Daily Report

Pentagon officials did begin briefing lawmakers this morning (Sept. 24) about the new draft request for proposals for the KC-X tanker replacement program and had scheduled a press briefing at the Pentagon for 4 p.m. Quick off the mark, Rep....

The Pentagon Sept. 23 announced that TSgt. James R Hornbarger, 33, of Castle Rock, Wash., died Sept. 12 as a result of a non-hostile incident in the Mediterranean. Hornbarger had deployed from the 9th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Beale AFB, Calif.,...

The fulfillment of Air Force Global Strike Command is on “an aggressive timeline with a lot of work to be done,” the command’s first commander, Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, said Tuesday in Bossier City, La., reports the Shreveport Times. His...

The Air National Guard this week held the first of what they believe should be an annual Domestic Operations Essential Requirements conference, at which Air Guard planners began work toward a “formal document” that will help shape the Air Force’s...

Since the release of the unclassified assessment (large file) by Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, by the Washington Post Sept. 21, media, pundits, and lawmakers have been arguing over McChrystal's calls for more resources and a new strategy—to win the hearts and minds of Afghanis. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, does not want to hold a hearing, saying in a Sept. 22 letter to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), ranking committee member, et al that such "is premature" since McChrystal "has not yet submitted his recommendation as to the resources." In a Sept. 22 release, Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), vice chair of the Senate intelligence committee, said he wants a hearing to get McChrystal's views "directly" to offset "political motivations," including what he terms President Obama's "buyer's remorse." (The Washington Post article may require free registration)

Pentagon officials plan to brief Congress today on the new KC-X tanker replacement draft request for proposals and release the draft RFP by Friday, reports Bloomberg News (via Seattle Times). And a Reuters news service report quoting Rep. Todd Tiahrt...

And in the F-35 engine war, The Hill reports that the General Electric-Rolls Royce F136 engine team plans to present a formal and detailed—but still unsolicited—fixed-price proposal to the Pentagon on Monday. The F136 team already briefed program officials and...

“There are few opportunities like this available for enlisted members,” says SMSgt. Matthew Fekkers, who serves as superintendent of a one-of-a-kind research engineering flight at Whiteman AFB, Mo., that designs tools, researches new technology, and creates engineering drawings to support...

The Civil Air Patrol is helping the Air Force solve a remotely piloted vehicle training problem—not enough Predator and Reaper RPVs to spare—by employing hardware on CAP aircraft to simulate the RPVs during training with Army and Marine Corps troops...

The Defense Department’s Space Test Program (STP) administered by Space and Missile Systems Center’s Space Development and Test Wing at Kirtland AFB, N.M., completed a major milestone on Sept. 10, 2009 (US date), flying its 200th mission. In operation since...

The Air Force has awarded Bronze Star medals to Lt. Col. Marc Cherry and Capt. Richard Glade for their actions while deployed to Southwest Asia. During a year-long deployment, Cherry served as deputy director of the combat operations division of the 609th Air and Space Operations Center, where he helped synchronize over Iraq and Afghanistan more than 74,000 sorties, including employing 48 aircraft to resolve a 64-hour troops-in-contact engagement in Afghanistan. During a six-month deployment to Iraq, Glade served as a Joint Task Force information operations cell intelligence officer. Lt. Gen. Glenn Spears, commander of 12th Air Force, presented the medals to both officers earlier this month. (12th AF photo release by SrA. Jacqueline Romero)

Sept. 21, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 25 30 55 11,809 CAS/Armed Recon 22 76 98 25,541 Airlift 135 135 34,924 Air refueling 55 55 12,590 Total 343 84,864 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...