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  • Airmen learn convoy skills

    The grizzled, old retired Army instructor imparted combat wisdom to his students, as if he were reading directly from the combat bible. The most important thing he wanted them to take away from the training was when they drive into combat areas, they better look like death coming down the road. A

  • Air Force begins full-scale assault assessment

    Allegations of sexual misconduct at the Air Force Academy and Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, have prompted the Air Staff to direct an Air Force-wide review of its policies, procedures and victim programs.Officials at each Air Force major command have formed sexual-assault integrated-process teams

  • Security forces get more boots on the ground

    Security forces Airmen will see 495 new civilians added to their ranks between July and October. Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James Roche directed the positions be added at the squadron level to free more Airmen for duties at home station and on deployments.Officials expect many of the new

  • Medicine man trains for sled-dog race

    A total of 16 barking dogs strain against their harnesses. The sled behind them is anchored into the snow to prevent the Alaskan huskies, each between 40 and 70 pounds, from pulling it across the starting line too soon. Volunteer dog handlers are busy adjusting harnesses, untangling lines and

  • Tyndall operates newest engine test controller

    Revving an engine and tweaking a motor until it purrs is an art the “hush-house” team here has perfected and taken to the next level with the arrival of the F/A-22 Raptor.A process once involving intense troubleshooting can now be accomplished more efficiently thanks to a new engine-test controller

  • Airships may play key homeland defense role

    The dirigible, or airship, may be used as a tool to detect potential attacks against the United States, Department of Defense officials told House of Representative members March 4."We believe the best way to protect Americans is to defeat terrorists as far away from our homeland as we can," said

  • Tuskegee Airmen opened doors for black aviators

    The modern Air Force is a diverse force made up of many races and cultures. But this was not always the case.More than 60 years ago, the U.S. Army Air Corps created an experimental black pilot-training program to test their abilities. With determination and persistence, the first black pilots, the

  • Computer-based training available to all

    For Air Force people wishing to further their education, the solution could be just a mouse click away. The U.S. Air Force computer-based training system, located at http://usaf.smartforce.com, allows people to supplement major blocks of formal education that may not be a part of an individual’s

  • Walking Shield helps American Indians

    For 10 years now, the Air Force has helped house and provide assistance to American Indians living on reservations in the United States through its participation in Operation Walking Shield. The Air Force deputy assistant secretary for installations, Fred Kuhn, co-chaired the OWS Management

  • F/A-22 required for deep strike against enemy threats

    Maintaining deep-strike capability is critical to future warfighting operations. In a March 3 testimony before the House Armed Services Committee subcommittee on projection forces, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said the Air Force must continue to maintain its deep-strike

  • From cosmetics to test jets

    In the tumultuous times of 1930s America, Pensacola, Fla., native Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran was a successful entrepreneur in the world of women’s cosmetics. But not many who saw her marketing powders and colored creams in those days would imagine that she would soon set records in the upstart

  • Air Force: Manpower unevenly distributed

    Air Force leaders said manpower within the service is unevenly distributed. While testifying March 2 before the Senate Armed Services Committee subcommittee on personnel, Michael Dominguez said the service is in the process of rebalancing its manpower resources. He is the assistant secretary of

  • Secretary briefs lawmakers in ‘posture’ hearing

    The F/A-22 Raptor, sexual harassment, force blending and the tanker lease program were all topics of discussion as the service’s senior executive testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 2.Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche, along with the other service secretaries,

  • Brothers in arms

    In the womb they were so close, according to doctors, that their heartbeats were synchronized.Not much has changed for Ivan and Evan Godwin since their birth at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in 1962. Their lives have been full of the normal pushing, pulling and competing associated with twins.

  • 'Scopes' get airmen quickly back on track

    Wilford Hall Medical Center surgeons are getting basic military trainees back into training faster with the help of laparoscopy. Surgical recoveries, which used to require four to six weeks, can now take as little as one to two weeks, according to medical officials. One recent case typified the

  • Americans, Turks find common ground through conversation

    Divided by cultural beliefs and thousands of miles, the gap between U.S. and Turkish people may appear, at first, somewhat insurmountable.Tech. Sgt. Norvel Brown, however, recently found a surprisingly simple connection -- conversation.As a volunteer at the English Language Training Center here,

  • March issue of Airman available

    Read about recent changes at the Air Force Academy and take a look at airmen serving in Southwest Asia -- from the airmen fresh out of training to the medical staff who save lives in Baghdad. These features and more highlight the March issue of Airman magazine, now available in print and online at

  • Lieutenant wins national track, field championship

    First Lt. James Parker, an Air Force world-class athlete from Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., won the 2004 USA Track and Field Indoor National Championship Weight Throw, held Feb. 26 to 29 in Boston.The weight-throw competitor credited the win to his intense training regimen and fine-tuning his

  • Officials release A-10 accident report

    Mechanical failure caused the pilot of an A-10 Thunderbolt II to crash in a military training range near Las Vegas on Nov. 18, according to a report Air Force officials released March 2.The pilot ejected safely in the Nevada Test and Training Range about 45 miles northwest of Nellis Air Force Base,

  • Officials work on balancing Guard force

    Governors will be able to call on at least 50 percent of their National Guard forces for homeland-defense missions and other state emergencies because of a plan to realign Army and Air Guard units during the next few years, the chief of the National Guard Bureau said."We will balance our forces,

  • Airmen answer National Call to Service

    Since its inception in October, more than 240 trainees who enlisted under the National Call to Service Program have attended basic military training here.Under the terms set by the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act, the new airmen can serve a 15-month enlistment, followed by a possible

  • Modeling, simulation agency names best performers

    The Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation recognized its best performers for 2003 during its yearly conference here Feb. 24 to 26. Best performers were recognized in four categories as either teams or individuals. Winners included: -- Acquisition Category: The Simulation and Analysis

  • Officers selected for development

    More than 170 company grade officers from five career fields were recently selected by the Development Team Special Selection Board to attend developmental education programs.They will be sent to attend the Air Force Institute of Technology; education with industry; space lift education and

  • Aircrew error cited in investigation

    An investigation here found aircrew error led to the unintentional release of an inert training munition Jan. 8 in Yorkshire.Officials from the 48th Fighter Wing said the aircrew involved in this mishap was on non-flying status while investigation took place. Subsequent to the determination of

  • Desert Storm veterans return after 13 years

    When Saddam Hussein ordered his forces to march south through Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, little did he know of the resolve of the young airmen who would rise to the occasion to repulse the attack.From November 1990 to May 1991, Senior Airmen Darrell Wiedenbeck, Elbert Bembry and Edward Timberman, and

  • Airpower highlighted in joint exercise

    Airpower was put on display as a part of a show of force demonstration here during a joint capabilities exercise Feb. 24.Operation All-American Lightning, a joint Army-Air Force operation, was designed to demonstrate joint U.S. capabilities for rapid deployment and employment of forces worldwide to

  • Services initiative lets 'you be you'

    A new initiative to introduce new airmen to the leisure and recreational activities available to them on base will kick off in March.A joint venture between Air Education and Training Command and the Air Force Services Agency, the new UBU program lets “you be you.” It allows airmen basic through

  • Academy adds editorial, speech writing to curriculum

    Writing editorials and speeches is not always easy for the “techno-centric.”Since most of the Air Force's senior enlisted leaders are people managers experienced as mechanics, number crunchers or computer fixers, they often have limited experience putting their thoughts on paper. The idea of having

  • Officials release report of Sheppard review

    The preliminary findings of a special review team sent to Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, to examine reports of sexual assaults indicate students feel the base provides a safe training, working and living environment.Gen. Donald G. Cook, commander of Air Education and Training Command, released the

  • Defending homeland a 'must-win' game

    The mission of homeland security is like playing an "away game and a home game," said the U.S. military's homeland defense commander. In war, just as in sports, it is the away game that you "want to win," but it is the home game that you "must win."Gen. Ralph Eberhart, head of U.S. Northern Command

  • NASA names MacDill landing site for space shuttle

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials have named this base an alternate landing site for space shuttle missions.Alternate sites are typically selected based on weather conditions or the power level of the shuttle during re-entry.Software updates to the shuttles’ landing programs

  • Drop-zone experts ensure success during Balikatan 2004

    “Winds are calm. Clear to drop.” With these words Capt. Laura Curvey, an air mobility liaison officer from the 36th Airlift Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan, officially signaled the start of bilateral airdrop operations during exercise Balikatan 2004 here. The term Balikatan is a Tagalog word

  • Military working dogs help keep base safe, secure 24/7

    When military people are in trouble, they call the cops. When cops need help, they call the K-9 unit.Working dogs here provide explosive detection support and establish a force-protection presence that will halt or deter hostile action against coalition forces.“Our main mission here it to provide

  • Reservists vital for seamless flow of business

    In this time of heightened operations tempo, Air Force units are constantly cycling in and out of different conflict zones worldwide. With a few exceptions, servicemembers in almost every career field in the military have the potential to be sent on a temporary duty assignment for extended periods

  • Raptor program still flies

    Air Force officials said they will continue with the F/A-22 Raptor program. Fervor over the Army's cancellation of the $6.9 billion Comanche helicopter program Feb. 23 raised questions about the future of the Air Force's F/A-22, said the director of Air Force combat force capability requirements.

  • Cope India brings out fighter ops

    Residents who live in the nearby city of Gwalior are accustomed to the sounds of fighter-jet operations -- the noise of takeoff, landings and sonic booms. But the roar of U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle aircraft in the sky above this north central Indian air force station is something completely new.The

  • Strike Eagles make debut in Cope Tiger exercise

    Aircrews battling it out over Thailand during Cope Tiger ’04 are facing an unfamiliar foe. F-15E Strike Eagles are participating for the first time in the exercise’s 10-year history.“We can relate to all of the exercise players by virtue of flying a dual-role fighter with both air-to-air and

  • Leaders call for re-energized suicide-prevention efforts

    After 11 active-duty suicides since Jan. 1 and 14 during the final quarter of 2003, Air Force senior leaders are asking commanders and leaders across the service to assess and re-energize suicide prevention efforts at all levels. The 2003 calendar year suicide rate of 10.5 per 100,000 people was

  • Navs get you from here to there

    With today’s technology, navigators have become an endangered breed. One of a decreasing list of aircraft to use navigators is the C-130 Hercules, an aircraft that is playing an important role in moving people and supplies during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The role played by the navigator has

  • OSI comes face-to-face with evil

    For a group of specially trained airmen serving in Afghanistan, coming face-to-face with evil is just "another day at the office" as they conduct counterintelligence and anti-terrorism operations. Tasked with providing military leaders current, accurate information about enemy threats, the Air Force

  • Airmen train Navy's 'Rocky' to become contender

    In the 1980s, Rocky Balboa knocked out many contenders. At Charleston a new Rocky is poised to arise and become victorious in 2004.The 437th Security Forces Squadron canine unit here is helping the Charleston Naval Weapons Station develop a kennel program. The unit here has opened its doors to

  • B-24 pilot receives DFC, Air Medal

    A B-24 bomber pilot has finally received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal he earned in World War II. The presentation took place during a ceremony here recently that relived the perils airmen faced during the 1940s.Then a first lieutenant, Kenneth Kinsinger earned the Distinguished

  • Camera maintainers are two of a kind

    Endangered species are scattered around the world, sometimes in the least likely of places. The few hundred remaining mountain gorillas are found deep in the Congo. A few dozen Amur tigers exist in out-of-the-way Siberia. The surviving giant pandas are located in secluded southern China.But the

  • Barrier technicians ensure mission safety

    Their hard work and dedication is revealed in times of crisis, and throughout each flight mission, they are there.Mobile Aircraft Arresting System barrier technicians from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, are here for Cope India 04, the first bilateral dissimilar air combat exercise between the

  • Air Force Safety Center announces annual awards

    Air Force Safety Center officials recently named the Air Force Safety Award recipients for fiscal 2003.They are:-- Secretary of the Air Force Safety Award: Category I, U.S. Air Forces in Europe; Category II, U.S. Air Force Academy.-- Maj. Gen. Benjamin D. Foulois Memorial Award: Air Mobility

  • Air Force announces OTS selections

    Air Force officials selected 84 enlisted airmen to trade in their stripes for gold bars by choosing them to attend Officer Training School, officials here announced Feb. 18.OTS Selection Board 0403, which met here Jan. 13 to 16, considered 396 applications. The board selected 263 people, including

  • Deployed airmen represent honor, dignity

    The American flag waves in a light breeze, its bright colors standing out in stark contrast over the gray, cracked concrete of hardened, Soviet aircraft shelters that once represented a communist state. Below the flag, airmen wearing perfectly pressed desert camouflage uniforms stand at attention.

  • Sexual assault review panel visiting Sheppard

    A cross-functional review panel is examining reports of sexual assault by students at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas.Gen. Donald G. Cook, commander of Air Education and Training Command, selected Col. K.C. McClain, AETC deputy director of operations for technical training, to lead the panel's review

  • Goodwill project fosters relations

    Allied forces from the three countries participating in exercise Cope Tiger ’04 are fostering good relations in the local community by donating supplies to a rural Thai grade school.More than 1,370 servicemembers from the United States, Thailand and Singapore are taking part in the annual two-week,

  • Cope India 04 begins

    The first bilateral dissimilar air combat exercise between the U.S. Air Force and the Indian air force in more than 40 years began here Feb. 16. Approximately 150 airmen from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, are here for the exercise.Dissimilar AIR COMBAT TRAINING, otherwise known as DACT, is

  • AFMC pilot initiative aids test, operational worlds

    An Air Force Materiel Command initiative to trade more than 20 unfilled military pilot positions for civilian personnel funding may bring more experience to the test world while putting more pilots in operational aircraft.The trade allows AFMC officials to hire civilian test pilots, primarily

  • Cope Tiger exercise kicks off In Thailand

    Aviation units from the U.S. Air Force, Thailand and Singapore, as well as the U.S. Marine Corps, are honing their combat skills in exercise Cope Tiger ’04 here Feb. 16 to 27.More than 1,370 people, including 770 U.S. servicemembers and 600 servicemembers from Thailand and Singapore, are

  • Secretary reveals future systems at AFA symposium

    Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James G. Roche revealed a list of new focus areas, as well as planned changes to existing systems and proposals for new aircraft that could significantly increase the service’s lethality and effectiveness.The secretary laid out plans to improve special operations,

  • Eglin people deliver valentines to veterans

    Valentine’s Day came early for more than 200 local veterans.The veterans were recipients of “Valentines for Vets,” thanks to a program that was initiated by former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald Fogleman, as an offshoot from the National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans Week, fittingly Feb. 8

  • Human factor is primary cause of aviation mishaps

    The "human factor" is the primary cause of military aircraft mishaps.That testimony by Air Force Chief of Safety Maj. Gen. Kenneth W. Hess came as part of a congressional hearing on military aviation safety, Feb. 11, where safety directors from all four service branches testified before the House

  • Stretching program loosens up work force

    Robins workers will soon be loose and ready for whatever may come along thanks to a new stretch and flex program. The program provides a five- to six-minute series of stretching exercises before beginning work shifts and throughout the day as needed.The program's activities focus on musculoskeletal

  • Wrestler's eyes fixed on Athens

    Sitting in a quiet corner of the wrestling room at the Olympic Training Center, Jacob Hey stares into the bright yellow color of the floor mats mentally preparing himself to conquer his next obstacle.A year after successful reconstructive shoulder surgery, the Greco-Roman wrestler is back to 100

  • Soldiers experience Air Force military education

    The Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Gunter Annex here has some new faces among its students: those of Army soldiers.The Army is back after pulling its students out of other service senior NCO academies in 1998 to teach them exclusively at the Army Senior NCO Academy in Fort

  • Retired NCO credits blood donations for saving his life

    Blood drives are almost as common as commander's calls here because Air Force leaders stress the importance of donating blood.Retired Tech. Sgt. Derrick Duncan, a former jet-engine mechanic instructor here, knows better than most the significance of those lifesaving donations.Sergeant Duncan packed

  • Reserve system streamlines Air Force travel processing

    Accurate and secure records, universal e-mail copies of vouchers and possibly faster payouts are what Air Force travelers have to look forward to starting this spring.Financial management offices throughout the active-duty Air Force are set to begin using Air Force Reserve Command’s Reserve Travel

  • Storytelling serves as favorite pastime

    In Africa, storytelling is a tradition and a favorite pastime. After a hard day's work and after dinner, elders and children sit around the fire to tell stories.Some are fables with fictional characters, but others are true stories of great warriors from long ago.When Africans were captured and

  • Officials update enlistment test norms

    Department of Defense officials announced Feb. 6 that new norms for the enlistment test, Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, will be implemented this summer. The ASVAB is a multiple aptitude test battery originally designed to predict training and job performance in military occupations.

  • Test uniforms hit the streets

    Airmen at two bases will get a first-hand look at the proposed new utility uniform Feb. 9 when the tiger-striped blue-, green- and gray-patterned ensemble begins its wear-test phase.Officials will deliver the distinctive uniforms to testers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and Langley AFB,

  • Doors open for active duty to join Air Force Reserve

    The Air Force is opening doors and modifying programs to give people leaving active duty an opportunity to continue their military careers in the Air Force Reserve.As the active force tries to reduce manning by about 16,600, the Air Force Reserve is seeking to hire many of those experienced airmen

  • Special operators recount Iraq missions

    Multiservice special operations troops have led the way to victory in overseas campaigns during the war against terrorism, a senior U.S. military officer said.Special operators' expertise was a factor in driving the Taliban out of Afghanistan as well as in the ouster of former Iraqi dictator Saddam

  • Air Force, FAA continue air traffic control modernization efforts

    Air Force sites in Michigan and Arizona joined the growing list of airfields replacing aging legacy air traffic control systems with state-of-the-art technology through the National Airspace System upgrade.The Alpena Air National Guard Combat Readiness Training Center in Michigan and Luke Air Force

  • Security forces announces annual award winners

    The deputy chief of staff for air and space operations recently announced the 2003 Air Force Outstanding Security Forces Individual Award winners.These annual awards recognize the top security forces members in each category.The 2003 winners are:Career field-wide award:-- Col. Billy Jack Carter

  • Basic trainees now clean M-16s in new facility

    A recently completed 9,000-square-foot facility here has added a few hours and a new activity to the Air Force basic training program: M-16 cleaning.The more than 40,000 trainees who attend basic training each year will now use the $365,000 weapons cleaning pavilion to clean their rifles after

  • Emulator boosts GPS training

    Gone are the days of using a compass for direction finding.Now, through a constellation of 29 satellites, warfighters, banks, automobile drivers and others benefit from the Air Force's technological advancements with the Global Positioning System.Owned and operated by the Air Force, GPS provides

  • International student training requests increase

    The business of training international students is booming for a small unit here.Requests for globetrotting teams from the Air Force Security Assistance Training Squadron have skyrocketed in recent months with the expansion of the global war on terrorism.Already this year, AFSAT is ahead of pace to

  • Combat Flightline keeps C-130s flying

    The year was 1965. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was still alive and man had yet to land on the moon. Amazingly, most of the C-130E Hercules aircraft currently based here were flying in 1965; many were used during the Vietnam conflict. Like a car, these aircraft will last longer and perform better

  • Leave program helps activated fed employees

    Federal employees who are called up by a Reserve or National Guard unit to support a contingency can use special leave to supplement lost wages.They can receive their civilian income instead of military pay for 22 days if their civil service job pays more than the military.“Although not new to the

  • New dining facility opens in Iraq

    After several months of planning and construction, the new dining facility here officially opened for business Jan. 27. The facility broke ground in early December and served its first meal Jan. 22. With a full-sized kitchen, serving lines and a highly trained professional staff, Maj. Robert

  • K-2 airmen use innovation to prevent ‘Groundhog Day’

    For 25 members of the aerial port flight here, every day would be "Groundhog Day" if they focused only on the day-to-day task of moving passengers and cargo. But for this team from the Nevada Air National Guard's 152nd Airlift Wing, the mission is not just loading and unloading aircraft, it is

  • 'Force shaping' means some can leave active duty early

    There is good news for thousands of airmen considering leaving active duty who thought they could not because of existing service obligations.An effort dubbed "force shaping" is opening the exit doors to officers and enlisted servicemembers in select career fields and year groups by waiving some

  • Air Force boxer takes national crown

    The Air Force has its first national boxing champion since Jerome Bennett in 1977.James Johnson, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, took home the title in the 165-pound weight class at the 2004 Everlast U.S. Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo., recently.Johnson won four fights on his way

  • Multimedia shop keeps focus

    An airman peers through the lens of the weapon, anticipating the moment the target is in sight. The target steps off the plane. “Closer,” the airman murmurs as her eye shoots back and forth in the lens, checking the scene. Her finger squeezes gently. Click. She shoots, and another distinguished

  • Civil engineers’ work noticed every day

    Every day, airmen of the 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron are seen doing a multitude of tasks, from digging trenches for electrical wiring to setting up restroom facilities.The unit’s accomplishments can be noticed when one makes a 2 a.m. trip to the restroom and comes face to face with a

  • Now showing: Feb. 2 edition of AFTV News

    The growing effect long activations are having on reservists and Air National Guardsmen spotlights the latest edition of Air Force Television News. Staff Sgt. Melissa Allan visits a reservist at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., whose family is trying to decide if re-enlistment is an option because of

  • TO management becoming easier

    Ever receive an update to a technical order that is out of sequence? For instance, update No. 11 came after update No. 12 rather than before.Ever ask for a specific technical order and never receive it? Technical orders provide the blueprint maintainers use for the upkeep of aircraft in the Air

  • Commander selections get boost

    The latest 503 officers selected as support commanders highlights a new way of identifying future commanders using force development, said Air Force Personnel Center officials here."Squadron commanders are the heart and soul of the Air Force and support command is a prestigious leadership position,"

  • Guard legal team working hard

    For some, the base legal office is a place to take care of wills or powers of attorney, but the office staff here does a lot more than that.Lt. Col. Brent Wright, an Oklahoma Air National Guard staff judge advocate, and Master Sgt. Mary Alice Rebis, a New York ANG paralegal, are teamed together to

  • Reservist selected for NASA crew

    A reserve officer assigned to the F-16 Fighting Falcon system program office here is one of four NASA astronauts named to fly on space shuttle mission STS-121. The mission, planned for November, will follow a shuttle mission scheduled for September. Making his first flight into space will be

  • February issue of Citizen Airman available

    Air Force Reserve Command's 908th Airlift Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., is on the leading edge of the Air Force's effort to modernize its fleet of C-130 Hercules aircraft.C-130H-2s from the 908th, along with C-130E models from the Idaho Air National Guard's 124th Wing in Boise, will be the

  • Airmen test skills on Korean peninsula

    More than 100 airmen, 12 F-15 Eagles and three KC-135 Stratotankers returned to Kadena Air Base, Japan, on Jan. 27 after a four-day deployment here. The mission was a test of the 18th Wing’s ability to deploy during a scheduled operational readiness exercise that began at Kadena on Jan. 24 and is

  • Randolph gets its first T-38C

    The first T-38C Talon destined for operations in the 12th Flying Training Wing touched down here Jan. 21 at 10:06 a.m.There were no brass bands or flag-carrying marchers to greet the new arrival. In fact, the small cluster of people waiting on the ramp gave no hint of the importance of the event.

  • New software eases workload

    Advanced software technology has arrived at the 43rd Fighter Squadron that will soon benefit all of Tyndall and beyond.Known as the Combat Crew Training Management System, the automatic tracking program checks the progress of F/A-22 Raptor students, what stage of training they have completed, and

  • Targeting pods bolster F-16 training

    The 149th Fighter Wing received something Jan. 14 that will literally put its current class of F-16 fighter pilots right on target with their training.The unit will be the first in the Air Force to graduate pilots from the F-16 Fighting Falcon basic course with targeting-pod training. The enhanced

  • Firefighters keep flames at bay

    Sixty seconds. Just 60 seconds is all it takes for a fire to decimate a tent in a deployed environment.But the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing’s team of firefighters is here to prevent that from happening. The team has many missions, but fire prevention is the most critical so the team never has to

  • Escorts keep base safe

    When it comes down to getting the mission done, there are few things more valuable than a reliable force multiplier.Each day dozens of mostly one-, two- and three-stripe airmen provide the multiple necessary to ensure base functions continue unimpeded. Wearing arm bands identifying them as “Force

  • Changes in law environmental friendly

    Portions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2004 make it easier for the Air Force to execute its mission while protecting the environment at the same time.The act includes language allowing the National Fish and Wildlife Service to legally consider measures that may already be in

  • AF creates personnel system team

    The Air Force has formed a team to implement the Defense Department’s most dramatic civilian personnel system transformation in the last 50 years.The National Security Personnel System gives DOD managers the flexibility to place civilian workers where they are needed most, without delay. It reduces

  • Battlefield calls go through MacDill

    American military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan reach for their satellite phones when they want clear, secure and fast communications. More often than not, the operator who patches through their calls is sitting in a building here.People at the one-stop-shop Regional Satcom Support Center here

  • Forces prepare for Yama Sakura

    U.S. airmen and Japan self-defense forces are gearing up for exercise Yama Sakura ‘04 taking place here Jan. 25 to 31. Yama Sakura is an annual joint/bilateral command post exercise, and is one of the most important simulation-driven, force-on-force battle staff training exercises in Japan, said

  • Dental techs to train as hygienists

    The Air Force has teamed up with Trident Technical College in Charleston to send dental technicians to an Air Force-sponsored dental hygiene training scholarship program.Tech. Sgt. Alycia Miller from Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, and Staff Sgt. Noreena Svoboda from McChord AFB, Wash., are the

  • Air traffic controllers own Iraqi sky

    From American and coalition aircraft to civilian airliners now traveling through the Iraqi airspace, the number of aircraft coming and going over Iraq has increased exponentially in the last year. In southern Iraq, 19 Air Force air traffic controllers here are ensuring the safety of the aircraft

  • Simulator gives airmen realistic training

    A new simulator is providing realistic, localized training for 72nd Operations Support Squadron air traffic controllers here.The simulator gives airmen the opportunity to operate in a computer-based environment before they take the helm in the tower.“Our new controllers customize what they have

  • Academy aircraft return to flight

    Forty-five aircraft previously grounded amid safety concerns were cleared for normal flight operations Jan. 17. Air Force officials regained confidence in the contract maintenance program and permanent fixes were established for all discrepancies identified.Three UV-18 Twin Otter aircraft of the

  • Tactical controllers stand strong

    For Air Force tactical air control party airmen, "The strong will stand, the weak will fall by the wayside," is more than just a motto; it serves as a battle cry.Wherever American military forces are found, TACP airmen are usually nearby. Unofficially nicknamed the "Air Force infantry" because they

  • Back pain becomes Childs’ play

    Capt. John Childs, a physical therapist, is literally taking on a pain in the backside. By studying how patients respond to certain treatments, Captain Childs is aiming to reduce lower back pain, a condition that afflicts millions of Americans.Captain Childs, an Air Force Institute of Technology