NATO Air Policing operations

U.S. Air Force News

  • 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 makes first visit to Djibouti

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James met with Airmen and senior leaders stationed at Camp Lemonnier and the U.S. Embassy, as well as senior members from the Djiboutian military, during her first visit to the country Nov. 12.

  • Airman achieves dream of U.S. citizenship

    Growing up in rural Tarlac province in the Philippines, Air Force Reserve Senior Airman Anne Venice Jalos, a finance manager with the 446th Airlift Wing here, never envisioned that at age 19 she would be serving in the U.S. military as a naturalized citizen.

  • Air Force acquisition lead moves to MITRE

    The Air Force announced Nov. 18 that Dr. William A. LaPlante, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, is transitioning from government service to a senior position at the MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit organization that operates federally funded research and development

  • Strengthening alliances with music

    The U.S. Air Force Band of the Pacific performed at the 2015 Japan Self-Defense Force Marching Festival at the Nippon Budokan Arena in Tokyo Nov. 13-15.

  • The unstoppable Airman

    Airman 1st Class Tanya Brown was a fulltime everything three years ago -- beautician, livestock farmer, college student, wife and mother to four children. Then, not being one to shy away from a challenge, the 35 year old decided to join the Air National Guard.

  • Eglin crew chiefs advance with F-35

    As the Air Force continues to develop their newest fighter jet, the F-35 Lightning II, the 33rd Fighter Wing ensures the Airmen tasked with taking care of it receive the training they need to advance with it.

  • Veterans in Blue: honoring those who served

    The Air Force maintains a special portrait display in the Pentagon as part of its commitment to honoring the devotion and service of veterans. Volume VI will replace volume V of the Veterans in Blue project this November.

  • Mountain Home Airmen, guardsmen operate as team in medical training

    For the second time this year, Mountain Home Air Force Base hosted a Gunfighter Flag exercise to keep Airmen ready for possible real-world scenarios. Gunfighter Flag doesn't just keep the Mountain Home Airmen ready, but it also allows them to practice total force integration as it often has

  • Reflecting on Veterans Day

    Veterans and their families, both young and old, reflected on the sacrifices made by Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, who provide this nation with the best fighting force in the world, during a Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 11 at the Air Force Memorial, which overlooks the Pentagon and Potomac

  • Yokota enhances capabilities through exercise

    Members of the 374th Airlift Wing participated in exercise Vigilant Ace 16 from Nov. 1-10, in conjunction with a Samurai Readiness Inspection at Yokota Air Base. Vigilant Ace is a large-scale exercise on the Korean Peninsula designed to enhance the interoperability of U.S. and allied forces through

  • Enlisted attaché duty applications due Nov. 15

    Active-duty staff through senior master sergeants interested in attaché duty opportunities with international affairs teams around the world must submit their applications by Nov. 15 to be considered.

  • Art therapy helps close the wounds of Air Force vets

    As a mortuary affairs Airman, retired Master Sgt. Justin Jordan handled dozens of bodies of service members, many of whom were killed downrange. But one mission at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, finally made him crack.

  • 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.

  • Air Force International Affairs builds international Airmen

    The Air Force’s International Affairs deputy shared why building global air force partnerships through integrating political-military relationships, security assistance, technology and information disclosure issues ensures relationships endure during an Air Force Association monthly breakfast Nov.

  • Denton Program delivers the goods

    A C-5 Galaxy delivered 23,415 pounds of humanitarian aid supplies to Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, Nov. 9 through the Denton Program.

  • Air Force shows leadership, commitment in Dubai

    American Airmen showcased the capability of airpower through senior leader engagements, Airmen interactions with a global audience, and aircraft on the ground and thundering through the skies at the 2015 Dubai Airshow during the week of Nov. 11.

  • No second chances: AFE Airmen ensure pilot safety

    Pilots rush into the locker room, preparing for another day of flying. Laughing and joking, they throw on their gear and grab their helmets. To them, it's just another day, but the Airmen that serviced their equipment look on slightly anxiously as they see the pilots walk out the door to their

  • AF veterans reveal what Veterans Day means to them

    The day when nearly 70 bullets riddled his HH-3E Jolly Green Giant rescue helicopter as his crew tried to save two Airmen during the Vietnam War remains vivid for retired Chief Master Sgt. Dennis Richardson. It was March 14, 1968, and Richardson, a flight engineer at the time, and others were called

  • AF strengthens ties with community through partnership program

    The Air Force Community Partnership Program (AFCP), one of the 13 Make Every Dollar Count initiatives launched by the Air Force, is currently working with 51 installations and local communities to improve and strengthen community and Air Force partnerships.

  • Linking continents through refueling

    Eight KC-10 Extenders, including two from the 32nd Air Refueling Squadron, refueled seven C-17 Globemaster IIIs over the Atlantic Ocean as they participated in the Trident Juncture exercise Nov. 3.Trident Juncture included 36,000 personnel from more than 30 nations and demonstrated NATO's increased

  • Buddies for life: Airmen maintain friendship throughout AF careers

    Seventeen years ago, a young Darko Desancic got on a school bus for his first day of sixth grade. While on his way, it didn't take long for one boy to make fun of his foreign accent. Little did they know that the friendly banter would be the start of a lasting friendship. Fast forward to 2015, Tech

  • AF leaders release Veterans Day message

    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 have issued a Veterans Day message to Airmen.

  • Planes by day, cars by night; Airman's passion brings balance

    By day, Tech. Sgt. Gabriel, a 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing sensor operator and junior executive officer, helps support global operations by flying eight-hour MQ-9 Reaper sorties from the comfort of a cushy, thick seat inside a ground control station. But by night, he finds himself

  • AF veteran survivor of three wars, plane crash

    Retired Lt. Col. Alma Skousen, a humble, soft-spoken 89-year-old fighter pilot, served his country during three wars, encountered Soviet MiG fighters in battle and survived a jet crash before ending his flying career as the 311th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron, now known as the 311th Fighter

  • Doolittle Raider honored with shadow box

    Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, one of two surviving members of the Doolittle Raiders, just turned 100 years old in September. He is as lively as ever and received a shadow box during his visit, Nov. 5.

  • UK rescue squadrons to relocate to Italy

    The 56th and 57th Rescue squadrons from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom, are relocating to Aviano Air Base, Italy, starting in fiscal year 2017, Air Force leaders announced Nov. 6.

  • 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.

  • Global Strike Airmen support largest NATO exercise in 20 years

    Two B-52 Stratofortress aircrews assigned to Air Force Global Strike Command conducted a long-range bomber mission to the U.S. European Command area of operations Nov. 3-4 as part of Trident Juncture 2015 -- the largest NATO exercise in the past 20 years.

  • Airmen work hand-in-paw with four-legged wingmen

    The Andersen AFB kennels are one of the largest out of more than 70 facilities across the Air Force. While the military working dogs may remind many of the homebound pets of base housing, these trained workers are a force to be reckoned with at all times.

  • Retired general talks issues facing females in military

    Retired Lt. Gen. Susan Helms, a former 14th Air Force commander, spoke to servicewomen from Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever AFB and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station about issues facing females in the military during a women's brunch Oct. 29.

  • Airfield managers maintain flightline during Vigilant Ace 16

    During the readiness exercise Vigilant Ace 16, every participating aircraft requires a safe and functioning flightline in order to complete their mission-specific directives. Airmen assigned to the 51st Operations Support Squadron airfield management flight are responsible for ensuring the

  • Guardsmen deliver rescue capabilities across Pacific

    Alaska Air National Guardsmen from the 176th Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, conducted long range search and rescue drills Oct. 31 near the coast of White Beach Naval Base.A 212th Rescue Squadron guardian angel rescue team was delivered across the Pacific Ocean on a nearly 12-hour, nonstop

  • First lady visits, praises troops at Al Udeid AB

    The service members at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, are performing demanding duty without complaint as they represent the United States, first lady Michelle Obama told troops on the base Nov. 3.Joined by late night talk show host Conan O'Brien and other entertainers to perform a USO-style show, Obama

  • ‘Black Widows’ arrive at Bagram for final F-16 deployment

    Airmen assigned to the 421st Fighter Squadron arrived Oct. 28 for its last F-16 Fighting Falcon deployment in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and NATO’s Resolute Support mission as the unit begins to shift to a newer aircraft.

  • BLUE: Space -- The High Ground

    The Air Force impacts billions of people across the world through operations in space, including GPS and missile warning. In this episode of BLUE we meet the Airmen who perform these missions, discovering what they do and why they do it.

  • 45th Space Wing supports GPS satellite launch aboard Atlas V

    The 45th Space Wing supported the Air Force's 11th launch of a Boeing-built Global Positioning System IIF satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on Oct. 31.

  • Travis doctor saves hero Airman's life

    By the 20th hour of her 30-hour shift, she had already managed two gunshot victims when the call came into the emergency room.Just 2 miles away, an ambulance rushed to transport a 23-year-old male suffering from multiple stab wounds to Sacramento's only Level 1 trauma center, located at UC Davis

  • Stone promotes to senior airman, staff sergeant

    Spencer Stone, the airman first class who helped prevent a gunman’s attack on a French train in August, promoted to the rank of senior airman at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., Oct. 30, 2015. Following this promotion, Stone was promoted to the rank of staff sergeant, effective Nov. 1, by order of Air

  • 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.

  • ACC intel officer shares new ISR perspective

    Air Combat Command’s senior intelligence officer shared her perspective on fusion warfare with the intelligence community, defense industry and media during an Oct. 22 assembly at the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

  • KC-46A equipment processing begins at McConnell

    Another step toward the KC-46A Pegasus flying over Kansas started late October as 22nd Logistics Readiness Squadron Airmen began paving an innovative path through the maintenance equipment review process.

  • US, Polish airmen build capabilities, partnership

    The 86th and 182nd Airlift Wings are participating in bilateral training with the Polish Air Force during Aviation Detachment 16-1 in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve at Powdiz Air Base, Poland.

  • Full-time Airman, part-time MMA fighter

    Mixed martial arts fighting is not for the faint hearted. It takes effort and full-time dedication to be the best of the best in the octagonal cage. For Senior Airman Mark Wirth, a 819th RED HORSE Squadron structural engineer, he believes he has the motivation and dedication to rise from amateur to

  • AF announces KC-46A preferred, reasonable alternatives

    Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, has been chosen as the preferred alternative for the first Reserve-led KC-46A Pegasus main operating base, Air Force officials announced Oct. 29. The KC-46As are expected to begin arriving in 2019.

  • Shaw Airmen support flood-stricken communities

    When Hurricane Joaquin moved near the East Coast early October, the storm dumped record rainfall on South Carolina for six days, causing severe flooding across the state. In response, Shaw Air Force Base organizations assisted local communities, providing disaster relief to those affected by the

  • AF leaders testify on F-35 progress

    Leaders in the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office and the Air Force F-35 Integration Office testified on the fifth-generation aircraft’s development before a House Armed Services subcommittee Oct. 21 on Capitol Hill.

  • Peterson Airman’s tragic loss exemplifies resiliency

    After getting orders to South Korea, Tech. Sgt. Billy Gazzaway was missing his family, as anyone would. Far away from them, he received the horrible news that his 4-year-old son, who had already been diagnosed, treated and was in remission for leukemia, had relapsed.

  • Air Force releases new SAPR strategy

    Air Force leaders released a five-year Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Strategy that will guide the Air Force in developing a robust prevention model while continually honing response capabilities today.

  • Family isn't always blood

    People like routines, schedules and structure, especially in the military. Change can sometimes be unwelcome and overwhelming, particularly if it's a sudden, drastic change due to an illness. For Tech. Sgt. Thomas Echelmeyer, of the 21st Aerospace Medicine Squadron, that's exactly what happened. His

  • 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.

  • U-2 brought to forefront with ‘Spies’ premiere

    The Air Force’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission areas were highlighted with the release of a major motion picture Oct. 16. The Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office teamed with movie producers to tell the story of Capt. Francis Gary Powers, an Air Force U-2 pilot who was shot

  • Selva: USO volunteers offer hope to service members

    The USO volunteer force brings hope to service members in every corner of the planet, said Gen. Paul J. Selva, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during the 2015 USO Gala and awards ceremony Oct. 20.

  • Yesterday’s Air Force: HH-3E

    Getting stranded behind enemy lines is a concern during every combat mission and one aircraft set the standard for combat search and rescue during the Vietnam War -- the Sikorsky HH-3E.

  • Cybersecurity, OPSEC vital to mission success

    Every day, Air Force organizations and personnel are reminded of the importance of operations security and cybersecurity, and how integrating them into day-to-day operations helps protect proprietary and sensitive information from disclosure, espionage and exploitation.

  • Pope Airman awarded DOD’s ‘Spirit of Hope’

    Tech. Sgt. Rebeca Martin, assigned to the U.S. Air Force Combat Control School, was honored by the Defense Department during a ceremony Oct. 16 at the Pentagon where she received the 2015 Spirit of Hope Award, named after the legendary entertainer Bob Hope to recognize selfless service and a

  • Airmen of New York's 109th AW begin Antarctic mission

    The takeoff of the New York Air National Guard's LC-130 Hercules ski-equipped aircraft here Oct. 16 marked the official start of the 109th Airlift Wing's 28th season of support to science research at the South Pole.

  • Spirituality holds Airman up

    "It puts things into perspective," said Master Sgt. Wendell Barnes, the 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander support staff superintendent. "I love what I do in the military, but it is temporary and my faith is forever."

  • Moody honors fallen comrade

    Airmen, family and friends gathered at the Moody Air Force Base chapel to say their final goodbyes and honor the life of Tech. Sgt. Marissa Hartford during a memorial service Oct. 16.

  • C-130 crash victims remembered by colleagues, leaders

    More than 1,000 people attended a memorial service Oct. 16 to honor two Hanscom Air Force Base Airmen killed earlier this month when the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft they were on crashed shortly after takeoff from Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

  • Hill food court worker selected for DOD award

    Patricia Barson was honored Oct. 16 as one of the Defense Department's outstanding employees with a disability. She was selected for the award from among 32,000 AAFES employees worldwide.

  • Combat weather forecasters help keep pilots out of harm’s way

    It’s a tough job trying to predict Mother Nature and when it comes to weather, everyone’s a critic. Thinking the day holds nothing but sun and your picnic gets rained out can be aggravating. Now try to tell a pilot he can’t fly because the weather patterns shifted. This dilemma is something deployed