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  • Aerospace ground equipment sheds light on mission

    As the sun sets and day transitions into night, members of one Southwest Asia maintenance squadron helps light the way to ensure the mission stays at the forefront and in the limelight. The 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron aerospace ground equipment unit Airmen work around the clock to

  • Injured Airman overcomes disabilities on slopes

    For the average person, losing a limb while serving one's country might seem like the sacrifice of sacrifices. For Airman 1st Class Kevin Krogh, it's just another one of life's challenges. Airman Krogh, an F-22 weapons loader assigned to the 1st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Langley Air Force

  • Combat Nurses: The OR

    Editor's note: This is the second installment of a six part series by Tech. Sgt. D. Clare titled "Combat Nurses." In the series Sergeant Clare takes an in-depth and personal look at how nurses from different specialties are caring for the war wounded at one of the busiest trauma centers in the

  • Airmen keep mission running despite subzero temperatures

    At 16 degrees Fahrenheit, the Manas Air Base Weather Office issues an observed temperature advisory. At -16 F, diesel fuel starts to gel and Manas AB Airmen are advised to start affected vehicles and let them run for 15 minutes each hour. And from ranges all the way down to -30 F at Manas AB duirng

  • Combat nurses: Saving lives, serving the wounded

    Editor's note: This is the first installment of a six part series by Tech. Sgt. D. Clare titled "Combat Nurses." In the series Sergeant Clare takes an in-depth and personal look at how nurses from different specialties are caring for the war wounded at one of the busiest trauma centers in the world.

  • Battlefield training makes warriors out of Airmen

    The team was winded now. They knew they had to make it to the safe area. All of a sudden, someone called out, "contact front!" Bang. They knew what to do, and with that sound came the chance to show the cadre they hadn't wasted their time. As the first class of the Air Force's newest week-long

  • First sergeants and Eagle Flag train Airmen

    Facilitating Airmen success.That is how Master Sgt. Robin Young describes his job as the 99th Civil Engineer Squadron first sergeant from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. During Exercise Eagle Flag, facilitating success for Airmen and caring for them is never an easy task for a first sergeant. In each

  • Tuskegee Airmen paved way for King's legacy

    There are two types of people in this world, according to Tuskegee Airman Don Elder: thermometers and thermostats. The Congressional Gold Medal recipient and guest speaker at the Jan. 14 Martin Luther King Jr., luncheon said he and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen were thermostats because they effected

  • Education opportunities open doors for deployed members

    A 407th Expeditionary Services Squadron Education Center NCO here is helping servicemembers satisfy their educational and career developing needs one course at time despite being deployed and thousands of miles from home. Tech. Sgt. Lisa Harris, a test control officer in the one-deep shop, has

  • Hickam's C-17s deliver anywhere

    In the off-chance the C-17 Globemaster III can't land somewhere to deliver its cargo, that cargo may just come coasting out of the back of the aircraft -- with a parachute attached, of course. Long-range reach and the ability to use small, austere airfields are among the strategic airlift

  • Balad Airmen keep order, maintain security

    Maintaining a safe and secure base for deployed members would be impossible without the help of a group of Balad Air Base Airmen who took an oath, promising to serve and protect their fellow troops. Ensuring a safe and secure environment here are the Airmen of the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces

  • Fitness center helps Airmen lighten up for New Year, beyond

    Three months after the 407th Expeditionary Services Squadron Muscle Beach Fitness Center's version of the "Biggest Loser" competition began, the winning loser who is deployed from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, said "aloha" to 31 pounds. "Even if I didn't win by losing the most weight, I would have

  • B-2 missions take team effort

    The B-2 Spirit is a two-person bomber that can strike a target virtually anywhere in the world. But it takes more than just the pair flying the B-2 to make the Spirit soar.Members of the 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron routinely demonstrate their global reach capability by flying B-2s from

  • 379th AEW rings in the New Year

    Airmen in the 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron brought a little bit of home to Southwest Asia during a New Year's Eve celebration here. In less than 72 hours, several members of the 379th ECES constructed an 800-pound ball from an old, unusable 1,000 gallon water tank to drop during the

  • Letters from home filled with support, humor

    As ironic as this may be, public affairs people tend to get a little jaded when answering phone calls, letters and e-mails from the public. It is our job to work with the public; however, talking to citizens who think their phones are bugged by the FBI, have seen an aircraft land in the stratosphere

  • Six stars keep family 'business' running 200 years strong

    Some might say the Wurster brothers are the senior executive officers in the family business. Even though they oversee more than 39,900 employees between their divisions, you still won't find their organization on Forbes' list of the largest public companies, and they certainly aren't on the

  • Without ammo, it's just another airplane

    A key element in the Air Force's global reach, global power capability is the tight knit and specially trained group of Airmen often referred to as "ammo troops." The men and women who comprise the 36th Munitions Squadron here haven't forgotten Andersen is a strategically located forward operating

  • JSTARS are 'eyes of the night'

    Like owls hunting prey in the dark of night, aircrews flying in the 116th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron's E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft use its radar systems to support ground units and direct air support throughout the AOR. With aircraft deployed

  • Air Force major scores Marvel Comics writing gig

    For most comic book fans, getting paid to write stories about Marvel Comics heroes like Iron Man, Captain America and Spider-Man would be a dream come true. It was certainly a dream for Maj. Matt Yocum, the assistant air attache at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel. But that dream becomes a

  • A life saved ... unexpectedly

    As he sat eating breakfast, Staff Sgt. Eric Eberhard had no idea that he was just hours away from a struggle to save the life of the Airman sitting next to him. It was Dec. 7 and the Salt Lake City native and former Marine was enjoying a brief pause before another demanding day as a member of a

  • Heir apparent: Father, son deploy together

    When a father of a 3-year-old son entered the Air Force 27 years ago, he never thought that one day he'd be working side by side with his son at a deployed location. Today the father and son duo are fighting the war on terrorism together as they are based at a Southwest Asia air base flying missions

  • Airfield management keeps aircraft, personnel safe

    You might have heard that safety is everyone's responsibility, but you might not know that airfield management plays a critical safety role as one of primary means of protecting flightline assets and personnel. The 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron's airfield management experts

  • Cards for Troops help spread holiday cheer

    What began as a small idea soon became a big initiative for a Balad Air Base Airman.Senior Airman Amber Sams had no idea what she was in for when she asked her small hometown of Morocco, Ind., for Christmas cards. But soon, the boxes started pouring in. "Last time I was deployed through the

  • Air Force chaplain celebrates Mass for Romanians in Italian

    An Air Force chaplain is putting his Roman Catholic studies to good use giving Mass in Italian to Romanian Army soldiers. Every Wednesday during lunchtime, Chaplain (Maj.) Timothy Hirten of the 407th Air Expeditionary Group goes to the Romanian Army's Camp Dracula to provide one of his daily Mass

  • Family features three generations of Hercules pilots

    In 1959, the first C-130 Hercules aircraft made its maiden flight. Retired Maj. David Morgan Jr. flew in the second C-130 off the production line. Years later, Major Morgan's son flew the same plane at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.  And 40 years later his grandson, Maj. David Morgan, a 37th

  • Get out! Get out now!

    No pilot ever wants to hear those words, but they were ringing in Major Jeffrey Cunningham's ears as he sat on the flightline at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., with his F-16 Fighting Falcon on fire, he said.A member of the 55th Fighter Squadron from Shaw AFB, S.C., Major Cunningham and members of his

  • Bomb loader bites bullet to become doctor

    The tools of Dr. Scott Avery's trade include stethoscopes, ophthalmoscopes and otoscopes. The tools of Tech. Sgt. Scott Avery's trade include safety-wire pliers, 30 mm bullets and wrenches. Sergeant Avery, a 42-year old resident of Lee's Summit, Mo., has lived a rare life since graduating from the

  • Season of giving extends throughout the year

    While the holiday season is typically considered a season of giving, for the men and women at Thule Air Base, Greenland, this season of giving extends throughout the entire year. Serving at the DOD's northernmost installation in the world -- not far from the North Pole and Santa Claus himself -- the

  • Nondestructive inspection team strives to increase reliability

    Many have heard the saying, "If you step on a crack, break your mother's back." If Air Force aircraft inspectors miss a tiny crack in an engine or a critical component on a plane, the bird could fall out of the sky. The Air Force nondestructive inspection, or NDI, team at Tinker Air Force

  • One man's trash is another man's treasure

    People tend to take care of things important to them such as their family, friends and personal possessions, but tend to ignore things perceived as not important. People throw anything away that is of no use to them and call it "trash." Is it really trash? Almost everything from the so-called trash

  • 379th Explosive Ordnance Disposal conducts dual mission

    The 379th Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit conducts a dual mission here in Southwest Asia. In addition to their traditional role of responding to suspicious packages and unexploded ordnance removal and disposal, they also serve as an equipment hub for other EOD units

  • Cancer can't stop one man's dream of Air Force service

    Kyle Causey fulfilled a lifelong dream Nov. 20 when he left Massachusetts for Texas to attend Air Force Basic Military Training. It took him more than six years and had to defeat cancer to reach this milestone. The former Hanscom Air Force Base pool lifeguard had always dreamed of following his

  • Nutrition flight helps keep servicemembers fit to fight

    The operations tempo in a deployed environment is non-stop. Working long hours away from family and friends can be stressful and takes a toll on the body; however, grabbing a good night's rest, exercising and eating balanced meals is key to staying fit to fight. According Capt. Saunya Bright, a

  • Transshipment center Airmen pump blood from the 'heart'

    When U.S. or coalition forces or civilians are wounded as a result of battle, they are transported to the nearest medical facility to receive treatment. In some cases, the wounded person may require some sort of blood product to save his or her life. That's where the Airmen in the 379th

  • Pilots bid adieu to Thunderbird duty

    "Bittersweet." It was a word that crossed the lips of two Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds pilots as they described their feelings about leaving the unit. Majors Ed Casey and Nicole Malachowski performed the last show of their two-year tours as pilots for the Thunderbirds at

  • Airmen prepare servicemembers to fight

    In 2005, the U.S. Central Command Air Forces commander expressed concern over the amount of individual protective equipment being shipped to Airmen deployed in U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. The cost of excess baggage for deploying Airmen reached in excess of $51 million in fiscal

  • Administrator finds family photo in archives file

    Of all the files in all the towns in all the world, he ended up in hers. For Mary Grabulis, a records declassification analyst for the Air Force Declassification Office at the National Archives and Records Administration here, it was quite a surprise finding an old newspaper article about her

  • By the letter: Airmen help students by being pen pals

    How do you help children improve their writing skills and teach them about the Air Force at the same time? A teacher in Florence, S.C., and an Airman at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, came up with a plan to do just that, starting a pen pal program between Airmen and 2nd grade students. Veronica

  • Airmen perform leaflet drop over Afghanistan

    Senior Master Sgt. Jerry Bohl and Tech. Sgt. Kevin Letz watched with night-vision goggles through opposite troop doors on board a C-130 Hercules for any indication of enemy fire during a recent leaflet drop mission over Afghanistan. As the pilots maneuvered their way through the mountains of

  • Airman keeps vehicles movin' four decades in the making

    Nearly 38 years ago, an Airman from San Antonio received his calling to join the military. It was a lazy summer morning in 1970. A Harlandale High School letterman awakens to a knock at the door. The young man, who just weeks before had marched down the aisle to receive his diploma, stood scratching