Daily Report

The Air Force last month completed the drawdown of the B-52H fleet to 76 aircraft, according to Air Combat Command. When this phaseout was conceived early last year, ACC planned to retire 18 H-model B-52s in the then-94 aircraft fleet....

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev abruptly announced Tuesday his intent to close Manas Air Base, a critical supply hub and staging area for US and coalition forces operating in Afghanistan. His announcement, coming as the US prepares to dispatch thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan, reportedly was made after a Feb. 3 meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow, the Los Angeles Times reported. In response, US defense officials said they hoped that the US would be able to keep using Manas, as the US government had received no official word of a change in status from the Kyrgyz government. But, if the closure goes through, they said the US would find other means to supply its forces. “While we value the relationship we have and the arrangements we have with Manas, the United States would certainly be able to continue operations in Afghanistan if we did not have that facility,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said yesterday. He added, “We are talking about the United States military, the most flexible, adaptable, capable, innovative military in the world.” (Includes AFPS report by Donna Miles) (For more, read Wired magazine’s Danger Room blog entry from yesterday and the transcript of Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell discussing Manas Feb. 3)

A group of more than 120 airmen, Department of Defense civilians, and contractors did something that had never been done before when they removed a crippled C-17 transport from the runway at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Feb. 2, three days...

The massive phased-array early warning radar at Thule AB, Greenland, that Raytheon is upgrading successfully tracked a satellite for the first time in its new configuration during a recent operational space surveillance mission, the company announced yesterday. This event was...

The aircrew of Jolly 91, an HH-60G helicopter with the California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Federal Airfield, helped save the life of a downed pilot Jan. 29 in the waters off of San Francisco. Jolly 91...

The failure of an ignition module in the engine of an MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle caused the aircraft to crash east of Ali Base, Iraq, May 2, 2008, Air Combat Command said Tuesday. According to the findings of ACC’s...

French Lt. Gen. Gilles Desclaux, France’s commander in chief of air defense and air operations, visited Barksdale AFB, La., Jan. 25-28 at the invitation of 8th Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Robert Elder. The two discussed ongoing operations, including each...

Capt. Timothy Harrelson, a family practice physician assistant with the 35th Medical Operations Squadron at Misawa AB, Japan, received a Bronze Star medal Dec. 19, 2008, for his efforts during a deployment last year to Afghanistan as a member of...

MSgt. Darrel Brownlee and his son, SrA. Kevin Brownlee, Reservists with Air Force Reserve Command’s 301st Fighter Wing at NAS JRB Fort Worth, Tex., are both deployed to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, where they are serving on an 80-day rotation...

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaFeb. 3, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 29 10 39 1,310 CAS/Armed Recon 39 70 109 3,334 Airlift 128 128 4,335 Air refueling 50 50 1,560 Total 326 10,539...