The Air Force plans to position three C-40 medium transport aircraft with Air Force Reserve Command’s 932nd Airlift Wing at Scott AFB, Ill., next year. And, the service plans to create an active associate unit whose airmen will share operation...

About 20 airmen are working with the Iraqi Army at remote Camp Habbaniyah. Where “everything is a challenge [and] nothing comes easy,” says TSgt. James Lovelace, senior enlisted advisor for the camp’s USAF unit. The Red Tail Flyer reports that the airmen’s job is to teach Iraqi soldiers how to operate a military organization, ranging from such basics as providing food, water, electricity, fuel, and waste management. Lt. Col. Sharyn McWhorter, officer in charge of USAF’s regional support unit Habbinayah, says there wasn’t even a “scheme for picking up trash.” Some 50 years ago, the camp was a functional base; now living quarters may not have running water or electricity and supplies are scarce. The airmen subsist on local food and care packages from home.

Airmen with the 56th Rescue Squadron, now calling RAF Lakenheath, Britain, home, have found it a “challenge” to find training locations for flying and jumping, SrA. Kristofer Abel, a pararescue jumper, told Lakenheath’s Jet 48 magazine. In fact, training in various locales is standard for PJs and other rescue airmen. One 56th RQS PJ, SSgt. Kipran Wise says PJs must constantly train to stay proficient. His recent training grounds included Austria, Spain, and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the US.

The Washington Air National Guard’s 141st Air Refueling Wing recently returned from a 2.5 week deployment to Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan. While deployed, the three crews of the 141st fueled 132 coalition aircraft with 1.6 million pounds of fuel, reports Air...

More than 300 military members and civilians recently gathered at the Battle Command Training Center at Hickam AFB, Hawaii to begin the “capstone event” for Unified Engagement 2006. The Pacific Air Forces-led event, running through Wednesday, comprises participants from Australia,...

Reacting to joint Congressional and Defense Department concern over the growing use of volunteer reserve forces, the Government Accountability Office reviewed the effect of elimination in 2005 of the so-called 180-day rule and subsequent annual authorization of a maximum number...

It’s hard to believe, but the arrival Oct. 30 at the South Pole of a ski-equipped LC-130 from New York’s Air National Guard unit, the 109th Airlift Wing, marked 50 years of military flights to the Pole. The aircrews conduct...

Lt. Gen. Stephen Wood took control of 7th Air Force, headquartered at Osan AB, South Korea, during a ceremony Oct. 6, reports The Korea Times. Wood, who received Senate confirmation for his new post on Sept. 29, replaces Lt. Gen....

Now that two more judges are hearing and issuing decisions on veteran’s appeals, the huge backlog of pending cases is starting to slim down, according to a statement from Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), chair of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Called...

The Kansas National Guard Hall of Fame welcomed an Air National Guard retiree into its ranks during the 28th hall of fame induction. The current Kansas Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting got to induct his father—retired Brig. Gen. Alfred...

The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins AFB, Ga., is hosting its fourth annual requirements symposium through Nov. 9. The event gives industry and military leaders a chance to discuss business practices and lay out plans for future requirements. The Robins Rev-Up base newspaper reports that nearly 1,000 base managers and business leaders will exchange ideas about how to accomplish missions in the next two years for the center’s four wings.

A new veterans cemetery dedicated Nov. 3 in Mission, Texas, will provide a burial site for about 45,000 veterans and their families in South Texas. The Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery, located 230 miles south of San Antonio, will...

Kenneth Krieg, Pentagon acquisition chief, has asked the Defense Science Board to form a task force on directed energy. The request, outlined in an Oct. 30 memo, asks the DSB to review current uses of DE in the Defense Department...

Nov. 3-5, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 45 27 72 CAS/Armed Recon 98 97 195 Airlift 430 430 Air refueling 94 94 Total 143 124 524 791 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance