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U.S. Air Force News

  • National Space Defense Center transitions to 24/7 operations

    Less than a year after changing the name of the Joint Interagency Combined Space Operations Center to the National Space Defense Center, the NSDC transitioned to 24/7 operations on Jan. 8, 2018, marking a significant step for the expanding, interagency team focused on protecting and defending the

  • 386th EMXS Combat Metals Flight: fabricating parts, saving money

    The combat metals flight combines multiple Air Force specialties, including aircraft structural maintenance and aircraft metals technology technicians. This flight tends to be exclusive to deployed environments, allowing the utilization and optimization of available resources.

  • Wellness for mission success – find meaning

    Airmen do not have to serve. They do it because they find meaning in serving, whatever that meaning may be. Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Pat Thompson said that one way to find meaning is through spirituality. He also believes spirituality increases resilience because it gives people something to rely on and

  • Sortie support team delivers decisive air power

    The 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron Sortie Support Flight is made up of four flightline occupations, or Air Force specialty codes, that contribute to Operation Inherent Resolve. The team issues, maintains and inspects required repair tools and support equipment needed to deliver decisive

  • SBIRS GEO Flight-4 Successfully Launched

    The Air Force successfully launched the fourth Space Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V Evolved Expendable launch Vehicle from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida at 7:48 p.m. EST, Jan 19, 2018.

  • Mathies NCOA: Developing enlisted leaders

    More than 750 NCOs walk through the double doors of the Mathies NCO Academy on Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, every year. After six weeks, they walk out ready to make their Air Force a better, more capable organization.

  • Second annual enlisted RPA pilot selection board convenes at AFPC

    The second annual enlisted remotely piloted aircraft pilot selection board meets at the Air Force Personnel Center this week to identify the next enlisted group to attend RPA pilot training as part of the deliberate approach to enhance the Air Force’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance

  • Ramstein AB Airman ignites innovation with spark of genius

    One 86th Communications Squadron Airman assigned to Ramstein Air Base took second place in the U.S. Air Forces in Europe’s Spark Tank competition.Airman 1st Class John Willman, 86th CS cyber defense analyst, won a $2,500 prize and a chance to win more and have the Air Force institute his idea at the

  • Things are looking up at Arctic Air Base

    Recent missile threats to the United States have the military looking up to its northern most installation, Thule Air Base, Greenland. It’s there that the Air Force monitors the skies for missiles from its Arctic location strategically positioned at the halfway point between Washington, D.C. and

  • AMC journeys through the Cloud

    Air Mobility Command senior leaders gathered at the Scott Event Center at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, Jan. 8, 2018, for an experiential activity simulating key events of an organization’s cloud migration.

  • Their continuing mission: Hurricane Hunters gather data for winter storms

    For members of the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, also known as the Hurricane Hunters, the hurricane tasking is only one part of their overall data-gathering mission. Hurricane Hunters track winter storms off the East and West Coast of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico. While the

  • CMSAF focuses on resiliency in 2018

    Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright said he feels the Air Force is headed in the right direction concerning education and enlisted-force structure, but Airman resilience is an area that needs more attention.

  • Wellness for mission success – manage stress

    This is the second in a four-part series on how individual wellness contributes to mission success and why it’s beneficial for Reserve Citizen Airmen to preserve health, manage stress, create balance and find meaning.

  • Researchers test virtual reality Adaptive Flight Training Study

    A team of student researchers from Air Command and Staff College, Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, conducted an Adaptive Flight Training Study Jan. 9-12, 2018, at Columbus AFB, Mississippi,to aid in the Air Force’s advancement in training and education through virtual reality.

  • First AFWERX storefront opens in Las Vegas

    Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, along with guest of honor Vice President Mike Pence as well as the Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David L. Goldfein, opened the AFWERX-Vegas storefront Jan. 11 at the Howard Hughes Center in Las Vegas.

  • AFWERX is smart risk for innovative solutions

    Today, the Air Force is formally expanding this call for innovation through the AFWERX program, which encourages partnerships with academic institutions, science and technology communities and private industries with an invested interest in solving complex security issues.

  • Confined space trainer redefines training plan

    Aircraft fuels systems Airmen assigned to the 100th Maintenance Squadron have to become familiar with claustrophobic work spaces, such as the fuel tanks within the wings of an aircraft, in order to do their jobs. A team of Airmen within the 100th MXG, each contributing from their different sections

  • AFJROTC launches Flight Academy program to address aircrew shortage

    Headquarters Air Force Junior ROTC has launched a program aimed at potentially putting more pilots in the cockpits of military aircraft to help address the Air Force’s ongoing aircrew shortage.Beginning in the summer of 2018, select AFJROTC cadets who applied for a new Fight Academy scholarship will

  • Volunteering with the Stars

    Tech. Sgt. Rebecca Place, 21st Medical Squadron primary care element noncommissioned officer in charge, and two other volunteers participated in Snowball Express in Dallas, Dec. 9-13, 2017. Snowball Express is an all-expenses paid event for children of fallen military members. This event is meant to

  • Wellness for mission success

    Physical health is at the core of a person’s ability to complete their mission. If they are injured or sick, or exhausted, they might be able to show up and do work, but their effectiveness will be diminished.

  • Basic Training to Al Udeid: Two Air Force careers reunited after 21 years

    It all started in 1996. One kid from Prattville, Alabama, and another from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, took a bus to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. They were both a little scared and excited to become the U.S. Air Force’s newest Airmen. Though they grew up about 400 miles apart and spent six weeks

  • Around the Air Force: Jan. 4

    On this look around the Air Force the 418th Flight Test Squadron assists NASA and Airmen can now enroll in the new Blended Retirement System.

  • Year-end review: 386th AEW remembers banner year

    As the world celebrated the passing of another year, and looked to the future with optimistic hope, the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, and its leadership, reflected on its accomplishments.

  • Around the Air Force: Dec. 27

    On this look around the Air Force the Air Force Research Laboratory develops new antibodies, the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron flies more than a dozen flights a day on deployment, and Airmen volunteers assist the base post office during the holiday season. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Cory

  • Deployed parents see their children open toys

    Master Sgt. Shalenna Mitchell, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing finance budget analyst and Tech. Sgt. Randle Mitchell, 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron assistant chief of fire prevention, share their experiences and feelings during the holiday season while deployed at an undisclosed

  • Air Force dual-military retention improves thanks to Airman’s idea

    The day comes when that final project is due for class. The project is ready and prepped for presentation or thrown together within twenty-four hours. Either way it has to be ready without delay. Despite being an academic project, sometimes there are cases where it could be implemented in real life.

  • Blended Military Retirement System to take effect Jan. 1

    One of the most wide-reaching and significant changes to military pay and benefits over the last 70 years goes into effect Jan. 1 with the implementation of the Uniformed Services Blended Retirement System, known as BRS.

  • Helping Haiti’s children: 315th AW delivers school buses

    Reserve Airmen of Joint Base Charleston’s 317th Airlift Squadron, with support from three additional Reserve Airmen of the 514th Air Mobility Wing from JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, transported school buses in a C-17 Globemaster III from JB Charleston to Port-au-Prince, where they were

  • Airman wins on and off the court

    The Airman’s Creed is a promise to the United States and a rallying cry for Airmen to remain the world’s greatest Air Force. The words, “My mission is to fly, fight and win,” hold true for 20th Air Force’s Tech. Sgt. Corey Rucker, a world champion who embodies the creed both professionally and

  • Finding the way: Special tactics chief awarded Silver Star

    Chief Master Sgt. Michael West, 24th Special Operations Wing special tactics operator, utilized 58 coalition aircraft delivering 24,000 pounds of munitions, turning the tide of battle, and now he’s receiving the Silver Star Medal.

  • AF names primaries, alternates for advanced studies

    Air Force officials announced the selection of 86 officers as primary or alternate participants for advanced studies at the nation’s advanced war fighting schools during the 2018-2019 academic year.

  • Operation Christmas Drop launches

    The 66th iteration of Operation Christmas Drop took to the sky Dec. 11, 2017 as military leaders ceremoniously pushed the first pallet of donated toys, food, supplies and educational materials into a C-130J Super Hercules at Andersen Air Force Base.

  • Around the Air Force: Dec. 13

    On this look around the Air Force, Airmen will soon have the option to use the new Blended Retirement System and Reserve Airmen at Little Rock Air Force Base, receive a new C-130J Hercules. Hosted by Airman Marqus Williams.

  • Cyber operations Airmen 'Hack the Air Force'

    Within 30 seconds of receiving the order to “start hacking,” researchers at the Hack the Air Force 2.0 event discovered two vulnerabilities—exactly the result the organizers were hoping for.The researchers were cyber security specialists invited to the Dec. 9, 2017 event in New York to identify

  • Columbus AFB AFE keeps pilot production going

    The Air Force is known for its air supremacy around the globe, and pilots are recognized for their ability to keep the skies safe from America’s enemies. But who keeps the pilots safe?

  • 386th AEW MOC gatekeeper of a broader scope

    The Airmen of the maintenance operations center are responsible for recording the mission capabilities of all aircraft under the 386th AEW purview. The information gathered helps analysts determine trends in aircraft maintenance needs, creating opportunities to preclude long-term problems. The

  • Four MAJCOMs join forces, upgrade C2 systems

    Four Air Force major commands joined forces to overhaul command and control systems at Naval Station Rota, Spain, Dec. 4, 2017.Airmen assigned to U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa, Air Mobility Command, Air Force Space Command, and Air Force Materiel command conducted major upgrades to

  • Around the Air Force Dec. 8

    On this look around the Air Force the Joint Space Component gets a new commander, U.S. and South Korea forces exercise together during Vigilant Ace 18, and the Civil Air Patrol celebrates 76 years of service

  • AF awards recognize pilot excellence

    With a continued focus on solving the pilot retention problem and maintaining air dominance, Air Force senior leaders look to celebrate the culture and flying expertise of their pilots.

  • Double take: Brothers’ bond extends far beyond twin upbringing

    It is well known that twins share a unique bond that transcends other sibling relationships. It’s common for twins to live, work and recreate within close proximity to each other throughout their lives.But for one pair of Air Force twins, they’ve taken that commonality several steps further.

  • Upgrades to missile detection radar earns civilian recognition

    Dr. Donald Hoying, the radar’s program manager at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, leads a team of 50 military and government civilians and contractors who are working to upgrade these SSMs while improving the radar’s satellite, space-borne object and missile detection capabilities. In November,

  • SecAF, CSAF direct review of all Air Force programs

    Air Force senior leaders have directed a Zero-Based Review of all Air Force programs, budget accounts and associated manpower authorizations in preparation for assembling the Fiscal Year 2020 Program Objective Memorandum and Future Years Defense Plan.

  • Airman lunges for knockout debut

    A Florida native, Tech. Sgt. Andre Penn, 20th Civil Engineer Squadron unaccompanied housing manager at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, has been preparing for more than a decade to achieve his dream of becoming a professional boxer.

  • Evolution of the Airman Safety App

    The evolution of the Air Force Safety Center’s Airman Safety App reached an important milestone with recent software updates Dec. 1, 2017.This simple, web-based tool provides a streamlined process for all Airmen, their families and anyone accessing the base to report safety issues as they encounter

  • First Afghan UH-60 pilots graduate

    Six Afghan Air Force members became the first ever AAF UH-60 Black Hawk pilots, after graduation from Aircraft Qualification Training during a ceremony at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Nov. 20, 2017.

  • Around the Air Force: Dec. 1

    On this look around the Air Force the preferred location for a new MQ-9 Reaper wing is selected, continuation pay rates are announced for the Blended Retirement System (BRS), and Exercise Lightning Focus is taking place in Australia. Hosted by Staff Sgt. Anastasia Tompkins.

  • Special Tactics Airmen survey airfields to gain an operational advantage

    Special Tactics Airmen from Air Force Special Operations Command conducted multiple airfield surveys with their Afghan Air Force counterparts in Faryab province this week. Airfield surveys are executed prior to the arrival of special operations and conventional aircraft to traditional airfields and

  • Hurricane Hunters close intense 2017 season

    As massive spirals of lightning, wind and rain, hurricanes are some of the most dangerous and destructive forces in nature. And the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters fly directly into the center of them.

  • Airman brings Reaper, ISR capabilities closer together

    Among the exceptional Airmen of the 25th Air Force are many inspirational leaders, motivators and innovators. Staff Sgt. Nick, 526th Intelligence Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of Distributed Mission Site Flight Operations, is one of those unique Airmen.

  • Interfaith Thanksgiving: Chief of Chaplains provides words of grace

    On Nov. 28, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln ordered the government closed in a proclamation stating: “It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow

  • Around the Air Force: Nov. 24

    FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (AFNS) – On this look around the Air Force, Chief Master Sgt. Amy Giaquinto becomes the first woman to serve as the top enlisted advisor to the adjutant general of New York, Air Force F-35As are in Japan for the first time and the Air Force’s Personnel Center is accepting

  • Guardsmen deploy at home and abroad

    The Wyoming Air National Guard stands faithfully in support of both domestic and federal missions assisting victims in need throughout the world by providing aid when called upon.

  • A commander’s story of survival

    The sound of tire treads rolling over a smooth driveway was the only sound that could be heard on the street Col. John Boudreaux lived when he and his wife, Susi, pulled up to it. Susi shoved the gear shift to “Park.” She couldn’t do it fast enough, and sat back in the seat for a moment. She