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  • TAAC-Air speaks of mission in its new name

    For more than seven years, NATO Air Training Command – Afghanistan has been working side-by-side with Afghan National Security Forces to build, strengthen and empower the Afghan air force.With the transition toward Resolute Support, as of Jan. 14, NATC-A has been renamed to Train, Advise, Assist

  • Air Force senior leadership addresses need to stabilize RPA enterprise

    During a State of the Air Force address held at the Pentagon, Jan 15, Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James announced immediate preliminary steps to develop a get-well plan to improve the health of the MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9 Reaper enterprise in light of extensive combatant commander

  • Bomber force prepares for new B-52 bomb bay upgrade testing

    Since the Air Force's decision in 2013 to increase the B-52H Stratofortress fleet's effectiveness and versatility by increasing the aircraft's smart weapons capacity by over 50 percent, teams from Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, Boeing, and now Edwards AFB, have partnered up to begin developmental

  • Hard work, dedication in below zero temperatures

    It's 6:30 a.m., 27 degrees below zero and the sky remains dark. Senior Airman Taylor Lancaster heads to his locker to sort his gear and make sure he has everything ready to begin work in the frigid weather.

  • Resurrecting a mission: Family christens ship for fallen Airman

    On Aug. 11, 2014, Capt. Dana M. Lyon christened the motor vessel that was named after her husband, Capt. David I. Lyon, who was killed in Afghanistan Dec. 27, 2013. The christen took place before the vessel departed to perform its wartime mission.

  • EOD: Keeping Airmen, community safe

    The motto, “initial success or total failure,” requires Airmen of the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) flight here to think outside the box and accept nothing less than perfection when performing their duties.

  • Brothers in arms

    Brothers in arms is a common expression among military members, but rarely do actual siblings directly complement each other's contributions to the mission. At the 388th Fighter Wing on Hill Air Force Base, Utah, 1st Lt. Sean Rush and Staff Sgt. Brandon Rush are doing exactly that.

  • AF, small business developing critical processors for satellites

    The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and a small business partner are developing technologies that they expect will enable successful use of high-power processors that operate on satellites with funding from the Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

  • US Air Force's European consolidation results announced

    The Office of the Secretary of Defense announced the results of the European Infrastructure Consolidation (EIC) review Jan. 8, which will realign several missions in U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) within seven years.Under the EIC, the Defense Department will divest

  • New deicing simulator saves money, manpower, increases training

    With the winter months comes freezing temperatures, snow, frost and ice, but despite the inclement weather the mission continues, making aircraft deicing a main priority for maintainers.This year, to increase training capabilities and save money and manpower, the 92nd Maintenance Group installed a

  • Kabul Afghan Airmen complete FAST training

    As American security forces transition to Resolute Support, it is important that Afghan security forces can secure their own country. Recently another step was taken in this direction when eight Afghan air force security forces airmen graduated the first Kabul Air Wing Fly-Away Security Team

  • Luke returns F-16Ds to flight after longeron repair

    Aircraft maintainers at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona and Hill AFB, Utah, have been working on getting F-16D Fighting Falcons back into the air since mid-October and are nearing completion of repairs on 32 of Luke's F-16D aircraft .

  • Son flies in father's footsteps

    Some sons walk in their father's footsteps, while others fly in them. This was recently the case for Capt. Taylor Wight, an F-15E Strike Eagle pilot, flew a Weapons Systems Evaluation Program mission with his father, Col. Al Wimmer,an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot.

  • ‘NORAD Tracks Santa’: Bringing him to a home near you

    Santa will be traveling around the world Dec. 24, delivering presents to all the girls and boys. To help keep tabs on Santa, North American Aerospace Defense Command, including Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR), Continental U.S. NORAD Region and Canadian NORAD Region, will track him across the globe to

  • Australian F-35 lands at new home

    The first Royal Australian air force F-35A Lightning II arrived at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona Dec. 18, marking the first international partner to arrive for training.

  • Two C-17 squadrons to be inactivated over next two years

    Air Mobility Command will inactivate two C-17 Globemaster III squadrons during the next two years - one at Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, and one at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington - based on the President's Defense Budget for fiscal year 2015.

  • Altitude chamber takes its last breath

    For more than 50 years, aircrew at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, have shared a common physical experience; they all have felt the effects of rapid depressurization inside a hypobaric chamber.

  • Charleston maintenance groups earn Daedalian trophy

    The C-17 Globemaster III maintainers from the 437th and 315th Maintenance Groups at Joint Base, Charleston, have once again demonstrated that they are the cream of the crop, earning the 2014 Clements McMullen Memorial Daedalian Weapon System Maintenance Trophy.

  • AF delivers Iraqi F-16s for training in US

    For more than 65 years the Air Force has embraced the concept of flexibility being the key to airpower. Now Airmen from the Arizona Air National Guard are sharing that capacity to find creative ways to overcome problems with one of the Air Force's newest allies – the Iraqi air force.

  • Short-notice: A new way to exercise

    When 1st Lt. Matt Lavigne's phone rang late Dec. 10, he knew it was time to scramble into action. As a fighter pilot, preparedness is engraved into his DNA, but this was the first time he'd experienced something like this. In only a few hours, he'd be flying side by side with other F-16 Fighting

  • A $2 solution to a $3,000 problem

    A brand new circuit board for a rescue fire truck can cost more than $3,000 to replace, regardless of why it has malfunctioned, but fire truck maintainers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington dug a little deeper into the issue and discovered a $2 solution. Recently, the shop was faced with

  • Civil Air Patrol receives congressional recognition

    About 40 living World War II members and their relatives, as well as the families of deceased members, were in attendance as the Civil Air Patrol received the Congressional Gold Medal during a presentation Dec. 10, in the Emancipation Hall at the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington D.C.

  • AMC chief scientist receives Harold Brown Award

    Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James presented Dr. Donald Erbschloe, the Air Mobility Command chief scientist, with the 2014 Harold Brown Award during a ceremony at the Pentagon, Dec. 9.

  • McChord aircrews put air power on display during exercise

    Aircrews from Joint Bases Lewis-McChord, Pearl Harbor-Hickam, and Elmendorf-Richardson departed from McChord Field, Washingotn, in five C-17 Globemaster III aircraft Dec. 6, to participate in realistic and complex training the Air Force has to offer during a joint forcible entry exercise over the

  • AMC Museum: It all started with one wrecked airplane

    The ever-growing Air Mobility Command Museum boasts a collection of 33 aircraft, a staff of more than 170 volunteers and a visitor experience that rivals the most notable museums in the country -- but it all started with one wrecked airplane in 1986.

  • Joint force hot pitting saves time, money

    Airmen from the 366th Logistics Readiness Squadron petroleum, oil and lubricant flight here, recently work alongside the U.S. Navy Electronic Attack Squadron 129 (VAQ-129) to help develop and implement a "hot pit" refueling process for Navy EA-18G Growlers, which frequent the base.

  • Aviano stays 'Forward, Ready, Now' with joint exercise

    The 555th Fighter Squadron hosted a weeklong exercise with the U.S. and Netherlands joint tactical air controllers here Dec. 2, as a part of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces in Africa's "Forward, Ready, Now" initiative.

  • Train together, fight together

    It takes more than one military branch to defend America's freedoms as joint tactics play a key role in today’s warfighting missions.

  • AF selects 38 Airmen for test pilot school

    Thirty-eight Airmen have been selected to attend the U.S. Air Force, U.S Naval, British, and French test pilot schools, with classes slated to begin in July 2015, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced Dec. 5.

  • Rescue loadmasters: Balance is key

    A rescue loadmaster squeezes around the tight space in the back of an HC-130J Combat King II. With a nearly 6,000 pound Humvee waiting to be airdropped, there is little room for maneuvering and zero room for error.

  • Nellis Airman powered by innovation

    Last December, certain variants of the F-16 Fighting Falcon had their ejection seat's oxygen system modified, which created a new requirement for oxygen bottle testing. This new change improved overall pilot safety, but also brought with it a hefty price tag -- which inspired one Airman at Nellis

  • Search continues for missing Airman in Guam

    An Airman who has been missing since Dec. 1 has been identified as Airman Alec M. Dye.Dye was deployed to Andersen Air Force Base from the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and was last seen near Tarague Beach, Guam.

  • Airmen missing from World War II accounted for

    The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of service members missing in action from World War II have been accounted for and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

  • Pilot killed in Middle East F-16 crash

    A U.S. Air Force pilot was killed when an F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed in a non-combat-related incident November 30 at approximately 11 p.m. EST. The aircraft was returning to its base in the Middle East shortly after take-off. The crash did not occur in Iraq or Syria.

  • Air Force 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 identifies nickel-free material for F-35 aircraft systems

    Through a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with the Air Force, Triton Systems, Inc., located in Massachusetts, developed a nickel-free material technology that is positioned for transition to several F-35 Joint Strike Fighter applications. Transition of this technology is

  • Aviator helps pilots fly in Big Sky Country

    Tech. Sgt. Michelle Bresson, a 40th Helicopter Squadron special missions aviator, has been assisting helicopter pilots at Malmstrom Air Force Base for nearly five years. Her responsibilities typically include keeping the pilots advised of anything that is going on with the aircraft. If there are any

  • 41 total-force Airmen selected as KC-46 aircrew

    Forty-one officers and enlisted members from active duty, Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard have been selected as KC-46 Pegasus initial operational test and evaluation aircrew, Air Force Personnel Center officials said Nov. 24.

  • AFRL engineers awarded for fostering innovation, teamwork

    Two Air Force electronics engineers received the 2014 National Security and International Affairs Medal for saving the lives of Soldiers in Afghanistan by creating and deploying a new aerial sensor system to help U.S. Army and special forces units detect and destroy deadly improvised explosive

  • Life Cycle Management Center helps design transport isolation system

    The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) is playing a unique role in the United States' comprehensive Ebola response efforts in West Africa through the center's involvement in developing a transport isolation system. The system will enable safe aeromedical evacuation of Department of

  • Born to wave the flag

    Blaine Yelton was born Aug. 12, 1915, when World War I was in its second bloody year.

  • The footprint of the Jolly Green Giant leaves its mark

    Tech. Sgt. Mathew Macella, the 56th Rescue Squadron pararescueman blue team NCO in charge, succinctly summed up the explanation for all the stickers of green feet found around Royal Air Force Lakenheath and what they mean for the 56th RQS. The origin of the green feet symbol came from Vietnam, when

  • Kunsan AB hosts Exercise Max Thunder 14-2

    U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy personnel and aircraft are training with the Republic of Korea Air Force units Nov. 14 - 22, in the semi-annual, bilateral training exercise Max Thunder 14-2, here.

  • Three bases identified as F-16 aggressor candidate bases

    Air Force officials, on Nov. 19, announced Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and Nellis AFB, Nevada, as candidate bases to host the 18th Aggressor Squadron and its assigned 18 F-16 Fighting Falcons.

  • Retrograde in full gear

    As the retrograde mission of transporting equipment and personnel out of Afghanistan continues, Dover AFB personnel are hard at work ensuring the job is done safely, on time and as efficiently as possible.

  • Tools to pencils: Airman makes career a work of art

    In March of 1962, just a few weeks after turning 18, Terry Lee stepped off the bus at then-Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, with the hopes of being an Airman. What happened in the years after would make a small-town boy into an Airman who could not only turn a wrench but also draw his way into

  • Kentucky Air Guard completes Ebola-response mission in Senegal

    Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard's 123rd Contingency Response Group transferred control of a humanitarian cargo hub to replacement forces here Nov. 18, successfully completing their support of an Ebola-response mission that has processed more than 750 tons of relief supplies for airlift

  • Boom operator soars, rises to challenge

    With nerves pushed aside and the pilots' support, Cash was able to successfully refuel the B-1, allowing the crew to continue their mission with a full tank. At the age of 19, she never thought she would be trusted with so much responsibility.

  • TACP receives second Silver Star medal

    Master Sgt. Thomas Case, a tactical air control party Airman in the 18th Air Support Operations Group here, received his second Silver Star medal Nov. 13, for heroic actions during a 2009 deployment to Afghanistan.

  • Providing a FAST deployment role

    Air Force FAST teams play a crucial role in protecting aircrews and airplanes in hostile areas. They fly on specific missions to various deployed locations to ensure the safety and security of aircraft and crew members.

  • Injured EOD Airman returns to fuller life

    In an instant, he went from living his dream to being utterly destroyed on a dusty road in Iraq. An improvised explosive device exploded about two feet from his face, throwing him about 20 feet and leaving him unrecognizable. As his arm dangled to his side, he stumbled up and yelled for the medic.

  • ISR aircraft hones in on strategic agility

    Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities have been in high demand from combatant commanders. In order to meet this new operational demand, Air Force officials answered the call back in 2008 by rapidly acquiring and deploying the MC-12W Liberty.

  • Veterans in Blue Volume V out now

    For decades, Airmen have answered the call to serve and protect the nation’s interests, people and cherished freedoms that underpin it all, risking their lives for others, and thus, becoming heroes in the eyes of those they protected.

  • Airlift squadron established for Ebola response in Senegal

    More than 35 Airmen and two C-130J Super Hercules from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, arrived in Dakar, Senegal, this week to establish the 787th Air Expeditionary Squadron and to fly humanitarian cargo into Liberia as part of Operation United Assistance, the mission to fight Ebola in West Africa.

  • Tyndall AFB pilot found, recovered

    Tyndall officials reported that the remains of the F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot involved in a tragic accident Nov. 7 have been recovered from the Gulf of Mexico.

  • Poinsett Range: the environmental mission

    The Poinsett Electronic Combat Range, previously called Poinsett Bombing Range, opened in 1952 to be used as a real-world training range for military personnel.

  • AF engineers log record-breaking accelerated engine test

    A highly successful accelerated mission test (AMT) of Pratt & Whitney's F135 conventional take-off and landing/carrier variant (CTOL/CV) engine was recently completed in the Sea Level 3 test cell (SL-3) at the Arnold Engineering Development Center.

  • Air Force pilot develops plan to reduce jet fuel consumption

    The Air Force spends more than $9 billion annually on energy. Aviation consumes 86 percent of that amount. In support of the Air Force Energy Strategic Plan to foster an energy aware culture and reduce aviation fuel consumption, an instructor pilot from the 5th Flying Training Squadron has

  • Airman discovers grandfather's World War II story

    An Airman here recently discovered that his grandfather was among a small group of Americans who joined the Canadian military to thwart the tyranny of Nazi Germany prior to America entering World War II.

  • Losing the 16 pound burden, Airman makes difficult decision for his family

    At age 28, Tech. Sgt. Jason Caswell was an athlete who was well on his way to becoming an Air Force rugby player. While stationed in England, whenever Caswell wasn’t on the flightline working, he was out on the field playing his sport. From there, his dream was to take the next step of joining the

  • Historic hangars merge past with present

    Two historic hangars were fitted with solar walls last year, and the effort is saving the installation as much as $100,000 per year in utility costs. In addition to cost savings, the systems are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 470 metric tons per year -- the equivalent of

  • 815th Airlift Squadron provides support for Operation Southern Strike

    A large mechanical whir fills the back of the C-130J Super Hercules, as the back ramp doors begin to slowly open like a pair of iron jaws. Chief Master Sgt. Troy Peltier, a loadmaster with the 815th Airlift Squadron here, turns to the 25 paratroopers from the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation

  • F-35 engine fix coming

    Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher C. Bogdan, the head of the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter program office, said by the end of December he expects to have decided on a permanent solution for a design issue that caused an F-35A engine to fail in June at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

  • Air Force completes historic fuel conversion

    The Air Force took an important step in fiscal responsibility and supply chain efficiency as it converted its final stateside installation from Jet Propellant 8 (JP-8) fuel to the more common and commercially available Jet A fuel, Oct. 29 at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

  • Dyess Airmen deploy in support of 'United Assistance'

    More than 35 Airmen and two C-130Js from the 317th Airlift Group and 7th Bomb Wing deployed Oct. 29, 2014, to an air base in Western Europe, where they will provide tactical airlift support for Operation United Assistance.