Rasmussen: Russian Actions are a “Wake Up Call”

By Marc V. Schanz
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen blasted “Russia’s military aggression” in Crimea, during a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. Rasmussen said such actions are a violation of Ukraine’s territory and sovereignty and labeled the recent vote...

NATO Condemns Russian Grab, Starts Air Exercises

NATO officials condemned Russia’s illegal take-over of Ukraine’s Crimea region as Air Force F-16s began exercises in Poland on Tuesday, according to officials. “Crimea’s annexation is illegal and illegitimate and NATO Allies will not recognize it,” said NATO Secretary General...

PJ Awarded DFC for Heroism in Afghanistan

Pararescueman SSgt. Thomas Culpepper was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device for risking his life to rescue three soldiers in Afghanistan in 2011. Culpepper and an HH-60 Pave Hawk crew at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, scrambled to extricate a...

AFSOC Airmen Receive Combat Medals

Two airmen assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla., were awarded the nation’s third and fourth highest combat military decorations for their actions in Afghanistan. TSgt. Michael Blout, a combat controller, received the Silver Star and...

The A-10 Trade Off Cost

By Marc V. Schanz
If Congress prohibits the Air Force from divesting its fleet of A-10s, other cuts will have to be made in the bomber force as well as further F-16 retirements, a senior Air Staff official said. The Air Force will see...

CAS and CSAR Without the Warthog

By Marc V. Schanz
If Congress allows the Air Force to divest its A-10 fleet, as the Fiscal 2015 budget proposes, the service will reapportion training and investments across a combat fleet already seasoned in the close air support mission, an Air Staff official...

And I Hope You Like Jammin’, Too

By John A. Tirpak
Maj. Gen. James Jones, the Air Force’s top planner, told reporters at the Pentagon Tuesday that the service will continue to rely heavily on the Navy’s EA-18G Growlers and EA-6B Prowlers for stand-in jamming, as well as the Miniature Air...

Hang Up Your CAPES

By John A. Tirpak
The only thing left of the Air Force’s planned F-16 omnibus upgrade—to include the Common Avionics Programmed Extension Suite, or CAPES—is a structural upgrade to extend the type’s service life from 8,000 to 10,000 hours, the Air Force’s top programmer...