Apparently the Army vice chief of staff, Gen. Richard Cody, has made at least one call to further the Army’s push to retain control of its own fixed-wing tactical airlift capability, specifically the new Joint Cargo Aircraft. One call went to Sen. Carl Levin, who responded with some questions in a letter to Cody, a copy of which we obtained. The Army and Air Force jointly have pursued the JCA program, but lawmakers have been at odds over the role of the Army in tactical airlift. Some say the Army should continue to fly its own fixed wing airlifters, while others believe the issue is part of a larger roles and missions creep that has led to duplication of effort. The matter, writes Levin, will be subject of discussion in the conference over the 2008 defense authorization bill. He asked Cody to respond to eight questions by Oct. 12. Levin questions whether the Pentagon will gain greater effectiveness and efficiency from two services performing the same mission and why the Army believes the Air National Guard would provide “reduced support” compared to the Army National Guard if ANG flies the tactical airlift missions for homeland defense and disaster relief. (We’ve reproduced the letter here.)

Saying it is “tough to argue with results,” Col. Todd Harmer, vice commander of the active 388th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, Utah, says the integration of the 388th and the Air Force Reserve Command 419th FW works and the...

The Air Force relies heavily on its newest strategic airlifter to fly much of the tactical airlift in the US Central Command area of responsibility, evidenced by the numbers wracked up last month by the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron. Capt....

Airmen from Dover AFB, Del. deployed to Iraq for a year to help build an Air Force there, reports TSgt. Kevin Wallace. Among the Dover airmen is TSgt. Steven Miller who serves as a combat-aviation advisor and who said the...

The Pentagon issued a release on Friday saying that a coalition air strike in Iraq on Oct. 11 had killed 15 terrorists that were attacking coalition ground forces and “also claimed the lives of a large number of innocent victims.”...

The 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron in Southwest Asia has a new asset: the 35-inch-long unmanned aerial vehicle called the Raven B. MSgt. Ruby Zarzyczny reports that airmen, who are using the 4.2-pound UAV, with a wing span of 65...

The New Jersey Air National Guard’s 177th Fighter Wing has just opened a new $13 million alert facility, reports the Asbury Park Press. The facility includes three aircraft shelters to keep the wing’s F-16s readily available, but out of the...

In Georgia, the Air National Guard’s 165th Airlift Wing has opened a new $6.9 million training and medical complex at its home near the Savannah-Hilton Head Airport, reports SavannahNow.com. It is part of the Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center. Rep....

The Pentagon has identified the remains of nine airmen who died when their B-24J Liberator crashed during a World War II mission. The Army Air Forces airmen are 1st Lt. David P. McMurray of Melrose, Mass.; 1st Lt. Raymond Pascual...

Oct. 11, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 22 8 30 CAS/Armed Recon 61 37 98 Airlift 157 157 Air refueling 51 51 Total 83 45 208 336 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...