The Pentagon has identified an airman killed Oct. 14 by enemy gunfire while he was working with a military police training team in Iraq. He was A1C Leebernard E. Chavis, a security forces airman deployed from the 23rd Wing, Moody...

Air Mobility Command has declared initial operational capability for the C-130J after the new Hercules transport met “specific criteria,” outlined in this AMC news release. Basically mobility crews employed real field conditions over nine months of testing, showing both what...

The F-22A force at Tyndall AFB, Fla., the schoolhouse for Raptor pilots, has exceeded 5,000 flying hours in the new stealth fighter. The Tyndall force reached 5K on Sept. 20, according to an Oct. 13 Air Education and Training Command...

Boeing is in the midst of “low power” flight tests for the advanced tactical laser and expects to conclude the tests, which employ a C-130H from Air Force Materiel Command’s 46th Test Wing, later this fall. During the testing at...

A Congressionally commissioned panel tasked with looking at Iraq in a new light, along with a prominent Republican Senator, believe the Bush Administration may need to come up with a new Iraq plan. James Baker, a former Secretary of State...

The Air Force’s first female active duty fighter pilot, Lt. Col. Sharon Preszler, has retired from the service. Preszler, who last served as staff director for the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw AFB, N.C., received her commission through ROTC in...

In the 2007 defense authorization bill, still awaiting signature by the President, lawmakers have curtailed spending on the space-based interceptor program until 90 days after the Missile Defense Agency supplies a comprehensive report. The report must include a description of...

Congress is sold on developing operationally responsive space, be it satellite payloads built to common technical standards, low-cost launch vehicles, or command and control and operational concepts that employ responsive space capabilities. In fact, the 2007 defense authorization bill requires...

As part of the 2007 defense authorization, Congress included $767 million for the Transformational Satellite program, about $100 million less than the Administration requested. Lawmakers cited “unexecutable growth in the program budget” as the culprit, saying that the Government Accountability...

Congress decided to allocate $200 million for the Space Radar program, $66.4 million less than requested. Lawmakers specified in the 2007 defense authorization bill that those funds should go toward development of a single Space Radar system that meets joint...

Det. 1 of the North Dakota Air National Guard’s 119th Fighter Wing—the Happy Hooligans—has turned over its air defense alert mission at Langley AFB, Va., to the Vermont ANG’s 158th FW. The Hooligans are giving up their F-16s, thanks to...

Active duty and civilian firefighters from Travis AFB, Calif., took first place in individual heats during the 2006 US National Firefighter Challenge Oct. 13 and 14 in Atlanta. The former two-time world champions also placed third in the relay contest....

If student attendance numbers are any indicator, then the International Military Student Office and its security assistance training program at Keesler AFB, Miss., has more than fully recovered from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina one year ago. James Cooks, chief...

Oct. 13-15, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 45 29 74 CAS/Armed Recon 136 130 266 Airlift 465 465 Air refueling 110 110 Total 181 159 575 915 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance