China Commission Cites “Negative” Trends: The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission released its 2005 annual report to Congress, concluding that a number of trends in the bi-national relationship have “negative implications” for long-term US national security and economic interests....

A high-profile peace movement coupled with the wavering popularity of the Iraq war have conspired to drive up the number of students who are taking their names off military recruitment lists, the Boston Globe reports. In Massachusetts alone, more than...

Adding credence to the need for acquiring more than 180 C-17 airlifters is a Defense Science Board report (dated September 2005, but just released), in which the well-respected panel rings alarm bells over the 2008 cutoff of C-17 production. The...

US Central Command has confirmed the identity of two al Qaeda leaders that were killed by a coalition air strike in Husaybah, Iraq, on Nov. 2. During raids by ground troops in the Syrian border town, USAF F-15s used precision-guided...

It turns out the “improvement” Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, made in scheduling testimony earlier in the budget cycle for veteran service organizations was not such a good turn. (DR, 11/10/05) Vet groups denounced...

According to the water-cooler talk amongst defense analysts and industry types, AugustaWestland’s US101 is leading the pack to win the competition for the Air Force’s new combat search and rescue vehicle, known as CSAR-X. The Lexington Institute’s Loren Thompson tells...

In a flurry of legislation being tacked on to the Senate version of the 2006 defense authorization bill is one that will provide relief to surviving military spouses. An amendment sponsored by Sen. Bill Nelson (R-Fla.) that passed 93-5 would...

He may be retired but Gen. John Handy, the former head of US Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command, is on the speaker trail, talking about the mobility game. He is also a NASCAR fan, so he posed a comparison...

When President Bush attended the Summit of the Americas in Argentina, he took along a USAF E-3 AWACS to help provide airborne surveillance for the meeting of 33 North and South American leaders. The 552nd Air Control Wing, deployed from...

Evangelical Training at the Academy?: According to the Washington Post, the US Air Force Academy has given preferential treatment to a private missionary group in their efforts to train cadets to proselytize among their peers. The missionary group—Navigators—assigned a pair...

The Fate of Old Fighters: The Defense Science Board says it is time to replenish the military’s target drone fleet. In a newly released report, DSB recommends replacing the current drones—modified F-4 Phantoms—with an F-16 drone. The panel projects the...

The US Air Force continues its assistance to the Pakistani government, airlifting supplies into the region on Saturday and Sunday. Three Air Force C-130s, a C-17, and a contracted B-747 flew in more than 200,000 pounds of medical equipment, aircraft...

VA Secretary James Nicholson assured lawmakers at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs that the Department of Veterans Affairs is planning to rebuild its presence in Louisiana and Mississippi. Nicholson told the panel the President has committed...

The Pentagon is still making up a database of Global War on Terror National Guard and Reserve veterans who could partake of extra college dollars approved in legislation more than a year ago. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Pentagon...

Airmen in Afghanistan are standing “yankee, go home” on its head by distributing clothes, school supplies, and toys under an adopt-a-village program orchestrated by the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Bagram AB, Afghanistan. A recent haul netted some 1,200 pounds of...

November 11-13, 2005 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 40 14 – 54 CAS/Armed Recon 184 67 – 251 Airlift – – 455 455 Air refueling – – 109 109 Total 224 81 564 869 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...