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  • Vehicle operators named 'team of the year'

    The Army has traditionally provided protection for supply and munitions convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan, but when manning shortages made it tough for Soldiers to fulfill that role, the Air Force provided help. As many as 25 percent of Airmen in the vehicle operations career field were specially

  • Hurricane Hunters fly first operation WC-130J mission

    The first storm of the 2005 hurricane season came a little early this year appearing in the Pacific off the coast of Central America. Hurricane Adrian also marked the beginning of a new era in weather reconnaissance for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron’s “Hurricane Hunters” here.When

  • Air Force men take armed forces volleyball crown

    The Air Force men’s volleyball team won the 2005 Men’s Armed Forces Volleyball Championship here May 16.The Airmen began their run to the title by defeating the Navy 25-23, 25-17, 22-25 and 25-22. After the Army defeated the Marines -- 12-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19 and 25-17 – they were in a position

  • Officials announce airfield operations awards

    Air Force officials recently announced the winners of the 2004 Air Force Airfield Operation Awards.Airfield operations, a flight within the operations support squadron, is responsible for airfield operations and control, specifically airfield management and air traffic control.The 2004 winners

  • Individual Ready Reserve 'key component' of total military

    The Individual Ready Reserve is "a key component" of America's total military force, a senior Defense Department official said May 17 at the 2005 Reserve Personnel Center Commanders'/IRR Conference in Denver.Consisting of about 300,000 people, the IRR "presents a valuable pool" of trained military

  • Civil engineers train for chemical attacks

    Civil engineers here replaced their shovels, hammers and power tools with gas masks, gloves and chemical warfare ensemble gear during ability to survive and operate training here May 18.“This training is very important,” said Capt. Jeremy Milliman, 374th Civil Engineer Squadron’s readiness flight

  • A father remembered

    Five numbers painted on the tail of a local parade’s float will pass by thousands of people, and they may not see what is between them.A string of numbers can represent anything from how much money someone has in his or her bank account, to phone numbers or even ZIP codes.71424 represents the life

  • DOD tests ‘revolutionary’ biological warfare detection device

    Department of Defense specialists are testing a cutting-edge technology so revolutionary military scientists said it will change the face of biological warfare.The joint biological agent identification and diagnostic system, a 40-pound device small enough to slip into a rucksack, is designed to

  • Officials announce aircrew life support award winners

    Air Force officials recently announced the 2004 Outstanding Air Force Aircrew Life Support of the Year award winners.These awards recognize the accomplishments of aircrew life support people and programs.The 2004 winners are:-- Outstanding Aircrew Life Support Headquarters Staff Member of the Year:

  • Airmen open heart, home to children in need

    More than 523,000 children nationwide are in foster care because their families are in crisis and unable to provide for their essential needs, according to child welfare agency officials. May is National Foster Care Month.One family here has opened its heart and home to some of those children the

  • Rumsfeld, Myers state their case to commission

    As the military confronts the "new demands of the war against extremism and other evolving challenges in the world," the Defense Department's recommendations for base realignments and closures are necessary, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told the commission considering DOD's proposals May

  • Cadets get jump on jobs

    Junior class cadets here learned what their future Air Force jobs will be a full year ahead of their graduation date.Normally, cadets learn this during the fall semester of their senior year.“The date has been moved forward for current and future classes to maintain a parallel classification process

  • Donation provides mobility, honors Jumper

    In honor of Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. John P. Jumper and his wife, Ellen, the Ford Motor company donated two wheelchair accessible vans to Walter Reed Army Medical Center during a ceremony May 12 at the Pentagon.Edsel B. Ford II, of the company’s board of directors, said they donated the

  • BRAC process revamps medical system

    Defense Department officials have used the Base Realignment and Closure process to transform the way military medicine operates.Officials said medical facilities will become more joint, will consolidate where patients reside and will become state-of-the-art."We want to rival Johns Hopkins or the

  • Closings, realignments to reshape infrastructure

    Defense Department officials have recommended closing 33 major bases and realigning 29 others as part of a comprehensive reshaping of the military infrastructure through the Base Realignment and Closure process.Michael Wynne, defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics,

  • Rumsfeld recommends 5 to 11 percent cut in infrastructure

    Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's recommendations to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission would cut excess military infrastructure between 5 and 11 percent, he said during a Pentagon news conference May 12."The department is recommending fewer major base closures than had earlier been

  • Census helps define future joint officer

    More than 7,000 Air Force officers in all ranks soon will be asked to complete a census that will be used to help decide what defines “joint.” The secretary of defense is working on a Congressionally mandated review of joint management and tasked each service to identify officer positions that

  • Officials focus on needs with BRAC recommendations

    Comprehensive and impartial is the assessment of Air Force officials on the process used in determining the secretary of defense’s recommendations of installations sent to the independent Defense Base Realignment and Closure commission. The recommendations, which are scheduled to be released May 13,

  • Air Force postpones Officer Training School board

    The rated portion of the Air Force Officer Training School board originally scheduled for August has been postponed until January, Air Force Recruiting Service officials announced May 12.Because of fiscal 2005 and 2006 Air Force force-shaping efforts, the rated portion of the Aug. 2 OTS selection

  • Military leaders applaud Congress for advancing health care

    Military surgeons general thanked members of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee for their role in advancing military medicine.The surgeons general testified May 10 before the subcommittee on the defense health program. At $18.9 billion, the program's fiscal 2006 budget is an

  • Helicopter crash kills one, injures two

    One Airman was killed and two others injured in an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crash May 11 about 100 miles northeast of Santa Fe.The helicopter was assigned to the 58th Special Operations Wing’s 512th Rescue Squadron. It was on a training mission when it crashed at about 1:30 p.m. The names of the

  • Latest ‘The Secretary’s Vector’ addresses BRAC process

    The Air Force was a “significant player” in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process, according to the latest “The Secretary’s Vector.”Michael L. Dominguez, acting secretary of the Air Force, released the vector May 11. “We determined the military value of active duty, Air National Guard and

  • Airmen travel to Guatemala to train, treat patients

    Outside a primitive five-room elementary school, hundreds of villagers lined up to receive medical, dental and optometry care.Airmen from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., provided the care. The 33-person team had recently arrived to provide medical care for 10 days at three schools in villages in the

  • Air Force aviator strengthens U.S.-Japan friendship, ties

    An Air Force exchange pilot is strengthening bilateral ties and friendship between U.S. and Japanese military forces here. Capt. Justin Fletcher, an F-15 Eagle pilot, said that being assigned at the picturesque Japanese base located south of Tokyo is one of the most interesting and challenging jobs

  • AMC commander delivers C-130J

    The commander of Air Mobility Command delivered the Air Force’s third active-duty C-130J Hercules here May 5.Gen. John W. Handy and a crew from the 48th Airlift Squadron here flew the aircraft from the Lockheed Martin plant in Marietta, Ga., where it was built."I have had more fun today than anybody

  • Surge capability examined as part of BRAC process

    Defense planners have looked at surge capability across the services and industrial processes as they have gone through the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process.Defense Department officials said Congress specifically added the surge capability to the basic legislation authorizing the BRAC

  • BRAC process sets stage for future infrastructure

    The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process will set the stage for the military well into the future, Defense Department officials said here May 10.Officials said this is the best chance the department will have to reset the force to meet the challenges of the 21st century. "We don't know where

  • Myers recognizes 'Operation Smile' stalwart

    A retired major general received the Chairman's Distinguished Public Service Award on May 10 in part for a smile -- Operation Smile.Retired Maj. Gen. William Lyon received the award from Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a Pentagon ceremony. General Lyon served as the

  • Pilot awarded Kolligian Trophy for combat mission

    Despite wounds and a helicopter crippled by enemy fire, an Air Force pilot safely flew his aircraft and crew home from Iraq.For his efforts, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper presented the Kolligian Trophy to Capt. Steven Edwards during a May 6 ceremony at the Pentagon. Captain Edwards,

  • BRAC information available for affected bases

    The secretary of defense is expected to announce the proposed Base Realignment and Closure list during a press conference May 13.Air Force officials said they understand the effect BRAC can have on servicemembers, retirees, employees and their families.To assist people with vital BRAC information,

  • Official: DOD committed to meeting military child-care needs

    Defense Department officials are actively engaged in improving child-care services for military parents, a top Pentagon official said here May 6.John M. Molino, deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy, said the days of mostly single, barracks-dwelling servicemembers

  • Force structure, military value at heart of BRAC

    The U.S. military fighting the war on terrorism is far different from the military forces developed to confront the Soviet Union.Today's military is smaller than the Cold War force but is already more agile and more flexible. And experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan show that joint operations allow

  • Deployed security forces take on military police mission

    Because of a shortage of Air Force security forces in recent years, the Army has helped out by providing Soldiers at bases worldwide. The 732nd Expeditionary Mission Support Group’s Detachment 1, an Air Force detachment from Balad Air Base, Iraq, is repaying the security debt by filling the role of

  • Army hands over Strykers to Air Force

    With a handshake and the roar of a jet engine at Fort Polk, La., an Eielson unit became the first in the Air Force to own the latest addition to the service’s inventory – the Stryker armored vehicle.In a May 5 ceremony at Fort Polk, 3rd Air Support Operations Squadron officials obtained five of the

  • Cope Thunder wraps in Alaska

    Cope Thunder participants used Eielson’s 62,000 square miles of training airspace and met their objective: to fly, fight and win during Pacific Air Force’s premier combat airpower exercise that ends May 6.The two-week exercise took place here and Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.“All Cope Thunder units had one

  • U.S. pilots train Iraqi counterparts to fly C-130 Hercules

    U.S. pilots are training their Iraqi counterparts to fly three C-130 Hercules the Iraqi air force received from the Department of Defense.Pilots and enlisted Airmen from the 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., are here working hand-in-hand with pilots and

  • Commission begins next round of realignments, closures

    The 2005 Base Realignmnent and Closure Commission began its work here May 4.Commission Chairman Anthony J. Principi, former secretary of Veterans Affairs, administered the oath of office to eight commissioners who will evaluate the Defense Department's recommendations for changes in U.S. force

  • Woman reclaims her life after sexual assault

    Tricia Van Prooyen is an Air Force spouse, a mom, a college student -- and a rape survivor.Sharing such a personal story is not easy, she said, but it is a valuable part of the healing process for the 33-year-old wife of Staff Sgt. Tim Van Prooyen, who is assigned to the 81st Training Support

  • Officials warn about insurance, investment rip-offs

    Defense Department officials said they are working to thwart insurance and investment marketing practices that exploit servicemembers."You really have to be a little bit skeptical if somebody says if you invest a little bit of money with us today you'll have a great deal of money tomorrow," said

  • Eighteen Airmen selected for medical training

    Air Force officials selected 18 enlisted Airmen to take part in the Tri-Service Physician Assistant Training Program at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.The board met at the Air Force Personnel Center here in March, selecting them from 48 applicants. The average selectee was 28 years old with eight years

  • May issue of Airman available

    Read about how the Air Force Personnel Center supports Airmen, see how some single sergeants balance kids and work, and learn about a Hungarian-born pilot whose dreams of flying for the Air Force are coming true. These features and more highlight the May issue of Airman magazine, now available in

  • Air Force wrestlers take two medals at nationals

    Air Force wrestlers left the U.S. National Wrestling Championships on April 30 in nearby Las Vegas with a silver and bronze medal and qualified five wrestlers to attend the World Team Trials. “We came into this competition understanding we are rebuilding our team,” said Richard Estrella, Air Force

  • BRAC recommendations follow lengthy process

    Few people dispute that the U.S. military has too much infrastructure to face the threats and opportunities of the 21st century. The question is, what is the best way to close or realign installations to match challenges of the new world?Since 1988, the answer has been the Base Realignment and

  • Air Force continues search for Junior ROTC instructors

    Officials continue to search for qualified instructors to serve in rapidly expanding Air Force Junior ROTC programs, said Jo Alice Talley, chief of instructor management for Air Force Junior ROTC here.The Air Force is opening 48 new Junior ROTC units in high schools in 21 states, with more to

  • Air Force announces aviation resource management awards

    Air Force officials recently announced the winners of the 2004 Outstanding Air Force Aviation Resource Management of the Year Awards.The 2004 winners are:-- Airman of the Year: Airman 1st Class Dusty S. Stofan, 17th Special Operations Squadron, Kadena Air Base, Japan.-- Noncommissioned Officer of

  • Airman inspired by father’s service

    In her homeland, Airman 1st Class Duong Ngo looked over countless rows of rice crops while growing up on the south Vietnamese countryside in rural Ben Tre. Today, she looks over rows of deployment equipment at the 509th Logistics Readiness Squadron mobility warehouse here. The mobility flight

  • Airmen hunt down problems before having chance to fester

    When a general practitioner performs a routine examination, the doctor thoroughly examines the patient for overall health. With the same loving care physicians provide patients, the Airmen of the 92nd Maintenance Squadron work day and night caring for their KC-135 Stratotankers.Just as specialists

  • Digital advances produce improved unmanned aerial vehicles

    One day on a gray-painted aircraft carrier tossed by turbulent seas, a grizzled Navy commander awaits the arrival of a new pilot.A teeny knock pings from the outside of the officer's watertight steel door."Come in," the commander growls. The door swings open and a squat, cylindrical object

  • Officials announce 2004 mission support awards

    Officials recently announced the winners of the 2004 Air Force Mission Support Awards. The awards recognize Airmen and their units for outstanding performance in the areas of personnel, military equal opportunity, professional military education and training. Winners for 2004 are: -- General

  • JSTARS reaches 10,000 combat hours in Southwest Asia

    The E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System reached 10,000 combat hours in Southwest Asia.The aircraft and its operators, maintainers and support people have had a continuous presence in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility since July 2003 as part of the 379th Air Expeditionary

  • Two Airmen among recipients of military service award

    Two Airmen were among the six recipients of the annual Government Employees Insurance Company Military Service Awards. For 17 years, GEICO has recognized servicemembers from all branches of the service -- including the Guard and Reserve -- for work in drug and alcohol abuse prevention, fire and

  • Experienced maintainers train active-duty Airmen

    Spending four years on active duty and 26 years in the Vermont Air National Guard, Chief Master Sgt. Tim Brisson has a wealth of experience as an aircraft maintainer. He has just about seen it all -- until April 25.That was when officials at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., and the Vermont Guard signed

  • Air Force focuses on religious respect

    One’s religious beliefs, or the absence of beliefs in an established religion, should never be grounds for unlawful discrimination, the chief of the Air Force Chaplain Service said.Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Charles C. Baldwin recently explained the role of chaplains and respect for others’ beliefs

  • Academy launches religious respect training program

    Air Force Academy officials have launched a religious respect training program called Respecting the Spiritual Values of all People. The training focuses on educating cadets, faculty members and base employees on the importance of respecting the spiritual beliefs of a diverse force.Officials are

  • Promotion study guides hit streets in May

    The latest edition of enlisted promotion study guides will hit the streets by the end of May, Air Education and Training Command officials here said.Both the Promotion Fitness Examination and the U.S. Air Force Supervisory Examination, officially known as Volumes 1 and 2 of Air Force Pamphlet

  • Training ensures reservists ready to go

    Air Force Space Command reservists tested a common training assembly concept here April 22 and 23 to ensure nearly 350 individual mobilization augmentees were trained and ready for mobilization.Reservists need to be trained at the same level as their active-duty counterparts. While active-duty

  • Wilford Hall team flies to Alaska to evacuate infant

    A 10-month-old girl battling a severe case of pneumonia was flown 4,000 miles by Airmen from Wilford Hall Medical Center here April 28.Carle David was hospitalized in Anchorage when officials requested help. The neonatal critical-care air transport medical team, which stays prepared to launch on

  • Airmen strut their stuff for civilian leaders

    As part of the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, a weeklong tour of military installations for top civic and community leaders nationwide, the 347th Rescue Wing pulled out all stops April 26 for the visiting group of civic leaders.The tour highlights the latest U.S. military equipment and

  • Airman convicted for defrauding government

    An Airman here was convicted recently in a special court-martial for defrauding the U.S. government.Staff Sgt. Louise Smith, of the 71st Medical Support Squadron, was found guilty of violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s Article 132, Fraud Against the United States.The military judge

  • Wounded troops, families receive free airline tickets

    Through the good will and generosity of thousands of people with unused frequent flier miles and U.S. airlines, the Fisher House Foundation has given out nearly 3,000 free airline tickets to war-wounded servicemembers and their families since the giveaway program started in January 2004.About 1,000

  • Space, air warfare centers integrate capabilities

    The Air Force is integrating some forces to better manage air, space and information operations combat capabilities to support missions worldwide, Air Force officials announced April 26. Elements of Air Force Space Command’s Space Warfare Center at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., will integrate

  • Space command takes youth fitness to new level

    Airmen have been plugging away at the new fitness test for more than a year now, but they are not alone in the quest to increase their activity level on a regular basis.Air Force Space Command children are increasing their fitness levels as well as part of an Air Force initiative, “Fitness in Time,”

  • Airman’s actions save neighbor’s home

    An Airman here recently extinguished a house fire that threatened to destroy a nearby Panama City home.Master Sgt. Dave Delmar, 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron’s noncommissioned officer in charge of plans and programs, used garden hoses to extinguish the fire, saving his neighbors’ home and most of

  • C-17s get state-of-the-art home

    When the 452nd Air Mobility Wing here welcomes eight C-17 Globemaster IIIs later this year, the aircraft will be maintained in an environmentally friendly hangar that is larger than a football field and incorporates advanced construction technology.“We wanted it to appear it belonged here -- have it

  • Air Force officials announce OTS selections

    More than 130 people were selected for an Air Force commission, Air Force Recruiting Service officials here announced April 26.The officials considered 231 applications as part of Officer Training School Selection Board 0504, which selected 138 people for a 60-percent selection rate. Of those, 29

  • Spangdahlem Airmen train with new high-tech weapon

    The sound of gunfire ricocheting off concrete walls is an everyday occurrence for Airmen at the combat arms training and maintenance unit here. At one of the few indoor Air Force firing ranges, the range features a target retrieval system and a hard gel backstop that will soon be replaced by a steel

  • McConnell holds wingwide fitness test

    More than 1,200 Airmen from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing took their physical fitness test here April 22.All 1,200-plus Airmen completed their run and received a series of “wingman” briefings within a four-hour span, but working out the logistics of the wingwide test took months of planning.To

  • U.S., Japanese Airmen train together during air refueling

    American fighter pilots are helping Japanese airmen expand their F-15 Eagle combat capabilities during hands-on air-to-air bilateral refueling training here.The Japanese F-15 aircraft mechanical refueling capability is identical to U.S. Air Force F-15s. However, it was not until Japanese officials

  • Army general: Air Force helped logistics success in Iraq

    The U.S. military’s task to supply troops serving in Iraq during the past year “was one of the most complex and challenging missions in our history,” a senior Army general said April 20.Yet, logisticians “proved successful in supporting a force of (about) 165,000 Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and

  • OSI exhibit opens at Air Force museum

    An exhibit highlighting the Air Force's criminal investigative service is open to the public at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force here."Eyes of the Eagle: The Air Force Office of Special Investigations" exhibit joins the museum's permanent displays in the Cold War Gallery.The exhibit

  • New program helps smokers kick habit

    For smokers looking to kick the habit, nothing could be more useful than a little guardian angel sitting on their shoulder, keeping track each time they reach for a smoke, taking notes and reviewing the results with them each week.Although not angels, health and wellness center officials here said

  • Officials announce visual-information winners

    Defense Information School officials at Fort Meade, Md., recently announced the winners of the 2004 visual information awards. The awards recognize, reward and promote excellence among servicemembers for their achievements in military photography, videography and graphic arts, officials said. Air

  • Child-abuse prevention begins at home

    More than 900,000 children were victims of abuse or neglect in 2003 with many suffering from neglect, followed by physical and sexual abuse, and emotional or psychological maltreatment, according to a National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System report.Eighty percent of the perpetrators were

  • Airmen maintain national defense in weapons storage area

    Separated from the rest of the base by miles of fence topped with razor wire and high-tech surveillance equipment, certain Airmen here see few people during the duty day other than their military counterparts. For that, their daily efforts go largely unnoticed.They are Airmen assigned to the 5th

  • Air Force officials postpone technology conference

    The 2005 Air Force Information Technology Conference scheduled for Aug. 28 to Sept. 1 in Montgomery, Ala., has been postponed until after January 2006.The move follows an announcement by Air Force officials to redirect as much funding as possible to support the war on terrorism, said Frank Weber,

  • Reserve, active-duty pilots battle for air superiority

    In the animal world, a 500-pound gorilla would pose relatively no threat to a 1,200-pound Mako shark swimming at 65 mph. However, when these two creatures take on the form of fighter pilots and step into an F-15 Eagle or F-16 Fighting Falcon to face off in the sky, anything is possible. For two

  • Reservists travel to Badlands to do good

    A disaster does not have to strike for Americans to help other Americans in need.Twelve reservists from the 445th Aeromedical Staging Squadron provided medical care to an American Indian reservation hospital April 2 to 16 in South Dakota.The reservation, home to 30,000 Lakota Sioux, is located 35

  • Shaw F-16 crashes, Airmen eject safely

    An F-16D Fighting Falcon from here crashed April 18 near Charleston, S.C. At the time of the accident, the pilots, Maj. Steve Granger and Lt. Col. Maurice Salcedo, had just begun a training mission. They ejected safely into a river near Charleston and were taken to a local hospital where they were

  • Airmen guard diverse flying mission

    With fighter, tanker, cargo, transport, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft at the largest wing in the area, the flightline at a forward-deployed location is nothing short of active.Such diversity of aircraft and missions requires a level of uniformity that keeps maintenance

  • Officials announce 2004 organizational excellence award winners

    The Secretary of the Air Force Personnel Council recognized the following units as 2004 Air Force Organizational Excellence Award winners during the specified periods of time:-- Air Education and Training Command headquarters: Oct. 1, 2002, to Sept. 30, 2004.-- Air Force Special Operations Command

  • Air Force Academy selected as ‘Best Value College’

    The U.S. Air Force Academy is one of the nation’s "best value" undergraduate institutions, according to a Princeton Review report.The New York-based education services company announced April 18 that it chose the academy as one of 81 schools it recommends in the new 2006 edition of its book,

  • New course helps Airmen get combat ready

    Airmen graduating from the fuels apprentice course are now two to three months closer to combat-ready status after arriving at their first base, said course instructors here.Students are learning how to set up a mobile gas station and other duties during a new seven-day contingency course, said

  • Commanders get sexual-assault prevention, response help

    The new sexual assault response coordinator at Air Force bases will help commanders improve response to sexual assault. As part of an effort to curtail sexual assaults within the ranks, DOD officials directed the services to appoint a coordinator at all appropriate levels of command. The

  • Policy offers confidentiality to sexual-assault victims

    A new Department of Defense policy allows sexual-assault victims to confidentially report crimes against them. In a March memorandum to service secretaries, DOD officials directed all military branches implement restricted (confidential) reporting withing 90 days.The policy allows victims of sexual

  • F-16 crew chiefs combat odds to keep jets in flight

    As the sun beats down upon him, an Airman wipes the sweat from his brow, spreading the layer of grease and oil from his hands onto his forehead. Consumed by the task at hand, he remains focused knowing his jet needs to be ready to take off within the hour.Suddenly, his work is put on hold.“This is

  • Tyndall Airman becomes U.S. citizen

    A revolt, a family separated and a little girl who grew up to become a defender of freedom in a foreign land.It may sound like a big-budget Hollywood flick, but for one Airman, this is real life.Airman 1st Class Celene Delice, a relocations technician with the 325th Mission Support Squadron here,

  • Female Airman tosses hat in boxing ring

    Besides the issued M-9 or M-16, an installation entry controller here packs additional weapons like a left hook, upper cut and jab that would make even the boldest intruders stop in their tracks.Senior Airman Celsa Reyes, with the boxing team here, is an up-and-coming boxer who, when not pulling

  • Upgrades retrofit T-38 with latest technology

    Airmen from the 416th Flight Test Squadron wrapped up flight tests on software upgrades in an ongoing T-38 Talon avionics upgrade here recently.The latest set of upgrades is the third in a series. During this series, testers performed about 18 sorties October through April, validating the new

  • Contingency response wing activates at Travis

    When the 615th Contingency Response Wing stood up here April 11, the mobility mission of 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force’s expanded along with it.“The activation of CRWs and associated groups at Travis and McGuire (Air Force Base, N.J.) is not only historic, but clearly signals our resolve to

  • Hurlburt Field rescuers help crash victims, save lives

    There were people staggering and people screaming. It was total chaos.That was the scene Tech. Sgt. Mike Gray, a pararescueman assigned to the 720th Special Tactics Group here said he saw as he and his wife turned the corner from their home in nearby Fort Walton Beach early April 9.Eight bicycle

  • Life-support techs keep OEF airlifters rescue ready

    For C-130 Hercules aircrews flying a combat airlift mission, there are various forms of lifesaving equipment on the plane and on the Airmen every time they fly.Whether it is a parachute or a helmet, aircrews here are fitted with the best equipment available from the 774th Expeditionary Airlift

  • AFRC streamlines augmentee program

    Air Force Reserve Command officials here are working with other major commands to streamline management of individual mobilization augmentees.In the past, the Air Force's 12,900 IMAs in the Selected Reserve reported administratively to the various active-duty units where most of them are assigned.

  • Sustainability of installations, environment key to readiness

    The best way to ensure that today’s warfighters have what they need to fight and win in the post-Sept. 11 world is to sustain the viability of both military installations and their surrounding environments, a defense official said here April 12.That idea of sustainability -- of the military

  • Grone: BRAC 2005 important for many reasons

    Base Realignment and Closure 2005 is in full swing and this round is important for many reasons, said Philip Grone, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment.To support ongoing force transformation, to improve the joint use of Department of Defense assets and to convert

  • Two chiefs, one marriage, love for Air Force

    In a small farming town near what was then Loring Air Force Base, Maine, 18-year-old Roger Sirois made a decision. What he did not know was it would lead him and his high-school sweetheart on a 25-year personal and professional journey. In 1980, Roger asked his girlfriend, Lisa Warrington, to

  • Airmen keep B-2 Spirits safe

    The B-2 Spirit bomber’s capabilities to penetrate an enemy's most sophisticated defenses and threaten its most heavily defended targets depend on Airmen who help maintain the aircraft’s stealth characteristic. Mechanics deployed from the 509th Maintenance Squadron’s low observable section apply

  • Airman finds, destroys UXO

    An Airman assigned to watch over foreign workers working at a construction site near the flightline at a forward-deployed location spied something peculiar poking out of the ground recently.What Airman 1st Class Juan Jordan saw was an unexploded ordnance, probably left behind by Iraqi forces more

  • Dominguez: Recapitalization No. 1 priority

    Modernizing the Air Force’s aging systems is the No. 1 priority for the service’s acting secretary.Michael L. Dominguez recently gained the responsibility as acting secretary of the Air Force, besides his other duty as assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs. "The

  • Airman’s life-altering decision takes turn for the better

    Before Airman 1st Class Shannon Cavasos enlisted in the Air Force, she was at a crossroads in her life.With high-school graduation on the horizon, the Midland, Texas, native lived alone her senior year after her mother moved away. Her mom sent her small checks to cover bills while she cleaned