Ellsworth Rotates GSTF Airmen

Ellsworth Rotates GSTF Airmen: The 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, S.D., has another 200-strong increment of airmen on its way to Andersen AFB, Guam, to replace the airmen deployed there since August as part of a Global Strike Task Force. The wing is leaving the six B-1Bs brought in by the first rotation, reports KUAM TV. Stateside bomber units have been deploying to Guam on four-month rotations to provide additional strike capability in the Pacific region.

Reserve Ramps Up Space Presence

Air Force Reserve Command plans on Jan. 7 to activate a new space unit—the Headquarters Reserve National Security Space Institute—to work with the NSSI in Colorado Springs, Colo. The NSSI is the DOD lead for educating the military about space...

Air Strikes in SWA

Coalition aircraft flew several close air support missions in Iraq on Dec. 27. USAF F-16s fired three precision-guided munitions against anti-Iraqi forces positions and vehicles in the vicinity of Hawijah. USAF F-15s and F16s provided CAS to coalition troops engaged...

Okinawa Residents Oppose Joint Base

Residents of Okinawa who live near Kadena Air Base voiced strong opposition to the US-Japan plan to move elements of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force to Kadena, reports Stars and Stripes. Okinawa City and Chatan passed unanimous resolutions condemning the...

AFRC Wants Noise-reducing Earpiece

AFRC Wants Noise-reducing Earpieces: Lt. Gen. John A. Bradley, AFRC commander, is out to purchase as many Attenuating Custom Communications Earpiece System (ACCES) devices as he can to spread them around the command. The Air Force Research Lab-designed earpieces are...

The Refurb Squad Works Wonders

The Aging Aircraft Systems Squadron at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, believe they have found a “more robust” 1553 data bus—the component that enables many avionics systems to communicate—that could be used for thousands of older USAF aircraft. The current 1553 simply...

Hercules Gets Front-Line Facelift

The C-130 Hercules has been doing some heavy lifting on the front lines in Southwest Asia. Recently, a group of maintainers with the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron’s structural repair shop performed a month of repairs and maintenance at a forward...

Engaging the “Old” EBO Concept

Engaging the “Old” EBO Concept: The jointness gurus at US Joint Forces Command are busy making final preparations for the upcoming Multinational Experiment 4—an exercise with allied countries that, command officials say, will explore the use of the full range...

The New Look in Battlefield Medicine

The Air Force has taken specialized care to the combat zone, greatly increasing chances of survival for wounded troops. “We’ve never pushed specialties this far onto the battlefield before,” says Col. Elisha Powell, commander of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group...

Russian Rocket Blasts off With Galileo

A Russian rocket has boosted into orbit the first component of a planned network of satellites that will comprise the European Union’s global navigation system, known as Galileo. Reuters news service reports the launch took place Dec. 28. The network,...

CAP Receives Hurricane Support Kudo:

The Civil Air Patrol flew 960 sorties, logging 1,848.6 flying hours, covering relief operations for Hurricane’s Katrina, Ophelia, and Rita. That’s not all. CAP officials say members of the Air Force Auxiliary worked 35,495 manhours, surveyed 4, 266 homes, and...

Boeing Gets Osprey Contracts

The US Navy awarded Textron Inc.’s Bell Helicopter and Boeing Co. $1 billion to buy components for 16 V-22 Osprey aircraft through September 2009. The contract pays for long lead components that are associated with the production and delivery of...

AEDC Is Not Just a Pretty Wind Tunnel:

Air Force Flight Test Center Commander Maj. Gen. Curtis Bedke recently paid his first visit to Arnold Engineering Development Center, Arnold AFS, Tenn., after which he told Shelbyville (Tenn.) Times-Gazette that it delivers “more diverse capability” than he realized. Bedke...

10th AF Gets New Leader:

Air Force Reserve Command has installed Maj. Gen. Richard C. Collins as head of 10th Air Force, headquartered at NAS JRB Fort Worth. Collins replaces Maj. Gen. Allan R. Poulin, who has become AFRC vice commander. Poulin, in turn, replaces...

VA Expands Online Gravesite Listing:

Veterans Affairs has added some 1.9 million records, dating from 1997, to its Web site database of burial locations of veterans. That brings the total for the list to more than five million, say VA officials. The recent additions include...

Miracle Gets Basic Research Award:

AFRL scientist Daniel B. Miracle has received the Air Force Basic Research Award for outstanding scientific achievement for his work in the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. His work led to the discovery of the atomic structure...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

December 27, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 11 5 – 16 CAS/Armed Recon 36 20 – 56 Airlift – – 200 200 Air refueling – – 27 27 Total 47 25 227 299 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...