Air Force officials turned up at the Lockheed Martin plant in Marietta, Ga., last week to cast their eyes on the tail section—with the Alaska tail code—of the first F-22 Raptor bound for Pacific Air Forces. This Raptor will join...

Pacific Air Forces has created a single program integration office—taking over work begun by a slew of teams—to handle the beddown of the new F-22A stealth fighters in Alaska in the near term and Hawaii in the mid term. The...

Boeing officials said last week that the Air Force told the company to expect the draft request for proposals on the tanker replacement program later this month, followed by a final version in January 2007. USAF should name a winner...

Although Boeing officials say that they must cut off long-lead parts orders this month for the C-17 in preparation for closing the production line, the same is no longer true for the company’s 767 line. Mark McGraw, Boeing vice-president of...

Noting that Congress has reduced funding for the F-35 program, Adm. Michael Mullen, Chief of Naval Operations, told reporters in St. Louis Tuesday at the rollout of the Navy’s EA-18G Growler jamming aircraft, said he has not yet started working...

Army Gen. John Abizaid, head of US Central Command, and Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, Joint Chiefs Chairman, both acknowledged, when questioned by lawmakers at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, that the threat of civil war could erupt...

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) accused Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of “presiding over a failed policy” in Iraq during a terse confrontation at an Aug. 3 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Clinton told Rumsfeld “You appeared before this committee and...

Some members of the 9/11 Commission suspected that military officials knowingly had made false statements to Congress and the commission about the Pentagon’s response to the 9/11 terrorists attacks, according to the Washington Post. This claim and publication of excerpts...

The 56th Rescue Squadron’s recent move from NAS Keflavik, Iceland, to RAF Lakenheath, England, will expand the unit’s horizon, according to Lt. Col. Steve Huss, 56th RS director of operations. Right now, the squadron is still split—half of the unit...

The Air Force’s announcement that it planned to shift some 170 civilian personnel positions from four Air Force Materiel Command bases has caught by surprise folks at one of the affected bases, reports the Macon Telegraph. Mike O’Hara, the civilian...

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) dropped his hold on Defense Department civilian nominees on Aug. 3 after the Pentagon promised to do “whatever is necessary” to streamline the overseas voting process for deployed troops by November, according to the Associated Press...

The Senate approved a bill that would end a Civil-War era policy barring veterans from hiring lawyers to seek benefits unless they have exhausted the VA claims process. Veterans Affairs officials had tried to dissuade lawmakers from pursuing the legislation....

Gen. Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff, and CMSAF Rodney McKinley penned their names on the bottom of a top portion to be added to one of the three spires that form the centerpiece of the new Air Force Memorial. Officials...

A committee representing the Tucson residents that have been complaining about noise emanating from Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., has developed a list of 24 recommendations, some that would require implementation by local, state, and federal agencies outside the base, reports the...

The Congressional Research Service recently updated its reports covering Iran, noting that the US believes Iran is currently its greatest challenge, and Syria, which still causes serious concern despite its reported cooperation in investigating al Qaeda. The Iran report recaps the history of Iran’s regime and dissident groups and offers a brief review of its military capability, devoting more discussion to its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and its growing nuclear program. It offers a review of US policy and diplomatic initiatives and attempts to garner international sanctions. The report on Syria notes that the US has limited direct aid and trade to the country in response to its support of terrorist groups, most recently Syria’s backing of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Another point of contention is the mysterious assassination in February 2005 of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, who was a critic of Syria’s military presence in Lebanon. The United Nations found evidence in 2005 that both Syrian and Lebanese forces were involved in the killing, but a more thorough investigation continues.

Aug. 3, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 19 8 27 CAS/Armed Recon 42 27 69 Airlift 180 180 Air refueling 41 41 Total 61 35 221 317 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance