The US Navy has been searching for a T-39 Sabreliner that left Chattanooga, Tenn., at 11 a.m. on Jan. 10 on a training flight, since it failed to show at NAS Pennsacola, Fla., at 3 p.m., as scheduled. The last...

Both the Senate and House included provisions in their separate 2006 defense authorization bills that would permit the Air Force to purchase an additional 42 C-17 aircraft—taking procurement to the 222 airlifters USAF previously maintained it needed. However, the final...

The 2006 defense policy measure directs the Air Force to retain all its KC-135E tankers, F-117 stealth fighters, and C-130E/H model airlifters through Fiscal 2006. USAF had been planning to start shedding some of these older aircraft to save money.

Congress has challenged the Pentagon’s efforts in three areas—development of a space cadre, improvement in the acquisition process, and creation of operationally responsive space systems. They maintain that DOD’s insufficient improvement in these areas “diminish US preeminence in space and...

Five members of Air Force Special Operations Command’s 20th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla., received Distinguished Flying Crosses and two received Bronze Stars for their actions during an April 2004 resupply mission in Fallujah, Iraq. The airmen awarded with...

That is the question Congress wants answered—with more detail than the Air Force has so far provided. The Senate had wanted to direct USAF to purchase up to two dedicated aeromedical evacuation aircraft. Instead, lawmakers opted to have USAF respond...

Congress wants to ensure that should the Air Force decide it does need to purchase dedicated aeromedical evacuation aircraft, service leaders will give due consideration to placing those aircraft “at locations that have previous experience” with the AE job.

The drawn-out reviews of the proposed United Launch Alliance between Boeing and Lockheed Martin may be at an end. The Wall Street Journal, which quotes industry and government officials as saying the proposed merger will save enough money that Pentagon...

US Central Command officials plan to conduct a $180 million renovation and expansion of the CENTCOM headquarters at MacDill AFB, Fla., according to the Tampa Tribune. The Florida newspaper posits the big bucks signal a “lengthy future” for CENTCOM in...

USAF Kluges Efficiency Practices: The Air Force merged pieces of several civilian efficiency programs to develop its own, called “Smart Operations 21.” Officials say the program is based on both Lean and Six Sigma business process improvement tools, which were...

Brits Oppose Mildenhall Housing Plan: The Air Force wants to construct an estimated 440 homes on the western edge of RAF Mildenhall in Britain, but it is running in to opposition to the project from locals, according to the BBC....

Guardsman Receives Bronze Star: Lt. Col. Armon Imbriglio of the New York Air National Guard’s 105th Medical Group received a Bronze Star from Gen. Duncan McNabb, head of Air Mobility Command, according to Hudson Valley News. McNabb presented the medal...

X-Band Comes to Hawaii: The Missile Defense Agency notes that the Sea-Based X-Band Radar (SBX) has completed its journey from Texas, arriving in Honolulu for refurbishment at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. The SBX, which is to be based in Adak,...

China has demobilized approximately 200,000 members of its military over the past three years, according to the People’s Liberation Army daily newspaper. The report also states that China has cut its personnel from 4.24 million to 3.24 million in 1987,...

NATO Wants Dutch in Afghanistan: NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told Dutch officials in Brussels Monday that it is time to end the squabble that prohibits some 1,400 Dutch troops from joining other alliance forces in southern Afghanistan....

Russia Not So Democratic Anymore: A new survey shows that Russians are more downbeat about democracy in the past few years than they were in the early 1990s, and they would choose a strong economy over a healthy democracy by a margin of nearly 6 to 1. The 2005 Pew Global Attitudes Survey shows a vast shift in public opinion, with many Russians disillusioned on democratization—66 percent of respondents say they would support a “strong leader” while only 28 percent supported a democratic form of government. In 1991, the results of the same question were 39 percent for a strong leader, 51 percent for democratic government, and 10 percent undecided.

January 9, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 13 3 – 16 CAS/Armed Recon 40 16 – 56 Airlift – – 190 190 Air refueling – – 28 28 Total 53 19 218 290 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...