There is a major difference of opinion between the two leaders of the National Guard Caucus—Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.)—and the Air Force leadership—Secretary Michael Wynne and Gen. Michael Moseley—over USAF plans and suggestions for the...

Meanwhile, the Air Force says it has support of National Guard Bureau Chief Army Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, Air National Guard Chief Lt. Gen. Craig McKinley, and Air Force Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. John Bradley for upcoming initiatives in its...

The chairman of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves, retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro, told the House Armed Services Committee last week that DOD has made a “flawed assumption” with its supposition that Guardsmen and Reservists...

The Air Force has deployed almost every active duty and most Air Guard and Reserve aerial refueling units it has—and mixing the airmen as needed—to accommodate operations in the war on terror, reports Capt. Wes Ticer. The Southwest Asia-based 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron currently comprises crews from eight bases in the US—including two Air Guard bases—and two overseas bases. Lt. Col. Tom Riney, commander of the 340th EARS says, “We are a very young active duty crew forces, and our Guard and Reserve crews round out our total force team by providing the experience and expertise that only years of flying can bring.” Riney praised the tanker maintainers for keeping the elderly KC-135s in shape to fly the hectic pace and the boom operators for being on their “A game” to make the transitions needed to go from refueling fighters to large aircraft and back again on nearly every mission—which he said presents “serious challenges.”

Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) last week questioned whether the Air Force has put “excessive focus on high technology to meet threats that are years away, without having planned and prepared for … the war that we’re fighting today.” He was...

Raytheon Aircraft Company has become Hawker Beechcraft Inc., under a sale negotiated between Raytheon Company and GS Capital Partners, an affiliate of Goldman Sachs and Onex Partners. Hawker Beechcraft now owns RAC facilities in Wichita and Salina, Kan., Little Rock,...

The Air Force’s B-1B fleet has amassed more than 500,000 flying hours, according to a March 27 Boeing release. The company says the flight achieving the actual half millionth hour took place March 1.

Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) wants an “open and honest” dialogue about the state of wounded warrior care and “growing requirements” facing military medics in the war on terror and the need to support the expansion of the Army and Marine...

The Air Force has awarded the Lockheed Martin A-10 Prime Team $40.4 million to complete the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the precision engagement program for the A-10C, the digitally enhanced version of the A-10 Warthog. According to a...

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency has completed a successful first explosive test of the 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) conventional weapon, which is designed to defeat hard and deeply buried targets. DTRA, which conducted the test in its test tunnel...

Navy Adm. Timothy Keating, who relinquished command of NORAD and US Northern Command on March 23, now has assumed command of US Pacific Command, taking over from acting commander Air Force Lt. Gen. Daniel P. Leaf. “He is fully prepared...

March 24, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 15 9 24 CAS/Armed Recon 62 47 109 Airlift 145 145 Air refueling 41 41 Total 77 56 186 319 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance