At Least Two Dead in Bomber Crash

The Air Force has confirmed that at least two are dead out of the six-member crew of the B-52H bomber that crashed Monday morning (about 9:45 a.m. local time) off the northwest coast of Guam. A joint search and rescue...

Versatile 129th

The airmen of the California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Field “seamlessly” transitioned from firefighting duties to at-sea medical assistance and rescue, says Lt. Col. Steve Butow, the unit’s operations group commander. He called the 129th the...

Clarification on KC-135E Retirements

The Air Force yesterday clarified its plans on retiring or grounding its remaining KC-135E aircraft. We reported that the service would accelerate the retirements so that all remaining KC-135Es were retired by the end of the fiscal year. Yesterday USAF...

C-17s for Qatar

The Qatar Armed Forces have agreed to buy an undisclosed number of new-build C-17s in a Foreign Military Sale announced yesterday by Boeing. The company said the deal signed yesterday would see deliveries begin in summer 2009. The number of...

Training the Army to Operate Airfields?

Airmen in Germany have embarked on a DOD pilot program to train soldiers how to manage and operate airfields. According to the US Air Forces in Europe airfield management functional manager, MSgt. Karen Ashley, “There is a need for Army...

Get the Word Out

The Department of Defense is making progress in developing its operationally responsive space concept, but still has a ways to go to ensure that ORS is clearly understood by all stakeholders across the national security space community, the Government Accountability...

Baker-Christopher Panel Calls For New War Act

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 has failed to promote cooperation between the Executive and Legislative Branches and should therefore be repealed and replaced with a new pragmatic law, recommends the National War Powers Commission co-chaired by former Secretaries of...

A Good Run

The Air National Guard’s Enlisted Aircrew Academic School at Little Rock AFB, Ark., has trained its final loadmaster, bringing its total to 4,182 students over a 20-year period. The school got a one-year reprieve last year when the Air Force...

A New Home for Speckled Trout

Down at Lackland AFB, Tex., the Air Force’s Enlisted Aviator Center of Excellence (see above) has received the KC-135, known as Speckled Trout, to serve as a training platform for various enlisted aircrew members, including loadmasters, boom operators, and airborne...

New Unit Winner of New Award

A relatively new unit, the 561st Joint Tactics Squadron formally activated at Nellis AFB, Nev., in June 2007, is the first recipient of the Air Force Association’s new Gen. George C. Kenney Award for Lessons Learned. Air Combat Command provisionally...

Short on Security Airmen, Go Civilian

Scott Air Force Base in Illinois will serve as one of the first tests in replacing security forces airmen with a civilian police force. These civilian officers, who will wear battle dress uniforms and blue ball caps, will work all...

Air Sorties from SWA

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaJuly 16-17, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 51 27 78 6,197 CAS/Armed Recon 98 112 210 18,261 Airlift 292 292 25,155 Air refueling 123 123 8,757 Total 703 58,370...