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U.S. Air Force News

  • AF releases new ICBM solicitation

    The Air Force released July 29 a request for proposals for its Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) intercontinental ballistic missile weapon system program; up to two contract awards are expected in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017.

  • F-35A program continues to make improvements

    Airmen of the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, have been preparing the F-35A Lightning II for combat readiness since the first operational aircraft was received in September 2015.

  • AF maintenance squadron prepares C-130 for US Forest Service

    What started out as an aircraft used by the Coast Guard and later maintained by Airmen will soon end up in the hands of the U.S. Forest Service. A C-130H Hercules that has been revamped by the 560th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron is in its final stages of programmed depot maintenance at Robins Air

  • Unique C-5 completes major inspection

    During the past two months, a C-5M Space Cargo Modified (SCM) Super Galaxy underwent a major isochronal inspection inside an ISO dock at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. This C-5M SCM, originally a C-5A model assigned to Travis AFB, California, was modified into a C-5C model, one of only two such

  • Policy changes allow Airmen to retrain into special ops

    In a move to meet the high demand for battlefield Airmen, the Air Force announced changes to retraining and cross-flow, outlined in a policy memorandum from April. The changes allow Airmen to be released from their current jobs in the Air Force to cross-train into the special tactics career fields,

  • Professional bad guys: Space aggressors prepare Airmen for the enemy

    Walking out to an F-16 Fighting Falcon, Staff Sgt. Erick Vega is told upon landing that the pilot experienced loss of GPS. An hour passes before Vega, an avionics specialist from Aviano Air Base, Italy, determines that adversaries have degraded the system through an attack on space assets.

  • Blue Flag exercise marks 40th Anniversary

    Airmen from 505th Combat Training Squadron are the creators and controllers of a live, virtual and constructive world that takes air operation centers and Air Force forces staff through a quest to sharpen their skills at planning, executing and controlling war and relief operation scenarios. The

  • DOD awards TRICARE-managed care support contracts

    The Defense Department announced on July 22 that the next generation of TRICARE-managed care support contracts were awarded. The new contracts, which go into effect nine months after the award, establish two TRICARE regions in the United States: East and West, instead of the current three.

  • National security requires modernized nuclear deterrence

    The Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration stressed the importance of nuclear deterrence and the need for nuclear modernization July 21 at an Air Force Association breakfast at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.

  • Webb takes command of AFSOC

    Lt. Gen. Brad Webb assumed command of Air Force Special Operations Command in a ceremony July 19 at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

  • Airman selected to attend culinary forum for top US military chefs

    Airman 1st Class Alexandra Ayub, a 90th Force Support Squadron missile chef, won the Arthur J. Myers Food Service Excellence Award for the Western Hemisphere earlier this year. As a result, she’s now been selected to represent the Air Force at the Armed Forces Forum for Culinary Excellence at the

  • Research, technology aid effort to help TBI patients

    Since the Vietnam War, doctors have seen an increase in service members returning from combat with traumatic brain injuries from blasts. At the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE), a directorate of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, doctors and therapists

  • Goldfein hosts first town hall with CMSAF

    The Air Force’s top officer and enlisted leader hosted a town hall forum July 20 in the Boyd Auditorium at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. During the 70-minute forum, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody answered several questions from

  • 7,501 selected for promotion to technical sergeant

    The Air Force has selected 7,501 staff sergeants for promotion to technical sergeant of the 33,569 eligible. The overall selection rate was 22.35 percent, with an average selectee overall score of 380.67.

  • 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.

  • KC-46 completes required flight tests

    The successful A-10 mission was the last of six in-flight refueling demonstrations required before the tanker program can request approval from Frank Kendall, the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, to award production Lots 1 and 2, totaling 19 KC-46A aircraft.

  • 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.

  • Love for the job fuels crew chief’s passion to fix jets

    Instead of the usual roar of F-16 Fighting Falcons preparing for another flight here, a soft, warm breeze skirting across the flightline carried the sound of tools clanking against metal. In the depths of a hangar, an Air Force crew chief worked diligently to solve the most recent maintenance

  • 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.

  • 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

  • Around the Air Force: July 8

    In this look around the Air Force the first enlisted RQ-4 Global Hawk pilots have been selected for training, an MQ-9 Reaper crashed in northern Syria, and a C-17 Globemaster III was awarded the best static display at an air show in England.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Montana's last Doolittle Raider honored

    Seventy-four years after the historic Doolittle Tokyo Raid, former Staff Sgt. David J. Thatcher, one of two remaining Doolittle Raiders, was laid to rest June 27 in Missoula. He was 94.

  • Kunsan maintainers give F-16 new wings

    Airmen assigned to the 8th Maintenance Squadron and 8th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, are tasked to ensure one aircraft is ready to fly, fight and win with a simultaneous double-wing replacement.

  • Osan, local community remember Airman involved in recent fire rescue

    A memorial service to remember Staff Sgt. Cierra Rogers, a 731st Air Mobility Squadron Airman, took place at Osan Air Base, South Korea, on June 24. Military and civilian members of the Osan AB and Pyeongtaek community gathered alongside the Airman’s family to honor Rogers, a 731st Air Mobility

  • 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.

  • Health literacy key for better health, better care

    At the core of health literacy is communication between patients and their health care providers. In order to make the best decisions about their health, patients need clear information they can understand. Through patient-centered care, the Air Force is working to educate health professionals to

  • 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.

  • 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

  • Around the Air Force: June 21

    In this look around the Air Force, Gen. David Goldfein testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on his nomination for Air Force chief of staff, and the new Blended Retirement System gives Airmen more retirement options.

  • 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.

  • Family first: A story for Air Force spouses

    Jeff Hogg knows the role of the military spouse better than most because he understands the needs of the military lifestyle and the military family. He served in the Air Force for over 20 years before retiring and is the spouse of Maj. Gen. Dorothy Hogg, the Air Force deputy surgeon general.

  • Former basic training instructor fulfills dream to practice law

    For Senior Master Sgt. Alex Brown, a 20-year Air Force veteran and Arizona Air National Guard member, a lifelong calling to practice law set him upon an arduous journey to fulfill a dream. That dream recently became reality when he passed the Arizona bar exam.

  • Commander fatally shot at work laid to rest at Arlington

    Two months after Lt. Col. William “Bill” Schroeder was fatally shot during an incident of workplace violence, the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard laid him to rest with full military honors June 16 at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.

  • 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

  • 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

  • Blended retirement system training now available

    Online training designed to educate Airmen about the new Blended Retirement System, the Defense Department system with changes on the current military retirement system, is now available via Joint Knowledge Online course number P-US1330. The course is also available to those without a Common Access

  • Standing tall: Amputee Airmen seek to defy odds in therapy sessions

    After a sprint around an indoor track with her prosthetic running blade, Heather Carter stopped, visibly tired. She smiled and began to sprint another lap. The medically retired senior airman once rounded the bases for the Air Force softball team until a freak accident severely injured her left leg

  • 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

  • Coping with stress through healthy thinking

    Stress. Even the mention of the word can increase anxiety for some. Everyone deals with stress differently, but how a person copes with daily stressors can have great impacts on their quality of life and overall health.

  • 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.

  • 45th SW supports successful launch

    The 45th Space Wing supported United Launch Alliance’s successful launch of the NROL-37 spacecraft aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV-Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, June 11.

  • 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.

  • Airmen Powered by Innovation projected to save over $120M

    The Air Force secretary, while championing change across the service, has made the Make Every Dollar Count campaign one of her top three priorities. At the heart of the campaign is the Airmen Powered by Innovation program. Since 2014, API has received 6,791 ideas from Airmen. Of those submissions,

  • 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.

  • Kadena fuels flight powers through to earn API award

    The 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan, recently won the prestigious American Petroleum Institute award. The annual API award, which has been around for 50 years, honors the top active-duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve fuels management flight in recognition of

  • 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.

  • Eglin units save thousands with F-35 innovations

    Around 500 maintenance personnel are assigned to work with the F-35 at Eglin Air Force Base. These Airmen and Sailors are some of the first to maintain the fifth-generation jet which gives them the opportunity to assist manufacturers in developing tools, technology and data to maintain it.

  • 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

  • Around the Air Force: June 3

    On this look around the Air Force, the Air Force releases its 2030 Air Superiority Plan; an update on the KC-46A Pegasus; and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody talks about the new enlisted performance reports.

  • Total force integration significant in KC-46 support

    When the Air Force and Boeing launched the KC-46 Pegasus program, the 412th Test Wing was tagged as one of the prime players in testing and validation of the aircraft. To help with this, the wing is now relying on support from the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve.

  • Father-son duo comes full circle at BMT graduation, retirement

    In the Air Force, countless parents have proudly watched their child graduate from basic military training, and countless children have seen their parents retire from service. On May 27 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, a father and son did both on the same day, respectively.

  • Nominations sought for 2016 Sijan Award

    The Air Force Personnel Center is currently accepting nominations through Aug. 31 for the 2016 Lance P. Sijan U.S. Air Force Leadership Award. The award recognizes the accomplishments of total force officers and enlisted leaders who demonstrate the highest qualities of leadership in the performance

  • AF seeks 2016 GEICO Military Service Awards nominations

    Air Force officials are accepting nominations through Sept. 12 for the 2016 Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) Military Service Awards. The GEICO Military Service Awards annually recognizes enlisted total force members from all branches of service for contributions to military or

  • Voices from the past, lessons for the future

    If walls could talk, and pictures are worth a thousand words, the Air Force’s Art Gallery’s new exhibit honoring the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War could tell the story of a generation of service men and women who served during the conflict.

  • USAFE band member discovers family history on Memorial Day

    Senior Airman Colby Fahrenbacher, a tuba player in the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band, grew up hearing stories about his great-uncle Merle Noffsinger, who served with the Army Air Force. Fahrenbacher's great-uncle, Tech. Sgt. Merle Noffsinger, was a gunner and bombardier on the B-24 Liberator, and