The 505th Command and Control Wing at Nellis AFB, Nev., will host the first-ever Air Support Operations Center initial qualification course March 31. The three-week course will provide training for battlefield airmen attached to Army divisions or corps. It is designed to fuse the gap between operational and tactical levels and train the airmen how to provide the full spectrum of air, space, and cyber capabilities to ground commanders, according to Lt. Col. Robert D. Beckel, 505th Operations Group deputy commander. Fourteen students, the maximum allowed, are in the inaugural course. The wing plans to host four courses in 2008, followed by six next year, and eventually growing to nine annually. (Nellis report by Capt. Laura Ropelis)
Air Force F-16 pilots are testing out new sensors that could help maximize their performance and avoid deadly accidents while flying fast fighter jets under heavy G-forces and stressful conditions.