Gates: Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell Repeal Manageable

Repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military would not have significant long-term ramifications for readiness, unit cohesion, or morale, according to the report of the Defense Department’s Comprehensive Review Working...

DADT Review By the Numbers

The Pentagon’s Comprehensive Review Working Group that studied the impact of repealing the “don’t ask-don’t tell” policy received more than 115,000 responses from service members and more than 44,000 responses from military spouses, Army Gen. Carter Ham, working group co-chair,...

X-37B Coming Home

The Air Force announced Tuesday that preparations are underway for the return to Earth of the X-37B orbital test vehicle within the next week. While the exact landing date and time will depend on technical and weather considerations, the reusable,...

Still Ticking

Boeing and Air Force officials last month celebrated 20 years of operations for the first Global Positioning System Block IIA satellite, which is designated GPS Block IIA-10 (SVN-23). The Air Force and its industry partners placed this satellite into orbit...

F-35 Program Manager’s Position Mischaracterized

Vice Adm. David Venlet, F-35 program executive officer, has denied comments that House defense overseers attributed to him in a letter they drafted last month in support of the General Electric-Rolls Royce F136 engine. That missive “does not correctly convey”...

Down to Two

Travis AFB, Calif., and Spangdahlem AB, Germany, are the two Air Force finalists for the 2011 Commander-in-Chief’s Installation Excellence Award. “Your hard word, devotion to duty, and selfless dedication has been recognized,” said Lt. Gen. Loren Reno, deputy chief of...

Operation Christmas Drop Gears Up

For the 58th straight year, airmen at Andersen AFB, Guam, will undertake Operation Christmas Drop this month, delivering donated provisions and gifts to inhabitants of remote Pacific islands. This year, C-130s will airdrop 60 palletized containers to roughly 50 islands...

A Pause for Life and Limb

Explosive ordinance disposal airmen at McConnell AFB, Kan., last month broke from daily operations to focus on mitigating the risks of their hazardous work. “The purpose of our annual safety day is to take a strategic pause in our operations...

Remembering 9/11

About 100 service members and civilians turned out last month at Cheyenne Mountain AFS, Colo., for the arrival of a steel beam recovered from the World Trade Center. Cheyenne Mountain airmen will incorporate the beam into the base of a...

Phantom Ray on the Move

Boeing’s Phantom Ray uninhabited aircraft test bed last month successfully completed low-speed taxi tests in St. Louis, according to company officials. They are now preparing to ferry the aircraft to Edwards AFB, Calif., for more taxi tests before entering a...

Correction

An entry in Monday’s column on the Launch Control Center NetLink system misspelled the name of its creator: Douglas Angell, a technical engineer with the 526th ICBM Systems Group at Minot AFB, N.D. We’ve corrected the original entry and apologize...

Air Sorties from SWA 112410

Air Sorties in Southwest Asia, Nov. 24, 2010 Sortie Type OND OEF OND/OEF Total YTD ISR 25 73 98 25,282 CAS/Armed Recon 18 92 110 32,277 Airlift 183 183 56,949 Air refueling 49 49 15,946 Rescue 33 33 7,467 Total...