According to a Feb. 17 Pacific Air Forces photo release, Lt. Col. Robert Novotny, commander of the 67th Fighter Squadron at Kadena AB, Japan, surpassed 2,000 flying hours in the F-15 during a training sortie on Feb. 12. n The Air Force has named SSgt. Brett Pragle, with the 27th Special Operations Security Forces Squadron at Cannon AFB, N.M., as the outstanding security forces support staff airman of 2008, according to a Feb. 17 Cannon release. n On Jan. 23, MSgt. Terence Jackson, a flight engineer deployed to Southwest Asia operations from the 305th Air Mobility Wing at McGuire AFB, N.J., reached 10,000 flying hours, according to a Jan. 26 380th Air Expeditionary Wing photo release. n The Air Force is looking for a few more good flight engineers and other enlisted aviators; there are openings for first-term and second-term airmen to cross-train into airborne mission systems, airborne operations, and flight engineer jobs and second-term airmen into aerial refueling positions, per a Feb. 18 Air Force Personnel Center release.
Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held meetings with defense leaders from the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea during a trip to the Indo-Pacific this week.