Daily Report

Feb. 28, 2013

S-Day Is Here

Sequestration takes effect at midnight on March 1, but no 11th-hour negotiations among congressional leaders to head it off a second time are even scheduled. The Pentagon, facing up to the possibility of no deal, has been hoarding cash since...

Hagel Sworn in as Defense Secretary

Chuck Hagel became the 24th Defense Secretary on Wednesday, taking the oath of office during a ceremony in the Pentagon. He succeeded Leon Panetta who retired after 19 months in the office. Later in the day, Hagel hosted his first...

Sequestration’s Disconnect

Further alienation from the American public is another of the potential long-term consequences of budget sequestration for the Air Force, warned Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh. “I am concerned strategically, if [sequestration] happens, with our ability to connect with...

Sierra Nevada Wins Light Air Support Contract, Again

The Air Force on Wednesday awarded Sierra Nevada of Sparks, Nev., a $427 million contract to supply 20 A-29 Super Tucano light-attack aircraft to the Afghan air force and provide associated maintenance and training support under the Light Air Support...

Doolittle Raider Thomas Griffin Dies

Retired Maj. Thomas C. Griffin, one of the Doolittle Raiders who, along with 79 other airmen, carried out a daring bombing attack on Tokyo on April 18, 1942, died in his sleep in a veterans’ hospital in Cincinnati on Feb....

Partnership Building in Slovenia

Members of the 435th Contingency Response Group at Ramstein AB, Germany, recently spent several days at Cerklje AB, Slovenia, to help the Slovenes improve airfield security procedures, announced Ramstein officials. “This was an excellent learning opportunity for all participants,” said...

Communications Payload Delivered for Polar Satellite

Northrop Grumman handed over the first of two protected communications payloads for the Air Force’s Enhanced Polar System, announced the company. EPS, which the Air Force intends to start operating in 2018, is designed to provide continuous secure, jam-resistant, strategic...

F-16 Salvage Operation Concludes

Airmen and Navy personnel completed salvage operations to recover the wreckage of an F-16 from Aviano AB, Italy, that crashed in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Italy last month. Navy divers from Mobile Diving Salvage Unit 2, advised...