The Pentagon announced late Feb. 20 that SSgt. Timothy P. Davis, 28, died Feb. 20 near Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Davis, of Aberdeen, Wash., had deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom in...

Instead of the traditional two-week Red Flag, the Air Force's premier combat training exercise hosted at Nellis AFB, Nev., several times a year, Red Flag 09-3, which starts today, will extend an additional week as the US Air Force Air Warfare Center tests whether its feasible and effective to focus some training on close air support and combat search and rescue training. Today's operations in Iraq and Afghanistan has placed new emphasis on airpower support to ground forces, including "sometimes dropping weapons within a few hundred feet of friendly troops," explained Maj. Keith Lowman, Red Flag 09-3 team chief. He said, "The additional training will better prepare our airmen for combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other locations around the world." Participating aircraft include USAF F-22, F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter and attack aircraft and Navy F-18 fighters, as well as British F-3 Tornados and Australian F-111s. Supporting the fighter force will be a variety of CSAR, command and control, and intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance platforms and aerial refuelers. (Aircraft list as of Feb. 20) (Nellis report by Mike Estrada)

The Pacific Air Forces inspector general team rated the performance of the active 15th Airlift Wing and Air National Guard’s 154th Wing and 624th Regional Support Group as “excellent.” It was the first Total Force operational readiness inspection the units...

Newly installed National Guard Bureau chief, Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, shared sponsorship of the annual NGB hurricane season planning workshop last week for the first time with NORAD and US Northern Command boss, Air Force Gen. Victor Renuart, and...

The Missile Defense Agency on Feb. 19 announced that it was transferring the Cobra Dane phased-array radar at Shemya, Alaska, to the Air Force. MDA has used the upgraded Cobra Dane for ballistic missile defense operations since 2004, but it...

There’s a move afoot in the Oregon legislature that would close Kingsley Field, home to the Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing, reports the Klamath Falls Herald and News. The problem, of course, is money. Now, this may be news...

Air Force Reserve Command airmen from six bases spent Valentine’s day weekend boning up on the skills needed for their aeromedical qualification. The annual aeromedical jamboree brings together in one location, this time Charleston AFB, S.C., three different airframes—C-17, C-130,...

The US government had difficulty arranging the current lease of Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan, finally agreeing in 2006 to more money, upping the $2.7 million per year it formerly paid to $17.4 million a year, albeit down substantially from...

The Air Force has awarded a Bronze Star medal to MSgt. Anthony Blackmon, an explosive ordnance disposal specialist, for his actions while deployed to Iraq. When he and other EOD team members were ambushed by insurgents, he directed returning fire...

Northrop Grumman announced Feb. 19 that the high-energy laser aboard the Airborne Laser attack aircraft had successfully fired multiple long-duration blasts during ground tests that ended Feb. 12. The test firings were used to “tune” the megawatt-class laser by adjusting...

Air Sorties in War on Terrorism, Southwest AsiaFeb. 19, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 27 17 44 1,953 CAS/Armed Recon 59 59 118 5,035 Airlift 125 125 6,433 Air refueling 48 48 2,321 Total 335 15,742...