The Air Force has decided to give control of most of the service’s combat search and rescue forces back to Air Combat Command, where they were about two years ago. In October 2003, USAF moved the bulk of CSAR assets—people and equipment—from ACC to Air Force Special Operations Command. (We wrote about the switch in August 2003.) The ACC commander at the time, Gen. Hal Hornburg, admitted that ACC had done “a less than adequate job” of budgeting for CSAR. What has changed

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley says that moving combat search and rescue back to Air Combat Command ensures CSAR assets are “directly linked to the Combat Air Forces and the personnel they support.” He maintains ACC will...

US District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled Thursday afternoon that the Pentagon’s new National Security Personnel System fails the union litmus test. Sullivan decided that NSPS “fails to ensure” collective bargaining, “does not meet” the Congressional requirement for independent third party review, and “fails to provide” fair treatment for employees who appeal adverse actions. (Read his opinion here.) What does this portend for NSPS? The Pentagon already has slowed implementation training. Officials say the DOD legal eagles are reviewing the decision.

The National Governors’ Association met with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over the weekend at their annual winter get together. The prime topic? Gubernatorial opposition to proposed DOD funding cuts for the National Guard. With the BRAC 2005 wound still festering...

Lawmakers are taking another look at updating the veterans education assistance bill, with an eye toward equality for reservists. “The Montgomery GI Bill, as good as it is, does not reflect the realities facing today’s servicemembers, especially in the Guard...

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has flown in a V-22 Osprey. Rumsfeld took one of the new tilt-rotor aircraft for a flight to Camp Lejune, N.C., on Feb. 24 to participate in the activation ceremony of the Marine Corps Special Operations...

New information management tools developed by Boeing researchers and the Air Force Research Lab have demonstrated in recent tests that they can dramatically improve the ability of aircraft to acquire, sort and exchange real-time mission data with each other and...

With lobbying reformitis in full swing on Capitol Hill, the Houston Chronicle has trotted out the latest stats for lawmaker travel expenses. The Chronicle points out, as others have in the past, that the figures compiled by Congress calculate only...

Air Force Security Forces in US Air Forces in Europe have totally revamped the command’s regional training program, known as “Creek Defender,” run by the 768th Security Forces Squadron at Sembach AB, Germany. Taking direct feedback from security forces members...

Unless the US ponies up more funds for reconstruction activities in Iraq, efforts “are likely to slow considerably” in the next few years, leaving many goals in the lurch, according to a new report from Steven Kosiak at the Center...

Retired Brig. Gen. Robert L. Scott, credited with 13 aerial victories in World War II, died Monday morning, according to the Macon (Ga.) Daily Telegraph. Scott, 97, was the author of “God is My Co-Pilot”—a memoir of his war experiences—that...

The Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System may be a Cold War weapon, but its ability to communicate with convoys and direct air power against attacks is making the E-8C one of the most in-demand platforms in Operation Iraqi...

Maj. Gen. Jonathan S. Gration, the director of strategy, policy, and assessments at US European Command told an audience at a recent Center for Strategic and International Studies roundtable that the US needs to help governments in North Africa to...

The airmen of the 374th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Yokota AB, Japan, carry out a tall order—ensuring the serviceability and availability of more than 400,000 pieces of mobility equipment daily to support Pacific Air Forces airmen in training and on...

February 24-26, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 40 13 – 53 CAS/Armed Recon 152 46 – 198 Airlift – – 570 570 Air refueling – – 93 93 Total 192 59 663 914 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation...