Speaking to defense reporters in Washington Thursday, Gen. Bruce Carlson, head of Air Force Materiel Command, said that he has braced his workforce for the combination punch they face in trying to sustain greater numbers of aging and overworked aircraft...

The head of Air Force Materiel Command, Gen. Bruce Carlson, told defense reporters Thursday that the command estimates it will have to cut 720 civilians as its share of the impending Air Force-wide cuts of some 40,000 positions, most of...

On the other hand, AFMC chief Gen. Bruce Carlson says Materiel Command has been told to shed some 3,000 military personnel, which it has in far fewer numbers than civilians. (See above.) Many of the command’s military comprise critical base...

Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne told Rebecca Christie of Dow Jones Newswires that DOD is not moving quickly enough with a new bomber program. He worries that unless the Air Force can get the effort out of the conceptual stage soon, there will be no way to meet the 2020 deadline imposed by the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review. (Read our review of the options under study here.)

The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia has converted the first of 12 standard C-130Hs to special operations configuration and done it at a pace that the chief of Air Force Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Michael Wooley, calls...

Forensics specialists of the FBI are checking out the laptop computer and external hard drive that were stolen from a former VA employee’s home on May 3, exposing more than 26 million veterans and military personnel to potential identity theft....

The chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), is pleased that investigative agencies have recovered the computer equipment containing personal data of more than 26 million veterans, but he may still move ahead with plans that...

CSAR-X Sites to Undergo Environmental Review: The Air Force plans to start the environmental impact analysis process for 10 prospective locations to beddown Air Force Special Operations Command’s replacement for the HH-60 combat search and rescue helicopter. On Thursday, the...

Chief Murray Retires Today: Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Gerald Murray is stepping down today as the top enlisted man in the Air Force, capping a 29-year career. (His official retirement date will be Oct. 1.) In a...

Comm Officer Gets Bronze: Lt. Col. Glenn Rattell has received a Bronze Star for his leadership as deputy commander of the 506th Air Expeditionary Group, Kirkuk AB, Iraq, where he directed survival and recovery operations while under fire from more...

Teamwork in Alaska: Dynamic retasking is not just the stuff of an operational theater for at least two search and rescue units. An HC-130P/N tanker of the Alaska Air National Guard’s 211th Rescue Squadron and an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter...

The Japanese Force at the Front: An airlift wing from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force is working alongside other coalition members in Southwest Asia. The first group of about 200 Japanese airmen deployed to SWA in December 2003, and since...

According to a new USA Today/Gallup Poll, the No. 1 issue for Americans as we head into this year’s Congressional election is—you guessed it—the situation in Iraq. It trumps corruption in government, terrorism, and the economy. The graph (click on...

Another Gallup Poll survey questions whether Americans believe Congress should pass a plan for US troop withdrawal from Iraq—a majority (57 percent) says it should. However, the issue of when the withdrawal should start gets murkier. This graph (click on...

June 28, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 14 8 22 CAS/Armed Recon 56 26 82 Airlift 150 150 Air refueling 41 41 Total 70 34 191 295 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance