Daily Report

Aug. 12, 2009

F-15 Joins the Club

The Air Force’s F-15 fleet (i.e., F-15C/D Eagles and F-15E Strike Eagles) has been cleared to run on the synthetic fuel blend that the service wants all of its aircraft able to operate on unconstrained by 2011. Air Force spokesman...

Final Countdown

The last in the Air Force’s series of eight modernized Global Positioning System Block IIR satellites is set to launch next week from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. In a release Monday, prime contractor Lockheed Martin said this spacecraft, designated GPS...

Harnessing the Digital Age

Air Combat Command announced Monday that it is launching a campaign in the coming weeks called “IGNITE ACC” to fundamentally change the way in which the command does business and evolve it to a knowledge-based organization. In a memo to ACC’s airmen, Gen. John Corley, head of the command, said the idea is to exploit the knowledge and experience of young enlisted members, noncommissioned officers, officers, civilians, and contractors who were born into the digital age. He wrote that the command wants to “ignite a new collaborative culture that will flatten our organization, increase efficiency, infuse your thinking, and accelerate the speed and quality of decisions we make to achieve ACC goals and objectives.” Corley said “there is no alternative” to doing this if the command wishes to remain relevant in ever-changing and complex security environment. IGNITE ACC’s rollout will occur in three phases: awareness, launch, and adoption.

High-Velocity Arrival

The first C-130 transport that will undergo a radically new maintenance process being applied to the entire C-130 fleet arrived as planned July 31 at Robins AFB, Ga., home of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, the C-130 fleet’s depot....

One Step at a Time

The Air Force plans to start a wear test of four new airman battle uniform boot prototypes later this month at Luke AFB, Ariz. Service officials seek a new boot that is low-maintenance and resistant to staining from harsh chemicals,...

Green House of Education

The Air Force plans to erect a 3-megawatt solar farm on the grounds of the Air Force Academy. The Web site CleanTechnica.com reported Aug. 9 that this new solar energy system will be able to provide power for seven percent...

Airmen Receive Bronze Stars

Capt. Shannon Cummins of Tinker AFB, Okla., and MSgt. Benjamin Kunde of Dyess AFB, Tex., have received Bronze Star Medals for their meritorious service in Southwest Asia. Cummins, leader of the base-level systems flight within Tinker’s 3rd Combat Communications Group,...

Possible World War II Wreck Found

Canadian government divers think they may have found the wreckage of a US Army Air Forces PBY-5A Catalina seaplane that went down in rough weather in the St. Lawrence River on Nov. 2, 1942. The Associated Press reported Aug. 8...

Boeing Settles in KC-135 Dispute

Boeing has agreed to pay $2 million to the Justice Department to settle the claims by Edward Quintana, a former Boeing employee and whistleblower, that the company overcharged the Air Force for KC-135 maintenance work between 2002 and 2005 at...

Air Sorties From SWA, Aug. 7, 2009

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Aug. 7, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 27 27 54 9,260 CAS/Armed Recon 22 86 108 20,953 Airlift 145 145 28,541 Air refueling 53 53 10,155 Total 360 68,909 OIF=Operation Iraqi...

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest Asia, Part 2

Aug. 8-9, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 48 56 104 9,364 CAS/Armed Recon 54 133 187 21,140 Airlift 290 290 28,831 Air refueling 106 106 10,261 Total 687 69,596 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...