Spencer as Vice Chief, Breedlove to USAFE

President Obama has nominated Lt. Gen. Larry Spencer for a fourth star for his assignment as the next Air Force vice chief of staff, announced the Pentagon. Spencer has been the Joint Staff’s director of force structure since August 2010....

Air Force Feels Bump in Fuel Costs

Due to the overall rising cost of fuel, the Air Force is saddled with some $1.3 billion in extra fuel costs this fiscal year that it hadn’t anticipated, said Gen. Philip Breedlove, USAF’s vice chief of staff. “That will be...

Kadena Pave Hawk Pilots Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross

Maj. Philip Bryant and Capt. Louis Nolting, HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter pilots with the 33rd Rescue Squadron at Kadena AB, Japan, each received the Distinguished Flying Cross for their heroic actions during a rescue mission in Afghanistan in 2011. “I...

Stealth Industrial Base at Risk with Defense Sequestration

Another round of significant cuts to the defense budget through the Budget Control Act’s sequestration mechanism could hit the nation’s aerospace industry hard in the area of stealth expertise, warned Gen. Philip Breedlove, Air Force vice chief of staff. In...

Trading Places

Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz has assigned Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, KC-46 program executive officer since June 2009, to be deputy director of the F-35 strike fighter program office in Arlington, Va., announced the Pentagon. Assigned to take Bogdan’s...

C-17 Dirtmaster III

A C-17 lifted two 25,000-pound Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles from an austere airstrip at Forward Operating Base Farah, in western Afghanistan. “The interesting part of this was landing on the semi-prepared field, which is a dirt runway,” said Maj....

Weasels and Groundhogs

F-16Cs from Misawa AB, Japan, are pounding targets on the nearby Draughon Range in Exercise Diesel Weasel. The 14th Fighter Squadron’s Falcons are simulating convoy-escort sorties and close air support missions that are directed by tactical air control party members...

Falcon Target Rising

Falcon Target Rising: A manned QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target flew for the first time on a flight check from Naval Air Station Cecil Field near Jacksonville, Fla., announced contractor Boeing. “With this successful first flight of the QF-16, the...

Airmen Excel at Warrior Games

The Air Force’s team brought home a team record of 18 medals during the 2012 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo. “I think we exceeded all expectations,” said team coach Maj. James Bales. “The goal for the team was just...