Crawford Awarded Air Force Cross

Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz awarded Capt. Barry Crawford the Air Force Cross—the second highest honor for valor in combat—during a Pentagon ceremony Thursday. “It’s not hard to be utterly impressed by his bravery and inspired by his selflessness,”...

North Korean Missile Launch Fails

North Korea on Thursday launched a long-range ballistic missile, as it had told the world it intended to do, but the multi-stage rocket failed, said US and North American Aerospace Defense Command officials. The missile lifted off at 6:39 p.m....

Air Force Takes Control of WGS-4

The Air Force accepted control of the fourth Wideband Global Satellite Communications spacecraft from manufacturer Boeing, announced the company on Thursday. The handover of the military communications satellite occurred on Wednesday, according to the company. WGS-4, launched into space on...

Put Up or Give Up

The Air Force should decide if it’s serious about the “big” intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft in its fleet, and should either “step up or step back” and let the other services take over the mission. So said retired Gen....

The Patience Reservoir

The United States should expedite its departure from Afghanistan, said former Air Force Chief of Staff retired Gen Ron Fogleman. “The American public’s patience for this war is over. It’s done. And so the sooner we leave, the better,” asserted...

Air Force Highlights Renewable Energy Initiatives

The Air Force is making progress towards the goal of obtaining 1,000 megawatts of renewable energy across its facilities and installations by Fiscal 2016. In Fiscal 2011, six percent of the Air Force's facility energy came from renewable sources of energy, according to the service's newly issued renewable energy fact sheet. Currently 131 projects at 56 installations are generating 37 megawatts from sources including wind, solar, ground-source thermal, landfill gas, and other methods, states the document. The service has 50 additional projects under construction or awarded that will generate another 19 megawatts; one example is the 14-megawatt, 40-acre solar farm at Nellis AFB, Nev. Over the next 3 years, the Air Force has 21 more renewable energy projects planned that are expected to generate 148 megawatts of capacity, states the fact sheet. The Air Force also has six enhanced-use-lease projects planned for the next three years to generate up to 610 megawatts of additional renewable energy. They include a 15-megawatt waste-to-energy project at Hill AFB, Utah, and a solar farm at Edwards AFB, Calif., that will produce between 350 megawatts and 440 megawatts of energy, according to the fact sheet.

Rose-colored Glasses?

The United States would agree to “a political framework” with Russia on ballistic missile defense, “including a statement that our missile defenses are not directed at Russia,” said Frank Rose, deputy assistant secretary of state for arms control, Thursday. “Any...

YB Anywhere Else?

A B-52 bomber will take off on a long-endurance flight from Barksdale AFB, La., on Sunday, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the first B-52 flight, according to Air Force Global Strike Command officials. The flight is one of the activities...

Thirty Seconds over Dayton

One of the largest gatherings of B-25 Mitchell bombers assembled since World War II will mark the 70th anniversary of the daring Doolittle bombing raid on Tokyo during commemoration events in Dayton, Ohio, next Wednesday, according to event organizers. The...

Every Picture Tells a Story

The Pentagon’s Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command is gathering photos of US service personnel still missing in action from the Korean War and it’s asking the public for help in building this collection. There are still more than 8,000 American MIAs...