“Gutting” AFSPC?:

According to Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), the Air Force is considering “gutting Air Force Space Command” to help “pay some big bills in the future.” Allard and co-chair of the bicameral Space Caucus, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), are leading a...

Making a Pre-emptive Strike:

Sen. Wayne Allard and Rep. Jane Harman have introduced legislation that “explicitly prohibits” the Air Force from reducing the number of AFSPC military, civilian, and contractor support personnel that existed on Jan. 1, 2006. (See above.) The measure would require...

Rescue Crews on the Job:

In case anyone had doubts, Air Force rescue crews are fully engaged in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. To ensure the word gets out, the US Central Command Air Forces has begun listing, in its summaries of airpower activities, the...

Hayden Is In:

The Senate on Friday morning confirmed Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden to become director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The vote was 78 for and 15 against, with seven not voting.

Singing a Thune:

Having recently captured another prize—the first was keeping the B-1B bomber at Ellsworth AFB, S.D.—in garnering a new centralized financial center for Ellsworth, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) lost no time in arranging for the Air Force to make a house...

Who Cried Wolf?:

If federal, state, and local officials want the Pentagon’s help for the upcoming hurricane season, they need to be snappy about major storm predictions, so DOD officials told lawmakers last week. According to Paul McHale, assistant homeland defense secretary, a...

Opening Up the Floor?:

There is a move afoot by House Republicans to bring to the House floor open debate over operations in Iraq, reports the Chicago Tribune. Reporter Jill Zuckman quotes House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) as saying that the House floor...

Confirming a Known TSAT Tale:

In a recently completed study, the Government Accountability Office confirms what the Air Force already knows, essentially that there are cost and technology issues with the Transformational Satellite (TSAT), a new communications satellite system. In testimony earlier this year, Air...

Air Force Museum Gains Thor Agena:

Officials of the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, say the museum has added a Thor Agena A booster to its Missile and Space Gallery. Among the spacecraft launched via Thor boosters were the once highly...

Another First for Missile Defense:

The Missile Defense Agency and US Navy successfully intercepted a target missile during its last few seconds of flight using a sea-based missile—the first such occurrence. Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie detected the short-range target missile and directed a Standard...

And, the 2006 Team Is:

The Air Force has selected five airmen from the services career field to honor as the team of the year, an award sponsored by the Air Force Association. CMSAF Gerald Murray said USAF leaders selected services for the field’s efforts...

Catch ’Em While You Can:

Some US Air Force medics in Afghanistan, working with the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team recently employed their health care skills—along with interpreters and other support personnel—among some passing Nomads. The medics, operating as the PRT’s medical civic action program, or...

Fallen Heroes Act Signed May 29:

House and Senate lawmakers last week passed the Respect for Fallen Heroes Act (HR 5037), sending it to the President on May 25. They had hoped to have President Bush sign the legislation before Memorial Day; he signed it on...

Spangdahlem Plans Eyed:

GAO analysts say the Air Force may be right about needing to replace housing at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, but they take exception to the service’s key assumptions and methodology, which they say “were based on dated and incorrect information.” At...

The New Nose Art:

Airmen in Southwest Asia are exercising their esprit de corps in much the same way as past airmen, through artwork, but not on the noses of their aircraft. According to the Red Tail Flyer, the airmen at Balad AB, Iraq,...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

May 25, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 12 6 18 CAS/Armed Recon 54 31 85 Airlift 180 180 Air refueling 41 41 Total 66 37 221 324 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance