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  • Military docs treat Afghan war's suffering young ones

    Orphan's father worked for the Afghan National Army and the Taliban knew it. They retaliated. But, rather than seek their vengeance against him face to face the Taliban placed a mine near his house. Orphan found it. The 8-year-old boy lost his right leg and most of the flesh on his left leg is gone.

  • Captain teaches computer classes to Afghans

    There was no school bell, but class was definitely in session inside of a cement building where an Air Force officer taught "The Introduction to Computers" course to Afghan national army students in early April. Capt. Ted Janicki is the senior communications mentor, where he oversees communications

  • More than routine maintenance

    The periodic inspection dock is where the most intensive KC-135 Stratotanker inspection takes place on base. Nearly every system is checked, tested and sometimes replaced by more than 50 Airmen over an eight-day period in this dock -- it's also a classroom. During periodic inspections, Airmen from

  • Chaplains provide honored service

    On a cold and windy day in Arlington, Va., Air Force Chaplain (Capt.) Richard Black reads a few words to the small crowd gathered around a casket in Arlington National Cemetery: "We gather today, in the shadow of our nation's Capitol, to show our respect and to honor one who was prepared to give his

  • Airman battled cancer, returns to fly missions

    "Before I was diagnosed, I was like everybody else. I thought I was bulletproof," said Lt. Col. Kurt Barry, a 128th Expeditionary Air Command and Control Squadron E-8C Joint STARS mission crew commander. In October 2004, while serving a staff tour in Europe, Colonel Barry had his annual physical and

  • An Airman's road to wellness

    Maj. Matthew Conlan is preparing to walk out of Wilford Hall Medical Center one final time, saying good-bye to the doctors, nurses, physical therapists and numerous individuals who have helped him through his nearly two-year recovery. Major Conlan credits his ability to walk out of Wilford Hall on

  • E-3 Sentry celebrates 30 years in Air Force's fleet

    It all started 30 years ago -- March 23, 1977, to be exact -- when the first E-3 Sentry touched down on Oklahoma soil. The arrival of aircraft tail number 75-0557 began a new era for the 552nd Airborne Warning and Control Wing, and for air surveillance. To celebrate the occasion, wing officials

  • U.S., coalition servicemembers climb to the top

    Until March 30, the highest thing I'd ever climbed was a ladder. On that calm morning, I joined 13 other servicemembers in climbing "The Ghar," a 1,500-foot rocky mountain that sits on the compound of the Kabul Military Training Center in Afghanistan. To me, the Air Force's "Fit to Fight," phrase

  • Balad's busy aerial port supports, supplies the fight

    The drone of forklifts moving pallets breaks the smoke-filled haze as members of the 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron Aerial Port Flight work against the clock to expedite critical hub-and-spoke missions. Whether it is aircraft parts and ammunition, or fire trucks and heavily armored

  • Creative therapy, fighting spirit help one child 'rise up'

    To watch 13-year-old Erin Pelton ride a horse, you wouldn't think she was any different than any other teenager. Although she looks the same, Erin isn't just riding a horse for fun, she's at a physical therapy appointment aiming herself at her future with grit and determination. Erin, daughter of

  • Transient alert maintainers provide critical mission support

    Whether changing a tire on an F-16 Fighting Falcon, marshalling in a heavy airlift C-17 Globemaster III on the north ramp, maintaining a piece of air-ground equipment such as a power unit or responding to an in-flight emergency, Airmen of the 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron's transient

  • NCO goes to the dogs in competition

    In the evenings at his home in Wasilla, Master Sgt. Jeff Nelson can be found training Trapper, his heavyweight Alaskan malamute, and Rusty, his feisty lightweight, for dog weight-pulling competitions. "Weight pulling is a demonstration of how strong a dog is ... and how willing the dog is to come to

  • 'Coupon Lady' saves Airmen money

    Jasmin Malboeuf is a stay-at-home mom and housewife -- most of the time. But she's also earned a different title from Lajes commissary goers:  the Coupon Lady.It started about eight months ago. Tech. Sgt. David Roux and his wife stopped by the Lajes Field Airmen and Family Readiness Center to look

  • Manta Airmen score home run with community

    Volunteers from the 478th Expeditionary Operations Squadron here recently donated more than $5,000 worth of baseball equipment to the Manta Baseball Academy. More than 100 people attended the ceremony at the academy, including the mayor of Manta, Jorge Zambrano. "I'm very happy. We've wanted this

  • NCO receives Bronze Star for actions in Iraq

    Being in a convoy that was struck by a large improvised explosive device didn't phase Master Sgt. Jeff Fenner, 100th Security Forces Squadron, when he was deployed for six months in Iraq from January to June 2006. When the vehicle he was traveling behind was disabled, he suddenly became surrounded

  • Straight 'chute' to safety

    Fire, Fire, Fire! Sirens blare and smoke pours into the six-story high stairwell here. Rather than braving the treacherous trap of a smoke-filled stairwell, the air traffic controllers in the control tower simply pick up the phone and call the base fire department, then head out onto the catwalk to

  • First medical enlisted force chief visits with current chief

    Sharing the place of honor at the head of the 59th Medical Wing commander's conference table, Chief Master Sgt. Mark Withers, the Air Force Medical Service's chief of the medical enlisted force, and the first man to hold the position, retired Chief Master Sgt. Ray Smith, hold the rapt attention of

  • Aerial port hub keeps passengers, cargo rolling

    The Airman wipes the sweat from his brow. His radio crackles out a message that a shipment of blood is on its way for a critically injured servicemember in Iraq. Tech. Sgt. Lee Fletcher sends out the word and the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing's aerial port becomes a flurry of activity. There is not a

  • Air controllers direct airpower symphony over Iraq

    Helping to orchestrate the airpower symphony over Iraq are the Airmen of the 727th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron. Known as Kingpin, they turn non-stop air operations into a ground forces' favorite tune -- the sound of jets prowling the sky overhead. Currently manned by the Eglin Air Force Base,

  • Airmen collect items for Manta community

    Volunteers from the 157th Air Refueling Wing recently donated 100 "compassion packages" containing much-needed supplies for residents of the Manta City Dump. Even though the members of the 157th ARW, located at the New Hampshire Air National Guard at Pease, N.H., are only assigned to the 478th

  • Pararescuemen Airmen train 'so others may live'

    Ask any pararescueman, or PJ, and they'll tell you, if they're working a mission, then something has gone very wrong. Chances are, an aircraft is down and there are injured personnel in need of rescue. So, it's a good day when they aren't hard at work. Fortunately, aircraft mishaps are few and far

  • Silent eye in the sky: Predators keep constant vigil

    Anyone outside the Balad Air Base perimeter thinking of causing harm to those working and living here better think again. They're being watched from above by a Predator -- one with keen eyesight. As the MQ-1 Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicle flies virtually undetected in the lower atmosphere. It

  • Single-parent dads deal positively with deployment

    Many would agree that parenting is one of the toughest tasks a person can do. If being a parent is difficult enough, try coupling that with a demanding military career and being a single parent. According to Air Force Personnel Center figures, there are approximately 1,220 male single parents

  • Air Force retiree 'fishes' for new recruits

    When Capt. David L. Erwin retired from the Air Force in 2001, he wasn't quite ready to leave the "blue" life behind. Instead, he came up with a plan to combine his love of fishing with his desire to maintain a connection to the Air Force. Today this one-man Air Force ambassador holds the distinction

  • Is there a dentist in the house?

    Most people have some trepidation about seeing the dentist, but when Bud Martinez suffered a heart attack at a local fitness center, a dentist was the life saver. "I don't remember much," said the retired major Mr. Martinez.  "I had just finished a vigorous spin class and was outside the room

  • Gen. Schriever's visionary space speech turns 50

    On Feb. 19, 1957, Gen. Bernard Schriever addressed America's need for space during the inaugural Air Force Office of Scientific Research Astronautics Symposium in San Diego. Following the address, Defense Secretary Charles Wilson ordered General Schriever, who was then commander of Western

  • Airmen, Soldiers get to core of crunches

    With their shoes off, water bottles by their sides and hand towels ready for sweat, service members at the H6 fitness center feel the burn during an abs class. "It's important to have a healthy lifestyle because it helps to get the mission done," said 1st Lt. Kathryn Romano of the 332nd

  • Crew chief hard charges UK Mountain-X challenges

    Hearts pound in the riders' chests and all eyes are on the starting lights as they flash first red, then yellow, then green. The gate hisses as it raises into the starting position, to the sound of, "Riders ready ... watch the gate." Beep ... beep ... beeeeep! Crashing down, the gate drops sharply

  • Deployed Airmen's families not alone

    Deploying is a fact of life for Airmen in today's expeditionary Air Force, but it doesn't mean their spouses and families have to go it alone. A deployed spouses' dinner here at the base chapel Feb. 2 reinforced that message for spouses and children from Colorado's Schriever and Peterson Air Force

  • Former Soldier returns to Kirkuk as Airman

    Sitting in the cold cargo bay of a C-17 Globemaster III, a 24-year-old Soldier about to be part of the largest paratrooper airdrop since World War II felt a lot of excitement and a little bit of fear.The cargo doors opened and the bay was instantly filled with freezing Iraqi air. Looking through his

  • Thinking of tankers tactically

    Somewhere over Iraq, a tanker flies through the shimmering heat of the desert sun. The crew successfully off-loaded fuel to a pair of F-16 Fighting Falcons, performing their part of the close-air-support mission, before heading back to base. As they approach the airfield, a rocket fired from a

  • Retired chief reflects on 60 years of service

    If Al Kremer couldn't wait to mail a letter home to his family after he fired his first round at basic training, it certainly would have been understandable. Early on in his teenage years he knew the military was where he wanted to be. Back then, at only 17, the small-town Wilmont, Minn., native was

  • Eagles land in Hollywood

    Through the clouds above a dry, remote airfield in Southern California, Col. Tom Schiess and Lt. Col. Matt Andrews punched holes in the sky and maneuvered their F-15 Eagles into position for landing. A catastrophic attack on the United States had just taken place and the U.S. Air Force now filled

  • Fitness program changes civilian's life

    Diana Harmon was startled awake by her cat standing on her chest, pawing at her face. The cat was trying to get Ms. Harmon to breathe. Weighing 270 pounds she suffered from sleep apnea and not wanting to use a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine, she sought alternative means. She went to the

  • Program allows active-duty Airmen to study full time

    The Airman Education and Commissioning Program is one of the best kept secrets in the Air Force. AECP allows active-duty enlisted members to attend college full time without loss of pay or benefits, graduate with a degree and earn a commission. "It's one of the best programs in the Air Force and

  • They serve 'that others may live'

    Normally, when people hear about members of the 31st Rescue Squadron, they think of them as super heroes who act on a moment's notice, jumping out of aircraft in a blaze of gunfire to save a downed pilot. Combat search and rescue is more than what people see in the movies -- pararescuemen - also

  • Grissom pilot pushes limits of aviation

    His aircraft spins more than 50 consecutive times as it plummets toward the ground. Then the plane begins to perform cartwheels, a move that would invoke fear in the most seasoned pilot. These moves don't bother Capt. Billy Werth, a KC-135 Stratotanker pilot with the 72nd Air Refueling Squadron

  • Airmen advise Djiboutian air traffic controllers

    As the air traffic controller approaches his perch, he enters through the smoke-filled lobby of an old, white tower. He must hike up 96 stairs through a narrow, two-foot-wide passageway to the top. Just as he sits down, a call from a C-130 Hercules comes in on the radio: Aircraft pilot: Tower

  • Sierra Leone native joins Air Force with dreams of flying

    With wings of steel soaring high above him, a Sierra Leone native would be forever captivated by the aerial acrobatics, eventually joining the U.S. Air Force in pursuit of a dream of flying. In 1998, the Revolutionary United Front took control of Airman Albert Lewis' hometown of Freetown, Sierra

  • Demystifying the mystique of intel

    They work behind locked doors, in a building with no windows. They are closely integrated into the flying operations and force-protection aspects of every Air Force wing, but most of us know very little about what they do. "That's part of the mystique surrounding intel," said Maj. Ed Horner, a 379th