Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said he returned to government service because of “China, China, China,” but he admitted that the Air Force’s front line defenses in the Pacific have “a ways to go” in the areas of deception, defense, and practicing agile combat employment ...
The U.S. and Japanese air forces should look to strengthen their coordination and training, potentially even staging a high-level exercise in Japan, to counter the threats facing both countries in the Indo-Pacific region, U.S. Air Force Director of Staff Lt. Gen. Kevin B. Schneider said ...
A year after submitting its smallest military construction budget in a half-decade, the Department of the Air Force submitted a 2022 budget request that marked a return to years past—and a substantial increase overall. The 2022 figure of roughly $2.8 billion marks a 75 percent ...
In the summer of 2019, the 18th Maintenance Group at Kadena Air Base, Japan, was struggling to produce just a light day of sorties. Just 16 months later, the unit pulled off a “super surge,” putting up 436 sorties in three and a half days—the ...
Single Airmen and Guardians on their first duty assignments to 22 locations in the Pacific and Europe will now have to pack their bags for a longer stay—beginning next month, those tours will last three years instead of two. The Department of the Air Force ...
Improperly stored calcium hypochlorite caused a fire last summer that destroyed the hazardous material storage building at Kadena Air Base, Japan, and caused about 120 people to seek medical care, according to a recently released Air Force investigation. The June 22, 2020, fire at the ...
As the Air Force leans in to the agile combat employment concept—in which smaller groups of Airmen can deploy rapidly to locations with varying degrees of austerity— communications and cyber Airmen must find ways to be lighter and leaner as well. Enter “communications flyaway kits”: ...
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 ...
Airmen from the 31st and 33rd Rescue Squadrons and members of the Japanese coast guard are searching for a Kadena Air Base Airman who was reported missing while surfing Nov. 22. The Airman was surfing near Cape Hedo, the northernmost point on the Japanese island ...
An Airman from Kadena Air Base, Japan, has received an Air Force Achievement Medal for saving the lives of a mother and daughter at Tataki waterfall in Okinawa earlier this year, the 18th Wing told Air Force Magazine in a Nov. 12 email. Cantrell, an ...
Air Force B-1s and B-2s deployed to the Indo-Pacific came together to train with U.S. and Australian joint terminal attack controllers down under, dropping training bombs at three different training ranges throughout August. The B-1s, deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and B-2s deployed ...
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 ...