Paper, You Say?
It came as a surprise to Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz that the Air Force’s nuclear bomber force keeps track of nuclear weapons using paper ledgers. “It seems to me there is a more modern way to maintain inventories...
“Rapid Drawdown” at Grand Forks
Speaking with school board members, representing schools for both the city of Grand Forks and Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota last week, Col. John Michel talked about the loss of base personnel as the 319th Air Refueling...
Enlisted Aircrews Are “Fantastic”
Faced with a shortage of pilots and navigators to fill positions that require flying experience, Maj. Gen. Mark Solo has turned to the enlisted mobility aircrew force to fill empty seats in the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center. In his...
Protests Can Be Costly
The Air Force will pay Boeing $1.387 million in compensation for the legal costs that the company incurred in its successful protest of the service’s February choice of Northrop Grumman in the KC-X tanker contest, an Air Force spokeswoman tells...
Air Forces Africa Takes Flight
Less than two months after beginning initial operations, 17th Air Force (Air Forces Africa) has yet to secure its full staff but already is ramping up its daily sorties to the African continent, says Maj. Gen. Ronald Ladnier, head of...
Verne Orr Dies
The 14th Secretary of the Air Force, Verne Orr, died Nov. 27 at age 92 of complications from old age, according to a Los Angeles Times report. Orr, who had served in the Navy during World War II and left...
“Soft Ribs and Strategic Weaknesses”
Those are the words Chinese military strategists use to describe the US military dependence on space assets and information technology, according to a new report (large file) from the Congressionally chartered US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The report asserts...
“Mission Almost Complete”
Moving out on the majority of recommendations made by the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves means that the “transition from a strategic reserve to an operational reserve [is a] mission almost complete,” said Thomas Hall, Pentagon reserve affairs...
Taking on More and More
The fledgling Iraqi Air Force recently completed its largest and most difficult exercise to date, when its emergency response force of security forces, firefighters, medical personnel, and command and control, emergency management, and safety elements took the lead for a...
Missile Pioneer Cristadoro Dies
Retired Brig. Gen. Maurice A. Cristadoro Jr., who served as program manager for the Atlas ballistic missile, died Nov. 22 at age 88. Cristadoro began his Air Force career in 1941 as an aviation cadet, receiving his wings in November...
Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest Asia
Nov. 25-27, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 87 44 131 12,250 CAS/Armed Recon 151 207 358 34,186 Airlift 370 370 43,140 Air refueling 146 146 16,660 Total 1,005 106,236 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance