North Takes Over in Pacific

Gen. Gary North took command of Pacific Air Forces Wednesday during a ceremony at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, over which Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Adm. Timothy Keating, US Pacific Command head, presided. North, who led the...

New Nuke Munitions Overseer

The 798th Munitions Maintenance Group stood up Tuesday at Minot AFB, N.D., during an assumption-of-command ceremony. “This is a big step to reinvigorate the nuclear enterprise in the Air Force,” said Col. David Milner, 798th MUMG commander. The new group,...

Tinker Depot Annex Opens

Air Force officials on Monday celebrated the opening of Bldg. 9001, a part of the new aerospace complex at Tinker AFB, Okla. “This will be a magnificent addition to the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center,” said Gen. Donald Hoffman, Air...

Strike Eagles Relieve Vipers in Korea

More than 300 members of the 366th Fighter Wing, an F-15E unit at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, left Monday on a five-month deployment to Kunsan AB, South Korea, as part of a normal rotation of Air Force combat forces to...

First Airborne High-energy Laser Shot

Boeing’s industry team and the Missile Defense Agency earlier this week successfully fired the Airborne Laser’s megawatt-class high-energy laser aboard the ABL aircraft in flight for the first time. In a release Thursday, Boeing said the Aug. 18 test over...

Order of the Sword for Lichte

Air Mobility Command’s enlisted airmen honored their commander, Gen. Arthur Lichte, on Aug. 14 by inducting him into the Order of the Sword, the highest honor of the enlisted corps, during a ceremony at Scott AFB, Ill., AMC’s headquarters. “I...

Slow and Fast Come Together

Airmen of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw AFB, S.C., earlier this month participated in an exercise with pilot volunteers of the South Carolina wing of the Civil Air Patrol. This iteration of the frequently occurring Fertile Keynote exercise allowed...

Airman Wins Service-wide Recognition

Capt. Bob Bernazal, chief of the information operations integration strategy division within the 612th Air and Space Operations Center at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., has been named the Air Force-level Outstanding Information Operations Active Duty Company Grade Officer of the Year....

Coiner of Term “Aerospace” Dies at 92

Francis William Jennings, long-time USAF civilian information officer, who many believe was the inspiration for the term “aerospace,” died Aug. 16, 2009, at age 92. Born in 1917 in Montana, Jennings served first in the Army as an active duty...

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia

Aug. 18, 2009 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 26 31 57 9,835 CAS/Armed Recon 22 92 114 22,009 Airlift 143 143 30,126 Air refueling 55 55 10,723 Total 369 72,693 OIF=Operation Iraqi Freedom OEF=Operation Enduring Freedom ISR=Intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance...