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  • Egress maintainers give pilots a sense of security

    When he's thousands of feet above ground and it's a matter of life or death, 1.8 seconds is all the time a pilot needs to safely eject himself out of his seat and survive a potentially fatal crash. Although 1.8 seconds doesn't seem like a lot of time, the members of the 332nd Expeditionary

  • Forecaster shares love of weather with students

    Rain rains.  Wind blows.  But, who knows what the weather holds?  Tech. Sgt. Publio Casillas knows. This rhyme was true to the second graders of Tyndall Elementary School here when they were visited by the 325th Operations Support Squadron Weather Flight mission services element NCO in

  • World War II veteran visits his past in Hawaii

    It has been almost 65 years since Raymond Stehle has been in Hawaii. Standing on the now paved dunes of an old air field, he completed a promise to his granddaughter to return to the peaceful island of Oahu to recount the day it was attacked on Dec. 7, 1941.At the time, Mr. Stehle was an Army

  • HVAC helps provide combat airpower for America

    Lifting up a panel to troubleshoot and repair a possible electrical problem in an environmental control unit and seeing a maze of white, yellow and red wires is all in a day's work for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning flight Airmen here. The flight, part of the 332nd Expeditionary Civil

  • New weapon makes job of munitions specialists a 'snap'

    The job of loading bombs onto aircraft became a little bit easier Oct. 5 for members of the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron. They loaded the first Guided Bomb Unit-39/B Small Diameter Bomb onto an F-15E Strike Eagle headed for a combat mission over Iraq. This munitions load signaled the

  • Keeping Airmen in shape means providing healthy choices

    Pounds of lettuce used every day -- 1,600.Pounds of steak cooked on Wednesdays -- 1,400. Pounds of eggs cracked open every month -- 240,000. Master Sgt. Joe Ennen's role on base -- priceless. Actually using the term priceless to describe Sergeant Ennen might be slightly understating his value here.

  • Medal of Honor recipients visit Hanscom School

    The three men had seen it all. War, death and destruction had accompanied them through some of the darkest hours in U.S. history. Across the room were more than 40 pairs of eyes -- eyes that widened as the students listened to true stories of courage and heroism that sounded as if they were taken

  • Bilingual Airman adds to mission

    Building relationships with Airmen serving and working with military forces in Central America, South America and the Caribbean is a responsibility that falls on the shoulders of members of the 12th Air Force and Air Forces Southern at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.One such Airman communicating

  • Balad's mission begins with strategic airlift

    With aircraft valued at $150 milion and up, these assets are too valuable to sit in harm's way in Iraq. To get the large cargo aircraft gased and maintained and on their way, the 721st Air Mobility Operations Group, Detachment 5, Airmen work to move the airlifters in the air quickly and out of the

  • Cold War veteran receives Distinguished Flying Cross

    It's been 54 years since the secret reconnaissance mission over Soviet air space during the Cold War, but the Air Force did not forget about each Airman who flew the hazardous mission.Just three years after the Berlin Airlift and as Americans were still fighting in the Korean War, American leaders

  • Airmen need to act fast when identities are stolen

    When Lt. Col. Michael Welsh and his wife sat down for breakfast last year in New York City, he was expecting to pay around $30. Unfortunately the eggs, toast and coffee were about to drastically go up in price ... to the tune of $6,500. "It was just a little visit to a restaurant," said Colonel

  • Hammer ACE team ready for hurricanes, more

    Hurricanes, aircraft accidents, terrorist attacks and civil support -- for Air Combat Command's Hammer Adaptive Communications Element team, life is all about responding to contingencies. "That's all we do," said Senior Master Sgt. Dale Gibbons, the team's superintendent. The team at Langley has the

  • Med Flag deployment proves you can go home again

    Have you ever heard the saying "You can never go home again"? Some people might believe that, but Col. Victor Folarin, 52nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron commander, is not one of them. A native of Lagos, Nigeria, Colonel Folarin was tasked as the mission commander for Med Flag 2006 in Tamale, Ghana,

  • Ways to recognize, treat combat stress

    EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the third in a series of three articles about Air Force combat stress control teams in Afghanistan treating troops on the front lines. Psychologists have said all deployed service members will encounter stress during their deployments. In fact, 50 percent of all servicemembers

  • Sergeant will never forget the day his son was born

    Staff Sgt. Mike Myers experienced one of the most frightening events of his life in Afghanistan, while the birth of his child was taking place more than 7,000 miles away. Sergeant Myers, a security forces member of one of the provincial reconstruction teams here, was in a Humvee hit by a

  • Program readies space professionals

    Who exactly is a space professional? Some might say it's someone who earns his living in space. According to the Summer 2004 edition of the High Frontier Journal, a space professional is defined as someone who is "skilled and knowledgeable in the development, application and integration of space

  • 9/11 'will stay with me as long as I live'

    Five years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Master Sgt. Dean Steele looks at the day as though it were yesterday. Sergeant Steele, a contingency skills training instructor and manager for the 421st Combat Training Squadron here, worked in the Pentagon that day. On every anniversary of

  • Meeting the challenge on the front lines

    EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second in a series of three articles about Air Force combat stress control teams in Afghanistan treating troops on the front lines. Fifty percent of all servicemembers who visit a combat stress control team at Afghanistan forward-operating bases are diagnosed with

  • Airmen reflect upon personal experiences of 9/11

    This Sept. 11, it will be five years since four airliners were hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists and used as weapons against America, killing and injuring thousands and launching a war on terrorism that is still being fought today, both at home and abroad. Sept. 11, 2001, is a date that will forever

  • Force protection mission vital to base

    The Iraqi people gathering outside the gates here each morning are the best part of Staff Sgt. Michael Davis' day. "This is the job where most people feel like they're really contributing something," said Sergeant Davis, 332nd Security Forces Squadron force protection, who is deployed from

  • From the office to the front lines

    EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first in a series of three articles about Air Force combat stress control teams in Afghanistan treating troops on the front lines. Air Force mental health professionals here have had to move their practice from the office to the front lines to battle combat stress in

  • Radar approach controllers stay flexible

    Working transportable radar approach control, or TRAPCON, at Balad Air Base, Iraq, is like a world-class chess tournament. But instead of 32 pieces on an 8-by-8 board, there are hundreds. Instead of veterans with years of experience, Airmen averaging less than four years in service are controlling

  • Airman attempts to rebuild life after Hurricane Katrina

    The eye of a storm is a quiet, calm place. Sunlight flickers in the raindrops collected on blades of grass. Branches gently sway in a light breeze. In an instant, chaos returns and the storm rages on again. The year since Hurricane Katrina hit has been a personal storm for thousands of people filled

  • Team weathers the mission

    In the desert it's hot and dry. You don't need to be a meteorologist to figure that out.The Combat Weather Team at the 380th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron in Southwest Asia does more than provide heat stress condition levels, issue weather watches and warnings, and provide weather

  • 'Operation School Supplies' gives children needed gear

    "School" -- a six-letter word that makes children groan and parents cheer. And for many, that word also means back-to-school shopping for all the necessities for class: pencils, markers, paper, book bags and more. The school year also starts very soon for the children of Iraq, but for most of them,

  • Working dogs patrol Kirkuk

    Argo and his partner are a lot alike. They can be laid back and fun-loving or firm and focused. They're always on the lookout for possible danger as members of the 506th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq. Senior Airman Steven Kaun, a military working dog handler, and

  • Airmen give Falcons talons

    The 332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Weapons Flight is the last stop a munition makes before it is employed by the pilot. Flight members load weapons on the aircraft and maintain the firing systems, turning the F-16 Fighting Falcon into a lethal weapons system. When an F-16 rolls

  • Airman helping to lead way during Colombia mission

    Airman 1st Class Edgardo Sanchez de Jesus never gave up hope when he was told he was too young and inexperienced to go on a mission to teach the International Aeromedical Evacuation Critical Care Transport Course. The course, which is taught upon request from interested nations, is designed to

  • Edwards 'Honey-Doers' help local seniors

    Airmen here are going beyond the base "walls" and contributing their time and talents in local communities by helping repair, clean and paint more than 120 senior citizens' homes. The Honey Do Program offers monthly services for senior citizens who can no longer do the work themselves or afford to

  • Team provides airpower at right place, time

    U.S. Army and coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan rely on a special team of Air Force officers to help provide airpower at the right time and place. The Air Component Coordination Element, or ACCE, is relatively new to operations involving more than one branch of service and other nations,

  • Wingmanship evident at Guardian Challenge

    Victory matters to the 50th Security Forces Squadron's Guardian Challenge team -- a fact they proved Aug. 16 on a scorching obstacle course run.But when one of their own injured himself on the course, the team showed that wingmanship matters to them even more. As Staff Sgt. Scott Willis dismounted

  • Space plays role in everyday communication

    Cell phones used to be a luxury, and you were the cool kid on the block if you had one. Now cell phones have become indispensable. You can talk virtually anywhere, anytime to anyone in the world and send pictures, video and text messages. But how does your cell phone work? And why is space vital to

  • Tuskegee Airman recalls time as POW

    Signing copies of his book, retired Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson jovially spoke to all who approached his table. He took a few moments to share how his early years were shaped by his experience as a Tuskegee Airman, fighter pilot and prisoner of war. Colonel Jefferson, who was one of 32 Tuskegee

  • Airmen support Belgium tenant unit

    More than 80 Airmen in 27 specialties are responsible for the operation, maintenance and security of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe air fleet, including two HH-60 Pave Hawks and the C-37A twin-engine turbo transport. The Airmen at this geographically separated unit are assigned to the 86th

  • Transient alert tops at coordination, control

    The runway here has hundreds of sorties flown each month by three flying squadrons, but aircraft from other locations land here more than a thousand times a month. Unlike the aircraft assigned to the base, transient aircraft do not have dedicated recovery and support crews. Instead, they rely on 12

  • Team conquers mountain summit on quest

    Guided by moonlight and headlamps to the crater rim of Mount Kilimanjaro, two men worked their way around the 19,300-foot rocky summit. As they reached the summit marker July 16, the sun finally cracked the horizon, treating them to a spectacular view of Africa coming to life. Eight others, led by

  • From Iraq to Wilford Hall, nurse, patient meet again

    A wide smile broke across Army Sgt. Joe DeLashmutt's face as he spied Maj. Rebecca Lehr across the Wilford Hall Medical Center dining hall. "That's her!" he told his mom in surprise. She saw him at almost the exact same moment."I couldn't believe it when I saw him," Major Lehr said. "Joe is one of

  • Track coach has youth running for the future

    One high school student throws a rock at another and 21  youth go to college. Sounds a little farfetched, but that's what happened when a Melbourne, Fla., high school track coach saw 16-year-old Gary Evans chase down the student who had targeted him and asked him to try out for the team. Years

  • Life changes in a matter of seconds

    Less than five miles north of the largest air base in Iraq, a roadside bomb made from a 155 mm mortar shell exploded, engulfing a vehicle in flames and riddling it with shrapnel holes. "Cowboy!" yelled Staff Sgt. Michael Stewart to his teammate. A native of Cleveland, Texas, Airman 1st Class Joshua

  • 'Easy money' translates into financial nightmares: Part 3 of 3

    Editor's note: This is the final installment in a three-part series about Airmen and responsible financial management. Part of caring for military members across the branches is teaching good financial practices that will carry them through their military career and beyond. But too many wait until