Getting Dirty:
The top enlisted man in the Air Force took a turn loading one of the guns on an Air Force Special Operations Command AC-130H gunship during an orientation flight out of Hurlburt Field, Fla., last week. CMSAF Rodney McKinley called...
Reserve F-16 Crashes:
An Air Force Reserve Command F-16 crashed in the Florida straits about 75 miles south-southeast of Homestead ARB, Fla., around 11 a.m. on Monday. The pilot, assigned to AFRC’s 482nd Fighter Wing at Homestead, ejected safely. The Sun Sentinel reports...
No Better Joint Example:
US Central Command Air Forces leader, Lt. Gen. Gary North, traveled to Afghanistan last week, visiting with airmen at various locations, including those serving in unconventional roles on Provincial Reconstruction Teams. On his stopover at the Mehtar Lam PRT, one...
Tankers Need DLA:
The Air Logistics Center charged with maintaining the Air Force’s KC-135 tanker fleet knows it needs the help of the Defense Logistics Agency to keep the 40-plus year old aircraft operational. Michele Rachie, deputy director of the 827th Aircraft Sustainment...
50 and Counting:
Air Force Space Command notes that the March 8 Atlas V launch of six experimental satellites was the 50th consecutive successful launch for the Air Force space program. AFSPC’s Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB, Calif., joined with...
Money is No Problem:
Adm. William Fallon says China is “sitting on the largest cash hoard in the world,” and Beijing aims to use it to continue purchasing weapons and developing systems, “like this anti-satellite shot,” that’s “clearly designed to counter our capabilities.” However,...
No Surprise:
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Jane Harmon (D-Calif.) believe the US must respond to Beijing’s recent anti-satellite test, which they both said should have come as no surprise. Sharing the stage at a recent Center for Strategic and International...
Army’s Kiley to Retire:
Embroiled in the ongoing brouhaha over the treatment and bureaucratic quagmire faced by war wounded outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Army Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, has decided to retire. Defense Secretary Robert Gates earlier accepted...
Vets Deserve “Timely Response”:
Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, says it is “not acceptable” that the VA has nearly 400,000 rating claims awaiting processing and that it takes 175 days to process a claim for benefits. “Veterans deserve a...
Promotions to Senior Up a Bit:
The Air Force has selected 1,282 master sergeants to advance to senior master sergeant, slightly increasing the selection rate from 8.63 percent last year to 8.77 percent. The promotion board considered 14,626 master sergeants in making its selections.
A New Kingpin in Town:
Airmen from the 728th Air Control Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla., are controlling aircraft over Iraq, operating the center known as Kingpin at Balad AB, Iraq. It’s not the unit’s first time. Last year, the Eglin crew “surveyed, identified, and...
Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism
March 8-9, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 27 14 41 CAS/Armed Recon 95 89 184 Airlift 310 310 Air refueling 78 78 Total 122 103 388 613 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance