AFSOC Predator Unit Stands Up: Air Force Special Operations Command does have its first Predator UAV squadron—the 3rd Special Operations Squadron—but it is still waiting on the unit’s aircraft, says AFSOC spokesman Matt Durham. AFSOC activated the unit on Oct....

It seems the two Senators from New Mexico who announced to the world that the Air Force had found a “candidate mission” for Cannon AFB, N.M., were getting their information from a draft of a letter sent for review to...

Long Beach Faces Tough C-17 Battle: The Pentagon reportedly has put a dollar figure on mothballing the C-17 production line. And, that may make the plan to end production at 180 new airlifters seem even more urgent for the crowd...

US Central Command Air Forces air assets dropped eight bundles of humanitarian assistance supplies near Bamyan, Afghanistan, on Jan. 5 and 6 to aid families during harsh winter conditions. The airdrop distributed more than 14,000 pounds of winter clothing, beans,...

Airmen of the North Dakota Air National Guard’s 119th Fighter Wing, in Fargo, are preparing to give up their F-16s and participate with Grand Forks AFB, N.D., on a new mission flying Predator UAVs. To assuage nervous members, reports the...

The Aeronautical Systems Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and the 452nd Flight Test Squadron, Edwards AFB, Calif., joined forces with the Navy at NAS Patuxent River, Md., last month to demonstrate the compatibility of a new payload—High Band Subsystem Signals Intelligence—intended...

Missouri Gets Sentimental Over Warthogs: Air Force Reserve Commands’ 442nd Fighter Wing, Whiteman AFB, Mo., has dedicated one of its 15 A-10s in honor of the city of Branson, Mo., calling it the Thunderbolt of Branson. Actually, the Missouri Reservists...

The Air Force has awarded Air National Guardsman Col. Eric W. Vollmecke, commander of the 167th Airlift Wing, Martinsburg, W.Va., a Bronze Star for his command of a mix of active and reserve airmen while deployed to Afghanistan last year.

The Missile Defense Agency has not deployed additional missile interceptors at Ft. Greely, Alaska, at the original pace—installing only two more this past year, according to the Associated Press. MDA slowed the pace—an additional 10 were possible in 2005—based on...

The Department of Energy’s Ames Lab, in Ames, Iowa, is working on a new high-strength aluminum alloy that could enable the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to fly “farther and faster,” says lab officials. Researchers plan to produce about 400 pounds...

Missouri ANG Gets Female Command Chief: CMSgt. Gaila Sullivan is slated to become the new command chief master sergeant for the Missouri Air National Guard this February, when she will replace retiring CMSgt. Clifton Burnes at the 139th Airlift Wing...

Airmen Get in Gear With New War Role: Airmen with the 424th Medium Truck Detachment help move Army supplies for the 4th Infantry Division from Kuwait into Iraq. They are part of the Air Force’s effort to support the Army—in...

Widows of three airmen killed in a 2003 US Air Force MH-53 Pave Low crash in Afghanistan are now suing the helicopter’s manufacturer—Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.—and two companies that provided fuel tank installation and maintenance—Lear Siegler Services Inc. and Smiths Aerospace LLC. According to the Associated Press, the widows claim the companies were negligent in producing and installing the external fuel tanks on the helicopter and failed to install a backup jettison system. Four airmen and an Army special operator were killed on Nov. 23, 2003, shortly after takeoff from Bagram AB, Afghanistan. A subsequent Air Force report showed that a compressor caused one of the two engines to stall, with the other stalling when the crew attempted an emergency landing. AP reports that Sikorsky says there have been “no red flags” about fuel tank defects and that it cannot control “possible misuse.”

More than 300 airmen and 12 F-16s have deployed to Iraq from the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, Utah, Air Force officials told the Associated Press.

January 6-8, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 23 16 – 39 CAS/Armed Recon 134 64 – 198 Airlift – – 530 530 Air refueling – – 95 95 Total 157 80 625 862 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...