Huddle Up

Gen. Norton Schwartz, Chief of Staff, used some football analogies to reinforce the Air Force leadership’s back-to-basics message to airmen of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing on Oct. 25 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, the last stop of his week-long...

Air Force Hero Authorized MOH

With the signing of the 2009 defense policy bill earlier this month, CMSgt. Richard Etchberger, who originally received a posthumous Air Force Cross for his heroic actions at Lima Site 85 during the Vietnam War, is now authorized to receive the Medal of Honor for that action. The pertinent language in Public Law 110-417 waives the time limitations normally entailed with such awards. Etchberger was a ground radar superintendent at a secret Air Force radar site atop one of the highest Laotian mountains, which enemy forces surprisingly overran on March 11, 1968. Etchberger kept the North Vietnamese troops at bay with an M-16, enabling rescue for seven of the 19 Americans still alive at the site. He would have been the eighth man alive but was mortally wounded by ground fire at he boarded the helicopter. (Read more in The Fall of Lima Site 85) The Minot Daily News reports that Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) worked for four years to secure authorization for a posthumous MOH for Etchberger, a native of Bismarck, N.D. He told the newspaper, "The Medal of Honor is reserved for extraordinary acts of valor in combat, and Chief Etchberger's actions were the very definition of such extraordinary valor." At the time, the White House declined to award the MOH, believing the action would spotlight the presence of the clandestine facility in a supposedly neutral country. Instead, Etchberger's wife received his Air Force Cross in a closed ceremony. Defense Secretary Robert Gates now may send an MOH nomination for Etchberger to President Bush for approval.

Green with Pride

EPA’s 2008 green power leadership award in the green power purchaser category goes to … the Air Force! Yes, according to a release issued yesterday by the service, the Air Force made an annual purchase of more than 899 million...

Peering In

The Office of the Secretary of Defense has instituted a new policy that requires a service to subject a major weapons acquisition program to peer review by its sister services during and after contract decisions. Bloomberg news wire service reported...

Bronze Star for Malmstrom Airman

Lt. Col. Lynden Skinner, deputy commander of the 341st Security Forces Group at Malmstrom AFB, Mont., has received a Bronze Star medal for his activities while deployed to Iraq. Skinner distinguished himself there as the joint defense operations center air...

Blame it on the Prop

A T-6A Texan II trainer aircraft’s propeller not feathering in a timely manner is the primary cause of this aircraft’s forced landing during a training flight June 4 at Vance AFB, Okla., Air Force investigators have determined. Shortly after takeoff,...

Thank You, the Army Way

Twenty-nine airmen from the 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s Det. 3 received Army cavalry combat spurs on Oct. 20 for their efforts in building more than 25,000 square feet of housing and administrative offices at Forward Operating Base Hunter, Iraq,...

Thrusting Forward

Lockheed Martin has won a contract potentially worth $30 million to continue Air Force Research Lab-sponsored work on radically improving the performance of turbine engines, the Department of Defense announced Monday. The company has been chosen to proceed into phase...

Set It Up, STAT

The Air Force has awarded ATK Mission Research of Santa Barbara, Calif., a $26.1 million contract to establish a space threat assessment testbed at the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tennessee. This ground test capability is slated to be completed...

Air Sorties from SWA

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaOct. 25, 2008 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 13 15 28 10,866 CAS/Armed Recon 25 67 92 30,662 Airlift 130 130 38,729 Air refueling 42 42 15,118 Total 292 95,375...