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  • Airman Ranger made the cut, now leads the way

    The course began with 404 people. After 61 days of fast-paced stressful situations that pushed them past their physical and mental limits, only 191 remained, and only one was an Airman.Airman 1st Class Matthew Garner, an 823rd Base Defense Squadron member, is one of fewer than 300 Airmen to make it

  • Air Force eyes new learning systems in 'Second Life'

    In a pasture outside Dayton, Ohio, Wilbur and Orville Wright created the first practical airplane and taught themselves to fly it.They called the place Huffman Prairie and flew the 1905 Wright Flyer III into history on that rough patch of land.More than 100 years later, Air Force pioneers are

  • Holocaust stories recalled, all end with 'never again!'

    The last of three speakers, you could hear it in her voice, the cracking, the pausing and the deep breaths. From the base theater seats you could see the hard swallows choking back the tears. She'd told the stories before: stories of her parents, both Holocaust survivors, and being raised by them;

  • Desert Storm veteran cycles 2,500 miles for wounded warriors

    Family and friends eagerly waited outside a small YMCA in Waycross, Ga. People of all ages lined the road waving American flags. As eager friends and family stood alongside the road, flashing red and blue lights approached on the horizon. The police cars were following a single man on a bicycle.

  • Refractive surgery gives service members combat edge through vision

    Three Air Force and eight Army surgeons at the Wilford Hall Medical Joint Refractive Surgery Center here are helping service members sharpen their combat edge by sharpening their vision. Active-duty military members from all branches travel to the first joint refractive surgery center to get

  • 'Real Warrior' finds path to physical, emotional healing

    Black-and-white photos of Vietnam-era veterans line the wall at a Veterans Affairs center. Some are smiling and others are gazing at a distant point, but in all, an unseen light catches the emotion in their eyes.The photographer, now retired Staff Sgt. Stacy Pearsall, a veteran of the more recent

  • Rescue Airmen engage hostile forces to retrieve 'Fallen Angels'

    Airmen from Bagram Airfield's 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron performed a daring mountainside rescue here April 23 after an Army helicopter crashed in a hostile Afghan valley.The Airmen, deployed from the 33rd Rescue Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan, and the 212th RQS at Joint Base

  • Is drunk sex date rape?

    Two young adults meet, get drunk and have sex.What are the ramifications of alcohol and sex? When does inebriated sex become rape?Brett Sokolow, a lawyer and founder of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, discussed these questions and more during an interactive jury

  • Airmen take on, win 'Car Warriors' challenge

    A team of eight Airmen was able to build an A-10 Thunderbolt II in just 36 hours.Working against the clock, they turned wrenches to attach weapons while still painting and fabricating the body of their "aircraft." They had the iconic "shark teeth," Gatling guns and ... four wheels.These Airmen --

  • Airman delivers cash, military pay services to austere locations

    What was typically a three-hour convoy turned into an 11-hour journey for an Airman and his teammates when their mine-resistant, armor-protected vehicle broke down in the middle of a village.Senior Airman Jon-Nicos Walker and his fellow service members ran to the next available MRAP to continue on

  • AFCENT band performs for Afghans, bridges differences

    It has been said that music and words together can be a very powerful tool, but can music be the link that brings an understanding between cultures?The U.S. Air Forces Central Expeditionary Band strives to provide this understanding in every performance, as with their special show for Afghans at the

  • Committed to caring: Who's your wingman?

    The word "wingman" has long been a part of the Air Force culture. Its definition today varies but the traditional meaning, dating back nearly 100 years, is about "a pilot whose aircraft is positioned behind and outside the leading aircraft in a formation."In 2011 in the Air Force, being a "wingman"

  • FAST defenders keep fliers safe in Afghanistan

    A C-130 Hercules shuddered as it hit a clay runway in Afghanistan on April 10. A pair of security forces Airmen, weighed down with body armor, weapons and pouches stuffed with ammunition, were the first two to step off the back ramp. Each took a side of the aircraft and watched as passengers and

  • Wing sharpens focus on contested environment

    During the summer of 1861, a pair of competing visionaries ushered in the concept of aerial reconnaissance when they successfully piloted gas-filled balloons hundreds of feet into the air. In separate events, John LaMountain and Thadeus Lowe viewed Confederate troop encampments and reported their

  • Deployed Soldiers, Airmen work together to keep troops downrange supplied

    Military members on the front lines of Operation Enduring Freedom usually find themselves living in harsh and barebones conditions at Forward Operating Bases throughout Afghanistan. In remote, mountainous territory and with enemy fighters lurking in the shadows, getting vital supplies -- food,

  • 'I needed to use the word "rape"'

    (WARNING: This story, in support of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, contains graphic language that may be disturbing to some readers.)This 23 year-old female presents to the emergency room today because of an alleged rape.She states she was at a party last evening and had been drinking heavily, and

  • Officer finds niche halfway across the world

    It's late in the afternoon, and a warm April day in Afghanistan is coming to an end. The blistering sun, which has worked to heat the tall mountains, is setting; the wind has kicked up a cloud of dust over the base. In a small office at the Craig Joint Theater Hospital, Col. (Dr.) Christian Benjamin

  • Drones lose again

    A critical component of the Weapon System Evaluation Exercise and Exercise Combat Archer, the two-week training exercise designed to test and train F-15 Eagle and F-22 Raptor pilots to employ live air-to-air missiles against maneuverable aerial targets, is the BGM167A Drone. The orange radio

  • Engineer helps squadron prepare for Afghanistan

    As 22 combat engineers from the the 452nd Civil Engineer Squadron prepared to deploy throughout southern and eastern Afghanistan recently, one Airman stepped up to ensure they were ready for the job at hand.Knowing his experience on a similar deployment would be an asset to the deployers, Capt.

  • Law-and-order Airmen see justice served in Iraq

    Airmen assigned to the U.S. Forces-Iraq Law and Order Task Force at Joint Security Station Shield here support a justice system operating differently from U.S. courts.For paralegal Airmen who learned the practice of law within codified regulations, statutes and legal precedence, it is truly unique

  • Aeromedical mission brings healing touch

    Many doctors and nurses are referred to as "angels of mercy." For the aeromedical evacuation Airmen here who serve aboard a C-130 Hercules "flying hospital," they really do have wings. On any given day, Airmen from the 379th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron provide support and medical

  • Citizen today, warrior Airmen tomorrow

    Like any typical Saturday, Master Sgt. Jocelyn Fredrick planned to spend the weekend with her two young children.But a phone call early in the morning changed all that.Sergeant Fredrick, an Air National Guard intelligence specialist with the 171st Air Refueling Wing in Pittsburgh, Penn., was called

  • Dignified transfer mission close to home for Dover colonel

    "From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli. We fight our country's battles, in the air on land and sea. First to fight for right and freedom ..." The words of the Marine Battle Hymn echoed across the flightline here as a team carried the transfer case containing the remains of a fallen

  • JTACs deliver airpower for ground forces in Afghanistan

    Perched on a mountaintop in the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains, an Airman hunkers down in the frigid, sodden darkness, monitoring the Soldiers in the valley below, as he speaks with the pilots above."Wow, I can hear the hail coming down over the radio," exclaims the B-1B Lancer pilot flying

  • Ready, Set...Stop

    Sorties over Eastern Afghanistan?  Check.  Convoys through Iraq?  Got it.  A federal government shutdown?  That might be a problemMembers of the Massachusetts Air National Guard 's 104th Fighter Wing have earned a reputation for facing challenges head on but the looming government shutdown on April

  • EOD Airmen in Iraq prepare for an explosive battle in Afghanistan

    For most Airmen, creativity is highly encouraged. However, for explosive ordnance disposal technicians, thinking outside the box and the ability to forecast the enemy's next move are absolute requirements."We are fighting against guys who don't have set tactics; they are ever evolving," said Staff

  • Drop it like it's art

    When most people hear the word "art," they imagine a canvas hanging on a wall in a museum. Senior Airman Sarah Hathaway's art is displayed in a different manner -- falling from 800 feet in the air. As part of the 86th Logistics Readiness Squadron's aerial delivery section, Airman Hathaway and her

  • SERE instructor at Fairchild doing what she loves

    As the sun ascends on a cold, mid-March morning in Colville National Forest, Wash., it marks the beginning of a 14-hour training day for survival, evasion, resistance and escape students and instructors. Three days of snow and rain have made the ground a wet, soggy, mud ice mixture. The temperature

  • Recovering hope: Airmen help Japanese rebuild Sendai Airport

    In the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Sendai Airport was a disaster -- cars littered the runway, debris had piled up inside the terminal, there was no power.Sendai Airport was written off by many as gone forever. That is, until Airmen stationed in Japan arrived there to help.

  • Special ops Airman repays kindness at Sendai Airport

    A little more than 14 years ago, Tech. Sgt. Michael Fletcher, an Airman basic at the time, was lost on the streets of Tokyo. It was the first weekend of his first week at his first assignment, at Yokota Air Base. Two Japanese couples saw the confused young Airman and helped him get home. Rather than

  • Airman's career spans two services, two wars

    On Feb. 23, 1991, Army Pfc. Roy Bentley was in Saudi Arabia serving with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment as an armored crewman when the ground war began during Operation Desert Storm.Exactly 20 years later, on Feb. 23, 2011, Maj. Roy Bentley landed in Kuwait with the 17th Airlift Squadron en route

  • Aging aircraft carries dying breed

    The C-130 Hercules hosts a flight engineer and navigator among its six-man crew. These positions are quietly being phased out not only on this aircraft, but among military airframes in general.As seen with the C-130J Super Hercules model and other transport aircraft, the FE and navigator positions

  • Diminishing the 'human factor' one Airman at a time

    Fifty-nine maintainers representing a spectrum of ranks and weapon system specialties recently visited the 162nd Fighter Wing here to become certified MRM instructors enabling them to spread the word and change the service's safety culture - one Airman at a time.The concerted efforts of Air Force

  • Airmen fight fires before they even start

    There are few things as heroic as fighting fires and saving lives except sharing the knowledge to prevent a fire from even starting in the first place. While a majority of Air Force firefighters stand ready to fight the blaze, a select few are trying their best to keep them out of work.Staff Sgt.

  • Chaplain field services bring church to warriors

    Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Donnette Boyd, the chaplain of the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing here, pulled a small bag from her desk March 11. Inside the tough green fabric were a shiny crucifix and several note cards, a few pieces of what she called a "chapel in a bag." She was preparing for her first day of

  • Airmen support ISAF's RC-North mission

    A small group of Airmen assigned to Bagram Airfield is making huge contributions to the U.S. Transportation Command mission in Afghanistan. About a dozen Airmen belonging to the 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron and 455th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron are charged with unloading,

  • 'Miracle of Frankfurt': Lakenheath Airmen recovering after shooting

    Hard-soled shoes echoed on the highly polished floor. The smell of antiseptic filled the air. Two German police officers share a hushed conversation outside a hospital room as laughter rolls out to the hallway from the open door. The laughter is a positive sign from family and friends surrounding

  • Airmen prepare Iraq bases for transition

    On Sept. 1, 2010, Operation New Dawn signaled more than a name change for the U.S. military mission. It ended combat operations and started a focused effort on an evolving relationship with the government of Iraq and its people. Air Force civil engineers are playing a key role in that transition to

  • Contingency aeromedical staging facility Airmen get wounded warriors home

    The transition from the Craig Joint Theater Hospital to home is made easier for wounded warriors with the help of Airmen at the contingency aeromedical staging facility here. Once a patient is in stable condition after receiving care at the joint-theater hospital, they are brought to the CASF, where

  • Mentoring comes from the heart

    A mentor offers knowledge, insight, perspective or wisdom that is helpful to another person in a relationship that goes beyond duty or obligation. One also can construe this as a parental-style relationship. However, in the U.S. Armed Forces, when considered that a majority of the lower ranking