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U.S. Air Force News

  • Hanscom SFS captures best in AF again

    For the second year in a row, and the third time in four years, members of the 66th Security Forces Squadron at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, are celebrating their selection as the Air Force Outstanding Small Size Security Forces Unit award.

  • New Reserve unit to open doors at Keesler

    The 403rd Wing is going through a period of growth with the activation of an additional aircraft maintenance squadron solely focused on keeping the 815th Airlift Squadron's 10 C-130J Super Hercules aircraft healthy and in the air.

  • Air Force leaders present FY 2017 budget request

    The military services’ secretaries and chiefs presented their respective branch’s fiscal year 2017 budget plan March 16 on Capitol Hill.Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III testified on the Air Force’s fiscal 2017 national defense authorization

  • Mildenhall NCO risks everything; recognized with Airman’s Medal

    Staff Sgt. Vicente Gomez, a 100th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, made the usual right turn onto Eriswell Road toward Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, but came across smoke rising from two vehicles which had just collided moments earlier and a third car that had been run off the road.

  • Chaplain survives aftermath of son’s suicide; spreads awareness

    While enjoying a drive through the rolling Tennessee countryside with his wife, the shrill ring of his cell phone pierced through the tranquility of the moment. Maj. William D. Logan's daughter, Blair, managed to utter, "Zac has done something really bad."

  • Structural maintainers provide backbone of RPAs

    When people have a blemish, they see a dermatologist; when they have a physiological problem, they see an orthopedist. For the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper, aircraft structural maintainers fill both the aesthetic and structural maintenance roles to keep remotely piloted aircraft in check.

  • MQ-9 crashes in Afghanistan

    An MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 451st Air Expeditionary Group, part of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, crashed Feb. 20 at about 9 p.m. Afghanistan time, at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

  • MacDill Airmen watch over DOD aircraft in foreign nations

    A single error on an airport approach procedure can put the lives of pilots, crew members and their passengers in danger. To protect Defense Department aircraft, specialized teams of air traffic controllers personally ensure they land safely when flying abroad.

  • Predator crashes in southern Turkey

    An Air Force MQ-1B Predator remotely piloted aircraft crashed in an unpopulated area in southern Turkey at approximately 1:40 a.m. local time, Feb. 3.

  • Airman helps search for Vietnam War remains

    When Tech. Sgt. Robin Bailon enlisted in Air Force in 2000, she didn't expect her career to place her in Vietnam, serving as a life science investigator. But Bailon, an aircrew flight equipment specialist by trade, had the opportunity to venture far outside the scope of her traditional duties,

  • Luke F-16 crashes in Arizona

    An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base crashed at approximately 8:45 a.m. today north of Luke AFB in the vicinity of Bagdad, Arizona.

  • Deployed loadmasters fix problems ‘on the fly’

    A weasel is characterized by its tenacity, persistence and keen senses. It is an animal also known for its ability to react quickly in any given situation. An airlift squadron at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, shares these characteristics. Airmen of the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron encompass

  • Top 10 most viewed AF stories of 2015

    The Air Force News Service has compiled a list of the top 10 stories on AF.mil for 2015. The stories were placed in order based on the number of views.

  • Al Udeid firefighters, medics prepare for mass casualty incidents

    A car is driving down the road when suddenly the driver loses control and crashes. Eight people are seriously injured in the wreck and several suffer life-threatening injuries. The driver and passenger are still trapped inside.This was the scene as 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron

  • 12 for 12

    On the 12th day of the 12th month, service members here took action to ensure 12 security forces defenders were honored with a 12-kilometer ruck march.

  • Explosive threats no match for Osan EOD

    Whether a faulty 9 mm pistol round or a pipe bomb meant to cause harm, there is one shop that holds the responsibility of disarming and disposing of these dangerous objects. With their extensive and rigorous training, the Airmen from the 51st Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal

  • Airman overcomes adversity to follow soccer dream

    What happens when a dream you’ve been working toward since you were 6 gets ripped from you? How do you cope, move on and rekindle that dream? First Lt. Charity Borg, a Headquarters Pacific Air Forces protocol officer, faced this dilemma a few years ago when she was in the middle of her freshman year

  • Obama: U.S., allies will redouble efforts in wake of ISIL attacks

    The G-20 meeting in Antalya, Turkey, that ended Nov. 16 was supposed to address the economy. But the Nov. 13 terrorist attack on Paris changed that agenda, and President Barack Obama pledged to redouble efforts against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

  • Air Force shows leadership, commitment in Dubai

    American Airmen showcased the capability of airpower through senior leader engagements, Airmen interactions with a global audience, and aircraft on the ground and thundering through the skies at the 2015 Dubai Airshow during the week of Nov. 11.

  • AF veteran survivor of three wars, plane crash

    Retired Lt. Col. Alma Skousen, a humble, soft-spoken 89-year-old fighter pilot, served his country during three wars, encountered Soviet MiG fighters in battle and survived a jet crash before ending his flying career as the 311th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, now known as the 311th Fighter

  • A family affair: Gen. Warner Robins' grandchildren visit base, museum

    The namesake of the city of Warner Robins and Robins Air Force Base had three daughters. Brig. Gen. Augustine Warner Robins and his wife, Dorothy Gretchen, were the parents of Dorothy Robins Gray, Elizabeth "Betty" Warner Robins, and Helen Robins Guilfoyle. On Oct. 26, the three children of the

  • US, Polish airmen build capabilities, partnership

    The 86th and 182nd Airlift Wings are participating in bilateral training with the Polish Air Force during Aviation Detachment 16-1 in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve at Powdiz Air Base, Poland.

  • MQ-1B Predator crashes in Turkey

    An Air Force MQ-1B Predator, a remotely piloted aircraft, crashed in southern Turkey at approximately 9:36 p.m. local time, Oct. 19.

  • C-130 crash victims remembered by colleagues, leaders

    More than 1,000 people attended a memorial service Oct. 16 to honor two Hanscom Air Force Base Airmen killed earlier this month when the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft they were on crashed shortly after takeoff from Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

  • German village honors fallen US Airman

    Second Lt. Priesley Cooper Jr. was shot down during a mission 70 years ago near the village of Dietingen, Germany, during World War II. Cooper remained buried at the village's local cemetery until 1950 when he was moved to an American cemetery in Belgium. But the village felt they could still do

  • Airmen in C-130 crash identified, memorialized

    The six Airmen assigned to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing who died Oct. 2 when their C-130J Super Hercules crashed shortly after takeoff from Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan, were identified Oct. 3 by the Defense Department.

  • C-130J crashes in Afghanistan

    An Air Force C-130J Super Hercules assigned to the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, part of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, crashed Oct. 2 at approximately 12:19 a.m. at Jalalabad Airfield, Afghanistan.

  • SERE: The drive to survive

    Staff Sgt. Robert Rogers, 374th Operations Support Squadron SERE training NCO in charge, has been serving the Air Force as a SERE specialist for eight years.

  • Families mark 20 years since tragic loss of AWACS crew

    On Sept. 22, 2015 -- 20 years after Yukla 27's final flight -- more than 150 friends and family members gathered in a frigid Alaska morning, having flown in from all over the world to honor the 24 crew members lost that day.

  • President reflects on 9/11 at Worldwide Troop Talk

    On the 14th anniversary of 9/11, President Barack Obama, in gratitude for military members who’ve served after the nation’s darkest day, helmed a global, multimedia, Worldwide Troop Talk live from Defense Media Activity studios here.

  • Remembering that day in September

    An expanse of dark blue water rushed beneath the Boeing 767 window. A woman’s voice trembled through the static of the Airfone in her hands.

  • Integration lab to support C-5 software, hardware upgrades

    The C-5 System Integration Lab at Robins Air Force Base has been preparing to accommodate upcoming changes to the weapon system's color weather radar capabilities for the last several months.Full-scale development is now underway by Lockheed Martin to update to a new version of the color weather

  • 63 years later: Columbus supports MIA ceremony

    Twenty honor guardsmen from Columbus Air Force Base and four T-38 Talons supported a missing in action ceremony Aug. 10 for a Mississippi Airman, exactly 63 years after his aircraft crashed.

  • F-16 crashes in Bavaria

    A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 480th Fighter Squadron from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, crashed Aug. 11 at approximately 9:38 a.m. near Engelmannreuth in the county of Bayreuth, Germany.

  • World War II Airman's remains identified

    The remains of an Airman missing since World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors, said the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in a Defense Department news release issued Aug. 6.

  • Air Force upgrades 100-year-old technology

    The implementation of a new simulator, the GYRO Integrated Physiological Trainer II, into Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, will allows students to receive spatial disorientation training in a realistic platform before ever entering a real aircraft.

  • Colorado AF reservists fighting California fires from the sky

    Two Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-equipped aircraft arrived at McClellan Air Tanker Base in Sacramento, California, from the Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, Aug. 3, to assist in fighting the Rocky Fire northwest of Sacramento, California,

  • Yesterday's Air Force: Luxembourg

    On July 12, 1944, two U.S. B-17 Flying Fortress bombers collided over the small town of Perle, Luxembourg.Though 71 years have passed, the event has changed the lives of many people, including Roger Feller, who witnessed the crash. He has since dedicated his life to never forgetting the American

  • Optimism helped Vietnam vet survive as POW

    When 2nd Lt. John "Spike" Nasmyth climbed into his F-4 Phantom II on Sept. 4, 1966, to fly a combat mission over Vietnam, he never foresaw that he'd be blown out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile.The last words he heard before his jet was transformed into a lump of crumpled, metal wreckage were

  • US takes partnerships to new heights

    U.S. Air Force and Army counterparts joined together with service members from nine allied countries to participate in International Jump Week at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, July 6-10.

  • F-16 crashes in Arizona

    An F-16 Fighting Falcon flying with the 162nd Wing, Arizona Air National Guard, crashed at about 8 p.m. June 24, five miles east of Douglas Municipal Airport, Arizona.

  • Alaska's military continues Operation Colony Glacier support

    In November 1952, an Air Force C-124 Globemaster II with 52 passengers and crewmembers aboard crashed near Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. Almost 60 years later, June 9, 2012, an Alaska National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk crew on a training mission noticed some debris on Colony Glacier. The National

  • TSgt Jason Caswell

    Jason CaswellTechnical Sergeant (Active Duty)Hometown: Jacksonville, AZSport(s): Volleyball, swimming, and track and fieldInjury: right leg amputationHow has military health services helped you overcome your injury/disability?It brought a drive and determination that I was missing, due to my leg

  • Olympic hopeful takes 1st at top US 10K

    In the crisp air and with a stunning view of Colorado’s Front Range, Maj. Benjamin Payne was first to cross the finish line at this year’s Bolder Boulder 10K race. It was just one of many wins he hopes to achieve on his road to the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February 2016 in Los Angeles, but it

  • Surviving 'face-breaking' speed

    For some it's about competition, for others it's an adrenaline rush, but for Derek Hamby, bicycling is about passion. Hamby, an avid bicyclist and manpower and organization chief at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, has been riding for close to 20 years. He takes trips with friends each year, just

  • Remembering Capt. William H. Dubois

    Capt. William H. Dubois, age 30, died Dec. 1, 2014, when his F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed near a coalition air base in the Middle East while serving during Operation Inherent Resolve.Dubois, a native of New Castle, Colorado, was assigned to the 77th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, South

  • Remembering Tech. Sgt. Herman Mackey III

    Tech. Sgt. Herman Mackey III, age 30, died May 3, 2013, in a KC-135 Stratotanker crash near Chon-Aryk, Kyrgyzstan, while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom.Mackey, a native of Bakersfield, California, was assigned to the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington.

  • Remembering Capt. Victoria A. Pinckney

    Capt. Victoria A. Pinckney, age 27, died May 3, 2013, in a KC-135 Stratotanker crash near Chon-Aryk, Kyrgyzstan, while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom.Pinckney, a native of Palmdale, California, was assigned to the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington.(This

  • Remembering Capt. Mark T. Voss

    Capt. Mark T. Voss, age 27, died May 3, 2013, in a KC-135 Stratotanker crash near Chon-Aryk, Kyrgyzstan, while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom.Voss, a native of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was assigned to the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington.(This profile

  • Remembering Capt. Brandon L. Cyr

    Capt. Brandon L. Cyr, age 28, died April 27, 2013, in an MC-12 Liberty crash near Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom. Cyr, a native of Woodbridge, Virginia, was assigned to the 906th Air Refueling Squadron at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. (This profile

  • Remembering Staff Sgt. Richard A. Dickson

    Staff Sgt. Richard A. Dickson, age 24, died April 27, 2013, in an MC-12 Liberty crash near Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom.Dickson, a native of Rancho Cordova, California, was assigned to the 306th Intelligence Squadron at Beale Air Force Base,

  • Remembering Staff Sgt. Daniel N. Fannin

    Staff Sgt. Daniel N. Fannin, age 30, died April 27, 2013, in an MC-12 Liberty crash near Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom.Fannin, a native of Morehead, Kentucky, was assigned to the 552nd Operations Support Squadron at Tinker Air Force Base,

  • Remembering Capt. Reid K. Nishizuka

    Capt. Reid K. Nishizuka, age 30, died April 27, 2013, in a MC-12 crash near Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom.Nishizuka, a native of Kailua, Hawaii, was assigned to the 427th Reconnaissance Squadron at Beale Air Force Base, California.(This profile is

  • Remembering Capt. James M. Steel

    Capt. James M. Steel, age 29, died April 3, 2013, in an F-16 Fighting Falcon crash near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom Steel, a native of Tampa, Florida, was assigned to the 77th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina.(This profile is

  • C-17 fleet celebrates 3M flying hours

    The C-17 Globemaster III has proved again that it remains the world's premier airlifter after the total C-17 fleet celebrated the historical milestone of achieving 3 million flying hours on May 5.

  • Global Strike maintainers win 2014 AF-level maintenance award

    The men and women of Air Force Global Strike Command's Logistics, Installation and Mission Support Directorate recently earned the 2015 Gen. Wilbur L. Creech Maintenance Excellence Award. The award is given to the major command demonstrating the most improved performance in the category of aircraft

  • Acquisitions enterprise: Agility and people key to reform

    Dr. William LaPlante, assistant secretary of Air Force acquisition, along with the Navy and Army acquisition secretaries testified on acquisition reform before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, April 22.

  • Medics participate in Ultimate Caduceus 15

    Members of the 22nd Medical Group, and units from across the U.S., participated in Ultimate Caduceus 2015, giving them the opportunity to conduct aeromedical evacuation training, April 16-18, at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, Louisiana.

  • AF report to Congress: Pursues retention of C-130Js at Keesler

    As part of a required Air Force report to Congress on the C-130 Hercules force structure, the Secretary of the Air Force released a force structure amendment pursuing the retention of 10 Air Force Reserve Command C-130J aircraft at Keesler Air Force Base.

  • Air attaché in Berlin honors B-17 crash victims

    Col. David Pedersen, the air attaché to Germany, represented the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Embassy in Berlin March 22 on the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Peace Memorial Monument, which commemorates the crash of a B-17 Flying Fortress in the German town of Großräschen.

  • Child’s dream turned pilot’s reality

    Since he was a child, Capt. Kenneth Jubb has chased a dream to one day fly, and now as a pilot he relives his childhood fantasy every time he takes to the air.

  • Service members involved in UH-60 crash identified

    It is with a heavy heart that the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, U.S. Special Operations Command and the Louisiana National Guard formally announced the names of the seven Marines and four Soldiers who died in an Army UH-60 Black Hawk crash near Eglin Air Force Base, at approximately 8:30 p.m., March 10.

  • Lakenheath Airman rescues allies, earns Airman's Medal

    Staff Sgt. Greggory Swarz, a 492nd Aircraft Maintenance Unit electrical environmental systems specialist, was awarded the Airman's Medal for saving the lives of three French airmen after a Hellenic air force F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed into the parking ramp at Los Llanos Air Base, Spain, during

  • Eglin transitions to recovery effort

    Eglin Air Force Base search and rescue teams have located the missing Army UH-60 Black Hawk that was involved in an incident near the base March 11.

  • McConnell Airmen save veteran's life

    The largest winter storm this year struck early on the morning of Feb. 28, and without the quick thinking of Airmen at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, the substantial amount of snow and ice it brought could have cost a life.

  • Eglin responds to aircraft recovery

    One UH-60 Black Hawk with four aircrew and seven Marines assigned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, was involved in an incident near Eglin Air Force Base range site A-17, east of the Navarre Bridge.

  • Bagram remembers Operation Anaconda’s fallen

    Senior Airman Jason Cunningham and six of his special forces comrades including Tech. Sgt. John Chapman, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Neil Roberts, Army Sgt. Bradley Crose, Army Sgt. Phillip Svitak, Army Spc. Marc Anderson and Army Cpl. Matthew Commons, traded their blood for freedom in the

  • Retired Airman remembers passage of Civil Rights Act

    Offended and angry Airmen brought Sgt. Raymond Harris to a vandalized inscription containing a racial epithet about the Civil Rights bill on a door at the Airman's Club in Vietnam, and were looking to him for a solution.

  • Evolution of perspective: Airman finds balance after diagnosis

    Senior Master Sgt. Daphne Soto never meets a stranger because each encounter opens a door to a potential new friend, or to someone who just needs to talk, and she'll keep the door open for both. But while she cares for her Airmen at all times, she had to learn that sometimes saying "no" is

  • AF Ebola support winds down

    After more than four months of continuous airlift support to Operation United Assistance, the U.S. Air Force is winding down efforts in Senegal, Monrovia and Liberia.