US Central Command confirmed May 15 that another successful air strike had been carried out recently against enemy forces in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. The air strike—this time by A-10 aircraft and a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle assigned to Bagram Air...

According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is only weeks away from getting a name—final recommendations are being “closely guarded” by top Air Force officials. The paper reports that the Air Force did ask for options...

Both Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Joint Chiefs Chairman Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace tossed cold water on a bipartisan effort to give the National Guard Bureau chief a seat on the JCS. Testifying before a budget hearing of the...

B-2 bomber crews deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam, turned around within a few days to test their long-duration sortie capability. The mission—dubbed “Polar Lightning”—required a two-ship formation to complete a mission at a training range in Alaska, resulting in a...

Defense officials told lawmakers Wednesday that the President’s plan to send some 6,000 National Guardsmen to augment the Border Patrol in southwest states would include use of the Air National Guard. And, they could come from any state in the...

Lawmakers expressed concern about the heightened potential to stretch the Guard too thin, but defense officials said this new requirement would only task about two percent of the total Guard force. According to National Guard Bureau chief Army Lt. Gen....

Special Air Guard Unit Gears Up: The Texas Air National Guard’s 204th Security Forces Squadron, which calls Ft. Bliss home, has been training for border security duty, reports El Paso’s KFOX TV. However, unit airmen tell KFOX that the one-of-a-kind...

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) noted that the National Guard is “stretched pretty thin in a range of areas” and ventured to ask whether Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld would recommend reinstituting the military draft. Rumsfeld replied, “The answer is flat no.”...

Public Worried on Iran: The Pew Research Center has released a fresh batch of numbers on the American public’s mood relating to Iran and its pursuit of nuclear technology. According to a recent survey, 71 percent of Americans believe Iran...

The 90th Space Wing at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., is the host for a Defense Secretary-directed capabilities demonstration exercise that will test the US response to a nuclear weapons accident. CAPEX, which is set for June, is the third of...

The Minnesota Air National Guard just celebrated its 150th birthday—and the airmen shared the event with Vice President Dick Cheney. As part of the celebration, Cheney presented a Minuteman statue to MSgt. Mark Wasserbauer, honoring the airmen as the ANG...

US Air Force personnel at Bagram AB, Afghanistan, have been training soldiers of the Afghan National Army in the proper techniques to rig supplies for air drops. It was a three-day intensive course for 10 member of ANA’s Central Movement...

For years, airmen have been telling Air Force officials that they don’t like the service dress uniform. In fact, one comment is that it “resembles a cheesy business suit.” Ouch! So, the service is taking a look at some alternatives—digging...

Russia’s Air Force will get two new Su-34 bombers in 2006, according to Gen. Vladimir Mikhailov, the chief of the Russian Air Force. One of the bombers is in an assembly hall and is nearly ready and the other likely...

The Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom AFB, Mass., has joined other Air Force Materiel Command entities in moving to a numbered wing organization. Holding a ceremony May 11, ESC officials formally activated the 551st, 350th, 554th, and 653rd Electronic Systems...

May 16, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 13 5 18 CAS/Armed Recon 37 24 61 Airlift 170 170 Air refueling 35 35 Total 50 29 205 284 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance