Daily Report

NATO isn’t planning for an intervention in Syria, either in the form of a no-fly zone or creation of “safe zones” for internal refugees, Alexander Vershbow, NATO’s deputy secretary general, told defense reporters in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 29. There’re...

A “lessons learned” report about NATO’s intervention in Libya in 2011 is due to NATO defense ministers in October, said Alexander Vershbow, the alliance’s deputy secretary general, on Aug. 29. While not yet complete, the report will highlight the fact...

The European Union is looking to create a consortium for military aerial refueling in response to a clear deficiency on the part of NATO’s European members in this capability during the alliance’s military intervention in Libya last year, said NATO...

The Air Force annually recognizes 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for superior leadership, job performance, community involvement, and personal achievements. The Air Force Association will honor the airmen at AFA’s Air & Space Conference, which begins Sept. 17 in...

A response force leader with the 721st Security Forces Squadron at Cheyenne Mountain AFS, Colo., SrA. Nicholas A. Hurt is one of the Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2012. As part of a quick reaction team...

The Air Force awarded 87-year-old Samuel Smith, a former Army Air Forces second lieutenant who flew the B-17 during World War II, a much-belated Distinguished Flying Cross. Maj. Gen. Tim Zadalis, Air Education and Training Command’s director of intelligence, presented...

A KC-135 tanker crew, operating from the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, recently refueled and escorted a crippled fighter over Afghanistan, according to Manas officials. “The [flight] lead explained they were engaged in a troops-in-contact scenario” and requested fuel for...

F-15Es of the 335th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., excelled in a recent Combat Hammer weapons evaluation hosted at Hill AFB, Utah, doubling the average “hit” percentage on graded strike sorties, according to unit officials. “Airmen built, loaded,...

The 27th Special Operations Wing broke ground this week on a new $12.4 million enlisted dormitory at Cannon AFB, N.M. The dorm, scheduled for completion in fall 2013, will house 96 airmen in separate quad bedrooms that share laundry and...

The United States "dominated" the world in conventional arms sales in 2011, totaling $66.3 billion in arms transfer agreements to developing and developed nations, according to the Congressional Research Service. "This is the highest single-year agreements total in the history of the US arms export program," states a new CRS report discussing these transactions. US sales accounted for 77.7 percent of the world's total arms sales in 2011, which amounted to $85.3 billion, a substantial increase over the $44.5 billion in 2010, according to the report, which is dated Aug. 24. However, authors Richard Grimmett and Paul Kerr note that much of that spike was due to the atypical sale of $33.7 billion of weapons to Saudi Arabia, including 84 new-build F-15SA fighters. "The international arms market is not likely growing overall," they wrote. Instead, "the weakened state of the global economy" has "generally limited defense purchases." (CRS report; caution; large-sized file.)