Defense officials are telling Congress that there will be some risk associated with the Air Force plan to retire more than a third of its B-52 bombers, but that the service can offset the risk by altering the conduct of...

US airmen—principally US Air Force aircrews—are finally getting a training range in South Korea after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reportedly threatened to close US air bases on the peninsula if additional training space couldn’t be provided. The Korean defense ministry...

EADS North America has its eye on the Air Force’s tanker competition and more, leading it to push its political action committee to aid the European-based company’s drive for more of the American defense pie, reports the Congressional newspaper, The...

The first C-17 cargo aircraft assigned to Travis AFB, Calif., touched down at the base on Tuesday. Dubbed Spirit of Solano, it’s the first of 13 new C-17s destined for Travis and will be on its first mission—flying to Europe—this...

Reacting to the news of the latest potential compromise of veterans data, Senate minority leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Tuesday, “Enough is enough,” and demanded the resignation of Veteran Affairs Secretary James Nicholson. Reid noted that Nicholson had promised...

RAF Squadron Leader David Arthurton has made history as the first and only foreign exchange pilot to fly the B-2 bomber. He joined the 13th Bomb Squadron at Whiteman AFB, Mo., in September 2005 and currently has deployed with the...

CMSAF Rodney McKinley, the CMSAF, visited Lackland AFB, Tex., and nearby Camp Bullis to observe the Air Force’s revamped training. At Lackland, the chief attended the airman’s coin presentation, the traditional final ceremony in the last week of training for...

The Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Michael Mullen, told attendees at the rollout of the Navy’s first EA-18G Growler jamming aircraft that the service is about to embark on a year-long overhaul of national maritime strategy. “Times have changed,” Mullen...

Airmen of Air Force Reserve Command’s 910th Airlift Wing in Ohio who are members of DOD’s sole fixed-wing unit dedicated to aerial spraying on Wednesday adapted their unique capability to the largest oil spill response exercise—Safe Seas 2006—in coastal waters....

SSgt. Michael Stewart recently received a Purple Heart for an injury sustained while on a convoy mission in Iraq, but there is more to this story. When an improvised explosive device exploded, injuring several convoy members, Stewart helped stabilize his wheelman, A1C Joshua Collins, before a medevac team arrived. Stewart’s injury was slight, so he stayed to help get the convoy moving again. Air Force CMSgt. Tony Killion, the 70th Medium Truck Detachment chief, told the Rock Slate that Stewart “represents what these transporters are all about. … They love doing this and can’t wait to get back out there.” (Read the Rock Slate article here.)

“The work ethic and dedication of [the KC-10 maintainers in Southwest Asia] is outstanding,” says MSgt. William Dorety, production supervisor for the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. Dorety is one who would know. According to the Sand Script, Dorety has deployed 19 times during his 20-plus years in the Air Force and says, “I’ve never seen the same level of commitment as I’ve seen out of these young maintainers.” They perform all manner of maintenance—in 135 degree-heat on the flightline and hotter in the aircraft—on the KC-10s to ensure they can fly twice within 24 hours. (Read the feature in the Sand Script.)

Britain’s Royal Air Force will get a fifth C-17 airlifter and will purchase the first four that it has been leasing from Boeing. The British under-secretary of state for defense, Tom Watson, announced the news last week, according to Government...

A new report released by the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis recommends expanding the missile defense structure by reorganizing programs, increasing Presidential and Congressional involvement, and developing more public recognition to make it an urgent national priority. The 200-plus-page report,...

According to Sen. James Talent (R-Mo.), there are more than 70 veterans, civil rights, and consumer organizations in lock step to “stop predatory lending practices targeted at our service members and their families.” Talent and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) are...

Aug. 8, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 15 7 22 CAS/Armed Recon 41 27 68 Airlift 160 160 Air refueling 41 41 Total 56 34 201 291 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance