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  • Flying medics provide theater-wide care

    Squinting away the mid-morning glare, Staff Sgt. Danny Au and his fellow crewmembers emerge from the cargo hold of a C-130 Hercules. They are tired after flying and working 14 hours in the back of the aircraft. Sergeant Au, who like many of his teammates are deployed from Pope Air Force Base, N.C.,

  • Retiree 'kissed by an angel'

    For nearly 43 years, one man has practiced a similar combination of cardio-centric workouts followed by relaxation time in the sauna, a routine which, for the most part, was fairly uneventful for the first 42 of those years. One morning here in April; however, soon changed that. "I usually walk

  • Anna Kournikova visits Ramstein students

    Former professional tennis player Anna Kournikova spoke to students in the Ramstein High School varsity and tennis clubs May 19 at the school's gymnasium here. Ms. Kournikova visited with students as part of a six-day educational United Service Organizations tour to help her learn what military

  • Inside the dome: Barter Island radar site opens doors

    A giant white sphere dominates the skyline of this tiny village, a remote outpost on the frozen shores of the Beaufort Sea. But until this week, very few local residents had ever seen the inside of the station, or even had a good grasp on what exactly the station does. The dome conceals a powerful

  • Guard 'T-bird' pilot wheels enthusiasm at nation's capital

    As acrobatic aircraft buzzed overhead as part of the run-up to the air show here May 16, Lt. Col. Derek Routt paid more notice to the parked, baby-blue and white business jets on the ground; aircraft used by the nation's elected and military leaders. The first Air National Guard officer to serve on

  • General's aide dedicated to her fitness regimen

    Capt. Charlotta Blalock admits she gets some strange reactions from people when she does push-ups in the aisle of an aircraft 41,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. "I get teased a lot. My boss thinks I'm nuts," said Captain Blalock, an amateur figure competitor of the National Physique Committee who

  • Airmen advise Iraqi senior enlisted council

    For the first time in recent history, Iraqi enlisted senior leaders are meeting on a regular basis as part of a new enlisted organization here. Iraqi Army sergeant majors, with the guidance of Joint Expeditionary Tasking, or JET Airmen, recently stood up the Taji Sergeant Major Counci. This council

  • Air Force medics provide humanitarian aid to Dominicans

    Long before the Caribbean sun rises above the dusty foothills of the Ocoa Mountains, word spreads throughout the small town that the "miracle workers" are coming. They're on their way. They'll be here soon. Lines of residents form outside the local school, as young mothers with newborn infants and

  • Manas welcomes spring with Bloomsday Run

    There's nothing like a run to usher in spring. At least that's what Airmen here thought as they participated in the first Manas Bloomsday Run May 4. Three dozen runners took part in the run, which started 13 time zones before some 50,000 other runners did the same in the 33rd annual Lilac Bloomsday

  • Tuskegee Airmen visit academy cadets

    The Tuskegee Airmen secured their place in history more than 60 years ago by doing what few people thought they could. They overcame naysayers in the U.S. Army Air Corps before they overcame the Luftwaffe in the skies over Italy and Germany. Their legendary story has inspired numerous books, a movie

  • United Fight: Combat medics provide aid, support to PRT mission

    Air Force medical technicians working with the Provincial Reconstruction Teams here are working outside their comfort zone. Here, these Airmen aren't simply medical technicians, they are combat medics. And with this new role comes new responsibilities. "I am working in a completely opposite spectrum

  • Junior ROTC cadets revisit history, build Wright Flyer replica

    When a SouthWest Edgecombe High School, N.C., Air Force Junior ROTC cadet asked her senior aerospace science instructor if their unit could build a Wright Flyer, he thought she meant a scaled down version. She did not. Using the original Wright Flyer wing span of 40.4-feet long and 8.1-feet high,

  • Refuelers keep the mission soaring

    The U.S. Central Command area of responsibility is a large area, spanning nearly 6,000 miles from the Horn of Africa to Northern Afghanistan. Coalition aircrews have to cover this entire area from a limited number of bases and can be required to get to a location fast and remain in the area long

  • NCO brings calm over camp, Beethoven brings in buyers

    Strains of classical music stream from the doorway of a weather-beaten building at this forward operating base in the middle of the Afghan countryside. Housed within those whitewashed walls is a lone the Army and Air Force Exchange Service store. Staff Sgt. Eric Began, a member of the Paktya

  • The life of a port mortuary chaplain

    The night sky looked calm and tranquil from a gently soaring aircraft, miles above the Eastern seaboard towns below. However, there was nothing tranquil or calm in the hearts of one family on board that craft, traveling here to witness the dignified transfer of their son's remains. Their son, their

  • Tuskegee Airmen: The birth of a proud legacy

    The 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing here traces its military lineage back to the 332nd Fighter Group, led by the famous Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. On April 24, past will meet present as the wing welcomes several original Tuskegee Airmen. Visiting here will be former Lt. Cols. Alexander Jefferson

  • It's not grafitti, it's art

    A crew chief from the 19th Aircraft Maintenance Unit was seen spray painting graffiti in the indoor skate park here April 3. But no security forces were called to halt the "tagging." Staff Sgt. Art Delafuente has been doing graffiti since he was 14 years old, and the base community center has been

  • Combat stress: A combat essential for today's warfighter

    Have you ever gone through a challenging or painful situation and later felt stronger from the experience? In other words, the stress of the situation pushed you to react and adapt. You overcame fears or other emotions so, when put in similar situations, you could handle them more effectively or

  • Flight nurse provides care in the air

    While troops on the ground are risking their lives fighting terrorism, Capt. Susan McCormick feels it's her mission to provide the best emergency care to wounded troops so they can return to the fight or return to their families back home. "I couldn't picture myself doing anything but this, giving

  • Medical assistance mission treats patients, builds relationships in Peru

    The Alto Amazonas province of Peru teems with steamy jungles, rugged terrain and swarms of insects. But these obstacles were no challenge for a 15-member Air Force medical team that was in the area to provide care to the local population as part of the Riverine Project. The Riverine Project

  • Military working dog team inspects potential 22,000-gallon bomb

    Military working dog handlers and their canine partners are used throughout Southwest Asia to detect explosives that are meant to injure servicemembers and innocent civilians. For one dog handler, Staff Sgt. Joseph Null, and his dog, Lucca, this task took an interesting turn."There was a fuel truck

  • Dallas recruiters get muddy for charity

    Eight members of the 344th Recruiting Squadron took part in the Dallas-Fort Worth Mud Run March 29, getting dirty while raising money for local charities. The annual race featured nearly 2,500 competitors who took on a 10-kilometer course along the Trinity River Trail, made challenging by 18

  • WASP reflect of roles as aviation pioneers

    Three members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots reminisced about their World War II experiences as part of this year's Squadron Officer College Warrior Symposium series here March 26. The WASP were a select group of women pilots who by becoming the first women in history to fly American military

  • Combat fit, combat ready

    In 2004, then Air Force Chief of Staff General John P. Jumper began a significant Air Force cultural change with the "Fit to Fight" program, charging Airmen at all levels with creating an Air Force culture of fitness. Today, Airmen here are constantly working to maintain the "Fit to Fight" concept,

  • Taming the Dragon Lady

    Flying high above the Earth, surrounded in darkness, Capt. Neal Hinson studies the gauges inside the cockpit of the U-2 Dragon Lady. He's been flying for ten hours, cramped, tired and restricted by the astronaut-style flight suit he's wearing.Still, there's no where else he'd rather be. Sitting in

  • Don't call him a hero

    Tech. Sgt. Christopher Frost raised his right hand and re-enlisted here March 1 knowing full well the sacrifice he was committing to -- he has already given his right leg in the line of duty. In Iraq in May 2008, Sergeant Frost, was planning to do his laundry when he got a call about an improvised

  • Walk softly and carry a big hat

    Few Airmen are as easily recognizable as military training instructors. Everything about the MTI is larger than life: the shoes, the hat, the badge and the voice. However, there is one thing about the career field that is less than imposing: its size. The Air Force is currently undermanned when it

  • JET Airmen last to be 'on the air' at AFN-Iraq

    Broadcasting to servicemembers supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, a group of joint expeditionary tasking, or JET, Airmen assigned to 732nd Expeditionary Support Squadron's American Forces Network-Iraq may be the last Airmen to execute this mission. Working in a joint environment with Navy and Army

  • Airmen support the Central Criminal Court of Iraq

    Iraqi judges, lawyers and investigators walk through the hallowed halls of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq here. Along these corridors of marble, wood, steel and glass, a small group of U.S. military lawyers move about from office to courtroom. In accordance with the new security agreement signed

  • Lakenheath tower falling down

    For more than 60 years it has watched aircraft come and go, including B-47 Stratojets, F-4 Phantoms and F-111 Aardvarks; but now it's time for the old air traffic control tower to go, and historians took one last opportunity to document it Feb. 27. Bill Harris, the 48th Fighter Wing historian

  • Manas Airmen tend to children's cancer center needs

    Loaded with boxes filled with stuffed animals, snacks and 10 shiny new faucets, Manas Air Base Airmen made a visit to Bishkek's National Center of Oncology, or Children's Cancer Center. Dozens of smiling children, afflicted with life threatening cancer illnesses, waved through the curtained windows

  • Deployed dad's return completes 'family puzzle'

    The siblings didn't see their father, Tech. Sgt. Brad Burt, when they originally rounded the corner from the west wing of their school Feb. 27. The 361st Training Squadron instructor here bellowed, "Hey!" to get the children's attention. It took them a half second to identify their target, but once

  • Learning survival skills in 'Cool School'

    "Do you have the skills to survive in this environment?" Every Monday at 7:30 a.m. sharp, Capt. Timothy Hanks, the 66th Training Squadron Detachment.1 commander, starts each class at the Arctic Survival School with that simple yet big question. How can someone survive if stranded in a place where

  • Trident submariners conduct strategic deterrence missions

    Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean last week, sailors aboard the Trident strategic missile submarine USS Maryland prepared to start a series of underwater practice maneuvers known as "angles and dangles." The Maryland's captain, Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey M. Grimes, and his chief of the boat and senior

  • Medical professionals hone patient care skills

    A group of flightsuit-clad Airmen bustled about the tail of a parked C-130 Hercules on the flightline like they owned the place. If it weren't for the medical badges embroidered on their jackets, one could've easily mistaken them for a gaggle of crew chiefs. It didn't take long before the medical

  • Manas volunteers donate supplies to Kyrgyzstan school

    Manas Service Organization volunteers from here delivered a brand-new generator, refrigerator and stove Feb. 20 to the Vasilievka Kindergarten School in Kyrgyzstan. Members of the 376th Expeditionary Operations Group and the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing staff make up the Manas Service Organization,

  • Chapel section serves through the ministry of the coffee pot

    The Army's Life Support Area is an ant hive of activity, serving as the transition point for thousands of U.S. servicemembers moving into and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Moving through the large tents past desks for travel representatives and service liaisons, it's possible to miss a little alcove

  • Corrosion control office helps prolong life of aircraft

    The Air Force Corrosion Prevention and Control Office at Robins employs only 17 people, but its small staff plays a big role in keeping aircraft and ground equipment operating throughout the Air Force. The specialists in this tenant office, which is a geographically separated unit of the Air Force

  • Special tactics unit teaches skills to special operations Airmen

    Spending hours in a pool in the warm Florida sun may sound like a vacation, but for trainees at the Air Force Special Operations Training Center's Special Tactics Training Squadron here, it's anything but. For these trainees, each of whom is a three-level combat controller, spending hours in a pool

  • C-5M flies in on the wings of Dover AFB heritage

    The C-5M's wheels screeched to a halt on the Dover Air Force Base flightline and taxied in front of Hangar 706, where a crowd eagerly awaited the arrival of the first Super Galaxy. Seated in that crowd were four Airmen who ushered in Dover's strategic airlift era with the delivery of the base's