The modernization of USAF’s C-130 fleet with new avionics requires USAF flight test crews to go back to school. Members of the 418th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards AFB, Calif., are undergoing two weeks’ worth of training at the Long...

The new Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, Rodney McKinley, has pursued a varied career before ascending to the top enlisted post in the Air Force. McKinley talked with Stars and Stripes, describing his break in service and career...

The Air Force has adopted a centralized approach toward managing its computer network operations, making the switch to a single commander on July 5. An Air Combat Command statement says that Lt. Gen. Robert Elder, new 8th Air Force commander,...

President George Bush spent the July 4 holiday at Ft. Bragg, N.C., where he thanked the soldiers of Bragg’s 82nd Airborne Division and airmen of next-door’s Pope Air Force Base, as well as their families, for their efforts during the...

Since the day in 1947 when the Air Force became a separate service, at least one concrete tie with the Army has continued unabated—the weather support provided by airmen to soldiers. An Air Force news release notes that one USAF...

The 85th Group officially ended 55 years of Air Force service at NAS Keflavik, Iceland, on June 29. Col. Phillip Gibbons, the 85th Group commander, formally relinquished command and encased the unit’s colors. Most recently, the group handled flight operations for HH-60 helicopters, KC-130 tankers, and F-15s. Air Force officials credit the group's 56th Rescue Squadron with making more than 308 saves during operations from 1971 to 2003 in the North Atlantic.

The 46th Operations Support Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla., recently won the 2005 Complex of the Year award—which honors one of the most complex airspace and airfield arrangements in the Air Force. The facility has nearly five million square yards...

The governor of Panjshir Province, Afghanistan, led provincial leaders on June 28 in dedicating two new facilities— a new micro-hydropower station and new governance center facility—constructed by the area’s Provincial Reconstruction Team. Governor Haji Bahlol had asked the coalition to...

Two Iraqi citizens have completed the Aircraft and Munitions Maintenance Officers Course at Sheppard AFB, Tex., making them the first maintenance officers for Iraq’s nascent Air Force. (The Air Force has withheld their names and ranks for security reasons.) One...

BAE Systems has begun assembling the aft fuselage of the first short takeoff and vertical landing F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at the company’s Samlesbury, England facility, officials said July 5. BAE expects to deliver the horizontal and vertical tails of...

According to World Public Opinion.org, recent surveys by the Pew Global Attitudes Project and Terror Free Tomorrow show that Muslims from across the world increasingly are rejecting suicide bombings and other forms of violence against civilians. The WPO analysis says...

July 3-4, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 28 11 39 CAS/Armed Recon 76 54 130 Airlift 325 325 Air refueling 78 78 Total 104 65 403 572 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance