Now showing: July 5 edition of Air Force Television News

  • Published
SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  What is fast becoming the Air Force hub for its operations in Iraq is spotlighted in the latest edition of Air Force Television News.

Tech. Sgt. Pachari Lutke reports from Balad Air Base, Iraq, on how Airmen there are supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Master Sgt. Jim Lawson reports on another aspect of Air Force operations at Balad; the role air traffic controllers play in handling both Air Force and Army aerial traffic into and out of the base. And, in another area of Southwest Asia, Tech. Sgt. Tony Castro boards a KC-135 Stratotanker to report on how aerial refuelers in the region are supporting Air Force missions over Iraq.

Tech. Sgt. Bill Scherer is at Pope Air Force Base, N.C., to report on how Airmen help Soldiers train for parachute jumps from C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft.

Tech. Sgt. Joy Josephson reports from the California coast where several Air Force master sergeants are furthering their professional military training at a Coast Guard noncommissioned officer academy.

Sergeant Scherer shows how a group of reservists from Pennsylvania plays an important part in missile launches, but does so far from the launch pad.

In Omaha, Neb., it is “batter-up” for 1st Lt. Jason Szuminski, an Air Force reservist who also pitches for a Chicago Cubs farm club. Staff Sgt. Leigh Bellinger reports on the two hats the lieutenant wears and how the nation’s pastime is furthering his Air Force career.

Tech. Sgt. Rusty Barfield travels to a tiny speck of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to chronicle the end of an era for Johnston Island. The location for testing atomic weapons decades ago and later a dumping ground for chemical weapons, Johnston Island is being turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department.

Air Force Television News is a biweekly production of Air Force News Service. It is distributed on videotape to more than 3,000 military and civilian outlets worldwide and is seen on some 600 cable TV outlets nationwide. It is also available on the Internet at www.af.mil, and can be seen regularly on The Pentagon Channel. The program is closed-captioned. Viewers can comment on the program by sending an e-mail to aftvnews@afnews.af.mil.