The Pentagon has directed USAF to speed up work toward a new long-range strike aircraft, advancing the “to be fielded” date from 2037 to 2018. Ken Kreig, for one, sees no problem with advancing the program by nearly 20 years....

According to Ken Krieg the proposed merger of launch services by Lockheed Martin and Boeing probably doesn’t fall within his “more competition rather than less” framework. Questioned about the Pentagon’s position on the creation of the United Launch Services, Kreig...

A “supermajority” of senators—more than 75—has signed on with the National Guard Caucus to signal their opposition to DOD’s plans for unspecified cuts to the Army and Air National Guard. Led by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Kit Bond...

The first structural element of the new Air Force Memorial is now in place on the site overlooking the Pentagon. Construction crews hoisted the 40-foot tall, 28-ton base section of the first spire into position on Feb. 10. The memorial includes three stainless steel spires—the highest of which will rise 270 feet—that are being delivered in 15 segments over the next four months. The Air Force Memorial Foundation plans to complete the project in September and formally open the site on Oct. 13.

Bringing 31 years of flying dignitaries and rigorous testing for Air Force Materiel Command to a close, the Air Force officially retired the “Speckled Trout” tail #61-2669 on Feb. 10 at Edwards AFB, Calif., where it will be preserved at...

Hedging His Bets on the Missile Cuts: Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) has weighed in on the QDR-proposed Minuteman ICBM reductions, saying there will be “debate” over which missile base has to cut 50 ICBMs, but he, too, believes Malmstrom will...

Air Force Reserve Command Col. Michael W. Hurst is slated to take charge of the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center at Rosecrans Memorial Airport, Mo., becoming the first Reservist to lead the combined Air National Guard-AFRC operation in 22 years....

CMSAF Gerald Murray has asked USAF’s former top enlisted men to meet to exchange information about future Air Force plans. Eight of the nine living former Chief Master Sergeants of the Air Force will be at the Feb. 13-16 Pentagon...

Who’s Up, Who’s Still Down: According to data from January, the Air National Guard did not post the lowest recruiting effort of the reserve components. That position went again to the Navy Reserve, which met only 88 percent of its...

Officials at McChord AFB, Wash., plan to ramp up nighttime training by 20 percent and fly the sorties out of McChord rather than the alternative site of Grant County Airport at Moses Lake, Wash., according to local TV station KOMO....

Last week Air Education and Training Command awarded Pueblo, Colo.-based Doss Aviation the contract for the Air Force’s revised pilot screening and training program and that has left Selma, Ala., and Midland, Tex., wondering why. Both communities worked to get...

A strange sight over Arizona in the very early morning recently was just another Air Force Research Lab scientific balloon, according to the Holbrook (Ariz.) Tribune-News, which quoted someone as saying it looked like a “big jellyfish.” AFRL researchers from...

The 36th Contingency Response Group recently left Andersen AFB, Guam, to participate in this year’s Balikatan 06 exercise, scheduled to run from Feb. 20 to March 5. Balikatan, a Tagalog word for “shouldering the load together,” is a yearly bilateral...

Nine airmen participating in the Cope Tiger 06 exercise took a break from the operations to pay a visit to a local school in Nakhon Ratchaisma, Thailand. Every year, participating PACAF airmen raise donations for an adopted school, but this...

If Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) gets his way the Pentagon will set up a Cold War-style hotline to provide direct communication with its Chinese counterpart agency. Kirk, who recently returned from a China trip, told the Washington Times that the...

According to Rep. Steve Buyer, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, the Administration’s proposed $80.6 billion 2007 VA budget is a good first step, praising President Bush for increasing VA funding. However, he thinks there are chinks in the...

February 10-11, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 23 8 – 31 CAS/Armed Recon 73 38 – 111 Airlift – – 335 335 Air refueling – – 62 62 Total 96 46 397 539 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...