Taking Stock of Nukes:

The Air Force notified Defense Secretary Robert Gates early on Aug. 31 of the “situation involving the transfer of weapons from Minot AFB, N.D., to Barksdale AFB, La.,” on the previous day, so states Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Ed...

Speaking of Bombers:

Elsewhere in the heavy bomber world, the Air Force plans to shift temporarily 20 B-1B bombers and some 550 airmen assigned to Dyess AFB, Tex., to Ellsworth AFB, S.D., while the runway at Dyess undergoes repair. Other Dyess bombers are...

Lift That Army Load:

The Air Force recently supplied C-17s and airmen to oversee the loading of Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters onto the airlifters at Peterson AFB, Colo. Army National Guard soldiers from New York and Maryland had come to nearby Ft. Carson with...

Synthetic Fuel Talk:

The Defense Department’s push for the use of synthetic fuels had lawmakers listening yesterday to witnesses discussing the environmental, technical and economic challenges for turning coal into liquid fuels. House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and Environment Chairman Nick...

Airman’s Death Under Investigation:

The Pentagon on Sept. 5 released the name of an airman who died on Sept. 4 near Bagram AB, Afghanistan. MSgt. Patrick D. Magnana, 38, of Martinez, Calif., did not die in a combat-related incident. He was assigned to the...

Rethink that Wasteful Spending:

The Army’s proposal to spend billions of dollars on 132 unmanned aerial vehicles in “the real world of limited resources and competing military needs” is wasteful, notes Defense Analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute. The Air Force currently keeps...

Aiding the Fossett Search:

The Air National Guard-led 1st Air Force at Tyndall AFB, Fla., organized much of the hunt for famed aviator and tycoon Steve Fossett, engaging various aircraft and a USAF radar unit through the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall,...

Just an ABL Reminder:

A Boeing official on Sept. 4 reiterated what the Airborne Laser program director, Air Force Col. John Daniels, explained in June: If Congress proceeds with proposed cuts to the ABL program, they will delay it by two years. The Associated...

EOD Tech Gets Bronze:

The Air Force has awarded a Bronze Star Medal to SSgt. Adam Ginett, an explosive ordnance disposal team leader at Shaw AFB, S.C., for his actions while deployed to Afghanistan. SrA. Holly MacDonald reports that Ginett led 64 combat operations...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

Sept. 3, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 17 8 25 CAS/Armed Recon 72 42 114 Airlift 150 150 Air refueling 55 55 Total 89 50 205 344 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...