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  • Airman author brings fictional, real heroes to life

    In stories, the hero is often called upon to accomplish a great task, to take on the weight of a burden they did not anticipate, even though they know that hardships may plague every step of their journey. For storytellers, joy often comes from seeing the hero overcome the many obstacles placed in

  • F-22 inaugural deployment to Europe

    Four F-22 Raptors, one C-17 Globemaster III, and approximately 60 Airmen arrived at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, to train with allied air forces and U.S. services through mid-September.

  • Tuskegee Airman takes final flight at Academy

    Franklin Macon joined the Army Air Corps in 1943 after the creation of the Tuskegee program allowed African-Americans to fill military pilot positions, which were previously occupied exclusively by whites. On Aug. 26 at the age of 92, Macon sat on the airfield at the U.S. Air Force Academy, waiting

  • Civil Air Patrol joins total force ‘Airmen’

    When conducting missions for the Air Force as the official Air Force auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol is now included in the Air Force’s definition of the total force. CAP has provided 74 years of support to emergency services, aerospace education and cadet programs.

  • Hurricane Hunters to fly Tropical Storm Erika

    The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters are operating out of Homestead Air Reserve Base, Florida, flying their state-of-the-art WC-130J Super Hercules into Tropical Storm Erika in support of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

  • BLUE: Katrina, 10 years later

    Ten years ago, the Airmen of Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, faced one of the greatest tests of the American spirit as Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast. Where there were once hopes and dreams, Katrina left devastation and destruction. But through the wreckage of it all, the survivors

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF present new "little blue book"

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody delivered the initial handout of the pamphlet, “America’s Air Force: A Profession of Arms,” Aug. 27 to the Air Force’s newest Airmen at Airmen’s Week.

  • Arming the RPAs

    Airmen from the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron provide every munition that is loaded onto an MQ-1B Predator or MQ-9 Reaper at Kandahar Airfield; without them, the RPAs wouldn’t be able to provide combat airpower in Afghanistan.

  • 3rd AF commander charts path to organizational success

    In the 9th grade he made up his mind.Lt. Gen. Timothy M. Ray, the 3rd Air Force and 17th Expeditionary Air Force commander, had dreams of flying his whole life, and at the end of his freshman year of high school, determined the U.S. Air Force Academy would make his dream a reality.

  • New commander expresses confidence in TRANSCOM

    Upon assuming command of U.S. Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, Aug. 26, Gen. Darren W. McDew expressed faith in TRANSCOM’s ability to sustain rapid, global response for the Defense Department in the air, at sea and on land.

  • Integration lab to support C-5 software, hardware upgrades

    The C-5 System Integration Lab at Robins Air Force Base has been preparing to accommodate upcoming changes to the weapon system's color weather radar capabilities for the last several months.Full-scale development is now underway by Lockheed Martin to update to a new version of the color weather

  • Guardsman brings diverse background to Bagram’s mission

    It isn’t every day you come across someone who has been a Soldier, Sailor and Airman, but then again, Tech. Sgt. Russell McLamb isn’t your everyday service member.McLamb’s uniqueness isn’t just that he has served in three different services; but he has also served in all three of the service’s

  • SecAF speaks on acquisition, partnerships at Hanscom

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James discussed her top priorities with Airmen and state officials while emphasizing the importance of the acquisition base and its partnerships during a visit to Hanscom Air Force Base Aug. 20-21.

  • AF releases colonel, lieutenant colonel, major selection board results

    The Air Force selected 34 lieutenant colonels for promotion to colonel, 117 majors for promotion to lieutenant colonel and 272 captains for promotion to major during the calendar year 2015B Biomedical Sciences Corps, Medical Service Corps, Nurse Corps and Chaplain central selection boards.

  • Air Force extends SAPR services to AF civilians

    The Air Force released a policy memo today allowing Air Force civilian employees who are victims of sexual assault to file restricted and unrestricted reports with their installation's sexual assault response coordinator.

  • Airmen experience multinational Red Flag-Alaska

    A 16-foot wooden table stretches between aircrew lockers and cabinets. A red toolbox sits at one end of the table. Helmets, oxygen masks and parachutes are within sight. The room is temporarily housing members with 374th Operations Support Squadron aircrew flight equipment for the duration of Red

  • Reapers, Predators on the prowl in Afghanistan

    Airmen assigned to the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron provide world-class close air support and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in the Afghanistan area of operations. They complete this mission by maintaining, launching and recovering all MQ-1B Predators and MQ-9 Reapers in

  • US Airman recognized as 'hero' in Paris

    U.S. Ambassador to France, Jane D. Hartley, recognized Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone for his actions in saving countless lives during a terrorist attack aboard a train headed toward Paris Aug. 21.

  • Mobility Airmen recover radiological material from Mexico

    Headquarters Air Mobility Command, in close partnership with the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, recently executed a C-17 Globemaster III mission to repatriate three Husman irradiators containing radioactive material from Mexico to the U.S. for final disposition.

  • AF names 2015 NAACP Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award winners

    Senior Master Sgt. Hamp Lee III, assigned to the 316th Training Squadron at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, and Carolyn Peeler, assigned to the 49th Force Support Squadron at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, have been selected as the 2015 NAACP Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award winners.

  • Air Force Global Strike Command commander visits USSTRATCOM

    Gen. Robin Rand, the Air Force Global Strike Command commander, met with. Navy Adm. Cecil D. Haney, the U.S. Strategic Command commander, other senior USSTRATCOM leaders and subject matter experts to discuss a variety of mission-related issues during his visit to Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska,

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AF adopts new dragon

    Lt. Gen. Bill Bender, the Air Force chief information officer, and Maj. Gen. Martin Whelan, the Air Force director of future operations, have partnered to increase awareness of the importance of operations security and cybersecurity to protect the Air Force mission, personnel and their families.

  • Pilot chases Olympic dreams

    Capt. Daniel Castle, a 349th Air Refueling Squadron pilot, is one of five Airmen selected throughout the Air Force to participate in the World Class Athlete Program, which allows service members of all branches to train as their primary duty.

  • 45 years on alert: Minot conducts Minuteman III test launch

    The 91st Missile Wing completed an operational test launch of an unarmed LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Aug. 19, continuing its mission of providing strategic deterrence for the U.S. and their allies. The launch fell on the 45th

  • Whiteman B-2s, Airmen maintain readiness in Guam

    About 225 Airmen and three B-2 Spirits from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam, Aug. 7 to conduct familiarization training activities in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

  • Tech Report: The KC-46A Pegasus

    For over 50 years the KC-135 Stratotanker has been the Air Force's premiere in-flight refueling tanker -- but that's all about to change.

  • Services come together for environmental forum

    Environmental programs across all branches of service provide support to headquarters, installations and stakeholders to enable Defense Department missions. In an effort to enhance programs and practices, the Air Force, Army and Navy service providers came together and created the Joint

  • Greatest generation honored during wreath laying, AF band concert

    As the sun began to set over the National Capitol Region, several hundred people gathered at the Air Force Memorial with the District of Columbia-city landscape as the backdrop to witness a wreath-laying event, followed by a concert performed by the United States Air Force Band Aug. 14.

  • RED HORSE: A legacy of leaving it better than how they found it

    RED HORSE is a self-sustaining, mobile, heavy construction squadron capable of rapid response and independent operations in remote, high-threat environments worldwide. They were activated in 1966 as the Air Force’s combat construction team. Today, the 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron carries

  • Making every dollar count through Airmen Powered by Innovation

    The Air Force has initiated the Make Every Dollar Count program, aimed at creating a culture focused on minimizing costs, harnessing efficiencies and redefining Air Force business paradigms. Currently, the MEDC portfolio consists of 13 Headquarters Air Force-level programs and 26 major

  • From the Academy gridiron to the courtroom

    Capt. Tyler Weeks, a 460th Space Wing Staff Judge Advocate intern, played football for the U.S. Air Force Academy during his four years there and recently spent time at Buckley Air Force Base’s judge advocate office on his way to becoming a judge advocate general.

  • Motivated by education, opportunity: Airman finds second home with AF

    Many words are used to describe the United States; some call it the land of plenty, freedom or equality, but at least one Airman regards it as the land of opportunity.Airman 1st Class Bin Ma, a 20th Comptroller Squadron financial services technician, departed Wuhan, China, in 2008 to start his

  • Undergrad flying training applications due in November

    The 2016 Air Force Undergraduate Flying Training selection board will convene Jan. 25-28 to select applicants for 2016-2017 pilot, remotely piloted aircraft, combat systems officer and air battle manager training opportunities.

  • US, Turkey finalizing details of anti-ISIL airstrikes

    The U.S. and Turkey are finalizing details of Turkey’s recently announced participation in the air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria, a U.S. Central Command spokesman said here Aug. 14.

  • Meet the Airmen of Wake Island

    About 1,500 miles east of Guam, in the middle of nowhere in the Mid-Pacific, lies the small coral limestone atoll of Wake Island. Ahead of Guam by about two hours, a select group of four Airmen here are the first Americans to turn the calendar page every day.

  • RPAs prove vital in fight against ISIL

    From August 2014 to August 2015, the 432nd Wing has directly supported Operation Inherent Resolve, a U.S. Central Command and partner nation's campaign to conduct targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as part of the comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the

  • 9th CMSAF laid to rest

    “If you've met Chief Binnicker, you've met an icon -- a hero, a legend," said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force, James A. Cody. Cody said these words as he delivered the eulogy for former Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James C. Binnicker at the Fort Meyer post chapel in Arlington, Virginia,

  • Sorties across the stratosphere

    The enemy should fear what it can’t see. At high altitudes toward the edge of space, the U-2S is invisible to the naked eye, transmitting critical intelligence to the warfighters below.

  • 25 years on the hunt

    The 55th Wing's personnel and its RC-135V/W Rivet Joint hit 25 years of continuous deployment to U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility Aug. 9. What started out as a single-ship response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, has now turned into what is believed to be the longest

  • Fairchild HAZMAT team assists local responders with chemical leak

    Twenty-six Airmen from Fairchild Air Force Base assisted Spokane County agencies in responding to a toxic gas leak in Spokane Aug. 12 that resulted in the hospitalization of at least four people, two of whom were in critical condition, and at least 17 others who were downwind of the plume.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • 63 years later: Columbus supports MIA ceremony

    Twenty honor guardsmen from Columbus Air Force Base and four T-38 Talons supported a missing in action ceremony Aug. 10 for a Mississippi Airman, exactly 63 years after his aircraft crashed.

  • SecAF gains perspective of Beale's ISR mission

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James visited Beale Air Force Base to get an up-close view of the high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission Aug. 10-12.

  • Keeping the buff young: Nondestructive inspection

    Like a radiologist who can see fractures without using a scalpel, there are Airmen who can find deficiencies in the B-52 Stratofortress’s bones to proactively ensure the aircraft’s structural integrity.

  • AMC welcomes new commander

    Air Mobility Command changed leaders Aug. 11, as Gen. Carlton D. Everhart II assumed command from Gen. Darren W. McDew during a 10 a.m. ceremony at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

  • Flying high: Strike Eagle pilot reaches elite milestone

    For F-15E Strike Eagle aircrew at the 4th Fighter Wing, flying through the skies is a part of their lifestyle. However, for Lt. Col. Paul Hibbard, a 333rd Fighter Squadron instructor pilot, the clouds are almost like a second home.

  • Airmen enable Marines in Iraq

    Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen work around the clock to sustain and improve the Task Force Al Taqaddum advise and assist site at Al Taqaddum, Iraq. Each service and section plays an important role in ensuring the success of this mission, part of Operation Inherent Resolve.

  • F-16 crashes in Bavaria

    A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 480th Fighter Squadron from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, crashed Aug. 11 at approximately 9:38 a.m. near Engelmannreuth in the county of Bayreuth, Germany.

  • AF welcomes new vice chief of staff

    The Air Force welcomed an Airman to the rank of four-star general and announced the appointment of the new Air Force vice chief of staff during a ceremony at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., Aug. 6.

  • SARCs hone skills at annual refresher course

    The Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office recently concluded a five-day annual refresher course for nearly 130 Air Force sexual assault response coordinators at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, Virginia, Aug. 3-7.

  • Aviano F-16s deploy to Turkey

    The U.S. Air Force deployed a small detachment -- six F-16 Fighting Falcons, support equipment and about 300 personnel -- to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

  • Kenya native makes best of AF opportunities

    Staff Sgt. Johnson Njenga was born and raised in Kenya and hasn't seen his immediate family in two years. For a family as close-knit as his, this can be heartbreaking, but the opportunities the U.S. provides and his love for the Air Force keep him here, serving as the 21st Medical Squadron Family

  • Can’t spell test without TES

    More than 60 Air Mobility Command Test and Evaluation Squadron Airmen and civilians -- many of whom are former pilots and maintainers -- use their aircrew backgrounds to update and advance aircraft components in safe and innovative ways.

  • McChord Airman to be honored as hero

    Senior Airman Joshua Calhoun, a 62nd Maintenance Squadron precision measurement equipment laboratory journeyman, will be recognized as a hero during the American Red Cross Northwest Region 2015 annual Heroes Luncheon for risking his own life while rescuing a surfer who got stranded on a rocky cliff

  • World War II Airman's remains identified

    The remains of an Airman missing since World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors, said the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency in a Defense Department news release issued Aug. 6.

  • Air Force upgrades 100-year-old technology

    The implementation of a new simulator, the GYRO Integrated Physiological Trainer II, into Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training, will allows students to receive spatial disorientation training in a realistic platform before ever entering a real aircraft.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • CSAF listens to Airmen, discusses nuclear enterprise mission

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A Welsh III visited three Air Force Global Strike Command bases to listen to Airmen of all ranks who support the Global Strike mission on a daily basis, while addressing the importance of the nuclear enterprise and its future.

  • Maintainers extend life of T-38 Talon

    The Air Force's trusted trainer, the T-38 Talon, has a new lease on life thanks to a robust structural-modification program. Technicians in the Ogden Air Logistics Complex's 575th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, recently completed the first aircraft in the

  • Hurricane Hunters deploy to Hawaii to fly Guillermo

    The Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, assigned to the 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, deployed to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and began flying data-gathering missions into Hurricane Guillermo Aug. 2.

  • New chief of Air Force Safety takes command

    Maj. Gen. Andrew M. Mueller assumed the duties of Air Force chief of safety, Headquarters Air Force, in Washington, D.C., July 24. In that capacity, he also serves as the commander of the Air Force Safety Center at Kirtland Air Force Base.

  • TACPs control skies over Guam for joint training

    To practice their skills, tactical air control party Airmen assigned to the 3rd Air Support Operations Squadron from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, recently made the long journey to Guam to train with a variety of units from Joint Region Marianas.

  • Not your average wingman

    Every day as the sun rises above the horizon, Yokota Air Base's defenders are already hard at work keeping the base safe. Their day begins when they are assigned a patrol car, protective equipment and their partner. Just like in civilian law enforcement, military patrolmen place their lives in their

  • AF funds development of high-performance munitions technology

    The Air Force Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer program office recently provided nearly $400,000 of additional funding for a SBIR effort that will give the warfighter an affordable, high-performance millimeter wave seeker technology for high-performance munitions.

  • Colorado AF reservists fighting California fires from the sky

    Two Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System-equipped aircraft arrived at McClellan Air Tanker Base in Sacramento, California, from the Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, Aug. 3, to assist in fighting the Rocky Fire northwest of Sacramento, California,

  • AF Global Strike Command establishes school for its best, brightest

    The Cold War ended in 1991, and with it, a comprehensive knowledge of the nation's deterrence capability. The link between strategic deterrence and technical competence faded away, with Airmen often gaining expertise in other areas, according to Air Force Global Strike Command staff. This shortage

  • Jamming the enemy with joint integration

    Leaving the flight deck of the EA-6B Prowler behind for a few years, Marine Corps Capt. Jonathon Leach from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, joins the Desert Lightning Team.