It’s a Big Deal:

The Air Force did its best to run its KC-X tanker competition as openly and transparently as possible in the hopes of avoiding a long, drawn-out protest by the losing offeror, Gen. Michael Moseley, Chief of Staff, said Thursday. “We...

No More “Spirit of Kansas”

According to The Honolulu Advertiser, the B-2 bomber that crashed Feb. 23 at Andersen AFB, Guam, was the “Spirit of Kansas.” The Air Force, per various news reports, has ordered a “pause” in flying the stealth bombers, whether deployed or...

Is the Air Force No. 4?

That’s a question pondered by Air Force Magazine Editor in Chief Robert S. Dudney in his March editorial, which suggests recent comments about the F-22 by the two top civilian officials in the Pentagon are indicative of “something deeper and...

Shortening the Kill Chain

Airmen of the 682nd Air Support Operations Squadron at Shaw AFB, S.C., are nearing the end of testing on the new Gateway vehicle mounted communications system, which enables an Air Support Operations Center and Joint Terminal Attack Controllers to click...

End Strength Must Go Up

The Air Staff’s new personnel chief, Lt. Gen. Richard Newton, basically told the House Armed Services military personnel panel Feb. 26 that self-financing weapon system recapitalization on the backs of airmen has come to an end. He stated in his...

30 Years of GPS

The first Global Positioning Satellite signal from space occurred on Feb. 22, 1978, writes Col. David Madden, GPS Wing Commander at Los Angeles AFB, Calif., in a Feb. 22 statement. Madden notes that the GPS Block 1 satellites, launched between...

Homes on Schriever?:

Air Force Space Command plans to put 242 homes on Schriever AFB, Colo., a first for the long-time commuter-only facility. The new homes are part of a package privatization project covering new homes at Peterson AFB, Colo., and for Los...

A New Option for Japanese Helo:

In a first-time event, US airmen at Yokota AB, Japan, loaded a Japanese CH-47J Chinook helicopter aboard a US C-17 airlifter. Kiyoshi Serizawa, a Ministry of Defense official said, “We thought it very significant. It confirmed the option to lift...

New Boss at 5th AF:

Lt. Gen. Edward Rice Jr. has taken charge of US Forces Japan and 5th Air Force at Yokota AB, Japan. Rice, who last served as vice commander of Pacific Air Forces, replaced Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, who formally retires on...

Former USAF Scientist Dies:

A pioneer in linear programming and former USAF mathematician, Alex Orden, died Feb. 9 in Chicago at age 91. After receiving a Ph.D. in Mathematics from MIT in 1950, Orden became a member of the Air Force’s Project SCOOP, for...

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest Asia

Feb. 25, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 9 9 18 1,416 CAS/Armed Recon 43 43 86 4,381 Airlift 126 126 6,540 Air refueling 45 45 2,085 Total 275 14,422 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...