More Red Tape for the Tanker

RAND’s long-awaited “analysis of alternatives” for tanker replacement hit the Pentagon on Monday, but don’t expect an official response anytime soon. DOD officials said today that it would take at least two more months for the Pentagon’s office of program...

Taking Sides on the F/A-22

In the battle to save the F/A-22, the Air Force and Army are squared off against the Marine Corps and Navy. The Marine Corps is the big opponent. It wants F/A-22 money for its own use, and now, said an...

F-35 EW Crosses a Hurdle

The electronic warfare system for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has proved itself in flight—on a surrogate T-39 business jet—marking a major milestone, defense contractor BAE Systems said Wednesday. BAE says its EW effort is on schedule and below target...

The US Military, Up in Smoke

This is news. The percentage of smokers in the military is greater than percentage in America as a whole. Some 34 percent of the military smoke, while only 25 percent of Americans smoke. At least one reason for a four...

CENTAF Mission Notes

A USAF Predator, a B-52, and several A-10s flew air support missions for coalition troops in the vicinity of Jalalabad, Afghanistan on Tuesday, said the Air Force. The B-52 dropped four precision-guided JDAMS against enemy targets in the area.

Unions? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Unions

A federal court has slapped down as illegal a new personnel system at the Department of Homeland Security. That isn’t going to stop DOD, which is pushing ahead with a similar plan for its own workers. The Pentagon earlier this...

C-130 MC Rate in “High 90s,” Even in Uzbekistan

C-130 MC Rate in “High 90s,” Even in Uzbekistan: Active duty and ANG maintainers working together on C-130 airlifters are on top of things at Karshi-Khanabad AB, Uzbekistan—keeping their aircraft’s mission capable rate in the high 90s. Maintenance issues forced...

Pentagon to MDA Workers—Roll Tide

The Army will beef up its Redstone Arsenal with lots of workers from the Washington-based Missile Defense Agency, if the Pentagon’s BRAC recommendations survive. That’s the word from USAF Lt. Gen. Trey Obering, MDA Director, as reported in the Huntsville...

Out of the Shadows

One military officer connected to the intelligence team called Able Danger who, in 2000, knew of information about the 9/11 terrorist group has come into the light. In an interview with the New York Times Monday, Army Lt. Col. Anthony...

Connecting USAF, Piece by Piece

The Air Force’s Distributed Mission Operations Network has grown to 25 nodes, recently reaching Spangdahlem AB, Germany and Kadena AB, Japan, and will expand to Misawa AB, Japan, by year’s end. So states Telecommunications firm Global Crossing and Northrop Grumman....

They’re Picking Up Bad Vibrations

A recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows that 43 percent of Americans think things are going very or moderately well for the US in Iraq. By contrast, 56 percent of Americans say things are going very or moderately badly. Gallup notes...

Hey, What’s a Little Illegal Arms Trafficking Among Friends?

There are no more tensions between the US and Israeli defense establishments over Israel’s sharing of sensitive military technology with third parties, says the Pentagon. Israel has agreed to consult the US before selling weapons technology to China—or any other...

Needles in a Haystack Dept.

In an interview with the New York Times, the new director of the National Security Agency, Army Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, said the job of the Intelligence Community is different today when confronting terrorists rather than a single bad...

It’s Not Time That Matters

For some officers, Sept. 1 will mark the dawn a new day. The Air Force will begin testing a new assignment system that, simply put, will put no premium on long service in a particular job. The days of automatic...

Air Sorties From the Global War on Terrorism

Air Sorties From the Global War on TerrorismAugust 16, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 11 5 – 16 CAS/Armed Recon 49 27 – 76 Airlift – – 150 150 Air refueling – – 35 35 Total 60...