Gutting US Military Capability
The Air Force is flying “at the ragged edge.” The Marine Corps is not equipped to handle a contingency if it were to arise in the Pacific theater. And, the Army doesn’t even have enough resources to fulfill some of...
A Dangerous Combination
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said the Pentagon’s recent report to Congress on China’s growing military was “face whitening.” The report “outlined a country that is emboldened with a new-found military might and drunk with economic power,”...
Production Contract for Seventh WGS Satellite
The Air Force has awarded Boeing a $1.09 billion contract for the production of the seventh Wideband Global Satellite Communications satellite and the long-lead-time items and materials for the eighth spacecraft in the series. Under this contract are subsequent options...
Reserve Reshuffle
Air Force Reserve officials unveiled plans to streamline unit structures and adjust manpower levels in California, Georgia, and Texas by Fiscal 2012. “These changes are the result of a 13-month analytical effort intended to ensure we are operating as effectively...
Spotlight: TSgt. Ricardo A. Chavez
A Reservist serving as a military training instructor with the 433rd Training Squadron at Lackland AFB, Tex., (a part of Joint Base San Antonio), TSgt. Ricardo A. Chavez is one of the Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year...
Air Force ROTC Unit (Re-)Established at Yale
Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Yale University President Richard Levin on Monday signed an agreement that will return an Air Force reserve officers’ training corps detachment to the Ivy League campus in New Haven, Conn., for the first time...
Wicked Year of Wildfires
Less than two months after specially configured C-130s responded to wildfires in New Mexico and Arizona, these aircraft are again battling blazes—this time in Texas and the northwest United States. “We exceeded our annual average of fire missions two months...
GPS Ground Software Updated
Members of the 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB, Colo., recently installed new software for the GPS ground segment. With 104 fixes, this software update was the largest sustainment release for the ground segment since 2007, according to Schriever officials. The update is part of the Air Force's GPS modernization that is intended to boost navigation signal strength and anti-spoof capabilities for military and civilian users. "This particular release is bringing many needed fixes to the ground segment and, through several updated displays, enhances the operator's insight to possible system problems," said Lt. Col. Jennifer Grant, 2nd SOPS commander, in a Schriever release. The Space and Missile Systems Center's GPS Directorate sustainment team at Peterson AFB, Colo., conducted "rigorous testing" of the software for 20 weeks before delivering it to the 2nd SOPS, which falls under Schriever's 50th Space Wing.
Global Hawks for South Korea?
Obama Administration officials apprised Congress of the White House’s aim to offer RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft to South Korea under a foreign military sale. Eager to strengthen surveillance capability in light of heightened friction with its northern neighbor,...
Museum Will Mark USAF’s Entry into Vietnam War
The National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Air Force’s entry into the Vietnam War during its veterans tribute on the evening of Nov. 10 as part of the 2011...