Lt. Col. Joseph Richardson received the 2007 Blacks in Government Meritorious Service Award during a ceremony earlier this month at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn., reports SrA. Paul Ross. Richardson is the director of operations for the 128th Airborne Command and Control Squadron and serves as an E-8C Joint STARS navigator. And, Maj. Phylinthia Givens of the Arkansas Air National Guard has been selected to receive the National Women of Color’s Technology All-Star Award. The 21-year-veteran of the Air Guard is the second African-American woman to become an officer in the Arkansas ANG, reports Maj. Magnolia Winkler. Givens is the Chief, Military Equal Opportunity Office at the 189th Airlift Wing.
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…