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  • 2009 Academy graduate balances Air Force, pro hockey

    Few people can actually say they have had a dream come true. Greg Flynn has had two: the opportunity to serve the country he loves and the chance to play professionally in the sport he loves.A 2009 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Flynn is a second lieutenant stationed at Hanscom Air Force

  • Sons of bazaar vendors enjoy morning with Kandahar Airmen

    More than 20 volunteers from the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing spent the morning with more than 30 sons of Afghan vendors Jan. 2, at the Kandahar Airfield Bazaar School.The school, which is in session each Saturday morning, was the idea of the Command Kandahar Airfield chief warrant officer who

  • Pope NCO serves as security forces team leader in Southwest Asia

    Air Force security forces have to be ready for a response at moment's notice...and sometimes less. Known as "defenders" to many in the Air Force community, Airmen like Staff Sgt. LeTari Myles are ready to take action when called upon."While deployed, myself, along with my fellow security forces,

  • Arctic medics begin second month of million push-up challenge

    People face challenges in many different ways. About 450 Arctic medics have started to face one challenge by accumulating more than 225,600 push-ups in less than a month.The 3rd Medical Group personnel have challenged themselves to do one million push-ups in 100 days."People don't realize how many a

  • Elmendorf team makes effort in dark months

    With the dark Alaska winter days, it may be challenging to spend time in the great outdoors. However, Elmendorf Air Force Base's cross country ski team offers its members a chance to get out and enjoy the short lived sunny days during this time, which averages six and a half hours of sunlight

  • Total force Airmen to the rescue in Afghanistan

    "Scramble, Scramble, Scramble!" Airmen from the 66th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron are in full sprint mode, a controlled chaos that feels like a mad dash at a Black Friday sale where video-game consoles are flying off the shelves for $1.It's a Category-A evacuation, which means a person is in need

  • Moving the goods

    The organization and shipment of cargo and personnel is essential to maximizing the airlift capability that is vital to supporting the warfighter on the ground and ensuring the support needed to assist the people of Afghanistan. No one here takes this more seriously than the Airmen of the 455th

  • Honor Guard reveres fallen

    On the quiet grounds of Arlington National Cemetery, Va., where the grass is speckled with the white tombstones of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, a somber ceremony takes place where another fallen service member is being laid to rest.Above the murmurs and cries of the small gathering, the

  • AETC announces first Key Spouse of the Year

    When Jennifer Block was studying to be a "geeky" engineer at San Diego State University, she promised herself she would never marry another "geeky" engineer. Fortunately for Capt. Beau Block, who holds a master's degree in electrical engineering and is an instructor pilot with the 33rd Flying

  • Surgery, lifestyle changes charge man's massive weight loss

    Mike Porter is about half the man he used to be.His weight reduction is due in large part to an Air Force bariatric surgery program, plus eating healthy, weightlifting and running. Surgery changed the retired master sergeant's life."I'd been trying to lose weight for about four years," said Mr.

  • Colors: Out in front

    "I still get the chills," said Staff Sgt. Lee Langston, a U.S. Air Force Honor Guard ceremonial guardsman, about entering Arlington National Cemetery, Va. "Even after four years here, there's nothing more humbling."Sergeant Langston is a part of the colors element, a group of Airmen who carry the

  • Air Force mentors propel Afghan Air Corps to new heights

    Afghanistan National Army Air Corps soldiers delivered 30 passengers and one pallet of cargo Jan.7, destined for Soldiers with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Forward Operating Base Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan.Missions like this are becoming more common place as Airmen from the 441st Air

  • Distribution hub saves lives, money, extra luggage

    One of the missions of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing is to be a hub for Air Force personnel, Department of Defense civilians and contractors deploying downrange. Before they leave the 379 AEW, they must stop at the 379th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron Expeditionary Theater

  • Airmen, Soldiers work together to save lives

    Air Force and Army personnel from U.S. Forces-Iraq Deputy Commanding General-Advising and Training Health Affairs work together to train participants on how to save lives in combat, here. Master Sgt. Krystal Marks and Army Sgt. Donell Hughes, both medical training advisers, teach a hands-on combat

  • Cannon Airmen help enrich local school system

    Children shuffle into the classroom displaying various levels of enthusiasm on their faces. The teacher looks at their homework and assigns them to a table where a volunteer sits, ready to help them. Some of the bolder children head straight to the volunteer they want to work with without their

  • Airmen's ingenuity helps Iraqi air force save money

    Airmen from the 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron here improvised a device to recharge fire suppression bottles for the Russian-made Mi-17 Hip helicopter to save the Iraqi air force tens of thousands of dollars. Maj. William Reynolds and Master Sgt. Jayme Hakenson worked together to design

  • Security forces Airmen reflect on time at Camp Bucca

    Following the deactivation of the 887th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, Airmen from the 820th Security Forces Group, Moody Air Force Base, Ga., finally said goodbye to their home away from home for the past three years.Since its introduction in March 2004 to its deactivation Dec. 3, 887th

  • Caring Airmen, American citizens clothe wounded warriors

    When the crewmembers of 451st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight first deployed to Kandahar Airfield in August, they knew they would be transporting many wounded warriors throughout Afghanistan. What they didn't expect was to be transporting some of those patients in nothing but their

  • Airmen save lives by providing close-air support throughout Afghanistan

    Whether they are conducting patrols on the ground, riding in convoys or performing clearing operations in villages to search for insurgents, coalition forces know members of the 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron here stand ready 24 hours a day and seven days a week to provide close-air support

  • Airmen help Sailors take care of Marines

    A handful of Airmen attached to the base command group work with Sailors to maintain the infrastructure of buildings, feed troops, provide shelter and ensure basic needs are met at this remote Marine base.The BCG comprises servicemembers from varied career fields who oversee the day-to-day upkeep of

  • Academy's newest sound began 'In the Stairwell'

    If it weren't for restrictions on where first year cadets can and can't wander, one a cappella group might not exist; at least not with their current name."In the Stairwell" was born when members of the U.S. Air Force Academy's Class of 2007 had to find a location for freshmen who enjoyed singing

  • Old hard drive components become medium for unique artwork

    When computer hard drives go bad, Airmen from the 386th Expeditionary Communications Squadron here typically strip them of all their pertinent data and send them to the explosive ordnance disposal unit in the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron for destruction. However, recently one 386th

  • A day with Afghan women

    Several female servicemembers had a unique experience Dec. 17 when they traveled by Army convoy to Forward Operating Base Lion located in the Panjshir valley to meet with local Afghan women. Troops at FOB Lion instruct the women on different agricultural projects that can provide additional income

  • Santa's 'sleigh' receives fuel from Mildenhall tanker

    'Twas two weeks before Christmas in the European sky ... I witnessed a KC-135 Stratotanker pumping fuel so a fighter could fly.A 100th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 aircrew airborne over Denmark refueled 30 Royal Danish Air Force F-16s Dec. 8.Royal Air Force Mildenhall Airmen were all busy at work ...

  • EOD: Volunteering for danger

    When Staff Sgt. Kenneth Guinn decided on an Air Force career field, he didn't want to be indoors behind a computer.With that criteria narrowing the scope, he decided to volunteer for what he calls the best job in the Air Force: explosive ordnance disposal, a volunteer-only career field."I really

  • Physics really is 'phun': Program aims to turn kids on to science

    Exploding hot dogs, the shock of a human electrical circuit and making lightning are all, well, "awesome!" in the mind of West Elementary third grader Annione Platten.Two Academy instructors, Capts. Evelyn Schumer and Justin Spring, visited Annione and his third-, fourth- and fifth-grade

  • Airman follows in famous footsteps

    When Airman Christopher Platte decided to join the Air Force last year, he didn't know he would be following in famous footsteps.Graduation from Basic Military Training Dec. 11 here capped a two-day whirlwind for Airman Platte. One of the family members in attendance was his great uncle, retired

  • Air Force mechanics keep MRAPs rolling

    Five Air Force vehicle maintainers deployed to Iraq and assigned to Detachment 3 of the 732nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron here are working to keep security forces personnel on the road, but they aren't working on patrol cars. The maintainers work on more than 60 vehicles, the most

  • Airmen help Soldiers communicate in a virtual 'SNAP'

    Senior Airman Randell Rountree feels surrounded.And he is... surrounded by a sea of more than 50 Soldiers in Army combat uniforms as contrasted by his Airman battle uniform, but he's OK with his situation.Airman Rountree, deployed from the 1st Communication Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va.,

  • Boy Scout helps fitness levels soar

    One local Boy Scout's vision, some brand new equipment locked away in a store room for more than 13 years, a passion for fitness, and love for the RAF Lakenheath community. This is the recipe for the base's new outdoor fitness stations and for a member of local Boy Scout Troop 219 being one step

  • Paktya Regional Hospital cares for Afghan National Army's families

    Afghanistan National Security Forces and their dependants are entitled to free military health care throughout the country. This service is not often used by families due to lack of awareness or proximity to a military facility. The Paktya Regional Military Hospital is a 50-bed inpatient facility

  • Air Force's largest NICU staff cares for tiniest patients

    In the midst of life saving machines, sensors and IVs is a swaddled, sleeping baby girl who weighs little more than 2 pounds. Forty times a minute a ventilator pumps about a teaspoon of air into her tiny lungs to keep her alive. Each breath is closely monitored by Cheryl Collicott, the baby's

  • Whiteman Airman recalls moment of terror

    "I don't remember seeing a flash or hearing a boom. I just remember waking up in the turret with my head on fire."That is what Staff Sgt. Charles Holley recalled from the moment an improvised explosive device exploded and bathed his Humvee in fire last year in Tiqurit, Iraq.Manning the .50-caliber

  • Italian fishermen net historic 'Jug' at sea

    If you've ever gone fishing or know someone who has, you've probably told or heard your fair share of stories about "the one that got away." On the early morning hours of May 12, two Italian fishermen aboard the Padre Pio returned to the fishing port city of Chioggia, Italy, following a day at sea

  • For legal officer, there's 'no such thing as a traditional deployment'

    The increase of troops into the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility is also increasing the non-traditional roles filled by Airmen in combat, straight into the Air Force's "all in" philosophy. Capt. Maureen Wood, a legal officer deployed with Multinational Forces-Iraq Joint Task Force 134,

  • Colonel beats cancer and soars high

    Col. Michael Stapleton has come a long way since being diagnosed with cancer in 2006."I was diagnosed with cancer when I was the 43rd Fighter Squadron commander at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.," said Colonel Stapleton, currently the 49th Fighter Wing Operations Group commander at Holloman AFB, N.M.

  • Momma wears combat boots

    Air Force officials declared July 2009 to July 2010 the "The Year of the Air Force Family," but it's important to remember that some families are different from others.Some families are led by single mothers moonlighting as Airmen.It's O-dark-hundred Monday morning and Staff Sgt. Christina Martinez,

  • Rural communications site has global mission

    Although it's location in the middle of a cornfield on a quiet country road may seem cutoff from society, in reality the Elkhorn Communication Site reaches beyond almost every border -- worldwide.Situated 35 miles northwest of Offutt Air Force Base, this 50-year-old rural communications site is one