The US has agreed to return 40 percent of the airspace controlled by Yokota AB, Japan, to Japan. A US Forces Japan spokesman told Stars and Stripes that the deal would not impact either US or Japanese military operations. The...

The Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis AFB, Nev., recently reactivated a squadron that was the last active duty unit to fly the F-4G Wild Weasel—the 561st Fighter Squadron (deactivated in 1995) is now reborn as the 561st Joint Tactics...

President Bush on Saturday descended upon Charleston AFB, S.C., telling airmen of the active duty 437th Airlift Wing and its associate unit, Air Force Reserve Command’s 315th Airlift Wing, that he was “in the neighborhood” and wanted to say he...

Within a day of remarks by the commander of the Multinational Force Iraq, US Army Gen. George Casey Jr., and US Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, that said Iraqi leaders had agreed to a timetable, the new Iraqi government evinced...

The ribbon has been cut on a new $25 million 6,800 square foot hangar at Ramstein, AB, Germany, that will allow maintenance of the Air Force’s largest airplanes no matter the weather conditions, reports Stars and Stripes. The hangar, which...

Andersen AFB, Guam, sent two B-52 bombers to Australia this week for a second “Green Lightning” mission. (The first took place in July 2006.) After leaving Guam, the pair of bombers received 60,000 pounds of fuel from KC-135 tankers, after...

Gov. Bob Riley (R-Ala.) has asked Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who campaigned for Alabama’s top elected official last week, to push for a “totally open” process in awarding contracts for the Air Force’s tanker competition, reports Associated Press news service....

Industry partners for the Airborne Laser, the USAF project now overseen by the Missile Defense Agency, are steps closer to laser installation after completing ground tests and upgrades. According to company press releases, Lockheed Martin has completed ground tests of...

Airmen of the 21st Space Wing’s 721st Mission Support Group at Cheyenne Mountain AFS, Colo., recently practiced “button-up” procedures—closing the mountain’s monstrous blast doors. “The blast doors are three-and-a-half feet thick, weigh 25 tons, and are normally closed by a...

Some 80 percent of the 1st Combat Communications Squadron at Bitburg AB, Germany, comprises junior airmen—senior airman and below and some first-termers, says the squadron commander, Lt. Col Joe Sublousky. And that is the reason the squadron developed its own...

Eight Americans owe their lives to USAF rescue crews who extracted them from various perilous circumstances in October. The 36th Rescue Flight, Fairchild AFB, Wash., located a woman missing in the Harvard, Idaho, area, transporting her aboard their UH-1N Huey...

DOD has determined the identity of the remains of an airman missing since Jan. 8, 1968, when his RF-4C Phantom disappeared over South Vietnam. He was Maj. Charles L. Bifolchi of Quincy, Mass. A US Army helicopter crew found wreckage...

The Air Force for the first time welcomed nine Air Chiefs at the new Air Force Memorial and conducted a wreath laying ceremony, traditionally performed at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers in nearby Arlington National Cemetery. Participating in the...

The US Court of Appeals has selected three judges to hear arguments in December in the case between the Pentagon and employee unions over the new National Security Personnel System. Government Executive reports that the judges include two Republican and...

Oct. 26, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 18 10 28 CAS/Armed Recon 36 28 64 Airlift 150 150 Air refueling 32 32 Total 54 38 182 274 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance