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  • All in the family: California ANG brothers serve together

    "I really feel blessed to have both of them here with me during my first deployment overseas. I love the fact that we hang out, enjoy meals together, workout, and even joined the base Honor Guard together," said Senior Airman Walter Morales Talento.

  • A legacy of sacrifice for fallen Airman

    Marine Corps Cpl. Jake Balcom had a unique opportunity to spend time with the 421st Fighter Squadron at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. The 421st FS was formerly known as the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron during the war in Vietnam and was the squadron his grandfather, Col. Ralph Balcom, flew in.

  • Air Force researchers test Google Glass for battlefield use

    Researchers with the 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, are looking to make missions for Airmen a whole lot lighter and faster by testing Google Glass and its head-mounted optical see-through display technology, for potential battlefield use.

  • Airmen prep Marines for CENTCOM customs mission

    Airmen from the 387th Air Expeditionary Squadron have been preparing the Marine Corps' 2nd Law Enforcement Battalion to assume control of the U.S. Central Command’s customs mission in Southwest Asia. The 387th AES was responsible for clearing more than 5,000 tactical vehicles, 5,500 shipping

  • 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

  • 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.

  • Top AF leaders speak at Nellis AFB

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, along with Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody, took time out of their base visit April 7, here, to engage Airmen in a town-hall style meeting in the Lighting Aircraft Maintenance Unit hangar.

  • 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.

  • 2014 Hennessy Award winners announced

    Air Force Personnel Center officials recently announced the best food service programs in the Air Force with the selection of the 2014 John L. Hennessy Award for food service excellence.

  • Aviation detachment keeps US-Polish training running smoothly

    "All the expectations you have for a normal assignment -- throw those out the window," said Maj. Micah Chollar, the director of operations for the Detachment of the 52nd Operations Group. "We have to analyze who we have, what our guys bring to the table and what we can do to overcome any challenges

  • 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

  • TACP run in remembrance

    More than 670 service members and coalition partners completed a total of 2,599 miles during a 24-hour Tactical Air Control Party remembrance run at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, March 27 and 28, to ensure those warriors who have made the ultimate sacrifice are never forgotten.

  • Keeping the eyes of the eagle sharp

    On the night of Oct. 4, 1958, 111 passengers boarded a Pan Am Boeing 707 at New York's Idlewild Airport for a non-stop 8 hours and 41 minutes flight to Paris' Le Bourget Airport. The journey ushered in the jet age for the United States and made the world a seemingly smaller place.

  • Air Force Military Athlete of the Year selections due April 30

    Nominations for the Air Force Military Athlete of the Year are due April 30, said Air Force Personnel Center officials. The program allows the Air Force to recognize outstanding male and female athletes and highlight their athletic performance and accomplishments throughout the last year.

  • 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

  • Airmen destroy BLAC ICE

    The 435th Contingency Response Group recently joined security forces from Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany for a training course on tactical leadership.

  • 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.

  • New tool provides Offutt AFB maintainers with just the right blend

    A new tool, no bigger than a yard stick, is making work a lot easier for maintenance professionals of the 55th Wing who are responsible for keeping Offutt Air Force Base aircraft flying. The tool stands to save the Air Force hundreds of thousands of dollars.

  • Creech AFB leaders laud senior master sergeant selectees

    For many, advancing to the top of the elite senior non-commissioned officer tier is a significant and demanding accomplishment. Some Airmen and families who equally endure these trials were recently congratulated in a very personal way.

  • 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.

  • Five selected for 2015 Olmsted scholarships

    Five Air Force officers have been selected to participate in the Olmsted Scholar Program, sponsored by the George and Carol Olmsted Foundation, Air Force Personnel Center officials said March 20.

  • AF physician assistant named ‘PA of Year’

    It was her first year working as a physician assistant, and a patient had just left her exam room when she heard a burst of gunshots in the distance. Within seconds, screams filled the hospital as people scrambled for cover. In the midst of the chaos, a piercing silence fell over the clinic and her

  • Academy cadet earns national leadership award

    The top cadet in the U.S. Air Force Academy's Aeronautics Department was recognized for being among the best aerospace graduates in the country last week in the nation's capital. Cadet 1st Class Christopher Shannon received the 2014 Tomorrow's Leaders Award during the 57th Annual Laureates Awards

  • First female assumes command of ANG fighter wing

    Col. Sherrie McCandless , the first woman selected to command the 124th Fighter Wing and first female wing commander in Idaho Air National Guard history assumed command in a ceremony on March 2, at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho.

  • Cyber supports Red Flag for first time

    For the first time in Red Flag's nearly 40-year history, the 24th Air Force played a significant role in the Cyber Mission Force, or CMF, at the Air Combat Command-sponsored exercise held at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Jan. 27 through Feb. 14.

  • Airman gets lifetime opportunity to brief Queen

    The Air Force prides itself on giving Airmen opportunities. For Capt. Brusle Sherburne IV of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency, his special job afforded him the chance meeting of a lifetime. As the first U.S. Air Force exchange officer at Tactical

  • First sergeants deploy, discover family members

    Sleep-deprived and weary from days of travel, in a blur of new names and faces, one of the first people most Airmen deploying to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing meet is their respective unit’s first sergeant.

  • CSAF, CMSAF visit Altus AFB

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody and their spouses, Betty and Athena, spent two days here to tour the installation and meet Airmen and their families March 5 and 6. Welsh also served as keynote speaker at the Altus Chamber of Commerce

  • Department of Energy seeks award nominations

    Each year the U.S. Department of Energy sponsors the Federal Energy and Water Management Awards. These awards honor individuals and organizations making significant contributions to the efficient use of energy and water in the federal government. The Air Force looks to stay on top, having won 21

  • DOD's top doc outlines medical advances

    The Defense Department's top doctor says the innovations and technology in military medicine derived from more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan have led to advances in caring for the sick and injured.

  • 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.

  • Air Force medical educational websites win bronze

    The Air Force Center of Excellence for Medical Multimedia, or CEMM, recieved a Bronze Telly award for their Pregnancy A to Z and Wingman Online websites during the 35th Annual Telly Awards recently.

  • 6 F-15s, KC-135 to augment NATO mission in Baltics

    This week, the United States will send six additional F-15s and one KC-135 to augment the mission, the official said. These aircraft -- currently based at Lakenheath in the United Kingdom -- will be deployed to Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania.

  • Retention recommendation forms critical for ERB, QFRB eligibles

    Commanders and senior raters of enlisted Airmen slated to meet the quality force review board in May or an enlisted retention board in June must complete an AF Form 3538E, Enlisted Retention Recommendation Form, for each eligible Airman, Air Force Personnel Center officials said. Completed forms

  • Admin career field to make comeback

    A previous administrative career field will make its second debut across the Air Force in May 2014, providing support staff at all Air Force levels and eliminating a special duty echelon.

  • 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

  • Communications Airmen enable Greek, US flight training

    The success of a flying-training deployment involving U.S. and Hellenic air forces here hinges on an array of variables, and one quick-response communications force is ensuring tactical messages are delivered.

  • Hagel outlines budget reducing troop strength, force structure

    Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has proposed cuts in military spending that include further reductions in troop strength and force structure in every military service as part of an effort to prioritize U.S. strategic interests after more than a decade of war.

  • Ramstein AB hosts first sergeant symposium

    More than 120 military members from nine nations took part in the Kaiserslautern Military Community First Sergeant Council's Annual First Sergeant Symposium here Feb. 18 through 21.

  • Ramstein makes history with first sergeant symposium

    More than 120 military members from nine nations took part in the Kaiserslautern Military Community First Sergeant Council's Annual First Sergeant Symposium here Feb. 18 - 21. The symposium featured 10 international attendees for the first time in its history, including representatives from Belgium,

  • 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

  • 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.

  • MAFs become ‘home away from home’ for Airmen in missile fields

    The North Dakota plains are covered with patches of slushy snow and ice along stretches of long, winding gravel roads leading to local farms and other agricultural communities. Some of these rocky paths make their way to large buildings surrounded by tall steel fences topped with razor-sharp barbed

  • Cope North commences on Guam

    More than 1,800 service members and approximately 50 aircraft from the Air Force, Navy, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Royal Australian air force and South Korea air forces came together to kick off the 85th iteration of Pacific Air Forces' Cope North exercise Feb. 14 on Andersen Air Force Base,

  • 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.

  • 'Backbone' of Real Thaw 14 pushes through final week of exercise

    Whether loading training munitions by day or turning wrenches at night, maintainers from the 31st Fighter Wing are continuing to support the 555th Fighter Squadron during their inaugural participation in Real Thaw 14, an international exercise hosted by the Portuguese air force here.

  • Airmen train Marines on aircraft refueling

    Marines from the 9th Engineer Support Battalion at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, are participating in a six-month field exchange program here with Airmen from the 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron.

  • Top ANG enlisted chief embraces 'one Air Force' concept

    Emphasizing the importance of embracing a “one Air Force” concept, Chief Master Sgt. James Hotaling, command chief master sergeant of the Air National Guard, addressed newly minted Air Force chief master sergeants attending the Air Force District of Washington Chief’s Orientation and Recognition

  • Unmanned QF-4 crashes near Holloman

    An unmanned QF-4 Aerial Target assigned to the 82nd Aerial Target Squadron here, crashed Feb. 7. The crash site is located inside the White Sands National Monument, which was closed in advance of the test mission.

  • Air Force introduces Volume 8 of Portraits in Courage

    The Air Force released its eighth volume of Portraits in Courage, highlighting three teams and thirteen Airmen for their honor, valor, devotion and selfless sacrifice in the face of extreme danger to themselves and others.

  • Maintainers ready gunships for retirement

    After more than 40 years of providing close air support, air interdiction and force protection for special operations forces, the preparation for the eventual retirement and phase out of the AC-130H Spectre, recognized as "world's deadliest conventional weapon" by the Military Channel and Fox News,

  • 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.

  • Nigerian, U.S. air forces partner for disaster relief seminar

    "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."This African proverb was referenced several times during a disaster relief seminar hosted by the Nigerian air force at the National Defense College here, Jan. 27-30. More than 40 senior service members from various career fields

  • Offutt AFB Airman heading to Hollywood

    A vocalist in the Air Force Heartland of America Band received three yeses from the judges when she tried out for American Idol Oct. 14 at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, earning her a ticket to Hollywood Week.

  • Welsh thanks Eglin AFB Airmen, families

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III visited Team Eglin Jan. 26-28 to thank Airmen and their families here for their service and sacrifice, and to discuss current challenges and opportunities facing the service.

  • Reserve offers opportunities to continue AF career

    Airmen who don't want to hang up their uniforms for good during the current period of force management, may find rewarding career opportunities in the Air Force Reserve, recruiting officials said recently.

  • 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

  • AF awards $15.5 million in scientific research grants

    The Air Force Office of Scientific Research announced Jan. 24 that it will award approximately $15.5 million in grants to 42 scientists and engineers from 32 research institutions who submitted winning research proposals through the Air Force's Young Investigator Research Program, or YIP.