The Air Force selected TSgt. Jennifer Hellwig as its Aircrew Life Support NCO for 2005. Hellwig, who is assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Group, Kadena AB, Japan, is a 15-year veteran of the life support career field who says the best aspects of the work are “interaction with the aircrew and augmenting combat and water survival.”
After years of experiments and tests, senior Air Force leaders say they're on the verge of using C-17s and other cargo aircraft to launch cruise missiles via airdrop, touting the development as a way to bolster the combat fleet and a major shift in the service’s mindset.