Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.orgThe Air Force’s Minuteman III ICBM force likely will be the first...

The Air Force’s intelligence career field is in big demand in the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq, Col. Eric Holdaway, director of intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance for Air Forces Central, told reporters April 23 during a conference call. So much so, he said, that intel airmen are on a one-to-one deployment/dwell cycle, meaning they can expect to be downrange for six months to a year and get back home for an equivalent period of time. Further, a number of ISR airmen are currently tapped for joint expeditionary taskings with non-USAF units, he said. To ease the strain, the Air Force is looking at the specialties within the intelligence field that could be merged with other fields that don’t deploy as often. The demand will remain, but it would help the deployment cycles by sending new people over who have not had the opportunity to deploy yet, Holdaway said. Also, the Air Force is looking at changing up its assignment policy. There is a possibility that a “deliberate assignment policy” could be implemented where an intelligence airman would choose a two-year assignment that is vulnerable to deployment then go into “sanctuary” for a few years for career development, he said. (For more Daily Report coverage of Holdaway’s telecon, read April 24’s entry The UAV Advantage.)

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.orgThe Air Force has approved a new high-velocity maintenance construct designed to...

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.orgThe Air Force has begun exploring the best attributes for a future...

As manpower and resources pour into Afghanistan, Air Force and Army intelligence-gathering capabilities are also getting ramped up, with more cooperation expected in this area between airmen and soldiers there, says Col. Eric Holdaway, director of intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance for Air Forces Central. This will especially be the case with next month's arrival of MC-12W manned overhead surveillance aircraft and the processing and dissemination teams that will support them in theater, he told reporters April 23 during a teleconference. Included in the Army’s ISR buildup is the much-bandied Task Force ODIN, which the land service used to counter improvised explosive devices in Iraq. While the Army’s model is very effective for its purposes, the Air Force’s ISR mission differs a bit and is broader, Holdaway said. “They’ve developed a very strong capability for working very closely with a brigade combat team . . . to work a specific problem” he said. Conversely, the Air Force’s responsibility includes tactical reconnaissance support as well as expanded ISR support to the theater commanders, he explained. Still, “There’s a very good complement between TF ODIN and what the air component brings to theater ISR,” he said. (For more, read April 24’s Daily Report entry The UAV Advantage) (For more on plans for the MC-12W, read Project Liberty Heads Downrange)

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.orgAir Mobility Command and US Special Operations Command investigators have concluded that...

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.orgA ceremony was held April 17 on the grounds of St. Peter’s...

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.orgOn April 23, 2nd Lt. Evan Negron, a student pilot in the...

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.orgThe Air Force has awarded four Bronze Stars to one airman at...

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.orgRetired Col. Felix A. “Doc” Blanchard, Heisman Trophy winner during his time...

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.orgApril 23-24, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 49...