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  • Communication gurus upgrade base networks

    The mission of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing is to move fuel, people and cargo into Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. This mission has been the same since the base was first activated. One other constant has been the base telephone network, which has been overdue for a

  • Firefighters live life of training and more training

    Training events give Airmen the opportunity to sharpen their skills. For the members of the 18th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire and Emergency Services flight here, every day is a training day. They may simulate a hazardous material leak or how to extricate a victim from a crashed aircraft or burning

  • Unsecured networks open door for hackers, spies

    With wireless technology, consumers can easily network their computers within their household and access the Internet through any of their computers. Consumers can sit in a lawn chair on their back porch and catch up on their e-mail and news, even do some online banking. But with this newfound

  • AWACS: A team effort

    Never has the word teamwork meant so much to mission accomplishment. From take-off to landing each crewmember of the 964th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron plays a role in mission accomplishment. For the 964th EAACS, deployed here from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., the operation begins

  • Prime BEEF on the menu at contingency base

    Sitting still doesn't suit them, these civil engineers here. Sixteen square miles about 100 miles northwest of Baghdad is this camp, Speicher, and it isn't much different from any other camp in northern Iraq: ankle-deep dust, Soldiers and Sailors and Airmen and Marines with a job to do and doing it.

  • Puerto Rico guardsmen experience combat up close

    As luck would have it, Staff Sgt. Victor Vega and his C-130 Hercules aircrew were just about to take off when the attack started. The 198th Airlift Squadron transport had just dropped off passengers and cargo on a dirt landing strip at a forward operating base near Kandahar, Afghanistan. The plane's

  • Air Force Enlisted Village helps all service widows

    When you're on active duty, it's easy to see the differences between the armed services and friendly competition between the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard is expected. In the opinion of some widows of servicemen, the similarities of military life outweigh the differences between the

  • Recruiters often go above and beyond

    This is a story about Kathy and her dad. Kathy is a proud Air Force brat, somewhere in her mid 50s. Her dad served for a long time as a maintenance flight chief. I never knew him, but I know he was at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and also did a stint in Morocco working on spy planes. Kathy brags

  • Test center commander pilots first eight-engine alternative fuel test

    For the first time in 36 years, an Air Force Flight Test Center commander at Edwards piloted a milestone flight as part of a test program.A seasoned B-52 test pilot, Maj. Gen. Curtis Bedke took the opportunity Dec. 15 to pilot a B-52 on its first flight running all eight engines on a Fischer-Tropsch

  • Keesler welcomes home a family member

    With Airmen, other volunteers and friends looking on, Keesler's leadership presented an Air Force widow with the perfect holiday gift Saturday -- a livable home. The combined efforts of Airmen, the Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity of Virginia transformed the Biloxi residence of 72-year-old

  • Dover learns to Lean with AFSO 21 class

    The Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century basic course here starts out like any other typical class. What is atypical about the AFSO 21 class here are the toys. What seems like millions of building blocks are scattered across the classroom waiting to be assembled. Playing with toys never

  • Capital region prepares for unexpected catastrophe

    "One, two, three; now lift." The words echoed around me as I suddenly felt the weightlessness that comes with being lifted by others. I could feel the hands of Navy medics checking my vitals, while one of them wrote my condition on a piece of paper and attached it to my chest. "Get him out of here,"

  • Injured TACP feels lucky to serve

    Staff Sgt. Israel Del Toro, a tactical air control party, or TACP, Airman is typical. He loves his job, speaks highly of those he serves with, and readily speaks his mind. He says he feels the war in Iraq has drawn so much attention lately some people seem to forget there are American troops

  • Higher education leads to success

    Today's air expeditionary Airman is deploying longer and more often than ever before in a world of shrinking budgets, bonuses and manpower. However, one benefit that hasn't gone away in these changing times is the educational opportunities offered by the Air Force. Those opportunities are becoming

  • Maintainers keep helicopters flying

    When the motto for a unit is: "These things we do, that others may live," Airmen assigned to the organization know any mistake can be a matter of life and death. Responsible for maintaining the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter flown by members of the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, the Airmen of the

  • Makahiki marks beginning of Hawaiian New Year

    As they have for nearly 2,000 years, they came from the water. For Hawaiians, the arrival of the boats marks the beginning of Makahiki, the Hawaiian New Year. For members of the Hickam Air Force Base community like Staff Sgt. Alexander Sotak, the Makahiki was an opportunity to experience a

  • Academy band spreads news in Big Apple

    A five-day tour by the U.S. Air Force Academy Band, accompanied by the cadet chorale and falconers, allowed it to reach more than 100 million people through performances in New York City and five national television appearances Nov. 22 - 26.A tour like this isn't all glamour and lights. "The amount

  • Location sings praises of first assigned chaplain's team

    Armed with Bibles in lieu of M-16s, Chaplain (Capt.) Jeff Granger and Senior Airman Mirella Santos comprise the first chapel team responsible for the spiritual well-being of all deployed here to the 478th Expeditionary Operations Squadron. "We have an outstanding target of opportunity to influence

  • Keeping Airmen safe and secure

    If you think putting on a chemical suit is challenging, then it's probably best to avoid the Level A suit. A fully encapsulated outfit that resembles an oversized banana, the Level A suit provides the highest level of protection against an attack when a chemical agent is suspected of being released.

  • JPM Guardian helps protect warfighter

     The scenario seems highly unlikely: several terrorists gain entry to the installation and release a toxic substance. Several Airmen die and many more are hospitalized. Immediately, the installation's emergency management team flies into action to save lives and minimize loss of equipment. How a

  • Boom operator flies 10,000th hour in tanker

    Senior Master Sgt. Anthony Trenga won't soon forget what he was doing Nov. 6 at 4:15 p.m.  The in-flight refueling technician from Pittsburgh reached a significant milestone in his military career at this precise moment, hitting 10,000 flying hours in a KC-135 Stratotanker. With more than 30 years

  • Bringing flight to the fight

    For Captains Marc Milligan and Shane Werley, a "normal day at the office" includes anything from shooting instrument approaches and flying security sweeps to instructing younger pilots and dropping cops out of their birds. Soon, that normal day at the office will be flying combat missions with the

  • Air National Guard: A family affair

    It continues to be seen that the Air Force remains to be a family-oriented force and three brothers deployed here can say just that. A family within itself, the Muniz Air National Guard members from Puerto Rico continue to be a self-motivating force with families working with each other to make sure

  • Travel along Korea's DMZ brings gamut of emotions

    One rest stop and several dozen cramped legs later, Airmen from the southern coastal base of Kunsan in South Korea gazed from their chartered bus into a colorful mix of culture and history for their first stop that would end as one of the more memorable days of their lives. I was fortunate enough to

  • WMD shield keeps Airmen safe

    Hunched in front of a computer monitor inside a room the size of a shipping crate, two men stare, eyebrows raised, at something that looks like a map from Google Earth. "Well," Staff Sgt. William Stevens asked, "is it a positive?" "Could be," answered William Boyd, staring intently at the small red

  • Deployment reunites Hanscom Airman with Army brother

    Staff Sgt. Georgette Jackson, 66th Mission Support Squadron Customer Service noncommissioned officer in charge, knew that her May 2006 deployment to Fort Sill, Okla., would be challenging. She would be part of the first team to provide Air Force Personnel Support during Contingency Operations for

  • Center enhances Air Force linguists' skills

    As Air Force operations continue around the globe, the need for linguists dedicated to Air Force and joint missions has never been greater or more important. Air Force linguists operating on the ground and in the air make up a critical component of the nation's intelligence mission. The success of

  • Airmen carry on 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron mission

    When it came to flying into the teeth of the enemy over Europe, the Airmen of the 746th Bombardment Squadron backed down to no one. Sixty years later, that same bravado that made the 746th BS one to be reckoned with is back -- reactivated with a mixture of active duty, Guard and Reserve Airmen

  • NCO catches acting bug in new Clint Eastwood film

    There is a 'movie star' among us, and he's appearing at a theater near you. Tech. Sgt. Nathaniel Heskew, with the 21st Space Operations Squadron at Onizuka Air Force Station, Calif., appears in the new Clint Eastwood film, "Flags of Our Fathers," that opened in theaters Oct. 20. "Flags of Our

  • Airmen learn to counter satellite-jamming threats

    When an unmanned aerial vehicle feed goes blank or a Global Positioning System receiver fades out, it may be only a momentary loss of signal.  Or, it might be deliberate jamming. How can an Airman determine whether the signal is being jammed, and more importantly, if it is, how can he or

  • Charleston loadmaster keeps cargo moving

    If his passport were to be stamped, it would have markings from Germany, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Italy, Spain, Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Cyprus, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan and Djibouti. And that doesn't show the times that this person has traveled across America from the East to West Coast. The list may

  • Urban warfare experiment draws many players

    Targeting crosshairs float across alleys and rooftops while one hand delicately nudges the ergonomic control sporting weapons toggles, and the other dances across the top of a box full of backlit red buttons and more joystick controls. Another set of hands grips a spiral bound detailed map and

  • From Russian tanks to Air Force trombones

    Staff Sgt. Vladimir Tchekan's life almost reads like a movie script. He has dodged tanks, was a musician in a popular rock band and even helped orphans in Thailand. Sergeant Tchekan is not a movie star, but he is living the American dream - Air Force style. Born and raised in Moscow, Sergeant

  • Military working dog and handler form bond in Iraq

    During his five-year Air Force career, Staff Sgt. Morgan Maul has had a variety of jobs as a security forces member. However, with his most recent deployed job, he's managed to build a special bond that he won't soon forget. With less than a week's notice, Sergeant Maul and eight-year-old military

  • Weather in 10 minutes or less, guaranteed

    The only thing faster than the weather satellites that the Airmen of the 6th Space Operations Squadron support is the speed with which those Airmen deliver weather information. The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's constellation orbits approximately 525 miles above the earth.  In contrast

  • A better way to save: Keep money interest-growing TSP

    Saving for retirement is a good idea regardless of age and regardless of how you do it;though some ways are better than others. One of those better ways is to place money into the Thrift Savings Plan. The TSP has been around for 20 years and was established by Congress to give federal employees the

  • Balad combat weather flight ensures safe travel

    When Staff Sgt. James Brown steps out for the first time during his day here, he scans the sky. He already knows what type of day he'll have at work before he steps into his office because weather is his business. The combat weather forecasters assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support

  • Metal techs spark airpower over Iraq

    Dirty-fisted and in a shower of sparks, a metals technician helps shape the face of airpower in Iraq. Senior Airman Chris Redman, assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron, proves his mettle here welding, heat-treating, fabricating and assembling metal components to support Balad AB

  • Major, NCO reconnect for retirement ceremony

    This is a tale of a career that has come full circle, proving once again that it really is a small Air Force world. In 1986, Alicia Graham was one of more than 60 cadets commissioned at Ohio State University as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. While a cadet in ROTC, she studied military customs

  • Structures team makes it happen at Balad

    Operating a paint striper on a flightline at night or mixing concrete to hold wind cones in place may not be the most glamorous jobs in the Air Force, but they can be gratifying. Airmen from the 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron structures shop enjoy making things happen through innovative