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  • Travis welcomes hero home

    Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone, the Airman who helped foil a terrorist attack on a train in France Aug. 21, arrived at Travis Air Force Base, California, Sept. 3, with his mother and brother by his side.

  • Munition bunkers become rubble, save AF $3.5M

    Members of the 92nd Civil Engineer Squadron and the 92nd Contracting Squadron are working toward an Air Force goal of reducing its building footprint by demolishing 1950s-era munitions bunkers at Fairchild Air Force Base and saving the Air Force approximately $3.5 million in the process.

  • First operational F-35As arrive at Hill AFB

    The Air Force ushered in a new era of combat air power today as Hill Air Force Base received the service's first two operational F-35As.Hill's active duty 388th Fighter Wing and Reserve 419th Fighter Wing will be the first combat-coded units to fly and maintain the Air Force's newest

  • Polish, US forces improve interoperability at Lask AB

    Four F-16 Fighting Falcons, two F-22 Raptors and a C-130 Hercules arrived at Lask Air Base Aug. 31. The Airmen and aircraft are in Poland for separate flying training events with allies to demonstrate the countries' shared commitment to the collective security of NATO and the enduring peace and

  • MQ-1s test deployment capability in Latvia

    Two MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft and approximately 70 Airmen deployed to Lielvarde Air Base, Latvia, to test the unit's ability to forward deploy, and to conduct air operations while assuring NATO allies of our commitment to regional security and stability.

  • Travis Airmen save boy from drowning

    When a summer pool party became a life or death situation for a 6-year-old boy, two Airmen from Travis Air Force Base, California, used their military training to save his life.

  • New AF streamers approved for Global War on Terrorism Operations

    The secretary of the Air Force has authorized the use of war service streamers and the new Global War on Terrorism Service (GWOT-S) streamer. In addition, the Air Force credited 1,442 units with campaign participation, making them eligible for a campaign streamer.

  • Airman author brings fictional, real heroes to life

    In stories, the hero is often called upon to accomplish a great task, to take on the weight of a burden they did not anticipate, even though they know that hardships may plague every step of their journey. For storytellers, joy often comes from seeing the hero overcome the many obstacles placed in

  • F-22 inaugural deployment to Europe

    Four F-22 Raptors, one C-17 Globemaster III, and approximately 60 Airmen arrived at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, to train with allied air forces and U.S. services through mid-September.

  • Civil Air Patrol joins total force ‘Airmen’

    When conducting missions for the Air Force as the official Air Force auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol is now included in the Air Force’s definition of the total force. CAP has provided 74 years of support to emergency services, aerospace education and cadet programs.

  • Hurricane Hunters to fly Tropical Storm Erika

    The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters are operating out of Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, flying their state-of-the-art WC-130J Super Hercules into Tropical Storm Erika in support of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

  • SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF present new "little blue book"

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody delivered the initial handout of the pamphlet, “America’s Air Force: A Profession of Arms,” Aug. 27 to the Air Force’s newest Airmen at Airmen’s Week.

  • Arming the RPAs

    Airmen from the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron provide every munition that is loaded onto an MQ-1B Predator or MQ-9 Reaper at Kandahar Airfield; without them, the RPAs wouldn’t be able to provide combat airpower in Afghanistan.

  • 3rd AF commander charts path to organizational success

    In the 9th grade he made up his mind.Lt. Gen. Timothy M. Ray, the 3rd Air Force and 17th Expeditionary Air Force commander, had dreams of flying his whole life, and at the end of his freshman year of high school, determined the U.S. Air Force Academy would make his dream a reality.

  • 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

  • Guardsman brings diverse background to Bagram’s mission

    It isn’t every day you come across someone who has been a Soldier, Sailor and Airman, but then again, Tech. Sgt. Russell McLamb isn’t your everyday service member.McLamb’s uniqueness isn’t just that he has served in three different services; but he has also served in all three of the service’s

  • Airmen experience multinational Red Flag-Alaska

    A 16-foot wooden table stretches between aircrew lockers and cabinets. A red toolbox sits at one end of the table. Helmets, oxygen masks and parachutes are within sight. The room is temporarily housing members with 374th Operations Support Squadron aircrew flight equipment for the duration of Red

  • Reapers, Predators on the prowl in Afghanistan

    Airmen assigned to the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron provide world-class close air support and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in the Afghanistan area of operations. They complete this mission by maintaining, launching and recovering all MQ-1B Predators and MQ-9 Reapers in

  • Mobility Airmen recover radiological material from Mexico

    Headquarters Air Mobility Command, in close partnership with the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, recently executed a C-17 Globemaster III mission to repatriate three Husman irradiators containing radioactive material from Mexico to the U.S. for final disposition.

  • AF names 2015 NAACP Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award winners

    Senior Master Sgt. Hamp Lee III, assigned to the 316th Training Squadron at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, and Carolyn Peeler, assigned to the 49th Force Support Squadron at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, have been selected as the 2015 NAACP Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award winners.

  • Air Force Global Strike Command commander visits USSTRATCOM

    Gen. Robin Rand, the Air Force Global Strike Command commander, met with. Navy Adm. Cecil D. Haney, the U.S. Strategic Command commander, other senior USSTRATCOM leaders and subject matter experts to discuss a variety of mission-related issues during his visit to Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska,

  • Pilot chases Olympic dreams

    Capt. Daniel Castle, a 349th Air Refueling Squadron pilot, is one of five Airmen selected throughout the Air Force to participate in the World Class Athlete Program, which allows service members of all branches to train as their primary duty.

  • 45 years on alert: Minot conducts Minuteman III test launch

    The 91st Missile Wing completed an operational test launch of an unarmed LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Aug. 19, continuing its mission of providing strategic deterrence for the U.S. and their allies. The launch fell on the 45th

  • Whiteman B-2s, Airmen maintain readiness in Guam

    About 225 Airmen and three B-2 Spirits from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam, Aug. 7 to conduct familiarization training activities in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

  • RED HORSE: A legacy of leaving it better than how they found it

    RED HORSE is a self-sustaining, mobile, heavy construction squadron capable of rapid response and independent operations in remote, high-threat environments worldwide. They were activated in 1966 as the Air Force’s combat construction team. Today, the 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron carries

  • Making every dollar count through Airmen Powered by Innovation

    The Air Force has initiated the Make Every Dollar Count program, aimed at creating a culture focused on minimizing costs, harnessing efficiencies and redefining Air Force business paradigms. Currently, the MEDC portfolio consists of 13 Headquarters Air Force-level programs and 26 major

  • Motivated by education, opportunity: Airman finds second home with AF

    Many words are used to describe the United States; some call it the land of plenty, freedom or equality, but at least one Airman regards it as the land of opportunity.Airman 1st Class Bin Ma, a 20th Comptroller Squadron financial services technician, departed Wuhan, China, in 2008 to start his

  • US, Turkey finalizing details of anti-ISIL airstrikes

    The U.S. and Turkey are finalizing details of Turkey’s recently announced participation in the air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria, a U.S. Central Command spokesman said here Aug. 14.

  • RPAs prove vital in fight against ISIL

    From August 2014 to August 2015, the 432nd Wing has directly supported Operation Inherent Resolve, a U.S. Central Command and partner nation's campaign to conduct targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as part of the comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the

  • 9th CMSAF laid to rest

    “If you've met Chief Binnicker, you've met an icon -- a hero, a legend," said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force, James A. Cody. Cody said these words as he delivered the eulogy for former Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James C. Binnicker at the Fort Meyer post chapel in Arlington, Virginia,

  • Sorties across the stratosphere

    The enemy should fear what it can’t see. At high altitudes toward the edge of space, the U-2S is invisible to the naked eye, transmitting critical intelligence to the warfighters below.

  • 25 years on the hunt

    The 55th Wing's personnel and its RC-135V/W Rivet Joint hit 25 years of continuous deployment to U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility Aug. 9. What started out as a single-ship response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, has now turned into what is believed to be the longest

  • Fairchild HAZMAT team assists local responders with chemical leak

    Twenty-six Airmen from Fairchild Air Force Base assisted Spokane County agencies in responding to a toxic gas leak in Spokane Aug. 12 that resulted in the hospitalization of at least four people, two of whom were in critical condition, and at least 17 others who were downwind of the plume.

  • SecAF gains perspective of Beale's ISR mission

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James visited Beale Air Force Base to get an up-close view of the high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission Aug. 10-12.

  • Keeping the buff young: Nondestructive inspection

    Like a radiologist who can see fractures without using a scalpel, there are Airmen who can find deficiencies in the B-52 Stratofortress’s bones to proactively ensure the aircraft’s structural integrity.

  • Flying high: Strike Eagle pilot reaches elite milestone

    For F-15E Strike Eagle aircrew at the 4th Fighter Wing, flying through the skies is a part of their lifestyle. However, for Lt. Col. Paul Hibbard, a 333rd Fighter Squadron instructor pilot, the clouds are almost like a second home.

  • Airmen enable Marines in Iraq

    Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen work around the clock to sustain and improve the Task Force Al Taqaddum advise and assist site at Al Taqaddum, Iraq. Each service and section plays an important role in ensuring the success of this mission, part of Operation Inherent Resolve.

  • 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.

  • AF welcomes new vice chief of staff

    The Air Force welcomed an Airman to the rank of four-star general and announced the appointment of the new Air Force vice chief of staff during a ceremony at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., Aug. 6.

  • Kenya native makes best of AF opportunities

    Staff Sgt. Johnson Njenga was born and raised in Kenya and hasn't seen his immediate family in two years. For a family as close-knit as his, this can be heartbreaking, but the opportunities the U.S. provides and his love for the Air Force keep him here, serving as the 21st Medical Squadron Family

  • Can’t spell test without TES

    More than 60 Air Mobility Command Test and Evaluation Squadron Airmen and civilians -- many of whom are former pilots and maintainers -- use their aircrew backgrounds to update and advance aircraft components in safe and innovative ways.

  • McChord Airman to be honored as hero

    Senior Airman Joshua Calhoun, a 62nd Maintenance Squadron precision measurement equipment laboratory journeyman, will be recognized as a hero during the American Red Cross Northwest Region 2015 annual Heroes Luncheon for risking his own life while rescuing a surfer who got stranded on a rocky cliff

  • 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.

  • CSAF listens to Airmen, discusses nuclear enterprise mission

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A Welsh III visited three Air Force Global Strike Command bases to listen to Airmen of all ranks who support the Global Strike mission on a daily basis, while addressing the importance of the nuclear enterprise and its future.

  • Maintainers extend life of T-38 Talon

    The Air Force's trusted trainer, the T-38 Talon, has a new lease on life thanks to a robust structural-modification program. Technicians in the Ogden Air Logistics Complex's 575th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, recently completed the first aircraft in the

  • Hurricane Hunters deploy to Hawaii to fly Guillermo

    The Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, assigned to the 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, deployed to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and began flying data-gathering missions into Hurricane Guillermo Aug. 2.

  • New chief of Air Force Safety takes command

    Maj. Gen. Andrew M. Mueller assumed the duties of Air Force chief of safety, Headquarters Air Force, in Washington, D.C., July 24. In that capacity, he also serves as the commander of the Air Force Safety Center at Kirtland Air Force Base.

  • TACPs control skies over Guam for joint training

    To practice their skills, tactical air control party Airmen assigned to the 3rd Air Support Operations Squadron from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, recently made the long journey to Guam to train with a variety of units from Joint Region Marianas.

  • Jamming the enemy with joint integration

    Leaving the flight deck of the EA-6B Prowler behind for a few years, Marine Corps Capt. Jonathon Leach from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, joins the Desert Lightning Team.

  • Eye in the sky, RPA Airmen in the Red Flag fight

    The sun beats down on the dry Nevada desert, bringing a smell of fuel that fills the air. Engines begin roaring to life as the Airmen of the 432nd Wing prepare to support Red Flag 15-3 from July 13-31.

  • Air Force vice chief of staff discusses education, innovation

    Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry O. Spencer and Jack Buckley, the senior vice president of research for the College Board, spoke about innovation and education during the Military Child Education Coalition’s 17th National Training Seminar July 31.

  • Cognitive computers primed to change the Air Force acquisition landscape

    Cognitive thinking machines that can critically analyze and process information accurately and at a rate faster than human capability are the type of meta-advance technologies that Sci-Fi fanatics dream of, and the Air Force is seeking to leverage this innovative technology in the world of

  • Senior master sergeant evaluations to be on new EPR form

    Senior master sergeant enlisted performance reports, which closed out July 31, will be accomplished on the newly published Air Force Form 911, the EPR for master sergeant through senior master sergeant, which was made available July 31 on the e-Publishing website.

  • Spencer reflects on 44-year career

    In the early 1970s, America was at a crossroads. The Vietnam War raged on, seemingly with no end in sight, and many Americans felt forced to choose to either support the administration or protest the conflict, which left many families across the nation bitterly divided.

  • Dover Airmen survive land, water training

    There are only two survival, evasion, resistance and escape specialists assigned to the 436th Operations Support Squadron at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, but they are responsible for providing survival training to more than 1,000 aircrew members, including aircrews from the Air National Guard

  • New interrogation system installed on AWACS, more in pipeline

    The E-3 Sentry AWACS Next Generation Identification Friend or Foe (NGIFF) program office from Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, recently completed the first installation of the new AN/UPX-40 system, which also brings new enhancements onto an operational AWACS at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma.

  • Rand takes command of AF Global Strike Command

    Gen. Robin Rand took command of Air Force Global Strike Command during a ceremony at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, July 28, becoming the newest leader of the organization responsible for the nation's force of ICBMs and nuclear-capable bombers.

  • Innovative Airmen recognized by AF vice chief of staff

    Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Larry O. Spencer presented the inaugural General Larry O. Spencer Innovation Awards July 23 at the Pentagon, to Airmen who made the most significant contributions to saving Air Force financial and manpower resources this year.

  • Exercise tests, demonstrates new DOD capabilities

    As a C-17 Globemaster III flown by the Air National Guard slowly made its way down the Offutt Air Force Base flightline July 23, ambulances from the Omaha Fire and Rescue Department along with other local emergency response vehicles waited just outside an aircraft parking ramp.This was all part of

  • Through the glass: Vet looks back

    The heritage center at Travis Air Force Base has many pieces of military, history rich with old war stories. One piece, a bullet-riddled B-24 Liberator windshield, tells the story of a man from a small town who went on to fight in World War II and gave more than 40 years of service to his country.

  • Jill Biden visits military families at Kadena

    Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, visited Kadena Air Base July 23 to show support for military families and spread awareness for the Joining Forces Initiative.

  • AF 2015 DOD disability award winners announced

    Tech. Sgt. Brian Williams, assigned to the Air Mobility Command, and Stacy Gatling, assigned to the Air Force Materiel Command, have been selected as the Air Force winners of the 2015 Outstanding Department of Defense Employee\Service Member with a Disability Award.

  • O'Malley award winners announced

    Air Force officials have selected Col. William Liquori Jr. and his wife Amy as the 2015 General and Mrs. Jerome F. O'Malley Award winners.

  • Ground testing for F-35 gun conducted at Edwards AFB

    The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Test Force is in the process of testing the F-35A Lightning II’s newest munitions asset, a four-barrel Gatling gun that fires 25 mm rounds known as the GAU-22/A.

  • Guard couple juggles military life, share command

    On July 16 an Air National Guard officer took command of the Air Force Officer Training School's Detachment 12 from another guardsman. While that may not seem strange, what is unusual is that the former and new commanders have 23 years of history together.Lt. Col. Loralie Rasmussen assumed command