CSAR-X Do-Over

The Air Force’s top civilian acquisition official confirmed Thursday that the service is seeking another go-around for the troubled combat search and rescue helicopter replacement program. Sue Payton told Pentagon reporters that calls are being made to the original bidders...

Army and Navy Joining CSAR-X Selection?

Things will be different in this CSAR-X go-around (see above), the Air Force’s senior acquisition official Sue Payton said Thursday. She told Pentagon reporters: “I’m very pleased that we have great support from the Army and the Navy. They will...

C-5 Facts of Life

Air Force acquisition guru Sue Payton told reporters Thursday that there are “fact of life changes” that caused the cost of the C-5 reliability enhancement and re-engining program to reach Nunn-McCurdy breach level. Those facts include a steep rise in...

Quick Off Mark

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) issued a statement yesterday after an Air Force press briefing announcing a Nunn-McCurdy breach for the C-5 upgrade program (see above), saying that we should view the “alleged” breach with “a...

A Raptor First for Reserves

Air Force Reserve Command has activated its first F-22A Raptor unit, the 477th Fighter Group at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, where it will share the new aircraft with the active duty 3rd Wing. MSgt. Chance Babin reports that AFRC also stood...

Another Battlelab Closes Shop

The Air Force has inactivated the Force Protection Battlelab at Lackland AFB, Tex., as part of a money-saving effort that targeted all seven of its battlelabs. The Force Protection Battlelab, created in 1997, completed some 200 projects, including a pathogen...

Finding B-2 Discrepancies Just Got Easier

Aeronautical Systems Center engaged a small business vendor, ITCN, Inc., in Centerville, Ohio, to help develop a better means for B-2 bomber maintainers to identify avionics problems—it worked. The prototype databus will help B-2 technicians isolate wiring cable problems to...

Work to be Done at Warner Robins

Brig. Gen. Mark Atkinson, commander of a major unit at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia, told the Macon Telegraph that a low rating on a recent two-week logistics evaluation did not represent an “across the board” failure....

Wideband Sat Ready to Go

Technicians at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., recently encapsulated the first Wideband Global Satellite, working toward an Oct. 9 launch date aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V. The WGS system is slated to replace the two-decade-old Defense Satellite Communication System...

Gone in Files Scrub

An Air Force policy to eliminate older paper files related to noncombat missions led the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall AFB, Fla., to destroy “suspended mission files” for failed search and rescue missions from 1989 and earlier, reports...

Bronze Star for Afghan Service:

The Air Force has awarded the Bronze Star medal to Lt. Col. Cedric Wilson, commander of the 42nd Contracting Squadron, Maxwell AFB, Ala., for his service while deployed as head of the Defense Contract Management Agency at Bagram AB, Afghanistan....

Apply Now for Reclassification Program:

Some noncommissioned officers can apply for return to a previous career field—ones that are now in-demand. The Air Force Personnel Center is taking applications from active duty staff, technical, and master sergeants for the Fiscal 2008 NCO Limited Reclassification Program...

Medical Mission in El Salvador:

A team of Joint Task Force-Bravo doctors and medics from Soto Cano AB, Honduras just traveled to El Salvador for a Medical Readiness Training Exercise, where they provided healthcare to local residents. SSgt. Austin May reports that the team helped...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

Oct. 2, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 21 8 29 CAS/Armed Recon 71 41 112 Airlift 150 150 Air refueling 50 50 Total 92 49 200 341 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...