Rejecting the “Extremes”:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says that the Pentagon plan to raise Tricare fees for military retirees under age 65 must consider “what’s right, what’s fair,” but he believes the retirees must pay more than they are currently. However, Graham told...

A Half Full Squadron

Leaders of the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope AFB, N.C., tell the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer that the unit has half of the 50 enlisted Combat Controllers it is authorized. And, they say, more than half of the current enlisted...

GPS Goes Net-Centric

GPS Goes Net-Centric: The 2nd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever AFB, Colo., is finishing up delivery of the Zero Age of Data Navigation Message Replacements on the secure Internet protocol router network (SIPRNet), providing the ability to deliver Global Positioning...

Shaw Pilot Broke His Legs

Shaw Pilot Broke His Legs: When Capt. Ted Schultz of the 55th Fighter Squadron, Shaw AFB, N.C., bailed out of his F-16 last week before it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, he suffered two broken legs, some facial cuts, and...

Newspaper Notes a Security Breach

Newspaper Notes a Security Breach: The San Francisco Chronicle informed the Secret Service that a government document detailing specific information about Air Force One, the Presidential aircraft, had been found on an Air Force Web site. (The newspaper did not...

Tarnak Farms Pilot Sues Air Force

Tarnak Farms Pilot Sues Air Force: Maj. Harry Schmidt, a former Illinois Air National Guard pilot who accidentally killed four and wounded eight Canadian troops in Afghanistan in 2002 when he mistook them for enemy forces and opened fire from his F-16, is now suing the Air Force for violating his privacy when Gen. Bruce Carlson, then commander of 8th Air Force, released to the public the letter of reprimand he wrote, reports the Springfield Journal-Record. Schmidt filed his suit April 7 in US District Court in Springfield, Ill., claiming the military violated a settlement agreement that led Schmidt to accept a general officer hearing rather than stand for a court martial. (Read more on the history of this saga from Air Force Magazine files.)

Vandenberg Launches Minuteman

Air Force Space Command personnel launched an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., at 6 a.m. on April 7 as part of a development test to demonstrate the missile’s effectiveness. The missile’s unarmed re-entry vehicle traveled about 5,000...

Resetting the Baseline

Resetting the Baseline: The Pentagon’s latest report of the cost of major weapons programs shows that the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle and the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System both exceeded their current baseline estimates by more than 25...

Air Evac Drills at Pope

The 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Pope AFB, N.C., recently took part in its annual training exercises by digging defensive positions, driving with night vision goggles, and simulating chemical warfare. Approximately 28 students and nine instructors spent three days at...

AFRL Improves Herc Ramp Design

The Air Force Research Laboratory has redesigned an extension of the C-130’s ramp as part of an advanced aluminum aerostructures initiative. Weighing only 30 pounds, the new ramp design is 16 pounds lighter than the previous model and, officials say,...

Phoenix Stripe Unifies Force

Air Mobility Command’s Phoenix Stripe program attracted 46 junior NCOs and civilians from across the Air Force to Scott AFB, Ill., to take part in the highly selective professional development program that offers an overview of AMC operations. This year’s...

Phoenix Raven Flies at Dix

At Ft. Dix, N.J., students with Air Mobility Command’s Mobility Warfare Center participated in the Phoenix Raven course recently, helping to improve their security forces skills. Taught by the 421st Combat Training Squadron, the course started in the 1990s to...

Weather Info Integration at Nellis:

Net-centric weather integration (NCWI) is one of the leading initiatives being tested during the Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2006 at Nellis AFB, Nev. The Air Force Weather Agency wants to demonstrate the delivery of critical, time sensitive weather information to...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

April 7-9, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 42 17 59 CAS/Armed Recon 162 52 214 Airlift 380 380 Air refueling 93 93 Total 204 69 473 746 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance