The Government Accountability Office’s final report on the Pentagon’s 2005 Mobility Capabilities Study leaves little doubt that defense analysts outside the five-sided building think the MCS was a sham. Confirming an initial assessment made last spring, GAO says that DOD...

The Air Force plans to settle its 40,000-slot force reduction within the next three years rather than the five years it originally established, according to the Associated Press. That means instead of taking the last cuts in 2011, it will...

All three of the Air Force Memorial’s stainless steel spires are in place, following completion of the last segment yesterday. All three spires still are clad in their protective blue plastic coverings, which officials say will come off within the...

Flying over Lackland AFB, Tex., the first C-130 Hercules upgraded under USAF’s Avionics Modernization Program completed a three hour flight Tuesday. The aircraft is the first of some 350 Air Force C-130s to receive the AMP upgrade, which includes digital...

There is a new Rand study out by David Johnson that suggests it is time to revise joint doctrine to reflect the true and evolving natures of air and ground power. Johnson asserts that neither the Air Force nor the...

Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), chairman of the subcommittee overseeing the federal workforce, thinks the National Security Personnel System—the new pay-for-performance system for civilians—could be popular with employees, unionized and not. Speaking at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Voinovich told Deputy...

The National Security Personnel System isn’t going to save DOD money, but it will help better control personnel funds, said Gordon England, deputy secretary of defense. Speaking at a Senate hearing Wednesday, England said the Pentagon will be better able...

Several NATO alliance members—including Britain, Canada, Romania, and Poland—have agreed to send additional troops to Afghanistan, responding to a call for some 2,000 more troops from Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Jones issued the request a...

The best channel to get the Air Force story out to the public, truthfully and credibly, is its own airmen, says Brig. Gen. Erwin Lessel III, chief of USAF’s new Office of Strategic Communications. He sees all USAF personnel as...

Senate Democrats plan to hold hearings on Iraq in Washington and around the country—leading November elections—in an effort spearheaded by Bryon Dorgan (D-N.D.), chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee. Dorgan claims that the Republican controlled Congress has not held enough...

North Dakota’s Congressional delegation has engaged in conversation with the Air Force about taking advantage of the state’s “huge coal resources” for the service’s fledgling alternative jet fuel program. A joint statement from Sen. Kent Conrad (D), Sen. Byron Dorgan...

Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) believe legislation they have sponsored that would raise the cost of living adjustment for disabled veterans will pass the Senate this week. According to a statement from the Senate Veterans Affairs...

A recent BBC World Service poll found that most people around the world do not believe Iran’s claims that its nuclear program is strictly for civil purposes. Sixty percent of those polled in 25 different countries believe Iran is trying...

The Pentagon finally plans to rebut the fury over the now-disbanded covert Pentagon intelligence operation called Able Danger, by releasing a report next week denying claims that an Army unit had previous knowledge about Mohamed Atta, the mastermind behind the...

Sept. 20, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 18 6 24 CAS/Armed Recon 45 55 100 Airlift 150 150 Air refueling 41 41 Total 63 61 191 315 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance