Invasion of Britain

The F-22 fighter will be appearing in the skies over Britain for the first time later this month, demonstrating its prowess at two air international shows. Tomorrow, three Raptors from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Va., along with...

Airmen Continue Fighting Wildfires

As of July 2, Air National Guardsmen and Air Force Reservists from several states were into the seventh day of helping fight the wildfires that have ravaged large parts of northern California since late June. These airmen are operating under...

Tightening the Belt

With jet fuel costs soaring, Air Mobility Command is looking for ways to lower the amount of aviation fuel used by the command’s transports and tankers. The command consumes about 27 percent of the total aviation fuel used by the...

Filling Voids

There’s still no word on President Bush’s nomination of Gen Norton Schwartz, head of US Transportation Command, to be the next Chief of Staff, but here are some developments of note regarding other Pentagon posts: Bush on July 1 announced his intention to nominate Robert Hastings to be assistant secretary of defense for public affairs and to designate Gordon Heddell to be acting inspector general. Hastings is currently the principal deputy in the public affairs office. Heddell would replace Claude Kicklighter, who tendered his resignation to accept a post at George Mason University in Washington, D.C., according to a notice on the IG Web site.

It’a Still an Air War

It’s Still an Air War: Air Force and coalition strike aircraft remained busy in the skies over Afghanistan July 2, conducting 54 close-air-support mission overall, Air Forces Central said in a July 3 release. Among these activities, A-10s attacked anti-Afghan...

Missing Korean War Pilot Identified

The remains of Capt. William Mauldin of Pickens, S.C., an Air Force pilot missing since the crash of his RF-51 Mustang in February 1952 during the Korean War, have been identified, the Department of Defense announced July 3. They will...

Tinker Shutters Combat Loggie Unit

The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker AFB, Okla., has inactivated the 654th Combat Logistics Support Squadron, one of three units formerly charged with deploying to hot spots to repair battle-damaged aircraft that will end their missions. The other...

The “New” Enlistment Rules

The Pentagon has developed a single, joint enlistment waiver system that incorporates four categories of offenses, ranging from major misconduct to traffic offenses. At a Pentagon press briefing July 2, Bill Carr, deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy,...

Mechanically Sound

Boeing has completed environmental tests on the first Global Positioning System Block IIF satellite that it is building for the Air Force, thereby confirming the mechanical integrity of the spacecraft, the company announced July 1. Members of Boeing’s industry team...

Air Sorties From SWA

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaJuly 1-2, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 47 25 72 5,613 CAS/Armed Recon 64 113 177 16,636 Airlift 122 122 23,054 Air refueling 103 103 7,877 Total 474 53,180...