HomeNews

NATO Air Policing operations

U.S. Air Force News

  • SECAF talks to students

    The Air Force’s top civilian spoke to an eighth-grade history class here May 7 about leadership, his career, the service and the war in Iraq.During the event, Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche answered questions from the Northern Bethesda Middle School students on topics ranging from his

  • CSAF adds books to reading list

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper announced May 5 the addition of three books to his recommended reading list.In a Chief’s Sight Picture, Jumper said the new books will help provide a broad understanding of where the service is as an air force, the challenges and demands it faces, and a

  • Employee celebrates 50 years with Air Force

    After 50 years of Air Force service, Paul Barber shows no signs of slowing down. “I don’t want to quit unless I absolutely have to,” said Barber, an electrical equipment repairman in the Maintenance Directorate commodities division here. “I am 67 years old, and I’ll be 68 in July. I still feel

  • Domino effect began with weather forecast

    Trace any Operation Iraqi Freedom mission back to its origin, and you will find the first action in the series of events was a weather forecast, said the senior weather officer for U.S. Central Command Air Forces.“We’re domino pushers,” said Lt. Col. Tom Frooninckx, commander of the 28th Operational

  • Iraq's future in hands of its own people, U.S. officials say

    Three senior U.S. government officials agreed that humanitarian efforts to renew and restore Iraq have gone well so far, and movement will continue to return Iraq to the Iraqi people.Undersecretary of Defense Dov Zakheim, DoD comptroller and chief financial officer, Undersecretary of State Alan

  • Ceremony ends Operation Northern Watch

    The Combined Task Force Operation Northern Watch guidon was encased May 1, in a ceremony signifying the successful end to its mission of enforcing U.N. Security Council Resolutions north of the 36th parallel. Gen. Charles F. Wald, U.S. European Command deputy commander, officiated the ceremony -- an

  • Air Force announces OTS selections

    The Air Force is giving 18 enlisted members the chance to trade in their stripes for gold bars after being chosen to attend Officer Training School.Air Force Recruiting Service officials conducted OTS Selection Board 0305, which considered 239 total applications, selecting 164 for a 67-percent

  • CSAF: Instructor duty vital to future

    The Air Force’s top uniformed leader is stressing the importance and value of instructor duty to all officers.In a Chief’s Sight Picture released in April, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper encouraged officers to invest in the future force by considering instructor opportunities an

  • Mr. Rumsfeld goes to Baghdad

    Perhaps symbolizing the importance of special operations forces to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld arrived in Baghdad on an MC-130 from the Air Force's 919th Special Operations Wing today. Less than a month after the fall of Baghdad, Rumsfeld flew from Kuwait to Basra

  • AFSOC taking combat search, rescue

    The Air Force will turn over functional management of the combat search and rescue mission to Air Force Special Operations Command on Oct. 1.The transition to AFSOC from Air Combat Command is meant to consolidate the management of CSAR and to take advantage of the synergies of combining like

  • Force development prepares airmen for success

    Force-development efforts are under way to ensure the Air Force’s enlisted corps remains the best in the world, said the service’s top enlisted leader.According to Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald R. Murray, force development is simply a methodical approach to giving airmen the tools,

  • More regime leaders captured, three Marines die in accident

    The Iraqi deck lost three more cards April 23, and coalition special operations forces took into custody another regime member who might be able to name all the Iraqi spies in the United States. Also, three Marines died and seven more were injured the same day when the rocket-propelled grenade

  • NCO retraining programs begin

    The Air Force recently began the voluntary phase of its fiscal 2003 and 2004 noncommissioned officer retaining programs. The program is designed to help the Air Force balance its enlisted force by moving NCOs in specialties with surpluses to those with shortages, personnel officials said. It

  • Bomber group heads home

    After dropping 3.2 million pounds of explosives and 9 million leaflets during 120 combat sorties, more than 1,000 airmen are packing up and going home from this forward-operating location. The redeployment of the 457th Air Expeditionary Group began April 24 with approximately a dozen B-52

  • Feedback from survey to improve civilian leadership development

    A sampling of Air Force civilians in the grades of GS-12 through GS-15 have received and completed the civilian long-term training survey via e-mail in recent days.The 12-question survey, which is being distributed through April 25, is an opportunity for people to express their thoughts or concerns

  • Air Force pilots help Japanese go the distance

    When your car runs low on gas during a long trip, it is easy to pull up to the pump like you have done a hundred times before. It involves a lot more planning if you are at 25,000 feet, traveling several times your average freeway speed and practicing a foreign language. When your vehicle is one

  • JPRA helps return captives to normal life

    It's going to take more than returning Pfc. Jessica Lynch to the United States for her to get back to a normal life.Much the same could be said about the seven prisoners of war - her five unit comrades and two pilots - rescued April 13.After spending eight days in Iraqi captivity and a nearly equal

  • Some 'doctors' still make house calls

    Have mat, will travel.That is the newly adopted creed of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group's three-person physical therapy team at a forward-deployed location in Southwest Asia. The 332nd EMDG is from the 10th Medical Group at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.Realizing that many of the pilots

  • U.S. not asking for long-term Iraqi bases

    The United States has neither asked nor considered asking a future Iraqi government for use of four air bases, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said today.Rumsfeld called a New York Times story that suggested such a thing "unhelpful." He said such articles left people in the Middle East with the

  • Situation in Iraq brightening; troops still in danger

    The situation on the ground "continues to brighten in Iraq," the Pentagon's chief spokeswoman said in the Pentagon today. "But our troops are still putting their lives on the line, and the work is still dangerous."American and other coalition forces are working with local Iraqi leaders, clerics and

  • Airman sent home to donate bone marrow

    While the war is waged and aircraft launch in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, another kind of mission is taking place ... a potentially life saving mission.Col. Erik Hearon, the regional air movement and control center director, jumped aboard an Air Mobility Command aircraft recently in hopes of

  • U.S. troops to be in Iraq 'not one day longer' than necessary, Myers says

    American troops will be in Iraq "as long as required and not one day longer," the U.S. military's senior officer said here today.Saddam Hussein's regime is history and "the process of returning Iraq to the Iraqi people has begun," Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of

  • CFACC provides guidance for coalition air campaign

    Before one of the most intense and precise air campaigns in the history of modern warfare began March 19, a video teleconference was held that included President Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield, U.S. Central Command commander Gen. Tommy Franks and Combined Forces Air Component Commander

  • Airlift takes toll on Bashur Airfield

    The landing of many heavy cargo aircraft at Bashur Airfield in northern Iraq, has forced the closure of 2,000 feet of runway that cracked under the constant strain.That still leaves a 5,000-foot runway, more than enough for C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules aircraft to continue the airlift

  • Shape of coalition forces will change as war winds down

    As the war in Iraq winds down, the shape and number of coalition forces in the area will change, DoD officials said during a briefing in the Pentagon.Two carrier battle groups centered around the USS Constellation and Kitty Hawk will leave the area, Navy officials said today. This still leaves three

  • Moody AFB attorneys support 'Operation I Do'

    Dressed to the nines in his best desert camouflage uniform and surrounded by his security forces family, a nervous but calm deployed senior airman took part in "Operation I Do."Even though they were separated physically, Senior Airman James Evans and his fiance, Andrea, were reunited via fax and

  • Bashur Airfield on roll; future still not set

    After two weeks of living on the edge of the noisy flightline, the airmen at Bashur Airfield in northern Iraq, moved their camp to higher ground.But the move -- 100 yards farther away from the airstrip - does not mean the 86th Expeditionary Contingency Response Group is planting roots at this

  • F/A-22 provides technological leap forward

    One cannot view the F/A-22 Raptor as only a replacement for current Air Force fighters, the service's top acquisition official told lawmakers April 11."(The F/A-22) is basically a technological leap forward to counter the threats we perceive (we will face) in the future," said Dr. Marvin R. Sambur,

  • Former CMSAFs continue serving airmen

    Eight former chief master sergeants of the Air Force met with the man who currently holds the position and other senior leaders during a conference at the Pentagon on April 8 and 9.Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Gerald R. Murray said the two days provided many opportunities for the group to

  • Improved 'Dragon Lady' still seeks, finds today's prey

    The 48-year-old U-2 "Dragon Lady" still reigns supreme as the leader among manned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.Even with newer, unmanned aerial vehicles like Global Hawk and Predator -- welcomed by increasing numbers of warfighters, and now joining the U-2 in ISR missions

  • Airborne Red Horse teams joins the mix

    The Air Force has a new capability thanks to the members of three new Airborne Red Horse teams. Red Horse teams provide the Air Force with a mobile, rapid-response civil engineer force to support contingency and special operations in remote, high-threat environments worldwide. In wartime, the

  • New office consolidates FM workforce development

    The Air Force financial management community recently consolidated all its various workforce-development efforts into a single centralized office.The financial workforce management directorate at the Pentagon is now the single point of contact for providing the FM community with professional

  • Coalition addressing Iraqi humanitarian needs

    Coalition forces are addressing concerns about Iraqi humanitarian needs, Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke said today.She said the Iraqi people have real needs, but that these needs pre- date the war. Clarke observed that the regime of Saddam Hussein spent billions on palaces and weapons of mass

  • SECAF: Mobility key to war effort

    The secretary of the Air Force praised Air Mobility Command for quietly building up resources in Southwest Asia before the opening days of the war in Iraq. He also lauded the continued "spectacular" air support during the campaign to remove the Iraqi regime from power."Under the direction of

  • CENTAF command chief addresses issues

    As Air Force operations continue in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the service's senior enlisted member in Southwest Asia says the exact future of operations has yet to be determined."The war isn't over," said Chief Master Sgt. Mack Williams, U.S. Central Command Air Forces command chief master

  • ONW fighters say final goodbye to Incirlik

    The last Operation Northern Watch mission flew March 17, but the end of the operation was not obvious until the last fighter aircraft roared out of here April 7.The last fighter planes, eight F-16CJ Fighting Falcons from the 55th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., left for home and did

  • Personnel data system upgrade smooth, uneventful

    One week before the end of March, in the middle of a war, the military personnel data system underwent a major database upgrade -- and nobody noticed."After some of the things we've gone through that made MilPDS almost a four-letter word throughout the Air Force, this is an important

  • Agreement establishes Fighter Associate Program

    Air Force Reserve Command and Air Combat Command have joined forces to begin the Fighter Associate Program.Gen. Hal M. Hornburg, ACC commander, and Lt. Gen. James E. Sherrard III, AFRC commander, signed a memorandum of agreement that took effect April 2.The Fighter Associate Program is designed to

  • Renamed airport gateway to Iraq's future

    Saddam International Airport is under new management and has been renamed Baghdad International Airport, U.S. Central Command officials said today.Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, during a news conference in Qatar, said Army 5th Corps forces took the airport after heavy fighting. He said the airport

  • Powell predicts better day ahead for Iraq

    With Iraq's day of liberation drawing near, U.S. officials are hard at work on plans for an interim authority, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said today."We want an interim authority that is representative of all the groups who have an interest in the future of Iraq," Powell told reporters at

  • AF provides Congress with Raptor update

    Air dominance is the first priority of any combat commander and the F/A-22 Raptor will provide it for them, Lt. Gen. John D.W. Corley said in congressional testimony April 2.Corley is the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition at the Pentagon."Air dominance provides

  • Coalition forces in commuting distance to downtown Baghdad

    Coalition forces have taken outlying areas of Baghdad "and are closer to the center of the Iraqi capital than many American commuters are to their downtown offices," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said at the Pentagon today.The secretary said the people of Iraq are beginning to realize the

  • Congress ponders exchange merger

    Department of Defense leaders met with the House Armed Services Committee subcommittee on total force April 2 to discuss the future of the department's three exchange services.Of specific interest was a potential merger of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the Navy Exchange and the Marine

  • Air Force surgeon general: 'We are ready'

    Improvements in the deployment process since the 1991 Gulf War have resulted in a more fit and healthy fighting force, the Air Force surgeon general told a House committee March 27."Our military now finds itself engaged in war on multiple fronts -- in fact, a greater percentage of our troops are

  • Forces not 'paused'; coalition attacks continue

    Army Gen. Tommy Franks said coalition forces are not "paused" and are not suffering from a lack of supplies.Franks, who spoke today at a press conference in Qatar, said, "Where we stand today is not only acceptable, ... it is truly remarkable."He spoke of "large and capable ground forces within 60

  • Iraqi units may have orders to use chem/bio weapons

    Coalition forces have seen indications that Iraqi units have been given the freedom to use chemical weapons, Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks said today.Brooks, deputy director of operations at CENTCOM's deployed headquarters in Qatar, told a press conference that intelligence sources indicate that

  • Science, technology investment determines future

    Warfighting effects and what is needed to achieve them drive the Air Force's science and technology program, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for science, technology and engineering told members of Congress on March 27."We're committed to a robust science and technology program that

  • UAV 'roadmap' helps warfighter

    The Department of Defense's Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Roadmap provides a defensewide vision for UAVs and related technology, said the deputy of the UAV Planning Task Force in congressional testimony here March 26.The goal of the plan is to ensure UAV programs proceed in a coordinated and efficient

  • Bush, Blair: Coalition loosening Iraqi regime's 'grip of terror'

    "Slowly, but surely, the grip of terror around the throats of the Iraqi people is being loosened," President Bush said today.Accompanied by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush spoke at a press conference at Camp David, Md. He said coalition forces are "advancing day by day in steady progress

  • Airman grew up behind Berlin Wall

    For Senior Airman Anke Dzincielewski, the day the Berlin Wall fell is one she will never forget."Senior Airman D.," as co-workers call her, was born and raised in Kleinmachnow, a small town on the southwest corner of Berlin in East Germany. She grew up knowing that the West was there but never

  • Air Force, Army leaders examine air-ground ops

    The Air Force and Army chiefs of staff are leading a focused effort to examine air-ground operations in order to improve the two services' combat capability.Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki said they recognize the need to improve air-ground

  • Diversity stressed for civilians

    As the Air Force takes the first steps toward transforming the way it develops its civilian employees, its leaders are stressing the importance of diversity in the workplace.Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche said ensuring diversity in the work force is much more than a legal obligation

  • SECDEF: Air strikes not aimed at civilians

    U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld lauded the air coalition's unsurpassed ability to avoid collateral damage during a March 25 press conference in the Pentagon.Speaking directly to Iraqi civilians about the intent of coalition air strikes, the secretary said that there can be no mistake about

  • Smallpox vaccine program extends to 'emergency essential' civilians

    Civilian employees deployed to fill emergency-essential positions at selected overseas locations are now required to receive the smallpox vaccine, Pentagon officials said.According to Col. Rainer Stachowitz, deputy director of the nuclear and counter proliferation directorate at the Pentagon,

  • Tons of knowledge resides in Air Force Web site

    Just about anything worth knowing about the Air Force, especially on the maintenance and acquisition side, can be found through a collaborative Web system called Knowledge Now.Knowledge Now is almost too big to describe, according to Randy Adkins, Air Force Materiel Command Knowledge Now project

  • Rumsfeld reminds people about operational security

    When Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld started talking about the need to safeguard classified information, the studio staff flashed a World War II poster on the television.It was a picture of a young girl holding a picture of her father. The legend on it was "Don't kill her Daddy with Careless

  • Maintainers unleash wave of B-52s

    More than 70 aircraft maintainers worked earnestly through the early morning March 21 to unleash the first wave of B-52 bombers on the Iraqi regime from this forward-deployed location.Later in the day they watched with the rest of the world as their "Buffs" delivered what would come to be regarded

  • Myers Charts Coalition Military Actions to Date

    American ground forces are 100 miles inside Iraq and driving on Baghdad, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Richard Myers said today during a Pentagon news conference.The U.S. air campaign against Saddam Hussein's regime began with a tremendous bombing campaign against military

  • Airmen kept after school to launch rockets

    Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Blast off!This was the scream from students at Woodmen Hills Elementary on March 14 as airmen from the 1st Space Operations Squadron here helped 24 students see the rockets' red glare.For five weeks in February and March, 25 volunteers from 1st SOPS helped students

  • Weather forecasters aid mission planning

    Asking about the weather is not a casual question in the Combined Air Operations Center at a desert airbase. In fact, it is one of the key questions asked during every phase of the air tasking order, or ATO, cycle."Most systems we have are weather sensitive, so weather predictions must be

  • Medical care for airmen affected by Stop-Loss

    A previously overlooked provision of law allows up to four months of Tricare transitional health care benefits for airmen separating from the service after having been retained under Stop-Loss.The benefits will apply to any airman separating after the current and any future Stop-Loss actions,

  • E-8 promotion rates up; critical skills even higher

    The 1,612 master sergeants picked for promotion this year were selected using the chronic critical skills program for the first time.The selectees will be named March 19.The program applies higher selection rates to certain career fields. This year is the first it is being applied to the E-8 and E-9

  • Good relations key to deployment success

    A contingent of deployed airmen from the 409th Air Expeditionary Group here visited a local primary school March 17 at the request of school officials.The group of visitors was made up of a flight surgeon, aircrew members, two security forces dog handlers and their canine Waldo, and others, all led

  • Prepared in Bulgaria

    Senior Airman Karl Ferre marks lumber which will be used to construct a cross for chapel services held here. Ferre is deployed from the 100th Civil Engineer Squadron at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England. The 409th Air Expeditionary Group here runs air refueling operations with KC-10 Extender

  • Guard, Reserve Tricare policy announced

    Defense Department officials announced March 12 policy changes to Tricare Prime and Tricare Prime Remote programs for members of the National Guard and Reserve and their families.Starting March 10, family members of Guardsmen and reservists on federal active-duty orders for more than 30 days are

  • Leaders discuss cultural renewal at Air Force Academy

    A special report by the Air Force general counsel on the recent rise in sexual assault allegations at the U.S. Air Force Academy is scheduled for release at the end of MarchBut, the service's top leaders said March 10 that they will not wait that long to initiate needed changes.Secretary of the Air

  • Joint STARS takes off for second deployment

    Two E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft and several dozen airmen here answered the call of duty March 5 as they headed to a forward-operating location to support operations in Southwest Asia.The aircraft and airmen are assigned to the 116th Air Control Wing here.According to

  • Leaders address sexual assault at academy

    The Air Force's senior leaders vowed March 3 to work closely with Congress to uncover the facts behind recent sexual assault cases and to address the broader climate at the U.S. Air Force Academy in a comprehensive manner."There is no place in our Air Force for anyone who would assault a woman,

  • UAVs may play increasing operational role

    The Air Force's deputy chief of staff for air and space operations is cautiously optimistic about the growing role of unmanned aerial vehicles and remotely piloted vehicles in future conflicts."We're in a position where technology and miniaturization can now begin to give us things we haven't been

  • Future leader wags his way into sector's hearts

    He wears a green cape, but he cannot leap tall buildings with a single bound nor can he drive a super-charged car. He does not live in familiar places like Metropolis or Gotham City.However, this four-legged, soon-to-be hero can be seen running around the hallways of the Western Air Defense Sector

  • March issue of Airman available

    Take a look at Air Force technological changes through the years, learn about economical space launches, and read about how Office or Special Investigations forensic sciences consultants help track down the bad guys. These features and more highlight the March issue of Airman magazine, now

  • Donations bring joy to children

    The left-handed nine-iron was a little tattered around the edges, showed a few scars and had been discarded by someone who had no more use for it. Remarkably, it had a lot in common with the 10-year-old boy who was delighted to be its new owner.It did not matter that Jerome Espinoza had never

  • Strategy school changes name, expands

    To reflect the growing importance of space capabilities to the warfighter and the need for air and space strategists, Air University's School of Advanced Airpower Studies is changing its name and expanding.For the newly named School of Advanced Air and Space Studies here, the student body will

  • NCOs given advanced degree opportunities

    The Air Force Institute of Technology is once again offering eight noncommissioned officers the opportunity to pursue an advanced science, engineering or management degree in-residence at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.The goal of the Enlisted-to-AFIT Program is to provide commanders with a

  • Air Force receives newest Global Hawk

    The seventh Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle touched down here Feb. 14 after its flight from Air Force Plant 42 in nearby Palmdale, Calif., where it was built by lead government contractor Northrop Grumman.This latest Global Hawk is the program's final advanced concept technology platform and is

  • Future threats envisioned during technology game

    Warfighters, leading scientists and engineers from across the United States met Feb.11 to 13 in McLean, Va., to contemplate what the battlefield will be like in 25 years.The futurists gathered to take part in the Air Force Technology Seminar Game II, sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory

  • DOD space chief outlines priorities

    Things are going well for the national security space program, but America needs a roadmap to ensure future success, the Defense Department's executive agent for space said Feb. 12.Peter B. Teets, undersecretary of the Air Force and director of the National Reconnaissance Office, discussed the

  • Transition help vital, chief tells Congress

    For airmen who plan to hang up their uniforms and say goodbye to the military, whether after four years or a career, the future can be filled with uncertainty.A changing economy coupled with a competitive job market makes the idea of finding a good job a bit scary, Chief Master Sgt. Elizabeth S.

  • AFIT stands up systems engineering center

    Air Force Institute of Technology officials have established a center for systems engineering.The center will help focus efforts to revitalize systems engineering within the Air Force."Many of our current system-acquisition programs are suffering from a lack of attention to or inconsistent

  • GPS jamming no 'silver bullet' for potential adversaries

    Iraq and other potential adversaries may have the ability to jam global positioning system signals, but Air Force war planners are not too worried about the effect of jamming on precision munitions.In fact, it is a challenge they have been anticipating for a long time, and they are confident in

  • Academy seeks bios, photos of grads

    The dean of faculty here is seeking biographies and high quality on-the-job and in-training photos of Academy graduates who are in the Air Force work force or attending flight training or other technical schools.The items will be used in a display along the entire length of the second floor in

  • Propulsion team doubles capacitor capabilities

    The viability of powerful directed-energy weapons on future Air Force aircraft just got a shot in the arm with a greater than two-fold improvement to key electrical components that are needed to make the lasers work.Air Force Research Laboratory propulsion directorate researchers involved in the

  • Secretary Rumsfeld visits base in Italy

    Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told servicemembers during a town hall meeting here Feb. 7 that they "stand between fear and freedom, and America is counting on its military."Rumsfeld visited the Air Force's only fighter wing south of the Alps for a few hours as part of a trip to gain European

  • Two Robins units receive deployment orders

    The 5th Combat Communications Group and 116th Air Control Wing here received orders to deploy to the U.S. Central Command theater of operations.The orders are a part of a larger action by the United States to reposition some of its military forces to support the global war on terrorism and to

  • First sergeant changes benefit entire AF

    Air Force officials are touting recent changes made to first sergeant assignments and hope that more senior noncommissioned officers take advantage of what some are calling "the best job I've ever had in the Air Force."The Air Force converted the career field into a special-duty assignment in

  • February's Citizen Airman magazine now available

    At Moody Air Force Base, Ga., airmen of the 39th Flying Training Squadron are using their civilian corporate knowledge to help teach fighter fundamentals to new Air Force pilots. Read about the direct impact these reservists have on the future of the Air Force as well as the nation's security in

  • Wilford Hall doctors place third in nation

    The internal medicine residents at Wilford Hall Medical Center here know their stuff.The National Board of Medical Examiners recently notified officials at the Air Force's medical flagship that their residents placed third out of 398 programs nationwide on their Medical Resident in Training

  • Convicted airman considers himself lucky

    With tears in his eyes, he spoke of his two sons -- how he is missing them grow up, and how they are growing up so fast. His voice quivered as he mentioned his youngest son's visit, and how his boy did not even recognize him. He will miss his youngest son's first birthday this month.Airman Basic

  • C-5 painter explores possibilities of special art

    If a picture is worth a thousand words, then Mike Boutwell, a painter for the C-5 corrosion control facility here, is speaking volumes.Boutwell, who said he has been doodling ever since he can remember, has received rave reviews on his latest work, a mural of the C-5 Galaxy.Spending his days in the

  • B-52 sees biggest improvement in 15 years

    After three years of planning, Air Force flight test experts here introduced a new offensive avionics system for the B-52 Stratofortress.Flight testing of the B-52 Avionics Midlife Improvement, known as AMI, began in mid-December and is scheduled to continue through March 2004, with 80 sorties

  • Fighter squadron deactivating after deployment

    "Mission complete" are familiar words of relief to military people who have completed their duty and relinquished their post.However, these words carry more meaning for 55th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron airmen as they complete their Operation Northern Watch mission here and prepare to deactivate

  • New simulator provides medical training

    Thirty-three students from the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine here recently simulated caring for sick and injured patients aboard a Boeing 767 without ever leaving the ground.In an effort to provide realistic hands-on training, school officials recently acquired a full-size 767 fuselage that

  • AF cancels B-1 defensive upgrade

    Air Force officials recently announced that the service was canceling the B-1B Lancer's Defensive System Upgrade Program because of cost overruns and schedule slips, but remains committed to improving the aircraft's combat capability.The DSUP was intended to replace the B-1's current defensive suite

  • Committee focuses on servicewomen

    Here is bad news for folks who argue that women do not belong in the military: Recruitment and retention rates are up; their roles in the military continue to grow; and they are just as good as men at their jobs -- or better."Naysayers" may find the above facts discouraging, but they are good news

  • Air Force moves to institutionalize enterprise architecture

    Leaders of the Air Force's information technology, warfighting integration and operations communities took a major step recently to further the service's transformation efforts by creating the Air Force enterprise architecture council structure.Enterprise architecture is a formal process designed to

  • Spangdahlem gets deployment order

    More than 500 airmen and numerous F-16CJ Fighting Falcons left here Jan. 12 and 16 for a forward-deployed locations to support the unified command as part of a secretary of defense-issued order.The 52nd Fighter Wing was part of the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's Dec. 24 deployment order,

  • ACC begins F/A-22 operations

    Air Combat Command entered a new era Jan. 14 as America's newest fighter-attack aircraft touched down here.Raptor 00-012, the first F/A-22 to be delivered directly to the command, was flown from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., to Nellis by Lt. Col. David Rose, chief of Nellis' F/A-22 integration

  • Air Force risks air dominance without F/A-22

    Without the F/A-22 Raptor, the Air Force could face losing its lead in fighter aviation to other nations, said Maj. Gen. John D. W. Corley, director of Air Force Global Power Programs at the Pentagon."We need this aircraft," Corley said. "It's the only new U.S. aircraft that will be able to put

  • Air Force Museum displaying aviation art

    More than 250 original paintings by aviation artists will be featured when the Air Force Museum here offers "A Centennial Celebration of Aviation Art" for a limited engagement during 2003.To commemorate the Centennial of Flight, this art collection epitomizes the aviation history and recalls a

  • Officer assignments move beyond 'seven-day option'

    Following secretary of the Air Force guidance, Air Force Personnel Center officials reviewed and improved what was called the "seven-day option" policy for officer assignments.Those officers who would be eligible to separate or retire instead of taking an assignment will now get more than seven days