Orlando, February 18, 2010—Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz suggested that there are going to be more firings ahead on non-performing programs. In Q&A after a speech to AFA's Air Warfare Symposium, Schwartz was asked if he had a message for industry. His stern and terse reply: "Deliver what you promise." Pressed to go further in a subsequent press conference, Schwartz said that in discussions with CEOs of all major defense companies, he has made it clear: "This is no longer a time for wishful thinking." Continue

Orlando, February 18, 2010—Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz in January said he didn’t think the F-35 program would suffer a Nunn-McCurdy breach. (Defense Secretary Bob Gates said more recently he wasn’t certain either.) That law says a...

Orlando, February 18, 2010—Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, National Guard Bureau director, noted that 75 percent of Air National Guard personnel have served on active duty, many having spent decades in their specialty. (As example, he said the four ANG...

Orlando, February 19, 2010—Air Force Global Strike Command, which assumed responsibility for the nation’s nuclear-capable bomber force a scant 18 days ago, will be a forceful advocate for long range strike capabilities. So said Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, AFGSC commander,...

Logistician’s Nightmare: Orlando, February 19, 2010—Gen. Duncan McNabb said US Transportation Command has made great strides in delivering additional troops and cargo to Afghanistan, despite that country’s landlocked location and tough terrain, not to mention its “very interesting neighbors.” Speaking...

Orlando, February 19, 2010—Still considering how best to sustain the Afghanistan surge logistically, US Transportation Command had to shift gears to include a surge of relief support for earthquake-ravaged Haiti. Gen. Duncan McNabb, TRANSCOM boss, said at AFA's Air Warfare Symposium that his planners scrambled to figure out what the requirements would be to feed and shelter about one million people. They estimated it would take about 250 cargo containers a day—100 for food, 100 for water, and 50 for other supplies. He noted that Air Force Special Operations Command combat controllers initially got Haiti's main airport operating again, enabling three airlift missions the day after the earthquake. The next day, that number jumped to 23, and two days later 120 flights.

Orlando, February 19, 2010—In just the first five months of Fiscal 2010, the Air Force has already met 68 percent of its total recruiting goal for the year, Gen Stephen Lorenz, Air Education and Training Command boss, said Friday at...

Orlando, February 18, 2010—The nature of “allies” and “adversaries” is very nebulous in the Pacific region, Gen. Gary North said at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium. For one thing, said North, Pacific Air Forces boss, “Our high end competition is very...

Orlando, February 19, 2010—Readiness remains a big challenge for Reservists, Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, Air Force Reserve chief, told attendees at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium. Readiness in the sense of taking someone "from square zero" and maturing them from being a part timer to fully operational status, he said. "Part of that challenge comes with dollars and cents; part of that challenge comes with availability," he explained. Part of the answer is a training program in place that takes airmen out of basic military training and tech school and, if assuming they have the availability, puts them on an extended-period tour that develops their skills to the point that they may deploy, he said. Such efforts get "them into the fight quicker," Stenner said, noting that this initiative needs to be sustained.

Orlando, February 18, 2010—With space becoming a more congested and contested domain, the Air Force’s focus should not solely be on protecting its space assets, but also on preserving “the appropriate redundancies” to them through airborne complements or other backup...

Orlando, February 18, 2010—Improving the Air Force’s ability to monitor objects in space remains an imperative, Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff, told attendees at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium. Enhanced capabilities in this realm will allow the US...

Orlando, February 18, 2010—Whether or not the new Russian PAK FA lives up to its hype, Gen. Roger Brady, head of US Air Forces in Europe, says potential adversaries are pursuing true fifth and sixth generation technology. He also says...

Orlando, February 18, 2010—Air Force Special Operations Command is increasing its capability to train foreign air forces in counterinsurgency techniques, but it takes time to train more air commandos in needed language, foreign equipment, and cultural skills, AFSOC boss Lt....

Orlando, February 18, 2010—Asked what issues airmen raise with him as he visits deployed forces, CMSAF James Roy said combat skills training is the No. 1 concern. Speaking at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium, Roy said the need for proper combat...

Orlando, February 18, 2010—One of the Air Force’s key objectives—preserving and enhancing the all-volunteer force—is of particular interest to CMSAF James Roy. The Air Force has been at war in Southwest Asia for 19 years, he noted, and must carefully...

Orlando, February 18, 2010—The "embedded partnership" strategy now being used by NATO's International Security Assistance Force is clearly paying dividends, said Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, head of Combined Joint Task Force 82, headquartered at Bagram Air Base, speaking at AFA's Air Warfare Symposium. Scaparrotti said the cooperation has allowed his Regional Command East, which encompasses roughly a quarter of Afghanistan, to get a handle on insurgent activity in some significant zones. He noted, too, that civilians from areas around the now-Taliban-free zones want the same security. They now offer their support in driving out the Taliban, which helps spread security much like an expanding inkblot. Continue

Airpower statistics for Operation Enduring Freedom for 2009 just released by the Combined Forces Air Component Commander show a rise for close air support sorties, nearly 39 percent compared to 2008. The number of CAS strikes (with data only through...

Boeing announced Feb. 17 that it had delivered to USAF on Feb. 8 the E-4B National Airborne Operations Center aircraft the company had just completed upgrading at its Wichita, Kan. facility. The 11-month-long upgrade included “extensive programmed depot maintenance refurbishment”...

Retired Maj. Gen. Jeanne M. Holm, the Air Force’s first female brigadier general and who later became DOD’s first female major general, died Feb. 15. She was 88. Holm enlisted in the Army in 1942, serving initially as a truck...

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Feb. 14, 2010 Sortie Type OIF OEF OIF/OEF Total YTD ISR 27 34 61 2,521 CAS/Armed Recon 24 75 99 3,906 Airlift 155 155 7,055 Air refueling 44 44 1,862 Total 359 15,344 OIF=Operation Iraqi...