Two F-15Es from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad AB, Iraq, used their their electro-optical and infrared sensors to locate three individuals seen fleeing an area from which mortars were fired at Balad. It was a coordinated effort with...

An Air Force C-17 broke an airdrop record on Sunday, when the airlifter delivered 32,400 pounds of humanitarian aid within 40 minutes to four locations in Afghanistan. The mission, conducted by a crew deployed from McChord AFB, Wash., marks the...

Everett Views Space Cadre as Most Important: Rep. Terry Everett (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, called for an update on the status of the Air Force’s effort to develop a “space cadre,” saying “nothing can...

In his testimony before Congress last week, Air Force Undersecretary Ron Sega acknowledged that the Air Force will be losing many experienced space professionals through retirement, saying that USAF must “focus on the basics of recruiting, training, and mentoring” to...

The new head of the National Reconnaissance Office—former CIA science and technology official Donald Kerr—told lawmakers that the Air Force and the NRO have a “cooperative and collaborative partnership” that leverages each other’s expertise and resources. Kerr added, “However, space...

The acting commander of Air Force Space Command, Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, told a House Armed Services subcommittee that the establishment of the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., has delivered a “new era in providing space...

First Ops Osprey Arrives at Kirtland: The commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Michael Wooley, flew the first operational CV-22 Osprey (recently completed in Texas) to Kirtland AFB, N.M., today, according to the Air Force. Wooley flew...

Flying from Hickam AFB, Hawaii, to the island of Kauai, both the Hawaii Air National Guard and active duty Air Force airmen helped deliver critical equipment being used to pump out floodwaters from the island. The Hawaii ANG’s 204th Airlift...

Training at Keesler AFB, Miss., has returned to its pre-Hurricane Katrina status, with enrollment back to 3,400 students just seven months into a three-year plan for restoration, reports the Associated Press news service. Lt. Col. Shane Courvill, deputy director of...

Officials at the Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, say they are preceding handily with the largest modernization program for the F-16 Viper. At the heart of the upgrade is what’s called Common Configuration Implementation Program—a comprehensive $2 billion effort...

The venerable B-52 bomber hit another milestone recently—the 50th anniversary of the combat ready declaration for the first B-52 wing. The Air Force on March 12, 1956, declared the 93rd Bombardment Wing, Barksdale AFB, La., combat ready. USAF had activated...

Scheduled for launch in summer 2007, the TacSat-3 satellite is a collaborative effort among the Air Force, Army, Navy, and DOD’s Office of Force Transformation that will bring together a multitude of missions in one package. The satellite is built...

White House Releases a Three-Year OIF Fact Sheet: In addition to marking the three-year anniversary of the initiation of Operation Iraqi Freedom in President Bush’s weekly radio address, the White House put out a fact sheet— “Operation Iraqi Freedom: Three...

Participating in a two-week Medical Readiness Training Exercise in Honduras, a team of 23 medics from Eglin AFB, Fla., is visiting four sites in the Central American country as part of New Horizons 2006-Honduras, a joint training exercise between the...

Chad Hennings, a former Air Force Academy lineman, is on the ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. He is one of 77 players and seven coaches listed on the 2006 ballot. Hennings, an academic all-American as...

The Pew Center for the People and the Press has released results of a new survey—coinciding with the third anniversary of the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom—that finds the American view of the war has turned more negative than just...

Titanium Industry Digging In: The US titanium industry is facing off against defense contractors over a proposed change to a metals law called the Berry Amendment that requires an American-made sticker for certain metals used in military weapons. According to...

The New BDU Appears: The Air Force has rolled out its new battle dress uniform, saying it will be available in Fiscal 2007. This latest one survived the wear test that proved the undoing of an earlier blue, tiger stripe...

March 17-19, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 42 14 56 CAS/Armed Recon 102 52 154 Airlift 530 530 Air refueling 90 90 Total 144 66 620 830 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance