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  • Special ceremonies team represents Air Force

    Airmen who are part of a geographically separated unit are often the only Air Force representatives in their community. The same is true of the 14th Weather Squadron's Special Ceremonies Team, located in the Veach-Baley Federal Building here. The 12-person team is the only active duty unit found in

  • Air Force chefs serve recipes for success

    What do Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse and Rachael Ray all have in common with Airman 1st Class Ryan Scott? Like Airman Scott, they are all professional chefs. Granted, Airman Scott may not have a multimillion dollar television contract and an international, best-selling cookbook, but he does cook

  • Sew much support

    The son of a deployed Airman has a cuddly reminder of his father thanks to volunteers with needles, thread and family photos. Nathan Jung, son of Tech. Sgt. John and Cathy Jung, was presented a quilt made by volunteers from the Armed Services YMCA's Operation Kid Comfort program during a National

  • PSD Airmen provide safe transport, protection to senior ranks

    They work 12- to 20-hour patrol shifts in temperatures ranging from an arid 100 degrees Fahrenheit to in bone-chilling weather dipping below freezing with the added hazard of snow, sleet and rain. They drive convoys through crowded city streets and a crumbling maze of buildings often riddled with

  • Self aid for buddies who care

    The drive to work one morning is abruptly interrupted when, suddenly, the car in front of you swerves and wrecks. You pull over and scramble to the car to help as a basic military training flashback comes to mind.  You recall the self aid and buddy care training you received. It's only now that the

  • Airmen train Iraqis to be first responders

    Two Airmen stationed inside the International Zone here are in the process of training Iraqi firefighters to be able to respond to a crisis at a moment's notice. By the end of this training, Master Sgt. Jeffrey Kimball and Tech. Sgt. Essam Cordova, 821st Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, Iraqi

  • Tinker man uses painful past to educate others about suicide

    When 27-year-old Gordon Joel "Joey" Dunham died, his father wanted to die, too. "I've had every emotion possible," said Rocky Dunham, a tools and parts attendant with the 552nd Commodities Maintenance Squadron. "I had no idea what suicide was about until it touched me when my son died last year.

  • Looking out for big brother

    An aircraft maintainer's job is to ensure the safety of his aircraft and its crew, but for one maintenance officer here, the stakes are raised when his older brother is at the controls of an airplane. Growing up, Capt. Bryan Lucero always looked out for his younger brother, 2nd Lt. Nathan Lucero.

  • DOMEX dominates exploitation efforts in AOR

    The job of more than 60 Airmen on the Tactical Documentation and Media Exploitation Brigade Support Team here can be summed up in their unique motto, "You check their pulse, we'll check their pockets." The DOMEX mission is to exploit captured enemy documents, electronic media and cell phones. DOMEX

  • Recovery mission takes a wild turn for Charleston senior NCO

    A senior NCO here recently returned from a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command recovery mission to find the remains of an American pilot in Laos. The mission of JPAC is to achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of the nation's past conflicts. Master Sgt. Wesley

  • The last to let you down

    The flag snaps with the precise and deliberate movements of white-gloved hands. The body bearers' motions are fluid, timed perfectly, for that is what the United States Air Force Honor Guard body bearers personify: perfection. Their standards of flawlessness are set out of necessity to honor the

  • Dog handler team loses an 'Airman's worth of weight'

    The 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron security forces dog handler team have lost an Airman, or at least the 134-pound equivalent of one."That's the funny thing; that's about what one of our guys weighs," said Tech. Sgt. Drew Odell, the NCO in charge of the team. Collectively the

  • 'Resolve of our nation' found at American cemetery

    Of the 124,913 American war-dead buried overseas, 3,812 are at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, less than a 45-minute drive from here. The buried aren't the only ones remembered on these hallowed grounds, as the Tablets of the Missing lists 5,127 Americans who sacrificed their lives in

  • Engineer's AF winning design improves Ramstein's quality of life

    Winning one Air Force-level award can seem like a feat in and of itself; winning two awards at the same time is extraordinary. One Ramstein mechanical engineer assigned to the 86th Civil Engineer Squadron recently achieved the exceptional honor of receiving two Air Force awards. German local

  • Ramstein Airman shows strength during Army 100-mile march

    A Ramstein Air Base paralegal recently set off on a journey to join a team of Soldiers in what is considered the largest official marching event in the world. From July 21 through 24, Senior Airman Saretta Morgan marched in formation with 23 members of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command as part of

  • Enlisted Airman diagnoses, treats patients

    Military patients are used to having officers or civilians with doctorates of medicine as their primary care providers; however, patients sometimes take a second or third look as they see enlisted Airmen performing diagnosis and providing treatment, functions normally performed by doctors. Those

  • Taji senior NCO the "three-headed dog" of 50-Airmen team

    On a wall here is a print of Cerberus, the three-headed dog from Greek mythology. "That's me," said Senior Master Sgt. Ken Webb. "I'm the three-headed dog." What the Texas City, Texas, native meant is that he has three distinct job titles at Camp Taji, where roughly 50 Airmen are assisting the Iraqi

  • Civil engineers bring unique capability to USAFE

    A military construction team has been created in the 86th Construction and Training Squadron here that brings unique capabilities to U.S. Air Forces in Europe. This team, known as the Deployable Engagement USAFE Construction Engineers, or DEUCE, is rapidly deployable and can build alongside units of

  • Battlefield detectives fight with fingerprints

    Television has glorified the crime scene detective to an almost supernatural level. Sharply dressed investigators can scan through a crime scene draped in a steel blue light and can instantly tell who committed the crime even though police officers have worked the scene for a long time. In a

  • Airmen destroy nothing to sustain mission

    Airmen fly, fight and win today's wars by putting bombs on target precisely and causing scaled levels of destruction to accomplish its mission. But some Airmen here are able to support that mission by not destroying anything. The Airmen in the 48th Equipment Maintenance Squadron nondestructive

  • Clinic crew clears crowded, clouded craniums

    Military members and their families can face much adversity. Just as with our civilian counterparts, that adversity can come while managing financial responsibilities, raising a family, or maintaining other personal relationships. However, the military family has the added stress of frequent

  • Airman reunites with Tops In Blue husband in Kyrgyzstan

    The special effects and streaming lights on the stage were not as bright as the smiles that illuminated the faces of audience members during the Tops In Blue's debut of the 2009 "To Dream" tour July 10 at the Transit Center at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan. The group's performance was a dream come true

  • Bolling officials welcome Hero Hugs founder with open arms

    Among the roaring cheers and applause that filled the Air Force Honor Guard's Ceremonial Hall during drill team evaluations July 7, sat 13-year-old Bailey Reese, a quiet, unassuming girl with an amazing list of accomplishments. Bailey is the founder and president of Hero Hugs, a nonprofit

  • Academy Class of 2013 learns basics

    "Sit up straight." "Put your heels together." "Put your hands on your knees." Sitting up straight on the bus to the Hill at the U.S. Air Force Academy may be the first order incoming basic cadets receive during their Academy and subsequent operational Air Force days, but, without doubt, it won't be

  • Patriot Village stands ready to house servicemembers

    A fenced-off, seemingly deserted commune here stands lonely and quiet for extended periods of time. The area doesn't continuously bustle with life, but a contingency dormitory area's purpose is to be ready at a moment's notice.  A village within a village - Patriot Village - serves a very important

  • Airmen keep communication flowing

    It is often said communication consists of three parts: the sender, the message, and the receiver of the particular message. It is also said that if there is a glitch with any of the three parts, the communication cycle is broken. A team of joint expeditionary tasking Airmen here work to make sure

  • Use proper Internet etiquette when posting information online

    Keeping family and friends updated about recent adventures has never been easier for Airmen. With the numerous social networking sites available on the Internet, posting pictures and experiences can be a fun way to share details about life while away from home. Blogging has also become a great way

  • Improved PT program hopes to inspire healthier lifestyles among Airmen

    Beginning in January 2010, Airmen will see some changes to the current physical training program including having two tests per year, a different waist measurement standard and a new score chart. These changes are being implemented in order to promote better fitness standards among Airmen. "The

  • Deployed Airman watches daughter's birth

    An Airman deployed to Joint Base Balad got to witness his wife give birth to their daughter via Web cam June 17 who were back at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. Tech. Sgt. Nathanael Farrington, a 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron weather forecaster, said he called the American Red Cross

  • Guardsmen care for wounded warriors

    A staff of 23, of whom 21 are Air National Guardsmen, work together to provide medical care and support to more than 750 servicemembers and coalition forces here. The 447th Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron here provides servicemembers with medical, dental and mental-health care. They also

  • Air Force legends visit Air University

    Several Air Force legends addressed graduates of Air University's Air Command and Staff College during the 28th Gathering of Eagles here June 2 through 6. Aviation legends, or Eagles, are invited each year to the college to share their wisdom and experiences as mentors for up-and-coming Air Force

  • Ophthalmology flight brings eyecare to Panama patients

    Members of the 59th Surgical Specialties Squadron Ophthalmology Flight at Wilford Hall Medical Center participated in a humanitarian mission providing eye surgery and exams for more than 500 Panamanian patients at the La Regional Hospital in La Chorrera, Panama, May 9-22. The hospital, located

  • Manas firefighters keep base safe

    Whether protecting the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing's flightline, living quarters or support facilities, firefighters here stand ready to do their job day or night. It's not an easy job. Manas is an air mobility hub, with aircraft coming and going at all hours of the day. Some carry troops or

  • Edwards employee survives cancer, grad school

    While many people just try to make it to graduation when attending graduate school, Natasha Green was just trying to survive - literally. Just three months after she began her master's degree, the human resource specialist with the 95th Force Support Squadron here was diagnosed with the early stages

  • More than a loadmaster

    Three, two, one, launch!  But this launch isn't part of the space program. It's launching dropsondes or "sondes"out of a WC-130J Hercules to record vertical weather data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla. "It's the best job I've ever

  • Former PJ teaches new generation of pararescuemen

    The insignia on the pararescue instructor's shirt, semicircled below a red, white and blue angel, says it all: That Others May Live. It's a motto he loves. It's a motto he lived up to. A retired pararescueman, Maj. Thomas Newman is now on the other side of the line, teaching and sharing his

  • Deployed chaplain practices ministry of presence

    He's a consistent, comforting presence just in the background of the 887th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron's guard mounts, sometimes bearing cookies, sometimes a joke and sometimes just a prayer or two. He doesn't wait for Airmen to come to him, but seeks them out. It's very difficult for any

  • RED HORSE team serves as 'backbone' of Afghanistan construction

    Wiping the sweat, dirt and grime from his face, Tech. Sgt. Michael Stout is dirty. Very dirty. In fact, with the exception of a glimmer of red emerging from the crusted baseball hat on his head, every inch of Sergeant Stout's body is some shade of the Kandahar terrain he's been working for the past

  • Deployed captain 'attends' children's graduation

    For many servicemembers, deployments create unique stresses. From the change in environment to the change in operations tempo and to the detachment from loved ones, the extra weight can have a heavy toll on emotional health. All this can be especially true for deployed parents who often miss

  • From a sandbox to 'the' sandbox

    Growing up at Mather Air Force Base, Calif., in the early 1960s, toy Tonka trucks, road graders and scoop shovels were Jeffrey Dunn's favorite toys. Four houses away, his best friend, Brian Bishop, preferred airplanes. Building roads and constructing runways in a sandbox Jeff's dad built behind the