Shades of Steve Canyon?:

Jan. 8, 2008

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

The Air Force has a new cartoonist to depict the (mis)adventures of a fighter pilot. However, unlike the heroic “Steve Canyon” of World War II fames, the fictional “1st Lt. Kenneth Dahl” is more in the genre of “Beetle Bailey.” Dahl, call sign “Barbie,” is the creation of SSgt. Austin May, a public affairs specialist at Laughlin AFB, Tex. The sergeant has been producing the Dahl comics since February 2007 online and last fall collected many of them into a book, titled Air Force Blues. Dahl is not May’s first Air Force “hero;” the cartoonist produced his first “AWACer” comic strip while he served as an airborne battle management systems operator on an E-3 AWACS. (Joint Task Force-Bravo report by TSgt. Sonny Cohrs)

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Trending Stories

GAO Report: Just Over One in Four F-35As Fully Mission Capable

Senate Committee Backs Multiyear Deals for F-35, F-15EX

Senators Want Pentagon to Tap in to Commercial On-Orbit Data Centers 

GAO: Tanker Fleet Struggling with Readiness due to Parts Shortage, KC-46 Delays

Related

Congress Wants Controls on How AI Is Used for Targeting and Planning

June 12, 2026
Concerned about how artificial intelligence might be used to generate target lists or operational plans, lawmakers want to expand limits on autonomous weapons to address mission planning and target selection. The House Armed Services Committee's version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization bill would direct the Pentagon to revise Defense…

Senators Want to Build Back MQ-9 Fleet by 2028

June 12, 2026
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach recently called the MQ-9 Reaper the “most valuable player” of Operation Epic Fury. Now the Senate Armed Services Committee wants the Air Force to build up its Reaper fleet.

Experts: Adversaries Can Exploit App Data to Track Troops, Families

June 11, 2026
For millions of Americans, downloading smartphone apps and quickly allowing them access to the phone’s location data has become a daily routine. But for service members and their families, every download can offer U.S. adversaries a chance to threaten their personal safety, information security experts warn.

Lawmakers Eye Four-Star Command for Unmanned, Autonomous Systems

June 11, 2026
The Pentagon could have the option to create a new combatant command devoted to unmanned and autonomous systems if a provision in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s annual defense policy bill becomes law. The legislation is one of several moves lawmakers have proposed in recent weeks to both bound and…

GAO Report: Just Over One in Four F-35As Fully Mission Capable

June 11, 2026
Software shortcomings, spare parts shortages, and corrosion problems mean only about one in four F-35 stealth fighters were ready to carry out all their possible missions at any given time in fiscal 2025, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

Lawmakers Pave the Way for Space Force to Dissolve SDA, Space RCO

June 11, 2026
Tucked into the Senate Armed Services Committee’s annual defense policy bill is the legal backing the Space Force needs to dissolve the Space Development Agency and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office as part of its acquisition reform efforts.