As the Pentagon continues the drawdown of 23,000 troops from Afghanistan by summer’s end, senior leaders will have to work extra hard to ensure they have the right mix of personnel still on the ground there, said Maj. Gen. Tod...

The ongoing drawdown of combat forces in Afghanistan is not expected to affect two of the US military’s core operational requirements there: readily evacuating wounded troops to the nearest hospital facility and quickly having a close air support asset overhead,...

This month’s removal of two influential Afghan security officials may hinder the momentum of military operations against anti-government insurgents in Afghanistan, said Maj. Gen. Tod Wolters, who oversaw US air activities there from May 2011 to this May. Former Defense...

The Air Force announced that it successfully activated the communications payload on the second Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite on Aug. 14, four days after the satellite arrived at its intended station in geostationary orbit. "During payload activation, the payload wings and antennas were deployed, and the payload processors were initialized and verified in preparation for on-orbit test," states the release from service space officials at Los Angeles AFB, Calif. The military communications satellite's on-orbit test phase will occur over the next two months to validate its performance prior to it commencing operations as part of the combined constellation of Milstar and AEHF satellites, according to the release. Airmen activated the payload from the AEHF command and control site located at Schriever AFB, Colo. Lockheed Martin is the prime AEHF contractor. AEHF-2, launched into space in May, joined AEHF-1, which completed its on-orbit testing earlier this year.

US Northern Command pressed two additional C-130s into service to help the US Forest Service fight worsening wildfires in the western United States. The command activated two Modular Firefighting System-equipped C-130s from the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing...

A key component of implementing the Obama Administration’s new defense strategic guidance, which places more emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region, is strengthening military-to-military ties with India, according to US Pacific Command officials. “We hope to partner with [India] to share...

Duluth-based F-16s of the Minnesota Air National Guard’s 148th Fighter Wing deployed to Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, on a two-month close-air-support rotation. The deployment is the unit’s first since completing a two-year conversion from older F-16s to newer F-16 Block 50...

Eight B-52s of the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, La., are dropping 16 precision-guided weapons this week during the final phase of the unit’s weapons standards evaluation program activities at the Utah Test and Training Range. During Combat Hammer,...

Newly released Air Force Instruction 1-1, Air Force Standards, is meant to serve as a one-stop source for standards-related guidelines on the conduct, performance, and discipline expected of every uniformed airman. The instruction, signed and certified by former Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz who retired last week, consolidates in a single document many standards previously outlined in multiple documents, according to an Aug. 13 release. "The intention is to serve as a compass, providing a convenient overview of standards, while directing airmen to other instructions where more detailed information may be found," states the release. Schwartz directed the Air Staff to develop the new instruction last December. "Every airman should periodically review these standards of conduct to assure he is living up to what the Air Force expects of him every day," said Scott Martin, a legal advisor to Schwartz who played a large role in drafting the 27-page document, which is dated Aug. 7. (Andrews report by TSgt. Shawn J. Jones) (AFI 1-1 full text; caution, large-sized file.)