The base-closure explosion that shook the country last Friday threw so many burning chunks in so many directions that no one can quite peg the winners and losers yet. All parties suffered, but who came out ahead—USAF leaders, who sought...

The struggle was most heated over the Air Guard’s fighter forces. Various press reports and public statements point to instances in which the BRAC panel sided with ANG and turned aside the Air Force’s plans. Examples: the Portland, Ore., ANG...

On the other hand, the governors and state officials suffered some bitter defeats. The panel, for instance, voted to: —Close Otis ANGB, Mass., and re-locate its 102nd FW F-15s to western Massachusetts. (See update “Otis, From Selection to Resurrection”;DR 09/15/05.)...

These BRAC actions are sure to be tied up in court for years. Three states—Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Tennessee—have filed lawsuits, asserting that no one can tamper with ANG units without the consent of the state governor. Last Friday, US Dist....

Judge Padova had been given a big case to handle in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard dispute. (see DR, 8/25/05). His shocking decision: The Pentagon does not have the legal right, absent the consent of the Governor, to eliminate the...

The BRAC commission voted 6-1 to hold off on shuttering Cannon AFB, N.M., but it decided to move the base’s 50 F-16s to six other bases. The base will move into the “enclave” category until December 2009, by which time...

For months, South Dakota’s politicians and citizens had been working desperately, seemingly with little hope of success, to reverse a Pentagon decision to close Ellsworth Air Force Base, one of the state’s biggest employers. Well, the party on the High...

In other decisions affecting Air Force facilities, the BRAC panel deviated from some Pentagon recommendations. Eielson AFB, Alaska, will keep its active aircraft unit and Galena Airport Forward Operation Location will close. Air Force Institute of Technology will stay in...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Vietnam War Navy POW who in more recent years has become famous for his frequent attacks on anything and anyone related to the Air Force, is once again seen as a leading Republican Presidential candidate....

The Army and Navy academies both have “sporadic and incomplete” records when it comes to tackling the problems of sexual harassment and sexual assault, says the Congressionally chartered Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service...

War in space, anyone? That’s an exaggeration, but the trend is looking pretty clear. The Air Force plans to beef up its fledgling offensive space capability by adding four additional ground-based Counter Communications Systems—devices that are intended to disrupt enemy...

Wired is awed—but not shocked—by the military’s increasing use of sophisticated computer technology to train groups of forces, forces which often are stationed on different continents. In an article this week, Wired expresses its admiration for this summer’s Joint Red...

Air Force Tests New Minuteman Re-entry Vehicle: Air Force Missileers from Malmstrom AFB, Mont., and Vandenberg AFB, Calif., joined forces at the Pacific Coast facility last Thursday to launch an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM with a “safety-enhanced” re-entry vehicle. Two...

Airlifting 39,000 pounds of cargo on Aug. 23 to soldiers and marines in the eastern region of Afghanistan was just another daily mission for airmen of the 745th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, troops who fly and maintain the C-130s now deployed...

The exchange program is flourishing, at least for Arizona Air National Guard pilot Lt. Col. David Stine. He has been in the Netherlands for three years teaching Dutch airmen how to fly the F-16 in an operational environment. The learning...

Tricare rolls out something new on Sept. 1. It will offer additional financial help and more in-home care for active duty family members with certain disabilities. It is called the Extended Care Health Option. ECHO is designed to provide assistance...

The new McCormick Tribune Foundation military and media survey (DR, 8/25/05) indicates that Americans want to read more about military and national security affairs—and not just the obvious stories. The public is interested in reading about: performance of the armed forces during war (69 percent); individual members of the military (49 percent); the cost of military operations (54 percent); and the rebuilding of Iraq (42 percent). Read more on the results of the MTF study here.

“Peace Mission 2005”—the exhibitionist military exercise staged by China and Russia—ended Thursday with a mock paratrooper invasion on China’s east coast. During the raid, propaganda leaflets were dropped to “shake the enemy’s will,” according to the Chinese state news service...

USAF F-16s provided CAS for coalition troops under fire near Al Qaim, Iraq, on Thursday. The F-16s responded to a call, striking enemy forces with two GBU-12s.

August 25, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 10 6 – 16 CAS/Armed Recon 47 22 – 69 Airlift – – 165 165 Air refueling – – 39 39 Total 57 28 204 289 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...