Airman Dies in Iraq

A1C Corey C. Owens, 26, of San Antonio, has died in Iraq, the Defense Department announced. He died in a non-combat-related incident on Feb 17 at Al Asad AB, Iraq. Owens was an installation patrolman assigned to the 47th Security...

Acquisition Plan for New Helo Still in the Works

Although there are funds allotted for two Common Vertical Lift Support Platform helicopters in the Air Force’s just-released Fiscal 2012 budget request, the service hasn’t decided yet on the acquisition strategy for the new platform, Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, Air...

Shortfalls at AETC

Air Education and Training Command has attained 99 percent of its enlisted and officer recruiting goals so far this year, and is bringing in the “highest quality of airmen” in USAF history, said Gen. Edward Rice, AETC boss, during his...

Revamping PJ Training

The Air Force is revamping the way it trains its pararescue personnel in the hopes of reducing attrition rates in this training pipeline, said Gen. Edward Rice, head of Air Education and Training Command, Friday. Improvement initiatives include: better preparing...

The Shrinking Pot

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley warned Friday that there will be “protracted debate” over the nation’s finances in the coming years, and “any doubts that defense would be part of that debate were erased this week,” after members of Congress...

An Enviable Record

About 98 percent of those US military personnel injured in Afghanistan who needed transport to out-of-country medical facilities have survived, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Friday. Every day, the Air Force flies about 10 “life-saving” transport missions, he said....

Sheltering Pacific Mammoths

Pacific Air Forces officials are studying ways to protect the long-range bombers that operate from Andersen AFB, Guam, said PACAF Commander Gen. Gary North. This may include erecting hardened aircraft shelters there, he told reporters in Orlando, Fla., at AFA’s...

Building Global Strike Culture

Now a fully functioning and manned organization, Air Force Global Strike Command is consolidating and standardizing many of the gains made in the nuclear enterprise over the last several years, said the command’s new boss, Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, Friday....

One Team, One Fight

The Air Force and Army National Guard have built a strong partnership since the Air Force became an independent service 64 years ago, but the age of flat-lining and maybe even declining budgets is likely to “create tension” between the...

A Stealthy Cyber Domain

The Air Force needs to develop an acquisition strategy specific to the cyber domain, where problems arise and must be addressed within seconds, minutes, or, at the most, hours. “When we need to make changes, it has to be done...

The Northern Passage

Setting up and building on the so-called Northern Distribution Network has helped save time and money in supporting combat operations in Afghanistan, Gen. Duncan McNabb, US Transportation Command boss, said Friday. As of mid 2010, an average of 574 20-foot-equivalent...

Sixth Gen Fighter Far Off

The Air Force can’t afford to pursue a sixth generation fighter, and won’t be able to for perhaps 10 years, Secretary Michael Donley told reporters at a press conference Friday at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla. “I don’t...

ISR Review

The Air Force will soon begin an extensive review of its future intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance needs, but doesn’t intend to form any quick conclusions, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Friday. Speaking with reporters after his AFA Air Warfare Symposium address in...

The Beginning of the End?

In light of the Air Force’s financial woes—and its inability to fund even some fundamental requirements—a reporter asked Secretary Michael Donley Friday whether the United States’ ability to project global power is in decline. “I certainly don’t believe that at...

U-2 Phaseout

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Friday the service will start closing down the U-2 depot support capability soon, and that the venerable surveillance aircraft may depart the inventory circa 2015. USAF officials “adjusted” that date to account for the...

The New Bomber and the Nuclear Enterprise

Last year’s Nuclear Policy Review determined that the United States should maintain the triad as its strategic deterrent. As a result, US Strategic Command’s requirements for the Air Force’s future long-range, penetrating bomber are on both sides of the nuclear...

Long-Range Strike Explained

Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Phillip Breedlove on Thursday offered some details on the Pentagon’s family of future long-range strike systems. In addition to the Air Force’s new long-range, penetrating bomber as its centerpiece, the “family” will include...

No Bomber Requirements Yet

Requirements for the new penetrating bomber have not actually been set yet, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Phillip Breedlove told the Daily Report Thursday, following his speech at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition in Orlando, Fla. Breedlove said...

Building a Resilient Force

Building a well-rounded, resilient Air Force is a top priority for senior leaders, but there are still plenty of signs that a decade of war is taking its toll on the force. The number of alcohol-related incidents is hovering around...

Up Close and Personal, Why Now?

The “pacing threat” from China, coming at the same time as profound financial austerity within the Pentagon, played a big role in the Air Force and Navy establishing the new AirSea Battle concept, said Lt. Gen. Herbert Carlisle, deputy chief...

Preventing Burnout in the Reserve Force

Air National Guard Director Lt. Gen. Bud Wyatt and Air Force Reserve Chief Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner said Thursday USAF’s move to 179-day air and space expeditionary force rotations will not be a problem for the service’s part-time warriors. But...