US Forces “Stretched and Strained”

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) told defense reporters in Washington yesterday he’s been “quite concerned” about the readiness of the US military for more than a year. Under the readiness banner, Skelton includes equipment, training, personnel, leadership,...

More Security Work for Airmen?

Speaking with defense reporters on Tuesday morning, Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, expressed concern about the amount and kind of support the Administration’s planned troop surge in Iraq will need. Skelton noted that the new head...

Clearing Raptors

Air Combat Command has 15 specialists looking over the shoulders of the Lockheed Martin production crews working at Marietta, Ga., to turn out new F-22A Raptors. The ACC team inspects each aircraft at it’s being built, eliminating the need for...

Last Tweet IPs

Air Education and Training Command will graduate the last of the Air Force’s new T-37 Tweet instructor pilots on March 23 at Randolph AFB, Tex. Randolph will retire its last Tweet in an April 6 ceremony, capping 42 years of...

“Do You Have What it Takes?”

That is the headline on a recruiting pitch from the 720th Special Tactics Group at Hurlburt Field, Fla., for airmen to consider jumping into the world of special tactics. The lead paragraph reads like a plug for a James Bond...

A Second, Separate War

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton characterized the conflict in Afghanistan as a second and separate war from Iraq in a meeting with defense reporters yesterday. “Afghanistan is an entirely different war,” he said. “The enemy in Afghanistan has...

Shaping Afghan Force

Airmen serving in Afghanistan are flying combat missions, maintaining aircraft, revamping airfields, providing medical care, and more, including helping to train a new Afghan army. Some 19 airmen are part of a nine country coalition team mentoring Afghans going through...

Keating, Renuart Are In

The Senate confirmed both Adm. Timothy Keating and Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor Renuart Jr. on March 19 for their new posts as head of US Pacific Command and NORAD/US Northern Command, respectively. The two successfully passed a March 8...

Getting the Osprey to Iraq?:

Next month, the Marine Corps may reveal its plans for sending the V-22 Osprey on its first overseas deployment, reports Megan Scully of CongressDaily. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway told defense reporters last week that it’s his “fervent desire”...

USAF Chooses Clark for Housing Job:

The Air Force has selected Clark Realty to develop its AMC East Military Housing Privatization project to improve housing at Andrews AFB, Md., and MacDill AFB, Fla. Clark has worked and is working on various military housing projects. In this...

A Georgia First:

Sonny Perdue, governor of Georgia, announced Tuesday that his state and the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins AFB, Ga., have entered into the state’s “first formal research and development partnership with the United States Air Force.” Overseeing the...

Barksdale, McGuire for Energy Demo:

The Air Force has tapped Barksdale AFB, La., and McGuire AFB, N.J., to serve as test bases for an energy initiatives pilot program. According to a USAF release, the base’s geographic locations and facilities made them ideal candidates. The service...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

March 17-18, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 17 12 29 CAS/Armed Recon 121 73 194 Airlift 300 300 Air refueling 77 77 Total 138 85 377 600 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance