On a trip to MacDill AFB, Fla., Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked at a Town Hall meeting to say when the Air Force would get a replacement for its Eisenhower-era aerial tankers. The “short answer,” he said, is, “I...

Air Mobility Command has sent more than 45 members of the 621st Contingency Response Wing, McGuire AFB, N.J., aboard two supply-laden C-17s to Pakistan to help orchestrate aerial relief operations. Additionally, the Pentagon has dispatched Army helicopters from Bagram AB,...

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley, speaking at the American Enterprise Institute, highlighted a point about the average age of the service’s aircraft—23 years, in case you haven’t been paying attention—by noting that he had just come...

Moseley said he has no doubt the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle—which, he termed worth “its weight in gold”—will probably begin replacing some of the older manned systems like the U-2. “We can walk away from some of the older...

Moseley spoke about mobility issues, reminding AEI conference attendees that it wasn’t very long ago that certain critics in Washington were trying to kill the C-17 program. “Where would we be now without it?” Moseley said of the workhorse transport....

We Need the Raptor for China: Speaking at an AEI forum, Michael Vickers of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments says the Air Force’s “job one” is “hedging against the rise of China.” He also had a simple prescription...

Col. Gail E. Wojtowicz says she has the “best job in the Air Force,” as the chief for the Air Force Future Concepts and Transformation Division. Why? Wojtowicz told attendees at the AEI conference, that she and her staff get...

In a report to be released Wednesday, retired Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston and retired German Gen. Klaus Naumann condemn European leaders for a lack of determination to improve their collective military capabilities. According to the London Financial Times, which...

It Would Take a Catastrophe: Speaking to reporters in Washington Wednesday, Paul McHale, point man for DOD’s Homeland Defense, said Joint Task Force Katrina soon will be down to 250 personnel from the 22,000 military personnel that were deployed at...

Data from the last month of the fiscal year did little to change the overall military recruiting picture for 2005. The Army still came up short—way short, recruiting nearly 6,700 less than its active duty goal of 80,000. The Air...

According to the US Air Force Academy spokesman, Johnny Whitaker, the Washington meeting of the academy’s Board of Visitors was “an upbeat meeting.” The 15-member board commended the academy for changes that had been made following the sexual assault scandal....

The potential future threat posed by China and the existing war against Islamic extremist terror present very different airpower problems, said Air Force Col. Tom Ehrhard, at an American Enterprise Institute forum. Unfortunately, he said, the Air Force has met...

Airmen and F-16s of the 23rd Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem AB, Germany, have taken over NATO’s air policing mission for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, replacing German Fighter Wing 71. NATO units have been providing routine air defense—on three-month rotations—for the three...

The use of Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan by American forces now has an official blessing. US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice secured a formal agreement from Kyrgyz officials for open-ended use of the facility, capping the verbal arrangement Defense...

During a stop at Manas Air Base, Rice spoke to airmen of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing and French and Spanish troops, thanking them for the way they “work together as a coalition—the way it should be.” Rice noted that...

The Displaced Airmen Pick Up Their Schooling: Officials at Sheppard AFB, Tex., said they have begun an electronics principles course for the airmen who were forced to leave their technical training program behind when they were evacuated from Keesler AFB,...

China has placed two more astronauts into orbit aboard an indigenous spacecraft, reports the Washington Post. The astronauts are scheduled to orbit the Earth for five days. China in 2003 entered the exclusive club—Russia and the US—that have sent astronauts...

The legendary Berlin Airlift “Candy Bomber,” retired Col. Gail Halvorsen joined other American and German dignitaries at the closing ceremony for Rhein-Main AB, Germany. USAF officials unveiled a C-17 airlifter that has been named Spirit of Rhein-Main. The base endured...

USAF Lt. Gen. Daniel Leaf has become the deputy commander of US Pacific Command, with headquarters at Camp Smith, Hawaii. A veteran pilot, Leaf was vice commander of Air Force Space Command, headquartered at Peterson AFB, Colo.

The gender issue isn’t a problem, according to Maj. Michelle Stringer and 1st Lt. Sarah Parris who are helping to train Iraqi noncommissioned officers. Stringer and Parris, deployed from the 78th Security Forces Squadron, Robins AFB, Ga., are assigned to...

In the world of museums, receiving an accolade from the American Association of Museum’s Museum News is top notch. The National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, has gotten such an honor, when it was mentioned, along...

October 11, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 10 5 – 15 CAS/Armed Recon 52 23 – 75 Airlift – – 190 190 Air refueling – – 34 34 Total 62 28 224 314 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...