Gideon Grudo
Recent stories by Gideon Grudo
CBO: No Sequestration Yet
Federal government funding won’t be pommeled by sequestration at least until September, according to the Congressional Budget Office. In a report issued this month, the CBO estimated the current $1.7 trillion budget cap—amended by 2015’s Bipartisan Budget Act (upping the...
Coming Soon: Follow Federal Dollars from DC to Destination
The federal government launched a new site allowing users to track spending across communities, recipients, and other categories. The site, beta.usaspending.gov, mostly under construction and “coming soon,” visualizes a lot of its data in maps and charts and could be...
Budget Deal Gives DOD Additional $12.5 Billion
Lawmakers have by this coming Friday night to sign a continuing resolution keeping the government running through September, and they’re purportedly eyeing a deal reached Sunday that will allow that to happen on time. The $1 trillion deal, according to...
US Government to Run Another Week
Less than 24 hours ahead of a funding deadline that would have shut the government down at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, lawmakers approved a bill giving themselves another week to figure out how to fund the government through September. According...
F-35s, F-15Cs Arrive in Bulgaria
Twelve F-15C Eagles landed in Bulgaria April 26 as part of a theater security package. The package, including 300 airmen from the Louisiana and Florida Air National Guard and the 12 aircraft from the 122nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, arrived at...
USAF Colonel, Academy Grad Reaches Space Station
Astronaut and Air Force Col. Jack Fischer made it safely to the International Space Station on Thursday morning after a six-hour flight alongside Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. The flight originated at Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome and orbited Earth four times before...
US and German Airmen Conduct Close Air Support Training
USAF and German air force airmen carried out close-air support exercises in Michigan earlier this month with an emphasis on air-to-ground and ground-to-ground engagements. The five-day exercise, which ran from April 10-14, took place at the state’s National Guard’s Camp...
Fire Season Coming, Reservists Deploy for Training Mission
Reserve airmen with the 302nd Airlift Wing departed Wednesday on a five-day training exercise at the Idaho Air National Guard’s Gowen Field in Boise, Idaho. The training will focus on using the C-130 Modular Airborne Firefighting System, or MAFFS. “The...
Latest Deep Freeze Airlift Season Flew 3,000 Passengers
During the most recent Deep Freeze C-17 airlift season—which ran from ?Sept. 28, 2016 to March 28, 2017—?airmen ferried nearly 3,000 passengers into the Antarctic supporting the National Science Foundation. Airmen with the Reserve 446th Airlift Wing and the 62nd...
Atlas V Sends Cygnus Spacecraft to ISS
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V successfully shot Orbital ATK’s Cygnus, with more than 7,600 pounds of supplies and working experiments, to the International Space Station on Tuesday. Airmen with USAF’s 45th Space Wing supported the mission. “This mission once...
KC-135 Simulated Training is Going Multiplayer
Canadian Aviation Electronics USA, the company that runs the training program for the KC-135 Stratotanker, is now allowed to use USAF’s distributed training center network and will leverage the capability by connecting simulators. This means a pilot training on aerial...
AT&T Wants to Turn Maxwell Into a Smart Base
AT&T is taking on the logical military conclusion of the smart device philosophy—applying it holistically to bases. Teaming up with Maxwell AFB, Ala.—as well as with Air University and other Air Force personnel—the company plans to demonstrate its ability to...
Israel’s Arrow System Delivers Result
After Israeli aircraft carried out operations in Syria on March 16, the country’s Arrow-3 missile defense system got its first taste of action, according to the Jerusalem Post. The system’s first deployment is relevant both in showcasing its abilities and...
Senate Approves Key Security Posts
The Senate confirmed Dan Coats, a former Republican senator and President Donald Trump’s nominee, to become director of national intelligence on Wednesday. The 85-12 vote makes Coats the fifth DNI, replacing James Clapper, who announced his plans to step down...
Coats Nomination Moves to Full Senate
The Senate Intelligence Committee voted on March 9 to approve Dan Coats—a former Republican senator and President Donald Trump’s nominee—to become Director of National Intelligence. The closed hearing vote favored Coats 13-2, according to Reuters. Coats still needs to be...