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U.S. Air Force News

  • James tours McConnell, mentors Airmen

    Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James visited McConnell Air Force Base July 28-29 to spend time with Airmen and better understand the missions here.

  • AF declares the F-35A ‘combat ready’

    The F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation fighter aircraft was declared ‘combat ready’ by Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the commander of Air Combat Command, Aug 2.

  • MTIs and cadet cadre form partnership

    A group of military training instructors from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, joined cadet cadre in Jacks Valley, Colorado, toward the end of July as part of an Air Education and Training Command and U.S. Air Force Academy training partnership.

  • A honey of a mission: Airmen help save, relocate 25,000 bees

    Earlier this month, Malmstrom Air Force Base encountered a wildlife phenomenon, and through perseverance and understanding, handled what could have been a sticky situation in the most natural way possible. Airmen utilized quick thinking and humane treatment to save the lives of approximately 25,000

  • 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

  • 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,

  • Journey to recovery

    Then-Tech. Sgt. Janet Lemmons realized she couldn’t breathe in the hospital room. It was as if there wasn’t enough space for her family’s grief and the air collectively. She had to get out.

  • WWII veteran retires after 70 years of military, civil service

    This September, Anthony “Tony” Duno will celebrate his retirement from the Air Force after 70 years of service, making him the longest serving civilian in Air Force history. Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James recognized Duno’s accomplishments during a ceremony at the Pentagon in

  • U-2 returns to Red Flag

    The 9th Reconnaissance Wing is taking part in Red Flag 16-3, which is nothing new, as the wing regularly supports Red Flag exercises. What makes this Red Flag different is they are operating from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and not from their home station of Beale AFB, California.

  • 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

  • Weather team award honors legacy of fallen Airman

    To honor the legacy and devotion of a fallen brother-in-arms, an award was dedicated to the life of Lt. Col. William Schroeder and given to a Special Operations Weather Team training pipeline graduate here July 21.

  • New commander takes charge of AFCENT

    Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian assumed command of U.S. Air Forces Central Command from Lt. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. during a ceremony at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, July 22.

  • 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.

  • Amputee regains wings

    An HC-130J Combat King II pilot at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, became the sixth amputee and the first female amputee to return to the cockpit. After an above-the-knee amputation and nearly 15 months of rehabilitation -- learning to walk, run and fly again -- Air Force Capt. Christy Wise, a 71st

  • Around the Air Force: July 22

    In this look around the Air Force, the Pentagon releases a statement on Airmen in Turkey; air controllers from Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, have a plan that could save the Air Force millions; and the Air Force Special Operations Command gets a new commander.

  • Airmen practice rescuing downed pilots in Pacific Thunder 16-2

    Units from the U.S. Pacific Air Forces practiced rescuing downed pilots during exercise Pacific Thunder 16-2 in South Korea. The two-week training event combines U.S. and South Korean forces to enhance interoperability for combat search and rescue missions across the Korean Peninsula.

  • 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

  • Teens learn to BOUNCE back in first AF teen resiliency course

    Twenty-four teenagers participated in the Air Force's first resiliency teen camp, named BOUNCE, from July 11-15 at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina. BOUNCE, which stands for Be optimistic, Observe thoughts, Use strengths, Never give up, Communicate effectively and Embrace you, is a weeklong

  • 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.

  • Retired Airman builds bonds, resilience with comedic veterans

    After 28 years of service, Maj. Darlean Basuedayva was selected for retirement during the 2011 U.S. Air Force reduction board. After nearly three decades immersed in military life, Basuedayva didn't know how to transition into the civilian lifestyle. She later met a group of fellow veterans in a

  • Scott air ops center’s routing initiative could save millions

    Miranda Balentine, assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and energy, is excited about Airman-powered innovation and believes one significant way forward in reducing the service’s aviation energy demands is through the ingenuity of Airmen.

  • 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

  • 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.

  • EOD immersion serves as eye-opener

    Staff Sgt. Michael McNally, a 355th Maintenance Group scheduler, recently applied to retrain as an explosive ordnance disposal technician and attended a 10-day orientation with the EOD squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, to learn about the career field.

  • Around the Air Force: July 12

    In this look around the Air Force, eight new bases are nominated as possible battlefield Airmen training bases, a new undershirt helps keep Airmen cool, and a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate makes the Olympic team.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Battlefield Airmen use science to beat the heat

    Heat-related illness is a critical factor when personnel are operating in extreme temperatures. Dr. Reginald O'Hara and his exercise physiology research team at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, are working to reduce that heat stress.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Goldfein swears in as 21st CSAF

    Gen. David L. Goldfein was sworn in as the Air Force’s 21st chief of staff by Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James during a ceremony at the Pentagon on July 1.

  • Small team ensures special tactics career fields grow with the best

    Special tactics career field training pipelines are some of the most physically and psychologically challenging in the Air Force. To ensure the correct individuals are on the battlefield, the Recruitment, Assessment and Selection team at Hurlburt Field, Florida, puts the cross-training candidates

  • 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.

  • Airmen help save fishermen at sea after ship catches fire

    Members of a special operations surgical team assigned to the 720th Special Tactics Group at Hurlburt Field, Florida, worked to save the lives of two critically-burned fishermen rescued 500 miles off the coast of Bermuda on June 22.

  • Around the Air Force: June 27

    In this look around the Air Force, the Osan Air Base, Japan, community remembers a hero; the Air Force secretary talks about space as a potential battlefield; and survivors of the Khobar Towers bombing recall the 1996 terrorist attack.

  • 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

  • Yesterday’s Air Force: AF museum opens new building

    The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, is showing off its brand new hangar full of historical aircraft and tons of Air Force history. It features four sections: presidential, research and development, space, and global reach.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • PTSD awareness leads to positive treatment

    Post-traumatic stress disorder can be debilitating in some patients, but thanks to advancements in research and the continued training of mental health providers, treatments are getting better all the time. Maj. Joel Foster, the chief of Air Force Deployment Mental Health, said treating PTSD has

  • AF announces total force award

    Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James announced the annual General Mark A. Welsh III One Air Force Award during a retirement dinner held in honor of the award’s namesake in Washington, D.C., June 23, 2016.This new Air Force-level award will be presented to the service’s top total force team that

  • Around the Air Force: June 24

    In this look around the Air Force, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III's career is celebrated at his retirement ceremony; one of two of the surviving members of the Doolittle Raiders dies; the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games came to a close; and a new episode of BLUE

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • Archers compete in first visual impairment category at Warrior Games

    Wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans continue to break personal records and show fans and friends amazing feats and June 17 was no different, as archers competed in the first-ever visual impairment category at the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games at the U.S. Military

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • BLUE: Charlie Mike to Recovery

    Through the fog of post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic injuries, and illness, American veterans realize that the ability to regain control of their minds and bodies lies within their own hands.

  • 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