Daily Report

Dec. 21, 2009

Bouncing Ball 2

Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), Boeing tanker proponents, say the Pentagon remains convinced its KC-X draft request for proposals is sound, refuting a recent implication by lawmakers who support the Northrop Grumman-EADS team that the Pentagon...

Temporary Solution

When USAF created Air Force Global Strike Command earlier this year at Barksdale AFB, La., the new command took over the headquarters building of one of its units-to-be, 8th Air Force, scattering 8th AF staff around Barksdale, but now USAF...

Lockheed Produces Raptor Sooner

The Air Force on Dec. 14 received its 144th F-22 Raptor from prime contractor Lockheed Martin more than 17 days ahead of schedule, according to a Dec. 18 Air Force Materiel Command release. This Raptor is the first of Lot 8 under a money-saving multiyear contract that bundled the final 60 F-22s into a single contract. Lt. Col. Rob Strasser, F-22A Production Squadron commander at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, said, "Completing the first multiyear lot is a major milestone for the Air Force." In October, the service let the final contract installment that will produce Lot 10, the final four Raptors in the 187 aircraft program of record.

New Career ALOs Tackle Air and Space Ops

The first 15 of USAF’s new breed of dedicated Air Liaison Officers last week completed their 13-day joint air and space operations training provided by Air Force Warfare Center’s 505th Command and Control Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla. This training...

Dropping In at Christmas

Airmen at Andersen AFB, Guam, conducted the annual Operation Christmas Drop last week, collecting, bundling, and delivering more than 12 tons of cargo—food, supplies, tools, and toys—to 51 islands across more than 1.8 million square miles in the Pacific region....

Another All-Reserve Space Milestone

For 12 hours on Nov. 8, an all-Air Force Reserve Command crew were the sole handlers for the Space-Based Infrared System Highly Elliptical Orbit satellites, operating from the mission control station back-up at Schriever AFB, Colo., according to a Dec....

No Names, Please

The commander of the New York Air National Guard’s 174th Fighter Wing in Syracuse hosted a media event Dec. 17 to discuss the unit’s new mission as MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted vehicle operators. Bradley said the airmen of the wing,...

Air Force, Army Agree on SA

Air Force and Army leadership have formally signed a memorandum of agreement, setting out the rules of the road for Joint Base San Antonio, an amalgam of Ft. Sam Houston and Lackland and Randolph Air Force Bases that will be...

Sargeant Receives White Trophy

The Air Force and Air Force Association presented the 2009 Gen. Thomas D. White Space Trophy to Maj. Gen. Stephen Sargeant, commander of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center at Kirtland AFB, N.M., for making the most outstanding...

Air Sorties in SWA, 121509

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Dec. 15, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 27 32 59 16,626 CAS/Armed Recon 19 87 106 33,769 Airlift 152 152 47,375 Air refueling 40 40 16,513 Total 357 114,283 OIF=Operation Iraqi...