A Senate move to keep open the Boeing C-17 production line gained strong support. Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) introduced legislation as part of the authorization debate. Under its terms, the Air Force would get authority...

Senators want the Pentagon to continue to review the question of airlift sufficiency. In floor remarks, Talent quoted Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, who said recently that the C-17 was “worth its weight in gold.” Retired Gen....

Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), speaking at a Thursday Capitol Hill forum hosted by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments expressed frustration over the still-pending release of the analysis of alternatives for aerial refueler aircraft recapitalization. Dicks said that...

Long-time B-2 bomber advocate that he is, Dicks told the forum audience that a “huge disparity” has emerged between investment in bombers as opposed to fighter aircraft. He said, “I couldn’t find anyone in the Pentagon who would support the...

Retired Gen. Richard Hawley, former commander of Air Combat Command, commented at the CSBA forum that he still believes the Air Force can cut back its fighter force by a third because new fighters are at least 10 times more...

The Air Force’s new C-130Js going through combat testing at Little Rock AFB, Ark., (DR 11/8/05) appear to be getting good marks. Maj. Dave Flynn, the testing supervisor, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the airlifter has shown “outstanding” performance during...

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs retired USAF Gen. Richard B. Meyers has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Saying Meyers was the “right man for the job” when he took over the chairmanship less than a month after the...

The US Senate is on record now as saying US military academies may “allow voluntary, non denominational prayer,” according to an amendment attached to the 2006 defense authorization bill by chief sponsor Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.). The action comes...

The “Enemy” Comes to Virtual Training: In a first of its kind event, the Air Force linked “enemy” MiG-29s into its network of simulators “flying” in Virtual Flag 2006. The New Mexico Air National Guard supplied the “enemy” pilots. The...

An Air Force civil engineer rescue air mobility squad (RAMS) at Ali Base, Iraq, had trained twice to work with the Army UH-60 Black Hawk aeromedical evacuation unit when they got a real-world call: Two trucks had collided head-on and...

Pentagon leaders have sent Congress a message: Finish the 2006 defense spending bill before Thanksgiving recess or face dire consequences. A Pentagon memo to Capitol Hill predicts the greatest negative impact on the Air Force and the Marine Corps if...

Noshir Gowadia, who worked for Northrop Grumman on the B-2 stealth bomber and was arrested on spying charges (DR, 11/01/05), has been indicted by a federal grand jury. The FBI alleges that he sold information during 2002-04. According to the...

To the 74 airmen of the 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Misawa AB, Hawaii, who deployed for Cope India 2006 to maintain USAF F-16s the pace has been “unreal” and the heat challenging, says SrA. Troy Herberholzt. Initially they had to...

BRAC 2005 is law (DR, 11/10/05), so the Pentagon must now carry out its terms. Pentagon actions for the more than 800 installations affected—in large and small ways—must begin by Sept. 15, 2007 and end by Sept. 15, 2001. The...

The 30th Space Wing, Vandenberg AFB, Calif., has deactivated the 2nd Space Launch Squadron and activated a new unit—the 30th Launch Control Support Squadron—with a broader mission. The 2nd SLS was charged with Titan rocket operations. The Titan era ended...

The Air Force wants to have 85 percent of personnel transactions by airmen conducted via the Web—no more treks to the local personnel office. To help enable this wonderful new world, the Air Force plans to reorganize base personnel functions...

The Air Force will not offer the 50-percent up-front option for all aviators and has no offerings for navigators in Fiscal 2006. Officials say that the 2006 aviator continuation pay program is only open to some 750 pilots and air...

Believe it or not, Pentagon officials say they plan to request union opinion about the “details of pay banding, staffing, performance management, and other aspects” of the new National Personnel Management System. Unions, you know, have filed suit against DOD...

November 9, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 7 4 – 11 CAS/Armed Recon 63 18 – 81 Airlift – – 160 160 Air refueling – – 37 37 Total 70 22 197 289 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...