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  • 100-plus aircraft fly in for exercise Red Flag 16-3

    The three-week long Red Flag 16-3, a U.S.-only exercise that tests all participating units’ combat capabilities in a joint environment that centers on multi-domain integration, kicked off at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, July 11.

  • A-10s deploy to Slovakia for cross-border training

    The 122nd Fighter Wing, which flies the A-10 "Warthog" airframe, has deployed eight A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and approximately 140 Airmen in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve for a month-long combined training event, overseas, to Sliač Air Base, Slovakia.

  • National Intrepid Center zeroes in on traumatic brain injury

    Defense Medical Surveillance System and Theater Medical Data figures show that more than 339,000 service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury since 2000. For service members on their roads to recovery, the National Intrepid Center of Excellence in Bethesda, Maryland, stands ready

  • Program works to reduce risk on next Air Force One

    The Air Force awarded a contract modification to Boeing July 15 to continue risk reduction activities for the Presidential Aircraft Recapitalization program, which will field the next Air Force One.

  • Saber Strike turns to medevac mission for C-17 aircrew

    After a C-17 Globemaster III aircrew from the 21st Airlift Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, California, took off June 10 for exercise Saber Strike 16, they ended up on a real-world emergency medical mission to help a fellow Airman.

  • Air dominance and the critical role of fifth-generation fighters

    Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the Air Combat Command commander, discussed the importance of air superiority and the need to assure it by modernizing the combat air force during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee in Washington, D.C., July 13.

  • Former AF chief of staff recognized for analysis legacy

    Former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper was honored for his analysis work with the Lt. Gen. Glenn A. Kent Leadership Award, presented by Kevin Williams, the director of Air Force Studies, Analyses and Assessments, during a July 11 ceremony at the Pentagon.

  • Airman links deployed operators to human performance experts

    Many scientists and engineers go directly from school to laboratories and do not get the opportunity to work side by side with customers who use the products they create. For a behavioral scientist in the 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, that’s not the case.

  • Detachment standardizes aeromedical qualification training for total force

    Airmen assigned to 31 aeromedical evacuation squadrons across the Air Force must complete vigorous training to provide lifesaving in-transit care on fixed-wing aircraft. The 375th Air Mobility Wing’s newest formal training unit, Detachment 4, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the

  • Carter announces 560 US troops to deploy to Iraq

    Secretary of Defense Ash Carter met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other Iraqi leaders in Baghdad on July 11. He commended them for the recent progress in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, including the capture of a strategic airfield near the town of

  • New era of airpower exhibited at world’s largest air show

    The newest additions to American airpower, the F-35 Lightning II A and B variants, as well as the F-22 Raptor and numerous legacy and special mission aircraft from U.S. forces were on display at the The 2016 Royal International Air Tattoo at Royal Air Force Fairford, England.

  • Little Rock Airman saves woman from drowning

    It was June 25, a normal Saturday of kayaking at the Ouachita River Whitewater Park in Malvern, Arkansas, for Senior Airman Colton Lien and his friends when they witnessed a woman fall out her inner tube into the middle of the river.

  • Ramstein wife earns spouse of the year award

    Giving back to the local community is one of the duties that come along with service to one's country. There are some people, like Nicole Bridge, who don’t wear the uniform, but give back in an equally large way. Bridge was recently awarded the 2016 Joan Orr Air Force Spouse of the Year award.

  • Reserve C-17 wins best in show at UK air show

    Reservists from the 315th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, participated in the annual Yeovilton Air Day at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, England, on July 2, and they were also awarded the show’s top prize, the best static display award.

  • Two missions, one fight

    The 737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron and the 386th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron have two different missions, yet work together every day to ensure the single mission of the C-130 Hercules can equip and prepare our forces to stay in the fight another day.

  • Visualizing threats: A decade of threat modeling

    Dynamic explosions, missile launches and air-to-air dogfights are just a few animations the National Air and Space Intelligence Center threat visualization team create to help communicate potential threats in the world.

  • First USAF F-35A takes overseas flight to England

    The Air Combat Command F-35A Heritage Flight team accomplished America’s first transatlantic flight in an F-35A Lightning II, with refueling support from a KC-10 Extender, when it touched down June 30 at Royal Air Force Fairford, England.

  • Legislative liaisons enhance mobility relationships, future

    During an election year, many service members are extra cautious about any political affiliations. While this is important, Airmen have the right to reach out to their congressional representatives. Some Airmen even work directly with the politicians.

  • Coalition leader talks airpower effects

    The head of U.S. Air Forces Central Command took time June 28 to discuss the impact airpower has had in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and throughout Southwest Asia during a visit with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.

  • Air Force Junior ROTC partners up with AFA for StellarXplorer competition

    The Air Force Association is striving to increase participation in its third annual StellarXplorers competition this year by teaming up with the Air Force Junior ROTC headquarters. The new partnership will introduce the event to almost four times as many students compared to previous years.

  • Wargame provides reality check for war plans

    More than 70 mobility and logistics professionals from the U.S. and three allied countries convened for an exercise known as Global Mobility, Agile Combat Support (GLOMO/ACS) at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, June 20-24. Air Mobility Command has led the biennial wargame since 2002. In

  • Teamwork, airlift keys to success of exercise in Gabon

    Airmen from the 62nd Airlift Wing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, participated in Central Accord 2016, a joint military exercise with nearly 1,000 participants from 14 countries, which took place on the western coast of Africa June 10-24.

  • Edwards team creates mobile, reconfigurable cockpit

    The Portable Manned Interactive Cockpit was designed and is being built by members of the 772nd Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The PMIC is expected to be completed and ready for use by July 2016.

  • Minnesota guardsmen help secure skies above South Korea

    The Air National Guard is frequently called upon when U.S. Pacific Command needs additional assets to deliver rapid air capabilities in the Pacific region, and Airmen from the 148th Fighter Wing out of Duluth, Minnesota, are currently stepping up to that call.

  • Liaison officers keep communication flowing in Swift Response

    As exercise Swift Response 16 began phase II, with C-130J Super Hercules aircraft flying overhead and Soldiers operating on the ground, air mobility liaison officers kept effective communications flowing between both elements to ensure a successful exercise.

  • ACC: F-35 on track for IOC

    The F-35A Lightning II is on track to declare initial operational capability between August and December. Col. David Chace, the F-35 systems management office chief and lead for F-35 operational requirements at Air Combat Command, answers questions on the fifth-generation fighter.

  • Guardsmen train at Maintenance University

    More than 260 Air National Guard members from five states attended a weeklong course in aircraft maintenance here to enhance proficiency in everything from hydraulics to electrical generation.The annual event, now in its eighth year, is called Maintenance University, said Capt. James Campbell, the

  • Brothers connect at 22,000 feet

    A couple months ago, two KC-135 Stratotankers took flight from Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, to participate in an ordinary air refueling training exercise, but for the Marchesseault brothers, the day was anything but ordinary.

  • 433rd AW becomes first Reserve wing to get new C-5M

    The saying “history repeats itself” has become all too familiar to the 433rd Airlift Wing, as hundreds of Airmen and distinguished guests gathered along the flightline at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, on June 17 to welcome the wing’s first C-5M Super Galaxy, named “The City of San

  • Kentucky ANG Airmen help renovate school in Moldova

    Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard in partnership with officials from Moldova and U.S. European Command started a humanitarian project in Chisinau, Moldova, on June 3 that’s expected to last several weeks.

  • Global Hawk gets innovative ISR payload adapter

    Using a cooperative research and development agreement, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, partnering with Northrop Grumman and Air Combat Command, has developed an innovative solution to the tricky problem of how to connect existing and future information gathering sensor capabilities, not

  • Carter announces more US support for Afghan forces

    U.S. forces in Afghanistan now will be able to boost support for Afghan conventional forces with more firepower and by accompanying and advising them on the ground and in the air, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said June 15 in Brussels.

  • AF recovers data after Automated Case Tracking System outage

    After aggressively leveraging all vendor and department capabilities, the Air Force made a full recovery of the Automated Case Tracking System database, the Air Force inspector general system of record for all records related to IG complaints, investigations and appeals.

  • Around the world in 14 days

    In 1873, Phileas Fogg, the fictional protagonist in Jules Verne’s “Around the World in Eighty Days” circumnavigated the globe by rail and steamer ship in, of course, 80 days. Unfortunately for Fogg, he did not have access to a C-5M Super Galaxy to accomplish this feat quicker.

  • Bold dreams propel war-torn child to AF flight engineer

    Growing up, Master Sgt. Kristofer Reyes and his cousins would use rubber and rocks from a nearby recycling center and create games. He was born to a poor family in Luzon, Phillipines. His parents divorced when he was 2 years old and his mom moved to the U.S. That left him and his siblings stuck in

  • A backseat view of combat airstrikes

    Throughout the month of May, the air coalition has been able to strike lucrative targets including: logistics lines, command and control and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant financial resources through more than 1,800 strike sorties.

  • Edwards testing facility hosts first Canadian air force plane

    For the first time ever, a Royal Canadian Air Force plane has entered the Benefield Anechoic Facility, a state-of-the-art center for electronic warfare testing. A team of engineers, operators and defense scientists from Canada are wrapping up electronic warfare testing of a CC-130J Hercules

  • Beale takes next step in energy resilience

    The Defense Logistics Agency and the Air Force released a request for information regarding the pursuit of energy resilience at Beale Air Force Base, California, on June 8.

  • Support personnel, F-16s enhance partnership with Poland

    About 350 personnel are supporting 20 F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy, and the 138th Fighter Wing at Tulsa Air National Guard Base, Oklahoma, as part of bilateral flying training with the Polish Air Force.

  • Hanscom going green with electric vehicles

    In efforts to save energy, the 66th Logistics Readiness Squadron recently unveiled Hanscom Air Force Base's first plug-in electric hybrid vehicle and charging station.

  • Minot B-52s begin Baltops 16 flying ops

    A B-52H Stratofortress aircrew from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, conducted their first flying training mission in support of the multinational exercise Baltops 16 on June 7 from Royal Air Force Fairford.

  • US military showcases aircraft at Berlin air show

    U.S. military aircraft based in America and Europe were on display during this year’s Berlin air and trade show from June 1-4. The International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) is one of the oldest air shows around dating back more than 100 years.

  • Arnold team wins AF analytics award

    The Arnold Engineering Development Complex’s Hypersonic Analysis and Evaluation Team recently received this year’s Air Force Analytic Team of the Year Award.

  • New C-130J contract to save DOD millions

    The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Mobility Directorate signed a multiyear contract with Lockheed Martin to procure 78 C-130J Super Hercules with the option to buy up to 83 over the next five years. The agreement is the second multiyear contract for the C-130J and it saves the Defense

  • Ready to receive: B-52s touch down in England

    With the sharp screech of rubber meeting asphalt, two B-52 Stratofortress bombers from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, touched down June 2 at Royal Air Force Fairford, England.

  • Air Force trailblazer returns to Ramstein after 54 years

    It doesn’t happen often but occasionally Airmen get the opportunity to meet an Airman who, in 1947, was there when the Air Force first stood on its own -- those trailblazers who laid the first bricks of airpower on the long blue line.

  • Crew chief scores AF ‘hat trick’

    Master Sgt. Jeremy Michael Hord, the 379th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron aircraft section chief, recently scored an Air Force hat trick by finally launching every active bomber in the Air Force’s inventory into combat.

  • AF releases Air Superiority 2030 Flight Plan

    The Air Force released a flight plan directing development activity as a result of a yearlong study focused on developing capability options to ensure joint force air superiority in 2030 and beyond.

  • Welsh shares AF priorities with AFA

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III gave his in-uniform presentation to members of the Air Force Association during the association’s breakfast at the Sheraton Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, May 26.

  • Special ops Airmen support exercise in Baltic region

    Members from the Air Force Special Operations Command and the U.S. Army Special Operations Command joined with Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian special operations forces in Powidz, Poland, and Grafenwoehr, Germany, to participate in Trojan Footprint 16, a large-scale readiness exercise held May

  • Barksdale B-52s drop bombs in exercise with Jordanian forces

    Two B-52 Stratofortress bombers assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, returned May 24 from a 35-hour, 14,000-mile nonstop mission to Jordan as part of this year’s exercise Eager Lion with Jordanian Armed Forces.

  • Barksdale unit first to train with latest B-52 upgrade

    The last B-52 Stratofortress rolled off the assembly line in 1962, but while the airframe itself is well-seasoned, the internal components are continually upgraded to keep up with the demands of the modern battlespace. Efforts like the Military Standard 1760 Internal Weapons Bay Upgrade program aim

  • James gains special ops insight at Cannon

    The 27th Special Operations Wing hosted Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James on May 17 and provided her with a deeper understanding of the Air Force Special Operations Command mission, and Cannon’s role in providing special operations forces to the warfighter.

  • A prescription for problems

    Making sure their medical records are up to date and accurate could save Airmen selected for a random drug test a lot of trouble.

  • Dover entomologists help curb spread of Zika

    After Italy issued aircraft guidelines to combat the Zika epidemic, the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron Pest Management section is ensuring Air Force aircraft are able to fly in country.

  • Flight plan outlines next 20 years for RPA

    Air Force leaders outlined what the next 20 years will look like for remotely piloted aircraft in the Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Plan published April 30.

  • Flying with DRAGON improves capabilities

    A recent successful test flight of an upgraded Flight Management System Suite for the E-3 Sentry (AWACS) provides the warfighter with enhanced battle management capabilities.

  • Ramstein airlift squadron kicks off exercise in Romania

    The 37th Airlift Squadron from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, kicked off exercise Carpathian Summer 2016 on May 9 at Otopeni AB, Romania. The 11-day, off-station training is a bilateral exercise to enhance interoperability and readiness with Romania by conducting combined air operations.

  • Raptors complete successful European deployment

    Twelve F-22 Raptors from the 95th Fighter Squadron and about 220 Airmen from Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, completed on May 8 a month-long deployment to Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England.

  • B-21 naming contest moves to next phase

    Submission entries for the B-21 bomber naming contest concluded May 5. Active, Guard, Reserve and civilian Airmen, along with their dependents, submitted more than 4,600 entries in response to the contest announced by Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James during the Air Force Association Air Warfare

  • Hill F-35s form up for combat training

    F-35 Lightning II pilots from Hill Air Force Base began flying routine four-ship combat training missions at the Utah Test and Training Range in the west desert May 2.

  • Air Force civic leaders visit USAFE

    The Air Force Civic Leader Program is an Air Staff-level program whose membership is comprised of community leaders selected by the Air Force major commands, National Guard Bureau and Headquarters Air Force.

  • Tech Report: The B-52 Stratofortress

    For the last 60 years, the B-52 Stratofortress has had an incredible career as the U.S. military’s main bomber. Even though it's 60 years old, it still has plenty of years of service left.