President Bush has nominated Maj. Gen. Craig McKinley for a third star and to serve as director of the Air National Guard. McKinley, who is currently assistant deputy chief of staff for plans and programs on the Air Staff, is...

The Pentagon has cleared the Air Force to pursue a “traditional competitive acquisition” tanker replacement effort, says Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne. The service expects to issue a request for information by the end of April, followed by a draft...

The Hawaii Air National Guard’s 154th Maintenance Squadron is slimming down its maintenance processes to fit the arrival of the new C-17 airlifter to Hickam AFB, Hawaii, where the airlifters will be operated jointly by active duty and Guard personnel....

Air Force leaders would like to satisfy lawmakers questions about the cost of the new Space Radar program, but they can’t—yet. According to Air Force Undersecretary Ronald Sega, there are “a lot of variables right now that prohibit that.” Chief...

The Air Force does not plan to go alone with the Space Radar program. Ronald Sega, Air Force Undersecretary, told lawmakers that there is “an agreement with the Intelligence Community” for some as yet undetermined “financial contributions.”

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) asked when Congress might see the report it directed last year on “the feasibility and advisability of using” Space Radar for scientific and civil purposes, such as topographical mapping. Undersecretary Sega, who is also DOD Executive...

Multitask-capable flying crew chiefs are key to keeping the highly used C-130s flying in Southwest Asia. “We need to know everything, including engines, navigation, electrical, hydraulics, and fuels,” SrA. Christopher Sutton, an Air Force Reserve Command crew chief from Pennsylvania,...

Navy Provides Video and Flight Recorder of F-16 in the Ocean: Air Force officials have underwater footage and the flight data recorder of the Shaw AFB, S.C., F-16 that crashed into the ocean on April 5, reports the Myrtle Beach...

The Defense Department wants to understand the “purpose and intent and capability” of objects in space, not just how many objects there are, said USAF Lt. Gen. Kevin Chilton, space and global strike component commander for US Strategic Command. Chilton...

The Vermont Air National Guard has more than 600 airmen deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom, but those left behind opened their doors—for the sixth time—to high school students for the 2006 SkillsUSA Competition. The Burlington ANG unit invited 500 students...

The Air Force is placing its services and manpower and personnel career fields under one overarching boss. Officials say there will be no visible change at the base level, since the two functional areas will remain separate. The move is...

The Air Force has drafted an environmental assessment that determines a new initial flight screening pilot straining program at the Pueblo, Colo., Memorial Airport will not have an adverse environmental effect, the Pueblo Chieftain reports. The public can comment on...

A new Gallup Poll indicates that a majority of Americans now believe that the war in Iraq was a mistake. According to the survey, 57 percent of Americans say it was a mistake to send troops to Iraq, with 42...

Attitudes about the conflict—not surprisingly—are intensely colored by political partisanship. Gallup finds a mere 20 percent of Republicans believe the war was a mistake, compared with 64 percent of independents and 82 percent of Democrats. When asked what to do...

April 14-16, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 43 18 61 CAS/Armed Recon 136 74 210 Airlift 365 365 Air refueling 109 109 Total 179 92 474 745 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance