The Air Force’s premier fighter aircraft, along with more than 150 airmen from Langley AFB, Va., have traveled to Hill AFB, Utah, for the first deployment of an F/A-22 squadron. Air Combat Command sent Langley’s 27th Fighter Squadron, the initial...

Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan continues to serve as the focal point for much of the US earthquake-relief aid to Pakistan. Operation Enduring Freedom’s Combined Joint Task Force 76 has orchestrated relief efforts, including the first remote airdrop on Oct....

Raytheon has successfully demonstrated its first captive-carry test of the new Block II version of the Joint Standoff Weapon. An F-16 flew the test out of Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., last week. The new block expands the payload options...

Maj. John Groves, an MH-53 Pave Low pilot assigned to Ft. Bragg, N.C., has received the Cheney Award for heroic actions under hostile fire. Groves went to the rescue of a second MH-53 that was shot down in Iraq, while...

James Bell, Boeing’s chief financial officer, recently cast doubt on whether the Boeing 767 will be the company’s entrant in the anticipated tanker replacement competition. He said this not because it couldn’t do the job, but because he thinks it’s...

NATO has said it will send out a rapid reaction force to aid earthquake relief operations in Pakistan, according to the London Daily Telegraph. There’s just no indication when that might be. A senior NATO official told the Telegraph that...

In response to a question from military personnel at MacDill AFB, Fla., Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld expressed concern about weapons entering Iraq from Iran. Saying weapons from Iran “of recent vintage” did not “just walk” into Iraq, Rumsfeld questioned the...

Despite the rancor between officials in Washington and Tehran, the two enemies are cooperating. Airmen from McGuire AFB, N.J., had deployed to Pakistan to help with earthquake relief efforts. However, the US troops jumped right in to help unload earthquake...

The Chinese Foreign Ministry notes that Rumsfeld’s first visit to Beijing will take place from Tuesday to Thursday. Among the topics of discussion, says spokesman Kong Quan, will be “bilateral and military relations between the two countries.” He also says,...

A Pentagon report on the strength and progress of Iraq’s security forces delivered to Congress two days before the countrywide constitutional referendum notes improvement in the overall ability of security forces. More than 192,000 Iraqi security forces are trained and equipped, which is a 12 percent increase from July. According to Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., the joint staff’s director for plans and policy, the number has increased since the report’s cutoff date and now the total numbers of security forces are between 199,000 and 200,000. Renuart notes that the “insurgency is a fight that will continue.” The Iraqi people seem much more willing to aid that fight; they have provided a “dramatic increase in intelligence tips” over the past few months, according to the report. (See the tip chart here.)

The Air Force medical corps has fine-tuned a battlefield surgical capability—the Mobile Forward Surgical Team—that can deploy within 24-48 hours with 2,000 pounds of gear, enough to conduct 10 critical or 20 less-critical surgeries. It can be ready to operate...

Almost a year since the Joint National Training Capability achieved initial operational capability, US Joint Forces Command officials say the JNTC is progressively shifting joint training into a persistent global infrastructure. The plan includes accrediting and certifying existing service exercises...

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have reached an out-of-court settlement over the two contractors’ pursuit of a critical Air Force program—the Distributed Common Ground System. The DCGS is designed to enable direct data transfer from intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance aircraft to warfighters on the...

There’s a new Veterans Affairs program called “Fulfilling the Commitment—Coming Home to Work” that VA officials hope will make it easier for veterans returning from duty in the Global War on Terror to make the transition back to civilian life....

President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld feted employers who have gone to extraordinary lengths to support their deployed Guard and Reserve workers. Factors leading to their selection ranged from providing pay differentials to extending health care. Sixteen employers received 2005...

When the Air Force Uniform board meets Oct. 20-21 for the first time since June 2003, members plan to address several issues, among them: the new battle dress uniform—the subdued blue one—and the physical training uniform. We can’t wait to...

October 13, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 13 5 – 18 CAS/Armed Recon 62 22 – 84 Airlift – – 160 160 Air refueling – – 36 36 Total 75 27 196 298 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...