Daily Report

Jan. 30, 2013

Aviano F-16s Join Search for Missing Pilot

The 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano AB, Italy, launched several of its F-16 fighters on Wednesday to join the ongoing search for Capt. Lucas Gruenther, an Aviano F-16 pilot who went missing during a nighttime training mission over the Adriatic...

Air Force Identifies Aviano’s Missing F-16 Pilot

US and Italian search teams on Tuesday continued efforts in the Adriatic Sea to find and rescue Capt. Lucas Gruenther, the F-16 pilot from Aviano AB, Italy, who is missing after his airplane presumably went down in the water on...

Wyatt Retires

Lt. Gen. Bud Wyatt, Air National Guard director since February 2009, on Tuesday stepped down from his post and retired from the Air Force after more than 40 years of service during a ceremony at JB Andrews, Md. Oklahoma Gov....

Senate Confirms Kerry to Lead State Department

By a vote of 94 to three, the Senate on Tuesday approved the nomination of Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) to be the next secretary of state, succeeding Hillary Clinton. Kerry is scheduled to formally assume the post after Clinton steps...

Donley Nominated for Order of the Sword

The Air Force’s enlisted corps nominated Secretary Michael Donley for induction into the Order of the Sword, the highest honor that enlisted airmen can bestow upon the service’s senior civilians and officers. Then-CMSAF James Roy presented Donley with the nomination...

Graham Threatens to Hold Up Hagel Nomination

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is threatening to delay former Senator Chuck Hagel’s nomination to become the next Defense Secretary until sitting SECDEF Leon Panetta testifies on the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead, including...

Runway Rubber Remover Debuts in Southwest Asia

Members of the 1st Expeditionary Civil Engineer Group are now using a new piece of equipment designed for removing rubber from the runways at forward air bases in Southwest Asia, according to an Air Force release. The modified Unimog machine...

China’s Heavy Airlifter Prototype Flies

China’s Y-20 military transport prototype flew this past weekend from its development base in central China, according to press reports. The strategic airlifter, which bears a striking likeness to Boeing’s C-17, took off on Jan. 26 from a base near...