Lip Reading

Washington Post reporter Josh White uses the C-17 vs. C-5 issue to illustrate how the services often angle to get systems they want when DOD says no. The Air Force could not include money for additional C-17s in the 2008...

Not So

Contrary to an Oct. 16 report in The Hill by Roxana Tiron, the Air Force Association does not side with certain House Armed Services Committee members who are trying to derail a provision in the 2008 defense authorization bill that...

Making a Big Drop

Flying over Afghanistan, two USAF C-17s on Oct. 11 made one of the largest single airdrops since the start of operations there, reports SSgt. Trevor Tierman. The aircrews dropped 62 bundles of cargo, weighing about 85,000 pounds, to coalition ground...

Survival Spelled With an R

Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) extolled the arrival of the New Jersey Air National Guard’s first R model KC-135 tankers, saying the aircraft would “ensure the survival of the 108th Air Refueling Wing. The wing is giving up its older KC-135E...

Airmen Working Wideband Sat

The 3rd Space Operations Squadron and Boeing technicians at Schriever AFB, Colo. are running early-orbit operations of the first Wideband Global SATCOM launched last week. SSgt. Don Branum reports that the 3rd SOPS team took charge from Boeing’s El Segundo,...

The “New” Pope Gets Working:

Some 500 Air Force Reserve Command airmen from five states spent the weekend at Pope AFB, N.C., training with AFRC’s 440th Airlift Wing, which relocated from Wisconsin to North Carolina under BRAC 2005. The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer reports that only...

Runways? Herks Don’t Need Runways

According to 317th Airlift Group historian Bruce Stewart at Dyess AFB, Tex., a C-130 Hercules made history when it took off last month from “Runway 16L,” which is actually a former taxiway. Dyess sent its B-1B bomber force to Ellsworth...

Savings in Georgia

The collaboration between the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Defense Acquisition University, and Macon State College will save the Air Force about $13,500 in training cost for each person who completes new DAU-curriculum-based courses at Macon’s campus in Warner Robins,...

Mobility Leaders Talk Priorities:

Some 130 air mobility leaders participated in Phoenix Rally at Scott AFB, Ill. last week for a three-day “focused look” at Air Mobility Command priorities, roles, and missions, reports Lt. Col. Lindsey Borg. In attendance was AMC’s new commander, Gen....

Flying Wheelchairs for Kids:

CORRECTED Flying Wheelchairs for Kids: An Air Force Reserve Command aircrew from the 446th Airlift Wing, McChord AFB, Wash., recently flew 100 pediatric wheelchairs and a fire truck to Charleston AFB, S.C., so a Charleston crew could fly the assets...

Apparent Suicide:

According to news reports, an internal Air Force memo declared that the death Oct. 14 of the service’s No. 2 civilian acquisition official, Charles Riechers, “appears to be suicide.” Riechers has been the subject of news articles questioning his Air...

ILOs Gain Cognitive Baselining:

A first group of in-lieu-of airmen have undergone Automated Neuro-Psychological Assessment to collect baseline data to aid in their recovery should they receive a traumatic brain injury during their deployment to Iraq. The Army has used the process before, as...

All But Reserve March Gone:

The Air Force has turned over to the March Joint Powers Commission the final deeds, transfering the last of some 4,500 acres at March AFB, Calif. that BRAC 1996 declared surplus, reports Linda Geissinge of the Air Force Real Property...

Air Sorties in the Global War on Terrorism

Oct. 14, 2007 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total ISR 15 9 24 CAS/Armed Recon 50 37 87 Airlift 147 147 Air refueling 39 39 Total 65 46 186 297 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance Airlift includes Horn...