According to the latest Gallup poll, Americans say the war in Iraq, not disaster relief operations, is the most important problem facing the country. However, the percentage that worries about the war is down from 27 percent last month to just 16 percent in September. Gallup says that is the lowest number in a year. Click the box at right to see what else has Americans on edge.

The House Armed Services Committee voted 43 to 14 to strike down a resolution disapproving the recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure commission. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) ran the panel’s BRAC mark-up. After a bit of confusion over the...

Rep. Ike Skelton, a Missouri Democrat, knocked both the Pentagon and the BRAC commission—neither of which, he said, “lived up to the high standards that the law set for them.” He criticized DOD for withholding information and in many cases...

According to a new Congressional Budget Office report, the optimum way to help the Pentagon reduce deployment times for US forces in the early stages of a conflict is to develop and purchase heavy-lift airships. CBO notes that airships “would...

What the CBO really likes is prepositioned ships, loaded with equipment. The drawbacks there, of course, include having the wrong equipment for the fight, not having adequate port facilities to offload the equipment, or needing to get into a land-locked...

The CBO does say that by adding another 21 C-17s to the currently planned 180-aircraft fleet, the Air Force could deliver an additional 1,400 tons within the first six days—the point at which a prepositioned ship might arrive. And, the...

Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that “hopefully” he was taking his last DOD press conference as Chairman. He used the occasion to urge Americans to “remain steadfast in our fight against”...

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told reporters, “When the history of this time is written—an era of tragedy and turmoil and triumph—I believe it will be said of Dick Myers that he was one of the most consequential Chairmen of the...

Ronald Sega, the new Undersecretary of the Air Force and DOD Executive Agent for Space, believes it is time “to lower the risk” in space acquisition, according to Reuters news service. Speaking at a luncheon of the Washington Space Business...

The Air Force confirmed Wednesday that it had notified Congress that it is entirely likely the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System program unit cost would bust its baseline cost by 15 percent, breaching the so-called Nunn-McCurdy rule. Lt. Col....

Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) remains committed to his Buy American provision and that includes the joint venture by Northrop Grumman and EADS to build a new Air Force tanker, according to panel spokesman Josh...

Ellington Is Central Hub in Texas for Hurricane Rita Relief: Ellington Field, Tex., home to the Air National Guard’s 147th Fighter Wing, already has moved more than 100 tons of relief supplies and is expecting much more. Helping the fighter...

The Texas Air National Guard set up overnight a temporary medical facility—called Task Force Compassion—at Ellington Field in the facility’s abandoned base exchange—right near a sign that still advertises Toy Land. The 10-bed unit comprises 47 medics from the 147th...

The Civil Air Patrol has flown 50 sorties—roughly half the Air Force total—for Hurricane Rita, providing photo reconnaissance of potential damage, oil spills, traffic congestion, flood assessment, and live multispectral imagery for state and federal agencies.

Some 800 airmen, 91 aircraft, and 31 equipment packages deployed by the Air Force to aid search and rescue operations for Hurricane Rita are getting set to return to their normal duty stations. The pararescue teams flew 57 missions, saving...

Moron AB, Spain, has become a key waypoint for many forces destined for Southwest Asia. At Moron, the 4th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron—comprising active, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve Command airmen from three bases, seven units, and 10...

Wearing an Air Force uniform and regaling college officials with her tales of combat in Southwest Asia, a bogus “airman” managed to convince Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C., to give her a small fortune in grants. Lisa Jane Phillips received...

Denmark opened the door for women to become fighter pilots in the early 1990s, but, so far, it has had only one woman graduate from its three-year preliminary pilot screening program. That woman—2nd Lt. Line Bonde—now is completing the Euro-Joint...

A four-man team from Holloman AFB, N.M., deployed to Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, to help the Army pack up Force Provider assets—more than 500,000 tons of bare base gear—for reserve storage in Southwest Asia or shipment back to the States for...

The Pentagon’s top Operational Test and Evaluation official, David Duma, told Congress Tuesday that the V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft is effective, reliable, and capable of conducting missions. He expects the Defense Acquisition Board to give the green light this week for...

The Dawn Patrol Rendezvous World War I Fly-In, one of the leading historical aviation events in the country, will appear at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio from Sept. 30-Oct. 2. The event features flyovers...

The 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron, Al Udeid AB, Qatar, handles some 20 percent of all passengers and cargo transported by Air Mobility Command forces. By comparison, Rhein Main AB, Germany, handles about 13 percent. For the month of September...

September 27, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 10 5 – 15 CAS/Armed Recon 34 24 – 58 Airlift – – 170 170 Air refueling – – 31 31 Total 44 29 201 274 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...