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U.S. Air Force News

  • Social media: Unwanted eyes may be watching Airmen, families

    Social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr can provide an instantaneous and highly entertaining feedback stream of your daily activities to friends and family. The latest videos of dogs running with fireworks in their mouths, kittens tumbling in the snow or Internet memes of celebrity

  • SecAF outlines top priorities during ‘State of AF’ address

    After her second month in office, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James laid out her top three priorities as part of a “state of the Air Force” address, during the final day of the 30th annual Air Force Association Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition Feb. 21.

  • Shelton announces new space situational awareness satellite program

    The commander of Air Force Space Command announced a new satellite program during a speech about the importance of space and cyberspace at the Air Force Association Air Warfare Symposium and Technology exposition, Feb. 21, here.General William Shelton told the audience about the new Geosynchronous

  • U.S. joint capabilities support Thai partners

    The 3rd Wing validated its joint and combined capabilities this week when five C-17 Globemaster III left Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson for Thailand to airdrop paratroopers from the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, to the joint and combined exercise Cobra Gold

  • CSAF: Taking care of Airmen, future roadmap key to AF success

    Getting top performing Airmen promoted sooner, changing the EPR system, streamlining the enlisted and officer professional education programs and developing a roadmap for the Air Force for the next three decades were some of the topics discussed by the Air Force’s top officer during the 30th annual

  • GPS IIF-5 successfully launched from Cape Canaveral

    The U. S. Air Force officials successfully launched the fifth Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellite carried aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV launch vehicle at 8:59 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., Feb. 20.

  • Next-generation mobility solutions beginning

    The initial rollout of modernized commercial mobile technologies, or CMT, has begun across the Air Force.The rollout will focus on BlackBerry replacement and executive users while the distribution process will be focused on enabling approximately 5,000 iOS devices.

  • SecAF: Future force in ready, capable hands

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said Feb. 14 that visits to the Air Force Academy and to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, have given her faith in the Air Force's future.

  • AF officer honored with space operations award

    Lt. Col. Samuel A. Little, director of operations, 45th Launch Support Squadron was recently named by the National Space Club as recipient of the prestigious General Bernard Schriever Award, honoring excellence in military space operations and acquisition.

  • AF announces ‘pro-gear’ policy change

    Air Force officials recently announced changes to the Department of Defense’s policy on transporting member’s professional books, papers and equipment, or PBP&E, shipped in household goods during permanent change of station moves. Known as “pro-gear,” the new PBP&E policy impacts orders issued on or

  • New AC-130J completes first test flight

    After more than a year of modification maintenance, the newly created AC-130J Ghostrider took to the sky for the first time as a gunship here Jan. 31.

  • Senior civilians selected for strategic leadership program

    A dozen senior civilian leaders have been selected for the Air Force Civilian Strategic Leader Program following intense screening and assessment by a nine-member Air Force CSLP selection board, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced.

  • Family care plans ease stress, boost readiness

    An up-to-date family care plan can help to ease stress and boost family resilience and readiness during a service member's absence. Family care plans are instructions developed by service members to identify caregivers who have agreed to take care of family members during the sponsor's absence.

  • One for one: JB Charleston goes international

    As the sun begins to rise over the Australian outback, the very same sun is setting for Royal Australian air force Sgt. Daniel Humphreys, currently assigned to the 17th Airlift Squadron as an exchange loadmaster. Humphreys will be calling Charleston, S.C., his home for the next few years. In

  • AF to replace aviator locator beacons

    The Air Force will replace thousands of unreliable aircraft personnel locator beacons across the fleet, a service official said Jan. 16, here.

  • Real Thaw 14 kicks off in Portugal

    Approximately 260 Airmen from the 31st Fighter Wing arrived in Monte Real Air Base, Portugal, in support of Real Thaw 14 -- a two-week close air support exercise hosted by the Portuguese air force.

  • AF Space Command adds new antennas

    The 50th Space Wing here earned operational acceptance for four of its remote tracking station antennas from Air Force Space Command Jan. 29, signaling the start of full operations for the Air Force's newest satellite communication assets.

  • Hagel promotes partnership at Aviation Detachment

    Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel visited with U.S. and Polish airmen from the 52nd Operations Group Aviation Detachment here, Jan. 31. Hagel traveled to Poland to discuss U.S. and Polish partnerships and defense alliances across a range of global security issues. He also thanked them for their support

  • How AF locates, recovers downed aviators

    An isolated military member may be equipped with many survival tools, but perhaps the most important is confidence in the people tasked to conduct his or her rescue. The Air Force’s ability to rapidly deploy and attack the enemy at a moment's notice comes with risk for pilots and other service

  • Don’t mourn in black, travel well

    In her deep blue eyes, you not only see the sadness, you can feel the grief of her soul. The agony comes from losing her husband, retired Master Sgt. Chuck Dearing, to cancer last year. But in a flash, those blue eyes dance and what you see isn't that grief, it's love -- intense, raw love.

  • AF news team preps for ‘28-days in AFGSC’

    Two photojournalists and a broadcaster from the Air Force Public Affairs Agency here are gearing up for a 28-day trek to provide and inside and in depth look at the Air Force Global Strike mission and the Airmen who make it happen.

  • Official discusses Chinese air force, missile trends

    U.S. intelligence officials visiting Capitol Hill Jan. 30 reported to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on the steady progress made by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and the implications of that development to the United States.

  • Senior airman doubles as U.S. National Netball player

    A senior airman assigned to the 81st Medical Support Squadron logistics flight here recently returned from an international netball tournament in Singapore. Alisi Taka, a medical material technician, is a member of the U.S. National Netball Team. Taka joined seven other women in the six-country

  • Space squadron optimizes wideband communication constellations

    Late in 2013, the 3rd Space Operations Squadron’s mission -- "Warfighters ensuring reliable wideband communications to national authorities and U.S. and Allied forces" -- was proudly displayed as the unit repositioned its eighth satellite during a nine-month effort to optimize the military wideband

  • Super Bowl preparations include air defense exercise

    Fighter jets from the Continental United States North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, also known as CONR, along with the command’s interagency partners, are preparing to protect the sky around MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the site of Super Bowl XLVIII Feb. 2.

  • Red Flag returns to Nevada

    The latest iteration of the Air Force's premier air-to-air combat training exercise kicked off Jan. 27 as allied and U.S aircraft launched to simulate battle in the sky over the Nevada Test and Training Range.

  • Deployed bandsmen calm troops during mortar attack

    Sirens screaming in the night alerted airmen to take shelter in protective concrete bunkers during an enemy mortar attack. Forward-deployed members of the Air Force Central Command Band waited with fellow wingmen for the ‘all clear’ signal when one airman requested a song.

  • Air Force's top leaders visit Global Strike bases

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody recently completed visits to Air Force Global Strike Command bases.

  • 45th Space Wing supports successful NASA launch

    The U.S. Air Force's 45th Space Wing provided flawless Eastern Range support for NASA's successful launch of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-L mission aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41 here at 9:33 p.m. Jan. 23.

  • AF family heads to national fitness finals

    McConnell's first family to compete in the national Triple Play Fit Family Challenge has progressed to the third and final tier of the national competition. The Blairs are among the top five out of two hundred families who will travel to Los Angeles, Calif., to compete for the title.

  • It takes a village: Airman is walking example of resilience

    By the age of 3, he found himself in and out of group housing and foster homes in New York City. His father had abandoned him before birth and his mother was addicted to drugs. Staff Sgt. Lamar Valentina, a 31st Logistics Readiness Squadron equipment accountability element supervisor, didn't have

  • New secretary testifies to commission on total force

    The Air Force will rely more on its Air National Guard and Reserve components in the future with the aim to preserve more capabilities as the service seeks to reduce its personnel , the service’s top leader said Jan.9.

  • Hagel visits troops, defense nuclear facilities in New Mexico

    Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he was impressed with what he saw here Jan. 8 at an Air Force base on the northern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, where two facilities represent a large and historic part of the nation’s nuclear weapons expertise.

  • Challenges never stop as AF officer clocks up 20 '13s' in 2013

    To those who know him, Lt. Col. Chris Bennett, the former 100th Operations Support Squadron commander, isn't just a runner - he's a running machine. Not only has the Airlift and Tanker Requirements chief at Headquarters Air Force Reservist Directorate, Air Staff, Pentagon, run every single day for

  • Airman cellist bows for audience

    The deep, rich sound of the vibrating strings echoed in front of thousands of people at a change of command ceremony as one Airman put to work 22 years of practice.

  • POW to personal triumph

    Many people might associate the phrase 'prisoner of war' with service men and women, but a POW can also include non-combatants such as women and children. George "Julie" Kubat, an Air Force spouse and a member of the Fairchild Air Force Base family for roughly 40 years, had a different childhood

  • Shelton discusses importance of space defense

    Space is fundamental to the economy, the military and the way of life in the United States and officials must continue to guard against challenges in the domain from adversaries, the commander of Air Force Space Command said today. Gen. William Shelton shared with students at George Washington

  • 45th Space Wing supports SpaceX Thaicom 6 mission

    The Air Force's 45th Space Wing provided Eastern Range support to the successful launch of the Thaicom 6 communications satellite from Space Launch Complex 40 at 5:06 p.m. Jan 6 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

  • TAP curriculum available online for separating service members

    Separating service members can participate in the transition assistance program, or TAP, online, Department of Defense officials announced. TAP, now called Transition GPS-Goals, Plans and Success, is designed to help prepare separating and retiring members for life outside of the military. It

  • AFNet PII breaches still a concern

    More than one month after Air Force Space Command's implementation of lock-out procedures for individuals found to have inappropriately transmitted Personally Identifiable Information, PII breaches still remain a significant issue.

  • CMSAF, wife visit air traffic control roots

    Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody and his wife, retired Chief Master Sgt. Athena Cody, returned here Jan. 3 and 4 to visit the men and women of the 157th Air Refueling Wing nearly 23 years after leaving as young staff sergeants.

  • AF selects officers for space leadership roles

    More than three dozen officers have been selected for calendar year 2014 space operations director of operations, detachment commander and director of space forces positions, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced.

  • Eligible officers, enlisted members offered early retirement

    Staff through senior master sergeants and captains through lieutenant colonels in certain Air Force Specialty Codes may apply to retire with fewer than 20 years of active service under the Temporary Early Retirement Authority, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced.

  • CV-22 arrives at AF museum, marks future expansion

    One of the Air Force's unique aircraft landed at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, Dec. 12. The arrival of CV-22 Osprey will be a centerpiece of the museum’s new 224,000 square-foot building.

  • Final B-52G eliminated under New START

    One rescue saw, two qualified technicians and less than 45 minutes later, the final B-52G Stratofortress accountable under the New START Treaty was eliminated Dec. 19 at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, commonly referred to as "The Boneyard," Davis-Monthan Air Force Base,

  • Alaska Airmen keep Santa in sight

    NORAD conducts a special mission on Dec. 24 - tracking Santa across the globe to ensure Santa experiences safe travels during his yuletide journey and Alaskan NORAD Region plays a vital part in that mission.

  • Mobility Airmen ready and responsive anytime, anywhere

    As the death of former South African president Nelson Mandela drew the world's attention to the African continent, mobility Airmen raced against the clock to ensure President Obama's security, communications, and mission support was in place. Within days those would become part of an international

  • AF band spreads holiday cheer

    Dressed in holiday style the U.S. Air Force Band performed Dec. 15 at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Va., as part of their holiday concert series.Visitors lined the railings and the floor around the stage as the band performed holiday classics along with

  • Officials announce 2014 military housing allowance rates

    The 2014 basic allowance for housing rates for service members released Dec. 17, represent an average increase of 5 percent, or up to $75 to $80 per month, the Defense Department's BAH program manager said. The new rates will take effect Jan. 1 at a cost of about $20 billion for the Defense

  • Mission complete: Reapers finish base security role in Afghanistan

    After a five-hour vehicle and foot patrol outside of Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Tech. Sgt. Gary Rand sets his gear down and talks to his fellow Airmen about the mission.The Reapers have just pulled into their compound after the final “outside the wire” mission patrolling an area around the

  • NATO advisers provide clean water to Afghan village

    Members of the 838th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group Commander's Emergency Response Program conducted a site visit to a project at the Old Russian Village, a village near Shindand Air Base, Afghanistan on Dec. 2.

  • C-17 crew supports Africa-led peacekeeping support mission

    The Defense Department sent another Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport jet from Burundi to the Central African Republic today in support of the African Union-led International Support Mission in that beleaguered nation.

  • Academy expands Falcon Telescope Network, view into space

    Researchers at the Air Force Academy 's Department of Physics Center for Space Situational Awareness Research now have new university partners around the globe, thanks to a project combining satellite and educational outreach.

  • AF envisions smaller force to preserve readiness

    Discussing upcoming budgetary variables during a Pentagon news conference today, the Air Force's top civilian leader for the past six months addressed the inevitability of a smaller force.

  • Academy cyber team showcases international prowess

    The Air Force Academy's Cyber Competition team placed first out of 47 teams in the western hemisphere, and fifth among 123 teams overall in the University of California Santa Barbara International Capture the Flag cyber competition Dec. 6.

  • AF officials announce FY14 civilian workforce shaping

    The Air Force will reduce the size of its civilian workforce by about 900 positions in addition to maintaining approximately 7,000 vacancies across the force to meet the demands of a constrained fiscal 2014 budget, officials announced.

  • Wounded Airman receives new home

    The morning alarm wakes him. He gets dressed, brushes his teeth and gets his two-year-old son ready for the day. He does this with no legs, and only one arm.

  • Airman missing from Vietnam war accounted for

    The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office, or DPMO, announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing from the Vietnam War, has been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

  • Steps for PCS: Making sure Fido is 'homeward bound'

    Although they are not flying business class, more than 100,000 pets travel by air each year, according to the Humane Society of the United States. Service members with animals know the importance of having their precious cargo with them every step of the move. Relocating half way around the world or

  • Vandenberg AFB launch propels nanosatellite into space

    An Atlas V rocket launched Dec. 5, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., carried a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored nanosatellite into space -- and with it, the potential for more reliable and less expensive communications for troops around the world.

  • Airmen support SES-8 Satellite launch

    The 45th Space Wing supported Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, to complete a successful launch of the SES-8 communications satellite here Dec. 3. Airmen, Air Force civilians and contractors from the 45th Space Wing provided weather forecasts, launch and range operations, security, safety,

  • Maintainers shine during Israeli Blue Flag exercise

    Maintainers from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, used innovation and flexibility to ensure mission success during the first Israeli Blue Flag exercise. Blue Flag, which took place Nov. 24-28, was a multinational aerial warfare training exercise hosted by the Israeli air force and included

  • Joint Chiefs Chairman to host Facebook town hall

    The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is looking forward to interacting with a range of people during a town hall meeting on Facebook this week.Questions already are coming in to Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey's Facebook page, with more than 150 questions and comments so far over a wide range of

  • Communications satellite turns 20

    The 3rd Space Operations Squadron celebrated the Defense Satellite Communications System B10 satellite's 20th anniversary on orbit Nov. 28. The anniversary held significant importance for the squadron and for the Air Force, in part because the satellite was designed to operate for only 10 years.

  • AF appoints new space deputy

    A new deputy under Secretary of the Air Force for Space programs was appointed Nov. 18 to lead the way in innovation and plot the future of the program.

  • KC-135 brings force extension to Iceland

    The 351st Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron and the KC-135 Stratotanker deployed from Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, make up an important part of the 48th Air Expeditionary Group here in Iceland.

  • Welsh: Air Force performs vital national security missions

    The Air Force mission that calls for it to dominate the air, transport troops and materiel and provide communications and intelligence are all critical to American military success, but performing them is hard for the public to visualize because much of this goes on behind the scenes, Air Force

  • Dover AFB Airmen deliver NASA equipment

    Even with all the advancements mankind has made, storms like Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy have proven just how vulnerable we can be to the wrath of Mother Nature. Advanced and accurate information about the path of these storms can be the difference between life and death.

  • Aerospace award nominations due Jan. 7

    Nominations for the 2014 Air Force Association Aerospace Awards, for outstanding contributions to national defense in a variety of fields, are due to the Air Force Personnel Center by Jan. 7.

  • Air Force focuses on nuclear security, operations

    The Air Force's nuclear mission continues to have the attention of leaders across the discipline, the Air Force chief of staff said here yesterday. Gen. Mark A. Welsh III categorically stated that he is not worried about the surety and security or the operational capability of the Air Force's