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  • In reflection: A look back at Operation Allies Refuge

    August marks the one-year anniversary of Operation Allies Refuge, the largest non-combatant evacuation operation in U.S. history to date. A photo retrospective of the event and the service members who moved heaven and Earth to finish the mission.

  • 557th Weather Wing flexes its global capabilities

    Resolute Support Mission was established to help the Afghan security forces and allied nations develop the capacity to defend Afghanistan and protect its citizens. At its peak, the 557th Weather Wing was supporting approximately 10,000 personnel from 36 NATO allies and partner countries.

  • AF Year in Photos

    This year's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This annual feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • AFIMSC helps Afghan civilians start new lives

    Numerous Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center teams have played a key role in Operation Allies Welcome, the evacuation and resettlement of thousands of Afghans and other civilians from Afghanistan.

  • Kessel Run's C2IMERA used during Afghan evacuation

    C2IMERA, which stands for Command and Control Incident Management Emergency Response Application, is an application focused on reporting, planning, force generation, emergency management, and command and control monitoring and execution.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • DAF Joint Statement on Afghanistan Airport attack

    On behalf of the entire Department of the Air Force, our heartfelt sympathies go to the loved ones of the brave American service members killed and wounded in today’s terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. Our hearts are heavy for their sacrifice as they endeavored to bring hope to thousands seeking a

  • Operation Allies Refuge: Ramstein AB transforms into major evac hub

    Following the rapid deterioration of security in Afghanistan, the first of many aircraft carrying U.S. citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants and other vulnerable Afghans landed at the installation Aug. 20 as part of Operation Allies Refuge. Since then, Ramstein AB has received more than 11,000

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • 19th AW C-130J crew awarded for heroism on deployment

    On May 10, a C-130J Super Hercules aircrew assigned to Little Rock Air Force Base’s 61st Airlift Squadron was awarded one Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals for their decisive actions and outstanding airmanship displayed under hazardous conditions while deployed to Afghanistan Sept. 19,

  • Special tactics training complex dedicated to fallen STO

    To honor a fallen special tactics officer’s actions and courageous leadership, the 24th Special Operations Wing along with friends and family hosted a dedication ceremony in Capt. Matthew Roland’s honor, May 6 at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

  • A harrowing night in Afghanistan

    While deployed in Afghanistan in the winter of 2019, Staff Sgt. Michael Rogers, 57th Rescue Squadron pararescueman, was tasked to recover personnel when required.

  • ‘Lucky 13’ reaches its End of Mission

    “Please be advised that, just a few hours ago, EDet 2413/Task Force Black, Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, officially powered down comm(unication)s and closed its doors for the last time. After 19 years, the legend has reached End of Mission. Here’s to all of our members who have been part of this

  • Air advisor receives 2019 Lance P. Sijan Leadership Award

    Lt. Col. Carl Miller, now the deputy chief of the special missions division at Headquarters, Air Education and Training Command, won the award for his achievements while deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, leading the execution of a $1.5 billion security assistance program as commander of the 538th Air

  • SecAF, CSAF visit Bagram Airfield to thank Airmen

    As part of their first trip together to the U.S. Air Forces Central Command area of responsibility, Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein stopped by Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, to meet with and thank Airmen assigned to the 455th Air

  • No effort spared to bring wounded Soldier home

    In mid-August, Air Mobility Command’s 618th Air Operations Center was notified of an injured Soldier in need of urgent aeromedical evacuation out of Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. Immediately, AOC Airmen started to build a mission – REACH 797 – to help save one Soldier whose survival was in question

  • 349th ARS secures Air Force-level award

    The Senior Master Sgt. Albert Evans Outstanding Air Refueling Section Award is presented every year to the top boom operator section in the Air Force. This is the first time the 349th ARS has won the award.

  • AF Week in Photos

    This week's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Air Force transitions enlisted specialty, grows special tactics capabilities

    By combining the core skills of special operations forces with their meteorology skills, SOWTs have been a critical asset to the war on terror. Alongside special tactics teammates from forward deployed locations, SOWTs would gather, assess and interpret environmental to forecast weather impacts to

  • Reserve spouse to memorialize fallen EOD Airman

    Bronze statues can be seen almost anywhere but one rarely hears the amazing stories behind their creation.The spouse of a Reserve Airman here at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, recently sculpted a bust of Senior Airman Daniel Johnson, 30th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal

  • BACN improves communication for deployed troops

    There is an aircraft that is so unique, you can only find it in one place – not even the pilots who fly the aircraft can touch it until they are deployed to this specific location.

  • Chapman honored with aircraft dedication

    The Air Force dedicated a Boeing C-32 Master Sgt. John Chapman, during a ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Florida, Oct. 26. Chapman was a special tactics combat controller who was posthumously presented the Medal of Honor in August.

  • Phantom of Takur Ghar: The Predator above Roberts Ridge

    A once quiet landscape turned battlefield, the clash of gunfire and shouts ripped through the Shahi-Kot Valley in the early hours of March 4, 2002. As part of an early war effort that targeted al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan, the Battle of Roberts Ridge is still known as one of the

  • Airman posthumously receives Medal of Honor

    The White House announced July 27, 2018, that Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Chapman will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor Aug. 22, for his extraordinary heroism during the Battle of Takur Ghar, Afghanistan, in March 2002.

  • Airman to be awarded Medal of Honor

    President Donald Trump will posthumously award the Medal of Honor to the family of a fallen U.S. Air Force Special Tactics Combat Controller at a ceremony Aug. 22 for his extraordinary heroism in March 2002 while deployed to Afghanistan.

  • AFCENT Airmen Kept Pressure on Taliban, ISIS in May

    U.S. Air Forces Central Command published its monthly Airpower Summary June 18th, highlighting U.S. and coalition airpower operations in May, 2018, in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

  • Around the Air Force: June 11

    On this look Around the Air Force we talk with Warrior Games athletes and the Afghan Air Force conducts its first emergency combat airdrop. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Angelo Rosario.

  • Air Force Cross Airman honors Intelligence Squadron legacy

    Heritage. It doesn’t have to be something tangible handed down, it can also be something that gives a sense of pride and belonging. In September 1944, the 11th Photographic Technical Unit was constituted, and on May 18, 2018, an Air Force Cross recipient, Master Sgt. Robert Gutierrez Jr., assisted

  • 24 Airmen awarded DFCs at Hurlburt Field

    There were 808 lives that hung in the balance as terrorists launched coordinated attacks against friendly forces. Joint special operations teams were exposed and under duress as AC-130U Spooky Gunship crews circled above, pushing the limits of gun barrels to the melting point and providing precision

  • Leaving the AOR on their own terms

    Eight wounded warriors, who have visible and invisible injuries from combat, were on a mission to find closure by returning to the place of their traumatic incident through Operation Proper Exit, April 4-8, 2018.

  • Fairfield to the front lines: Honoring Air Force heritage

    The aircraft was a C-5M Super Galaxy assigned to the 22nd Airlift Squadron, and its 11-person crew was all African-American. This historic mission was created to honor the heritage of the Tuskegee Airmen and to showcase the capability of Travis AFB to deliver cargo from the U.S. to the front lines

  • C-17 crews help realign assets to Afghanistan

    A C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, located at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, has its belly full of shipping containers and pallets of equipment belonging to the Army’s Bravo Company, 244th Military Intelligence Battalion. The load is moving from Iraq to

  • 386th ELRS moves thousands of passengers, cargo

    The Air Force is required to move hundreds of thousands of tons of cargo a year in support of military operations around the world. The importance of this mission is clear for the men and women who serve the 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron.

  • EOD Airman receives Purple Heart

    More than 10 years after his injury, Tech. Sgt. Douglas Smits, 90th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal team leader, received a Purple Heart medal at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, Jan. 5, 2018.

  • Around the Air Force: Dec. 29

    On this look around the Air Force deployed service members are treated with a USO show and Vandenberg Air Force Base assists in a Space X Falcon 9 launch. Hosted by Airman 1st Class Jasmine Vanderheyden.

  • Heroic "Spooky 43" aircrew receives the Mackay Trophy

    On Nov. 2, 2016, fourteen AC-130U Gunship crewmembers provided close-air-support to a U.S. Special Forces team and 43 Afghan soldiers near Kunduz, Afghanistan. The crew's persistent fire support, presence of mind and courage during two hours of intense combat ultimately saved 50 lives.

  • Special Tactics Airmen survey airfields to gain an operational advantage

    Special Tactics Airmen from Air Force Special Operations Command conducted multiple airfield surveys with their Afghan Air Force counterparts in Faryab province this week. Airfield surveys are executed prior to the arrival of special operations and conventional aircraft to traditional airfields and

  • EOD Airman finds balance on the ice

    A jolt of energy rushed through his veins. “Hold still, don’t move,” he screamed. A land mine had been dusted off by the impact of his team leader’s right boot. Instantly, training kicked in; Knelange and his team started the procedure to safely get their fellow Airman away from the land mine and

  • In harm’s way: Providing spiritual support

    Thousands of feet above Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, two Airmen, riding in a helicopter, wearing more than 75 pounds of gear, hover around the city before landing. These Airmen are not pararescuemen or tactical air control party—they’re a chaplain and chaplain assistant. After landing, they

  • Defenders deescalate situation downrange, prevent potential catastrophe

    Airmen 1st Class Drew and Giovanni, who are flightline security element members with the 451st Expeditionary Support Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, recently had to deescalate a potentially volatile situation where they had mere seconds to make a possibly life-altering decision.

  • Foreign-born Airmen deploy, live their American dream

    The Air Force is proud of its diversity, providing Airmen the opportunity to live and visit places they never would imagine going and working with people from all walks of life. Two Airmen, who are deployed to Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, as part of the 451st Expeditionary Support Squadron, are

  • Finding a way to win

    It was a temperate day at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan when Lt. Col. Craig Andrle and his wingman, Capt. Adam Fuhrmann, began walking across the flightline to their soon-to-be airborne F-16CM Fighting Falcons.

  • First combat MQ-1, MQ-9 wing celebrates 10 years at Creech AFB

    The 432nd Wing celebrated their 10th anniversary at Creech Air Force Base as a combat remotely piloted aircraft wing May 1, 2017. In attendance was Gen. Mike Holmes, the Air Combat Command commander, Col. Case Cunningham, the 432nd WG/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing commander, and 400 Airmen of the

  • Goldfein presents two Air Force Crosses

    A 7-foot bronze statue stood prominently over a sea of multicolored berets, flanked by the 21st chief of staff of the Air Force and the Air Force’s newest Air Force Cross recipients.Two Airmen, whose heroics were separated by 11 years and 100 miles in the same war zone, solidified a special tactics

  • U.S. bombs, destroys Khorasan group stronghold in Afghanistan

    At 7:32 p.m. local time April 13, 2017, U.S. Forces Afghanistan conducted a strike on an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan tunnel complex in Achin district, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, as part of ongoing efforts to defeat ISIS-K in Afghanistan, according to a U.S. Forces Afghanistan news

  • AFIMSC civilian honored for heroism

    Greg Gangnuss, a civilian member of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center, was on a voluntary deployment to Afghanistan as a senior environmental adviser for the Ministry of Defense Advisor Program when a helicopter carrying nine coalition members crashed after striking a cable while

  • Around the Air Force: Feb. 14

    On this look around the Air Force, Airmen at Beale Air Force Base, California, assist evacuees displaced by Oroville Dam spillage and security forces advisors train Afghan airmen.

  • JTACs enable aerial reaction force mission

    Joint terminal air controllers from the 817th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Squadron out of Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, recently began a partnership with Task Force Fighting Eagle’s aerial reaction force to provide JTAC capabilities to their missions.

  • Around the Air Force: Nov. 15

    On this look around the Air Force the 301st Fighter Wing returns home from Afghanistan, Airmen participate in exercise Tonnerre Lightning, and Airmen and firefighters attend an emergency medical technician course.

  • Colorado stands in for Afghanistan during pilot training

    The 81st Fighter Squadron from Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, spent two weeks at Peterson AFB training six Afghan Air Force pilots to fly A-29 Super Tucano. The pilots are participating in a program that began in 2015 and will ultimately train 30 pilots and 90 maintainers through 2018. Most training

  • Goldfein honors Airmen, discusses priorities in Afghanistan visit

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein visited Airmen deployed to Afghanistan on Aug. 12. During his visit, Goldfein recognized several Airmen for outstanding performance and held an all call discussing his top priorities and the future of the Air Force.

  • Goldfein talks air coalition ops during CENTCOM region visit

    Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein recently visited the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility to get a sense of not only how the campaign is going as a member of the joint chiefs but also to get an understanding of how he can better support Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and

  • Carter announces more US support for Afghan forces

    U.S. forces in Afghanistan now will be able to boost support for Afghan conventional forces with more firepower and by accompanying and advising them on the ground and in the air, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said June 15 in Brussels.

  • That others may live: Silver Star medal for fallen Airman, son

    Capt. Matthew Roland, of the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, posthumously received the Silver Star on June 1 for actions taken during an ambush Aug. 26, 2015, in Afghanistan. Roland's family accepted the decoration on behalf of the fallen special tactics officer.

  • Cody engages with deployed Airmen

    Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Cody engaged with Airmen deployed to Afghanistan in support of the NATO Resolute Support mission and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel from April 4-6 through a series of Q&A format all calls, small group discussions and personal site visits.

  • Cadets, special tactics Airmen honor fallen Academy grad

    More than 150 special tactics Airmen and U.S. Air Force Academy cadets honored fallen Academy graduate and Silver Star medal recipient Capt. Matthew D. Roland, dedicating a memorial display and completing memorial pushups in formation here March 30.

  • TAAC-Air work with Afghan AF to build sustainable force

    A small group of Train Advise Assist Command–Air advisors make up the 441st and 442nd air expeditionary advisory squadrons at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Both squadrons are focused on working shoulder to shoulder with the Afghan Air Force to develop a professional, capable and sustainable air

  • MQ-9 crashes in Afghanistan

    An MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 451st Air Expeditionary Group, part of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, crashed Feb. 20 at about 9 p.m. Afghanistan time, at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

  • Comm Airmen keep $84M network running

    With hundreds of thousands of megabytes of data whizzing along miles of fiber optic wire, only stopping briefly to be digested by a network computer before blazing off to its next destination, managing this cyber domain requires a skilled team of expertly trained individuals; in the case of a

  • Chester McBride: A true wingman

    Phillips Brooks, the American Episcopal clergyman who authored "O Little Town of Bethlehem," once said, "Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones." The quote from a renowned Christian lyricist mirrors the life of Air Force Special Agent Chester McBride,

  • OSI eulogizes fallen heroes from its 'darkest day'

    More than 650 people overflowed the U.S. Marine Memorial Chapel here Jan. 7 to mourn the loss and remember the lives of the six Airmen killed by a suicide bomber near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Dec. 21.

  • Deployed loadmasters fix problems ‘on the fly’

    A weasel is characterized by its tenacity, persistence and keen senses. It is an animal also known for its ability to react quickly in any given situation. An airlift squadron at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, shares these characteristics. Airmen of the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron encompass

  • Air Force Medical Service’s Year in Review

    In 2015, the doctors, nurses and technicians of the Air Force Medical Service (AFMS) made a difference in the Air Force’s mission, while new AFMS technologies and training exercises ensured air and space superiority.

  • Bagram honors fallen Airmen

    Service members from Bagram Airfield came together Dec. 23 to honor the memories of six Airmen killed in an improvised explosive device attack two days earlier.