Japan Lifts Ban on Collective Self Defense

By Marc V. Schanz
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the end of a constitutional ban on Japanese troops fighting abroad Tuesday, marking the end of the so-called “collective self defense” ban in place since 1945. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, in a July...

CRH to be Black Hawk 2.0

By Autumn A. Arnett
The new Combat Rescue Helicopter will be “essentially … a long-range, highly missionized Black Hawk” helicopter for the Air Force, Tim Healy, Sikorsky’s CRH program director, told Air Force Magazine. The Air Force awarded Sikorsky a $1.28 billion contract on...

US Monitoring Foreign Fighter Forces

By Autumn A. Arnett
The activities of “foreign fighter” forces, including al Qaeda, are of “great concern” to both US forces and European allies, Gen. Philip Breedlove, head of US European Command and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, told reporters during a briefing...

Consolidating European Infrastructure

By Autumn A. Arnett and Amy McCullough
Gen. Philip Breedlove, head of US European Command and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, said he expects the European Infrastructure Consolidation review to wrap up “relatively soon.” Although he declined to discuss specifics during a Monday news conference at...

Pentagon Dispatches Reinforcement to Baghdad

There are 650 military personnel with boots on the ground in Iraq out of a total authorized force of 770, said Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby on Tuesday. The personnel either are reinforcing security at the US Embassy in...

Ramstein C-130s Arrive in Poland

By Amy McCullough
Three C-130s from the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein AB, Germany, deployed to Powidz AB, Poland, July 1 through Aug. 31 for bilateral training with the Polish air force. The 37th Airlift Squadron has participated in similar training scenarios with...

System Malfunctions Led to Reaper Crash

An MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the New York Air National Guard’s 174th Attack Wing in Syracuse crashed into Lake Ontario in New York on Nov. 12, 2013, following a “series of system malfunctions,” according to a July 1 release. The...

Making Hercules History

A 21-ship C-130 formation launched from Dyess AFB, Texas, during a late June joint forcible entry exercise was the largest such formation to launch from the base since 1981, 7th Bomb Wing spokeswoman A1C Kedesha Pennant told Air Force Magazine...