The base closure process and the Air Force’s Total Force Integration initiatives will continue to be contentious, but the National Guard and Air Force leadership have an excellent relationship and agree on the need for transformational change to meet 21st...

“Everyone is not going to be totally satisfied and ecstatic with the outcome,” of mission realignments, National Guard Bureau chief Lt. Gen. Steven Blum told defense reporters Wednesday morning, and the Air Guard is “going to have to make some...

At yesterday’s breakfast meeting with defense reporters, Army Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, head of the National Guard Bureau, distributed a fact sheet (we only show the ANG portion) itemizing massive National Guard funding shortfalls. It will take an infusion of $13.8 billion between 2008 and 2013 to get ANG units to 90 percent readiness, Blum calculates. A glaring shortfall of nearly $350 million shows up for depot maintenance and flying hours over those six years. “We’ll probably have to get some funds restored to those areas if we’re going to deliver the operational readiness that we’ve delivered in the last 25 years,” said Blum. “The demand on the Air National Guard is significant, and they have to maintain their readiness. The flying hour program is the most glaring” shortfall, he said, calling the budget gap a “conscious decision [to] accept some risk in the budget.”

There’s an amendment in the offing that would prohibit transfer sole control of the Joint Combat Aircraft program to the Air Force. Roxana Tiron of The Hill reports that Sen. Clair McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Sen. Mark (D-Ark.) plan to introduce...

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) secured passage of his amendment to the Senate version of the defense authorization bill that would direct the Air Force to conduct a “full and open competition” in its KC-135 tanker replacement program, according to a...

The Air Force Space Command team at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., celebrated the Air Force’s 60th Anniversary with the 75th consecutive successful launch of a Delta II booster, counting launches from both the East and West ranges, reports SrA. Stephen Cadette....

An F-16 fighter assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano AB, Italy, crashed Sept. 18 while on a routine high-altitude training mission. The pilot, Maj. Timothy Palmer, ejected and was undergoing medical evaluation but appeared in good condition. The...

Celebrations of the Air Force’s 60th anniversary on Sept. 18 included activities in New York City, from observance by the “Today” show to a sign on Times Square. “Today” show weatherman Al Roker wishes the Air Force a happy 60th...

The fire sparked in New Jersey in May by an Air National Guard F-16 prompted not only massive claims against the Air Force for property damage, but also several changes in leadership positions for the units involved, including the Warren...

The Airman’s Leadership School at Offutt AFB, Neb., now bears the name of retired CMSAF James McCoy, reports the Omaha World Herald. McCoy, who was the sixth person to hold the Air Force’s highest enlisted position, retired in 1981, but...

Former Air Force Academy baseball player who was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies will not get to play professional ball anytime soon. David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and policy, turned down a waiver request from 2nd Lt. Karl...

The Defense Information Systems Agency has named the 9th Support division Communications Support Flight at Beale AFB, Calif., as the Outstanding Global Information Grid Facility for 2006, reports A1C George Cloutier. The unit runs the 9th SD Systems Control Facility,...

Sept. 17, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 17 9 26 CAS/Armed Recon 61 36 97 Airlift 160 160 Air refueling 54 54 Total 78 45 214 337 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...