Times Have Changed:
US Transportation Command boss, Air Force Gen. Norton Schwartz, on a his first visit to the Air Mobility Warfare Center at Ft. Dix, N.J., offered his view of the center’s new Joint Precision Airdrop System, saying it would make both...
Targeting the Money:
The Air Force is offering Aviator Continuation Pay to select pilots and air battle managers—no combat systems officers—for Fiscal 2007. The aim is to garner commitments from “specific rated officer demographic groups” to help the service “stabilize the inventory,” states...
Building for Now and Future:
Air Force and Army engineers have shepherded a new runway project for Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan for about two years, formally opening the $68 million project Dec. 20. The old Russian-built runway required daily repair and simply was not up...
On the Agenda, or Not:
Incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) has laid out priorities for the 110th Congress. Leading the list of six items, of course, is Iraq, followed by Afghanistan. Fourth on the list, behind a wider...
Who Does?:
The head of US Air Forces in Europe, Gen. Tom Hobbins, told airmen at Incirlik AB, Turkey, on Dec. 20, “I don’t like the fact that our people are working an average of 51 hours a week.” He was talking...
STSS Closer to Launch:
The Missile Defense Agency has just received its second Space Tracking and Surveillance System Block 2006 sensor payload, built by Raytheon and delivered to STSS prime contractor Northrop Grumman. The agency expects to launch two STSS satellites with Block 2006...
Getting More in One Pass:
Air Mobility Command has proved the use of C-17 strategic airlifters to support the nation’s missions at the South Pole, when an aircrew from McChord AFB, Wash., dropped the first C-17 load—about 70,000 pounds—to scientists at the pole. The typical...
On the Leading Edge:
The Air Force Advanced Power Technology Office at Robins AFB, Ga., is working with Ohio-based Battelle on the use of a hydrogen fuel cell to power such things as bare base airfield lights and light carts, or anything that currently...
Afghans Losing Faith?:
A new survey for World Public Opinion.org shows that fewer Afghanis support the existing government and the presence of NATO forces in Afghanistan than did a year ago. Today, some 62 percent feel Afghanistan is “going in the right direction,”...
On the Same Hook-up:
US Joint Forces Command has gotten approval to connect its Joint Training and Experimentation Network with Australia’s Defence Training and Experimentation Network. A Dec. 21 news release states that the hook-up will enable US and Australian forces to train together...
Pacific Relief:
The Pentagon has increased the cost-of-living-allowance increase for the Pacific region, up to a 20 percent increase over base pay depending on location, reports Stars and Stripes. The COLA rates for Europe also just increased.
Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism
Dec. 20, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 13 9 22 CAS/Armed Recon 34 31 65 Airlift 110 110 Air refueling 36 36 Total 47 40 146 233 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance