education key to Air Force future

    The Air Force is the most technologically advanced and capable air force in the world, in part due to the professional and personal education Airmen obtain, the secretary of the Air Force said recently. “We need our people to be highly qualified and we set that standard from the first line of

  • Professor at AFA conference offers advice about stress

    Professor John Moore spoke at the Air Force Association's 2006 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition Sept. 25 about ways to combat deployment stress. Mr. Moore joined other national experts and senior Department of Defense and Air Force leaders at the annual two-day AFA conference. The

  • Professor swims into record book ... again

    Lt. Col. Tim Lawrence takes to challenges like a fish to water. The long-distance swimmer extraordinaire swam the English Channel in 1999, was the first American to swim the 41 nautical miles around Britain's Jersey Island in 2002, was the first American to swim from the island of Vis to Split,

  • Proficiency is key when accessing Alaska’s remote locations

    From the northernmost to the southernmost point, Alaska measures 1,420 miles -- the distance from Denver to Mexico City. Alaska has more than 600,000 square miles of land, and some locations are inaccessible, except by air. C-12F Huron pilots assigned to the 517th Airlift Squadron provide air

  • Profile: AETC's 2011 NCO Instructor of the Year

    For Tech. Sgt. Ryan Tennyson, Air Education and Training Command's Non-Commissioned Officer Instructor of the Year for 2011, life as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal instructor couldn't get much better. Whether it be teaching students at Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal at Eglin Air Force

  • Program addresses wounded, ill servicemembers' needs

    More than 1,900 wounded servicemembers have benefited from their enrollment in a specialized health program to meet their unique needs during their rehabilitative process. "As we began seeing more wounded servicemembers returning to our region, we identified some unique needs that they faced as they

  • Program adds multiple career fields, vacancies

    The Air Force’s Voluntary Limited Period of Active Duty (VLPAD) program has added a number of career fields for selected air reserve component line of the Air Force officers.

  • Program aids foreign-born spouses cope with reassignment

    Some foreign-born spouses of active-duty Airmen projected to serve a dependent restricted assignment tour may find help through the Designated Location Move Assignment Program, according to Air Force Personnel Center officials here. Although the program already exists, beginning April 4 it became

  • Program aims to eliminate threat to aircraft

    The team of four works to save lives, aircraft and money, usually behind the scenes. They are vital to the mission of this forward operating location serving Operation Enduring Freedom by running the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard, or BASH, program. The 40th Air Expeditionary Group safety office

  • Program aims to help military spouses interested in teaching

    Spouses to Teachers, the Defense Department's latest endeavor to help military spouses interested in teaching, is serving a similar purpose as the popular Troops to Teachers program, an official said.DOD officials established Troops to Teachers in 1994, and responsibility for the program was

  • Program allows full-time study while on active duty

    A program allowing active-duty enlisted Airmen to attend college full time without loss of pay or benefits, and graduate with both a degree and a commission might just be the best kept secret in the Air Force, officials said.“It’s easily one of the best programs in the Air Force, and not a lot of

  • Program assists heroes in reaching next level

    They gave something that they can never get back, and a group here does its best to ensure these heroes smoothly move on to the next phase of their lives. Palace HART -- Helping Airmen Recover Together -- is a program that assists Airmen injured in operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Many

  • Program benefits American, Bulgarian maintainers

    American and Bulgarian Airmen received familiarization briefings on F-15 Eagles and MiG-29 aircraft in an effort to increase theater security cooperation in April here. F-15s are deployed to Bulgaria for Operation Noble Endeavor supporting the NATO summit, and it presented maintainers from the two

  • Program brings languages to senior officer PME

    As special guests of the Air Force Culture and Language Center staff, 20 instructors from the Defense Language Institute in Washington, D.C., and Monterey, Calif., are helping Air War College and Air Command and Staff College students cultivate basic language skills as part of the Strategic

  • Program connects officer with family heritage

    (This story is part of the "Through Airmen's Eyes" series on AF.mil. These stories and commentaries focus on a single Airman, highlighting their Air Force story.)People in the military understand that being able to relate across cultures is a very important skill. That ability has a more personal

  • Program cuts sustain health care, maintain quality

    Defense Department officials have recommended a number of ways to cut costs in the military health system, while still providing high-quality care and protecting the wallets of active duty service members and their families, a senior defense official said Feb. 28."We're trying to create a balanced

  • Program desperately needs blood

    The Armed Services Blood Program needs eligible Type O blood donors to support ongoing military operations worldwide and to replenish the military's frozen blood reserves.A single battlefield injury victim can require more than 40 units of blood in an emergency. Type O donors are especially

  • Program develops senior civilian leaders

    The Civilian Strategic Leader Program director assignment offers a structured strategic path for developing future Air Force senior civilian leaders.The program serves as a process for identifying civilian employees at the GS-14 and 15 or equivalent levels who will be the most competitive for

  • Program documents art of war

    Four aviation artists spent two days visiting Tallil Air Base in southern Iraq to visually document and experience firsthand bare-base Air Force operations there. John Witt, Phil Weisgerber, Gregg Thompson and Harley Copic traveled to Southwest Asia to support the Air Force Art Program. Their job

  • Program easing medical separation rolls out forcewide

    A pilot program that eases medical separation and speeds benefit payments for servicemembers too wounded, sick or injured to stay in the military will soon roll out to the entire force. "We are proud that the disability evaluation system is making progress," a senior defense official said this week.

  • Program educates military spouses, builds confidence

    Signing up to join the military can be an intimidating ordeal for military members, but they're not the only ones who experience anxiety when the dotted line is signed. Before 2002, military spouses here were on their own to learn about Air Force services, customs and courtesies.  Now, coordinators

  • Program encourages Airmen to 'Be Ready'

    Every year on June 1, when hurricane season officially begins, Airmen at bases along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico start to pay more attention to the weather. It pays to be vigilant. Last year, on Aug. 27, 2011, Hurricane Irene landed in North Carolina and traveled up the Atlantic Coast,

  • Program encourages scientific collaborations

    As panel members convene for the organization's 50th annual meeting, a five-nation program geared toward collaboration in defense science and technology is looking at its past and charting its future, a senior Defense Department official said. Andre van Tilborg, deputy undersecretary of defense for

  • Program encourages troops to save money, reduce debt

    A new Defense Department program encourages servicemembers to become better money managers by paying off or avoiding credit card debt and starting savings accounts, a senior official said Feb. 15. "Military Saves" is an ongoing, DoD-wide program that also sponsors money management seminars titled,

  • Program executive officer describes F-35 progress

    Progress remains steady in the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter’s operational testing, reprogramming, fueling, and stand-up training, the F-35 program executive officer told an audience at Aviation Week’s Defense Technologies and Requirements Conference here March 4.

  • Program fights mosquitoes, trains Airmen

    Air Force Reserve Command is expanding its Innovative Readiness Training, or IRT, program this summer to help communities control mosquitoes.C-130 Hercules aircrews will spray Williston and Minot in North Dakota June 30-July 3, and York County and the City of Poquoson in Virginia July 22-26. These

  • Program Fills Gap for Returning Guard, Reserve

    Though the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program has eased the post-deployment process for thousands of Guard and Reserve members and their families over the past two years, officials are hoping thousands more take advantage of the Defense Department program in the coming months, the program's

  • Program gives Airman opportunity to attend Academy

    For most cadets, this represents their initial basic training experience and the beginning of their path to becoming an Air Force officer, but a few cadets in each class have taken the long road to Jacks Valley.

  • Program gives children positive outlets for problems

    With April as Month of the Military Child, Aviano Air Base members are helping base youths by teaching children that hitting each other is not acceptable and helped give them a positive outlet to deal with their problems. Children at Aviano AB's elementary school learned about the dangers of using

  • Program gives more than $400,000 in gifts to troops

    Since the Army and Air Force Exchange Service began “Gifts from the Homefront” last year, people have contributed $406,745 toward the program.The program is designed to lift the morale of deployed troops worldwide by offering gift certificates which can be purchased by any individual or civic

  • Program gives technology access to disabled GIs

    A Defense Department program helps wounded servicemembers and other people with disabilities have equal access to the information environment and opportunities throughout the federal government, a senior DOD official said May 8. Dinah F.B. Cohen, director of the Computer and Electronic Accommodation

  • Program gives vets advantage in owning a business

    Military veterans interested in being owner-operator truck drivers now can achieve that goal quicker and less expensively, thanks to an agreement between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Schneider National, Inc. Officials from the VA and Schneider signed a memorandum of understanding July 1,

  • Program helps Airmen cope with divorce

    Anyone who has been in the Air Force for more than a year has heard the horror stories about failed marriages and how hard it is to stay in a relationship with constant deployments and work stress. While falling in love and getting married can be the greatest experience of one's life, a divorce can

  • Program helps Airmen reintegrate after deployments

    Returning home from a deployment can be a time full of excitement with hopes of getting back into normal life and reuniting with loved ones. But reintegrating back into normal life can be difficult as things at work and home have changed. The reintegration program at Ramstein AB seeks to help make

  • Program helps Airmen with reintegration after deployment

    Airmen returning from a deployment usually find their permanent duty station a welcome sight. The chance to finally see family and friends again and get back to a normal lifestyle is something to look forward to during the flight home.But Airmen and their families often find that adjusting to life

  • Program helps deployed Airmen with career decisions

    Expeditionary Top IV members here are helping Airmen to make major career decisions while deployed, and far away from career advisors and other personnel specifically trained to help.The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Top IV Mentor/Shadow Program, currently managed by Master Sgt. Judy Quintana, gives

  • Program helps disabled vets become entrepreneurs

    Retired Army 1st Sgt. Renee Floyd wasn't about to let a disability stop her from realizing her dream of having her own business.Applying 21 years of experience as an Army mechanic, she launched BRF Mobile Lube Service in Phenix City, Ala., in 2009 and began traveling to people's homes and businesses

  • Program helps disabled vets get defense business contracts

    Thousands of disabled military veterans have enrolled in a governmentwide program that's designed to help them succeed in new careers as business owners, a Defense Department official said here July 18. The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Office was established at the Pentagon by an