President Bush told the nation yesterday afternoon in an impromptu press conference that he and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had agreed “that the timing is right for new leadership at the Pentagon.” Bush acknowledged that he had misled reporters a...

If confirmed by the Senate, former CIA director Robert Gates will become the next Defense Secretary. Currently Gates is running Texas A&M University and serving on the Congressionally chartered Iraq Study Group, which plans to meet soon with President Bush....

If hints from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group are any indication, the ISG meeting next week with President Bush should offer some of the “fresh perspective” the President is seeking from Defense Secretary-designee and ISG member Robert Gates. ISG co-chairs...

Air Force Special Operations Command expects to get its first operational CV-22 Osprey Nov. 16. The Air Force says that US Special Operations Command chief, Army Gen. Doug Brown, will fly the new tilt-rotor aircraft to its home at Hurlburt...

The Armed Forces Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed identification of remains found off the California coast as those of Air Force Reservist SSgt. Jonathan R. Leonard, who was on the HC-130 aircraft that crashed into the Pacific Nov. 22, 1996....

Red Flag-Nellis and Red Flag-Alaska will be complimentary and compatible, but will not be the same, said Brig. Gen. Dave Scott, commander of the 354th Fighter Wing at Eielson AFB, Alaska. Red Flag-Alaska will not mimic the exercise at Nellis,...

Aggressor squadron airmen are the “cream of the crop,” and they are hand-selected to fly in that position, said Col. T.J. O’Shaughnessy, the 57th Adversary Tactics Group commander at Nellis AFB, Nev. After selection, the airmen take a two-week “Aggressor...

Nellis AFB, Nev., currently has seven F-15C and 12 F-16C Block 32 and 42 aircraft serving in the aggressor role. Each type provides very different capability for Red Flag, Col. T.J. O’Shaughnessy, 57th Adversary Tactics Group commander, told reporters Tuesday...

US Transportation Command officials hosted efficiency experts from Toyota at Scott AFB, Ill., last month to glean commercial best practices from one of the world’s top car manufacturer and apply them to TRANSCOM logistics processes and operations. A command news...

Combat experience with coalition special operations forces in Afghanistan exposed an inability of those ground troops to communicate with supporting USAF aircraft. To address that skills gap, Air Force Special Operations Command gathered special ops forces from several coalition nations...

Speaking of Emerald Warrior, the first exercise run by Air Force Special Operations Command, exercise director Col. William Hoffman says it was “a great success.” Coalition participants have gone away “happy” and eager to return for the next installment.

Aircrews operating the Air Force’s new C-17 airlifter continue to sing its praises, even old-time C-130 drivers. Air Force Reservist and former C-130 pilot Maj. Bob Hagstrom, with the 732nd Airlift Squadron at McGuire AFB, N.J., spent three weeks flying...

To share large amounts of data more easily and quickly, US Joint Forces Command is partnering with five local government and education entities on a network geared for scientific and military research. The partners are: NASA Langley, College of William...

Nov. 7, 2006 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 14 11 25 CAS/Armed Recon 34 46 80 Airlift 150 150 Air refueling 36 36 Total 48 57 186 291 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance