Col. Andrew J. Campbell, commander of the 374th Airlift Wing, declared a public health emergency at Yokota Air Base, Japan, on Dec. 16, and rolled out an extensive set of mandatory COVID-19 mitigation measures for U.S. and host-nation personnel—including mandatory contact-tracing for U.S. troops, DOD ...
As America's first approved coronavirus vaccine is shipped across the country and frontline workers are getting their first jabs this week, National Guardsmen have been activated to assist with transportation. Military airlifters are standing by to support commercial shipping networks as well. Governors in 26 ...
The lack of training ranges and airspace in Japan are making it difficult for U.S. aircrews to maintain readiness during the pandemic, the head of U.S. forces in Japan said. U.S. and Japanese aircraft and personnel need to leave the country for high-end training, often ...
The Air Force doesn’t need to grow its stockpile of “tactical” nuclear weapons to complement the Navy’s newly deployed submarine-launched W76-2 warhead, the Pentagon’s top nuclear policy official indicated Sept. 2. “The Air Force is doing more than its fair share in this area,” Robert ...
U.S. Air Force bases in South Korea closed or limited operations as Typhoon Maysak hit the country early Sept. 3 local time, bringing high winds and heavy rains shortly after grazing bases in Japan. Kunsan Air Base announced at about 3 a.m. that it was ...
Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper continued his verbal offensive against China, accusing the country of “self-serving” behavior and a disregard for international laws, the same day the Chinese military fired medium-range ballistic missiles during a military exercise. China is undergoing an aggressive modernization plan to ...
Japan has gotten a green light from the State Department to buy 105 more F-35s in two variants, which will make that country the largest operator of the Lightning II outside the U.S. The news comes the same week Japan's defense ministry informed the country's ...
The Air Force's F-35A fleet has become its third-largest fighter fleet—larger than that of the F-15C/D or E variants and larger than the F-22 Raptor fleet—and the type will likely surpass 250 air frames by the end of August, according to the Joint Program Office. ...
The Pentagon is giving the green light for personnel movement to more states and countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic, though some installations are retightening restrictions as cases increase in specific areas. The Defense Department on June 29 updated its list of “green locations,” where personnel ...
The Wild Weasels at Misawa Air Base, Japan, showed off their advanced armament in the base’s first joint, bilateral elephant walk on June 22. Twelve F-16CMs from the base lined up with 12 Japanese F-35As, two U.S. Navy E/A-18G Growlers, a Navy C-12, two U.S. ...
Kadena Air Base officials have moved into the “recovery phase,” which includes a thorough investigation, after a fire at a hazardous materials storage facility at the Japan base on June 22 resulted in about 100 people being treated for symptoms of smoke and chlorine gas ...
Congress wants the Defense Department to report back on North Korean weapons programs as well as growing ties between Russia and China, citing potential risks to U.S. national security. Specifically, the committee asked the DOD to research North Korea’s chemical and biological weapons capabilities, and ...