Air Staff Dresses for War

Airmen assigned to Headquarters Air Force will now wear as their daily attire either the battle dress uniform or flight suit, as their status dictates. So says an Air Force statement released on Tuesday. Lt. Gen. Arthur Lichte, USAF assistant...

CRS Negative on Conventional ICBMs

Congressional Research Service says that Congress has given only “a mixed reception” to the concept of deploying some long range ballistic missiles in a conventional mode. Even so, both the Air Force and the Navy, urged on by the Administration,...

Well, Gee, That’s a Really Good Reason to Oppose It

So what’s the problem? CRS says “these weapons might provide the United States with more capability than it needs under most circumstances.” It also discounts the Air Force position that launching conventional missiles from either coast would eliminate possible “misunderstandings.”...

Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth Dept.

It took several months of legal cogitation, but the Air Force gets to accept the $5 million worth of equipment offered by the state of Utah on May 10, according to the Associated Press. With the base realignment and closure...

Weight Loss, AMC Style

Shaking up the Air Force’s supply system, Air Mobility Command announced Monday that two logistics support centers will soon replace the service’s five regional supply squadrons. In April 2006, a Mobility Air Forces Logistics Support Center at Scott AFB, Ill.,...

Pentagon Gets the Tab for K-2

Airmen are nearly done packing up operations at K2 air base, but the Pentagon now has to deal with the tab from the American tenure at the Uzbekistan facility. The bill is almost $23 million. The State Department and Congress...

Pardon Us for Being Skeptical

The Six Party Talks on Monday produced an unexpected breakthrough in Beijing. Well, maybe. North Korea’s loopy Communist regime said it will agree to give up its nuclear arms program. Compromises on both sides led the way to the agreement,...

Can There Be Two Navigation Stars?

What are the chances of “Building a Multinational Global Navigation Satellite System”? It may not have the answer, but RAND analysts, in a new paper, note some possible benefits, such as “increased performance in accuracy.” For decades, the US Air...

Defense Bill Nowhere in Sight

BRAC squabbling pushed Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) temporarily to table the annual defense authorization bill. It’s resurrection is more uncertain every day. The Hill reports that the measure will not surface on the Senate floor until Oct. 1,...

The Katrina Effect

The unexpected and huge expense of dealing with Hurricane Katrina could force the Pentagon to divert funds from new space programs, Boeing official George Muellner told reporters at AFA’s Air & Space Conference. Faced with a tight budget picture before...

Air Strikes Target IED Hold

USAF F-16s on Monday successfully struck an improvised explosive device staging area located near Al Miquadiyah, Iraq. Using two precision-guided GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, the Vipers knocked out the enemy IED stash.

Transporting to the World

A USAF C- 17 airlifter flew from Hickam AFB, Hawaii, carrying a load of supplies and medicine for residents of the Marshall Islands. The relief effort followed a fire that devastated the capital city’s hospital. The mission took 20 hours.

More LGBs to USAF

The Air Force is paying Lockheed Martin $50 million to manufacture GBU-12 laser-guided bomb kits—which convert the 500-pound free fall bombs into precision guided weapons. According to Lockheed, the order represents over half the Air Force’s requirements for the current...

CSAR’s Arctic Trio

US Air Force pararescuemen wrapped up a week of drills with their Russian and Canadian counterparts for Arctic Search and Rescue Exercise 05. The event, conducted out of Eielson AFB, Alaska, tested the three countries abilities to conduct combat search...

Diagnosing the Trouble With Comm

US Joint Forces Command has undertake a new Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration to help it break down problems with battlespace communications. One goal, says JFCOM officials, is to give tactical commanders “the ability to access and control intelligence, surveillance, and...

Bush Like Clinton?

Lee Feinstein, the Council on Foreign Relations resident United Nations scholar, says a document set to be approved at the 60th UN General Assembly is a “missed opportunity” for reforming the world body. He says, in an interview conducted by...

DOD Wants More Hispanics

Pentagon leaders are trying to diversify the military and the civilian workforce of the Department of Defense, Clarence Johnson told an audience at a luncheon and awards ceremony hosted by Latina Style magazine in Washington, D.C. Hispanic representation in the...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

September 19, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 10 8 – 18 CAS/Armed Recon 48 21 – 69 Airlift – – 185 185 Air refueling – – 35 35 Total 58 29 220 307 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...