The Air Force has assured Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) that it will not eliminate the two-star general positions at the head of the service’s three air logistics centers—one each in Georgia, Oklahoma, and Utah. Apparently word got out that the...

Lockheed Martin reportedly is out of the running for the Joint Cargo Aircraft competition because its proposed aircraft—a short-fuselage variant of the C-130J Hercules—failed to meet initial requirements. According to the Washington Post, the Army, which is working the JCA...

Retired Adm. Dennis Blair’s move to distance himself from F-22A subcontractor EDO, upon whose board he served, comes too late to stop key lawmakers from calling for a DOD inspector general investigation. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.),...

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has been one of the most vocal critics of Boeing and the Air Force over the failed tanker aircraft lease arrangement and other assorted programs linked to former USAF acquisition official Darleen Druyun, now appears...

There is no doubt in Sen. John McCain’s view that not all Air Force culprits in the tanker-lease controversy (see above) have come to light. He pressed the point at Monday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, repeatedly questioning Deputy Attorney...

An unnamed Air Force spokeswoman has confirmed Lockheed Martin’s news that the Air Force plans to make the CSAR-X contract award in September, reports Reuters news service. The spokeswoman did not give a firm date for the award. Earlier this...

The Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle has surpassed the 10,000 hour flying mark, clocking 10,500 hours as of late July—some 63 percent of them on combat missions. Making this accomplishment more outstanding is the fact that, until earlier this year...

The Air Force is unveiling its first “Air Force Week” and holding the event in St. Louis, beginning Sunday when airmen are to be showcased during a St. Louis Cardinals game. There is no indication in the service announcement whether...

Princeton University scientists and engineers, funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, have found a way to extend the life of aircraft engines by zeroing in on the protective layer—called thermal barrier coatings (TBC)— that covers engine components....

In a new undated letter to airmen, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley encourage them to respect the diversity of the men and women in the service and to be intolerant of harassment. Moseley and Wynne tell the airmen that “under enemy fire the race, religion, sex, or geographic origin of the airman fighting next to us is irrelevant,” reminding them that “we’re in this fight together.”

Civil engineers from the Washington Air National Guard’s 141st Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild AFB, Wash., have deployed to Arizona for two weeks to help build a military hospital along the US-Mexico border, reports the Associated Press news service. Along...

The Air Force Weather Agency has reactivated the 1st Weather Group at Offutt AFB, Neb., to oversee operational weather squadrons at four stateside Air Force bases—Barksdale AFB, La., Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., Scott AFB, Ill., and Shaw AFB, S.C. The agency...

The first airmen to be issued the Air Force’s new “Airman Battle Uniform”—once called a battle dress uniform—will be in the deployment cycle starting in May 2007, which officials say is on track. Most airmen will get two sets of...

The first non-combat support unit to undergo Marine Corps jungle warfare training comprised 30 members of the 18th Communications Squadron from Kadena AB, Japan. The weeklong session, held in July at Camp Gonsalves, Okinawa, offered land navigation and other training,...

Aug. 1, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 14 7 21 CAS/Armed Recon 44 22 66 Airlift 170 170 Air refueling 36 36 Total 58 29 206 293 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance