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U.S. Air Force News

  • Arctic Challenge exercise aims to increase interoperability

    Twelve F-15C Eagles and about 200 personnel from the 493rd Fighter Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, and two KC-135 Stratotankers and over 30 personnel from the 351st Air Refueling Squadron at RAF Mildenhall, England, deployed to bases in Finland and Sweden for exercise Arctic

  • Around the Air Force: May 26

    On this look around the Air Force, AF leadership presented its fiscal year 2018 president’s budget, the Pentagon hosted the Defense Department Lab Day and the Air Force Research Laboratory is working towards a mobile weather challenge solution.

  • 68th Annual Arthur S. Flemming Award winners announced

    Air Force officials are pleased to announce the three recipients of the 68th Annual Arthur S. Flemming Award. The three distinguished winners are scheduled to be honored by the award commission at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

  • AF civilian hiring resumes after freeze lifted

    The Air Force Personnel Center is partnering with customers with the goal of resuming normal “first-in, first-out” operations since the government-wide hiring freeze ended in early April 2017.

  • Around the Air Force: May 31

    On this look around the Air Force, the Air Force plans to increase command support staff and the vice chief of staff discusses the nuclear triad.

  • Finding a way to win

    It was a temperate day at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan when Lt. Col. Craig Andrle and his wingman, Capt. Adam Fuhrmann, began walking across the flightline to their soon-to-be airborne F-16CM Fighting Falcons.

  • 40th HS rescues two missing hikers

    The 40th Helicopter Squadron saved two girls and their dog from the Sluice Boxes State Park about 30 miles southeast of Great Falls May 30, 2017.

  • Strategic bombers, Airmen deploy to United Kingdom

    B-52H Stratofortresses from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and about 800 Airmen from Air Force Global Strike Command deployed to Royal Air Force Fairford to support a number of exercises with joint partners, and U.K. and NATO allies.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Around the Air Force: June 2

    On this look around the Air Force, Airmen from 11 different nations participate in Arctic Challenge 2017, Hill AFB Airmen complete the 3,000th F-35A sortie, and children 15 and under can bowl for free this summer on military installations.

  • Join spouse assignment consideration keeps mil-to-mil couples together

    Summertime is a busy season for permanent changes of station and military couples may be apprehensive about the possibility of being separated from their spouses during their next assignments. They have little to be concerned about, however, as the Air Force Personnel Center has an accommodation

  • AF adds international affairs to VLPAD program

    The Air Force has added two international affairs specialties to the Voluntary Limited Period of Active Duty program, which allows Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard Airmen from select Air Force officer and enlisted specialties to serve on active duty in vacant active-duty positions for three

  • Air Force announces significant changes to Aviation Bonus Program

    As part of its retention efforts, the Air Force released details on the fiscal year 2017 Aviation Bonus Program (AvB) June 5, 2017. This year’s program implements an increase in maximum bonus amounts authorized in the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act in addition to more flexibility in

  • Hurricane Hunters take part in Navy operational demonstration

    While their typical mission is gathering weather data for the National Hurricane Center, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron “Hurricane Hunters” spent May 30 to June 1, 2017, providing weather information for the Navy’s first Gulf of Mexico oceanography unmanned systems operational

  • CENTCOM EOD teams link up for joint service field training

    Explosive ordnance disposal teams from across the U.S. Air Forces Central Command area of responsibility participated in a weeklong joint field training exercise May 22 to May 26, 2017, at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.

  • Defense Department launches retirement system comparison calculator

    The Defense Department officially launched the Blended Retirement System comparison calculator, providing BRS opt-in eligible service members their first opportunity for an individualized comparison of retirement systems. The comprehensive tool, in combination with the mandatory BRS Opt-In Course,

  • Around the Air Force: June 6

    On this look around the Air Force, the SecAF sits down for her first interview, USAFE commander visits the Load Diffuser exercise and the enlisted RPA pilot application deadline approaches.

  • AMC pursues fuel efficiency initiatives

    From electronic flight bags (EFB) to flight management system modifications, Air Mobility Command Airmen are contributing innovative and cost-saving ways to enhance the command’s fuel efficiency.

  • 68th Rescue Flight transitions to 68th Rescue Squadron

    As one of the only human based weapon systems in the Air Force, Guardian Angel must have highly trained personnel dedicated to the Air Force core function of personnel recovery. Guardian Angel is comprised of combat rescue officers, pararescuemen, and survival, evasion, resistance, and escape

  • From the ground up

    Some people dream of becoming a fighter pilot, while others dream of becoming a military special operator.Very few people make both dreams come true.Second Lt. Andrew Dane, a 47th Flying Training Wing pilot graduate and former Tactical Air Control Party special operator, will be able to see both

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Georgia ANG engages with Colombian Air Force

    The Georgia Air National Guard welcomed a group of visiting Colombian Air Force officers as part of a State Partnership Program engagement, May 30 - June 2, 2017. The weeklong exchange on Ground Control Intercept consisted of a tour of the unit and discussions with subject matter experts on how to

  • Fighting against violence in the KMC

    Interpersonal violence can happen to anyone. It not only affects the people it happens to, but also those around them. Potential assailants may target someone’s friend, relative, colleague, or even themselves, hurling roadblocks into the missions of their units. Airmen and civilians in the

  • Luke AFB temporarily cancels F-35A local flying ops

    The 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, cancelled local flying operations today for F-35A Lightning II aircraft due to a series of five incidents in which pilots have experienced hypoxia-like symptoms.

  • Air Force B-2 Spirit Stealth Bombers arrive in UK

    Two B-2 Spirit stealth bombers joined B-1B Lancers and B-52H Stratofortresses June 9, 2017, to participate in theater bomber assurance and deterrence operations.Three B-52Hs from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and three B-1Bs from Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, along with approximately 800

  • Airmen invited to comment on safety publication

    To gain insight and perspective from all Air Force stakeholders, the Air Force Safety Center requests informal comments on the draft revision of Air Force Instruction 91-203, Air Force Consolidated Occupational Safety Instruction.

  • Around the Air Force: June 12

    On this look around the Air Force, Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, and Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. David Goldfein, testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Cory Kuttler.

  • 386th AEW Honor Guard braves the elements, honors the past

    “The level in which I perform will never be dictated by the type of ceremony, the severity of the temperature, nor the size of the crowd.” This, the fifth line of the honor guard creed, takes on a significant meaning in a location where triple-digit heat is common. It was the stern reminder used by

  • 'Voice' winner launching AF tour

    Sundance Head, the winner of NBC’s “The Voice” season 11, is ready and eager to bring his original soul country music to Air Force audiences.As part of its initiative to bring quality entertainment to Airmen and their families, the Air Force Services Activity was just as eager to sign the Texas

  • Third generation pilot graduates at CAFB

    When one Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 17-10 graduate pinned on his Air Force wings, June 9, 2017, he became the third generation of Air Force fighter pilots in his family.

  • Ambulance in the sky

    There was a joint training mission conducted June 7, 2017, where the 910th Airlift Wing provided a C-130, the 914th AW provided a pilot and the 445th AES provided the training crew.

  • Tech Report: Flight simulators

    FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (AFNS) -- Flight simulators help keep future pilots safe by giving them a realistic flying experience before getting into the cockpit of a real aircraft.

  • Healing from invisible wounds

    On Jan. 15, 2008, Senior Airman Christopher D’Angelo, a heavy equipment operator, was the lead gunner in an armored vehicle convoy on a road near Baghdad. The sun was shining and the air comfortable. His unit had just transported construction materials to forward operating bases and was currently

  • First MQ-9 squadron looks good for 100

    From training to operational--bombers to remotely piloted aircraft, the Panthers of the 42nd Attack Squadron have been a key part of United States airpower for the past 100 years. On June 13, 2017, the squadron celebrates its centennial anniversary with a lineage as the 42nd Aero Squadron, part of

  • Air Force realigns Grand Forks AFB under ACC

    The Air Mobility Command and Air Combat Command commanders have agreed to the realignment of the 319th Air Base Wing, Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota to ACC effective June 13, 2017.

  • Around the Air Force: June 14

    Today's look Around the Air Force features European Theater Bomber Assurance and Deterrence Operations, Exercise Baltic Operations or Baltops, and the Honorable Lisa Disbrow honored for her service as the Acting Secretary of the Air Force.

  • US, Iraqi air forces recover, return pallets to DOD system

    BAGHDAD (AFNS) -- Air transportation specialists assigned to the 370th Air Expeditionary Air Advisory Group began recovering more than $2.1 million in U.S. Air Force aerial port assets from Iraqi air force counterparts.Aerial porters at the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center have recovered more than

  • Grandson of Enola Gay pilot flies refurbished B-29

    Wichita’s beloved B-29 Superfortress, Doc, took to the skies yet again June 9, 2017, from McConnell Air Force Base, this time with an added aspect of historical significance and Air Force heritage.Sitting in the co-pilot seat was Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets IV, the 509th Bomb Wing commander. Taking

  • Fighter wings successfully field test F-35A ammunition loader

    The 388th Fighter Wing, the Air Force’s first F-35 Lightning II operational wing, recently received five F-35A bulk ammunition loaders for field use.Airmen extensively tested one of the loaders June 6-9, 2017, during an engineering validation and verification evaluation here.

  • Reservists support global intelligence mission

    BUCKLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) -- High above the clouds, intelligence satellites operated by the National Reconnaissance Office keep a close watch on the world below.Air Force Reserve Individual Mobilization Augmentees play a key role in ensuring those satellites remain a viable component of

  • Air Force Stands Up New Headquarters Space Directorate

    Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson has approved the reorganization of the Air Force headquarters to establish a Deputy Chief of Staff for Space Operations, who will be a three-star Air Force general officer.

  • Around the Air Force: June 16

    Today's look Around the Air Force features Airmen endure the Marine Special Operations Command’s Individual Training Course and pilots train at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho to fly the F-35.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Physical therapists keep service members fit to fight

    In a deployed environment, injuries happen. Whether they occur in the performance of duty or through the course of physical exercise, they have the potential to impact the mission. Each individual in the military, and their ability to perform their duties, plays an important role in the success of

  • Honoring a legacy of 100 years

    ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. (AFNS)--Bringing the past to the present, honoring 100 years of heritage, the 34th and 37th Bomb Squadrons and associated aircraft maintenance units have always played a significant role in the nation’s defense - a heritage stemming from World War I that has only

  • Air Force fighter pilots of the year announced

    The Air Force announced the recipients of the 2016 Air Force Fighter Annual Awards in May 2017.The award is designed to recognize fighter pilots and weapon systems officers’ commitment, performance, leadership and aviation skills that were instrumental to mission success of their units, the U.S. Air

  • Son continues family military legacy, works alongside father at Dobbins

    A new pilot here has a particularly special memory from Father’s Day last year. While he was attending C-130 pilot training at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, his father came to visit. His father is no stranger to Little Rock AFB, he also attended training there as a young aviator and was

  • 386 AEW mental health team builds bonds, shatters stigmas

    It can start with a simple conversation. “How are you?” “Yeah, I bet you see some crazy stuff at your job.” “That must have been really hard for you to process.” What at first seems like a run-of-the-mill conversation, stemming from a friendly visit, is more than meets the eye. It is a check-in. It

  • Luke AFB to resume local F-35A flying operations

    The 56th Fighter Wing will resume local F-35A Lightning II flight operations June 21, 2017, following an 11-day pause after five physiological events occurred during flights from May 2-June 8, 2017.

  • Through tragedy, loss, amputation, Airman learns ‘new norm’

    “My leg looked like a boomerang.”Those were the words of Staff Sgt. August O’Niell, an Air Force pararescueman, to members of the Air Force Technical Applications Center when the combat warrior visited the base to discuss resiliency during the center’s Combat Airman Fitness Day.

  • Application window opens for Air Force undergraduate flying training

    Application packages for the next Undergraduate Flying Training selection board are due to the Rated Officer Assignments branch of the Air Force Personnel Center by Nov. 17, 2017. The board, set for Jan. 22-25, 2018, will consider active-duty officer applicants to attend training as early as spring

  • Froehlichs receive O’Malley Award

    Col. Eric Froehlich, the former 377th Air Base Wing commander, and his wife, Stephanie, were awarded the Air Force 2017 General and Mrs. Jerome O’Malley Award June 15 at Kirtland Air Force Base.The O’Malley Award is given to the wing commander and spouse whose contributions to the nation, Air Force

  • Airmen persevere worldwide, accomplish mission

    In 1966, author Geoffrey Blainey coined the phrase “tyranny of distance,” metaphorically referring to how distance and isolation shaped the history of one of earth’s most intriguing continents, Australia.Today, members of the Air Force Technical Applications Center here are subjected to the tyranny

  • Around the Air Force: June 21

    On this look around the Air Force, Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson establishes a Deputy Chief of Staff for Space Operations and a preview of the 2017 Warrior Games.

  • The unbroken bond: MWDs defend coalition, secure base borderline

    Military working dogs are among the unsung heroes of the military and play an important role from therapy dogs supporting service members and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to military working dogs supporting operations on and off the battlefield. In the Air Force, their

  • 386th AEW deliver critical supplies to frontlines

    SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) --“We aim for first pass success. One pass, one drop,” said Maj. Josh Linden, the 386th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron chief of tactics, as he described the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing’s airdrop mission. The 386th AEW conducted several combat airdrop missions over

  • Cleared hot: When predators and reapers engage

    Following the mission brief and pre-flight checks, an aircrew consisting of an officer pilot in command and a career enlisted aviator sensor operator observe a target in an area of responsibility overseas from a cockpit in the U.S. and waits for the green light from a joint terminal attack

  • US, Japan partnerships guarantee critical care

    Once a patient is deemed incapable of receiving care at Misawa Air Base due to medical constraints, the 35th Medical Support Squadron aeromedical evacuation team engineers an expedited mobility plan utilizing Pacific Air Forces assets to relocate the patient for critical care attention.

  • Air Force Medicine: Anytime, anywhere in the world

    SILVER SPRING, MD. (AFNS) -- The U.S. Air Force Medical Service assures that the service deploys a medically-fit force and educates airmen to become medical professionals, according to Chief Master Sgt. David J. Little, the Office of the Air Force Surgeon General Chief of medical operations and

  • PTSD treatment confronts the trauma behind the disorder

    Post-traumatic stress disorder is considered one of the “signature wounds” of the current conflicts in the Middle East. But many people may not know that there are highly effective treatments for this invisible wound being deployed at Air Force hospitals and clinics today.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Around the Air Force: June 23

    On this look around the Air Force, SECAF and CSAF testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee for Defense on the 2018 Budget, an F-35 demonstration at the Paris Air Show, and Pacific Angel 2017 is set to get underway.

  • U.S., NATO wrap up Saber Strike 17

    Saber Strike 17, a month-long exercise including 11,000 U.S. and NATO military members from 20 countries, wraps up June 24.The exercise took place in various regions in the Baltics and Poland beginning May 28.

  • Magazine Day at Pentagon showcases Airmen, innovation

    In the three years since its inception, the Air Force’s Magazine Day has cultivated relationships and strengthened interaction with media outlets to help spark future story ideas highlighting the innovation, courage and dedication of Airmen.