Hometown Politics

At word that the Air Force is trying to corral—instill some sanity, would be more descriptive—the large unmanned aerial vehicle market within DOD, the Army and friends in Alabama have taken offense. Alabama politicians fear loss of program funding and...

Who’s on Top of the Jammer Gap?

Repeated questioning by lawmakers on an acknowledged gap in stand-off jamming has yielded only two concrete facts: 1) The gap will exist between 2012 and 2015; 2) no one at DOD has a solution yet. The Air Force is revamping...

It’s Still a Question of Short-term Economics:

Three analyses of the efficacy of sustaining two engine-makers for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter have produced one vote for and two against. The lone advocate is the Government Accountability Office, whose representative told a House panel last week, that...

Bring Back Burlington Model:

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) wants the Air Force to reinstitute the program that places young active duty airmen in communities like Burlington, Vt., to learn the finer points of their trades from veteran Air National Guardsmen. Leahy commented at a...

Trade you an E for an H?:

Another Senator at the appropriations panel hearing expressed concern that the Air Force has caused an Air Guard readiness problem by leaving some ANG C-130 aircraft in Southwest Asia. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) questioned whether the Air Force “has the...

The C-5s Are Crimping C-17 Buy:

Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne left no doubt that he wants to buy more C-17s, but the Congressional restriction on retiring any C-5s is holding the Air Force hostage. He told Senate appropriators last week, “It bothers me greatly to...

Another Officer VSP Extension:

The Air Force has decided to extend the deadline for officers to apply for Voluntary Separation Pay to May 31, just a couple of weeks after making the cutoff March 31. The service still plans to hold a Reduction in...

Ducks Downed Trainer:

An Air Force accident investigation board has determined that Mallard ducks caused a T-38 crash on Jan. 18 some 40 miles south of Memphis, Tenn. The Commercial Dispatch reports that the ducks “shattered the cockpit canopy” of the T-38, which...

Manas Airmen Aid Locals:

Airmen deployed to Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, helped deliver humanitarian supplies to Kyrgyz citizens last week. A C-17 airlifted some 22,000 pounds of tents, blankets, stoves, heaters, gloves, and more from Ramstein AB, Germany, to Manas, where about 25 airmen volunteered...

On the Road with Indiana Guard:

Journalists from the Tribune Star report on the work being done by Indiana Air and Army National Guardsmen who have traveled to southern California under the Administration’s Operation Jump Start to aid the Border Patrol. The Guardsmen have been working...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

March 22-23, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 27 17 44 CAS/Armed Recon 127 91 218 Airlift 295 295 Air refueling 85 85 Total 154 108 380 642 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance