SpaceX Narrows Falcon 9 Investigation

SpaceX has narrowed the investigation into the cause of the Sept. 1 Falcon 9 rocket explosion on one of three containers inside the second stage liquid oxygen tank, the company announced Friday. Company investigators replicated the failure of the composite...

Holding the Momentum in Mosul

The campaign to oust ISIS from the Iraqi city of Mosul is “on track,” Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said Monday. Between Sunday and Monday, Iraqi security forces had cleared a village southeast of Mosul, Ali Rash, and Peshmerga troops...

Another City, Different Complications

The fight to liberate Raqqa, Syria, from ISIS will begin within a matter of weeks, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said Monday during a press briefing. Cook said an isolation phase will begin in a few weeks, followed by the...

Muddled Waters in South China Sea

A spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday that China’s position on Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea “has not changed and will not change,” reported Reuters. The statement came after officials from the Philippines said fishermen...

Losing Ground in Afghanistan

The security situation in Afghanistan is eroding, according to a third quarter report to Congress from the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). Only 63.4 percent of the country’s districts remain under the control of the Afghan government,...

Air Force Reduces Ancillary Training

The Air Force will eliminate 15 ancillary training courses and streamline 16 others as part of the leadership’s effort to reduce the amount of time airmen spend on non-mission related demands, according a memorandum released Monday. “…Ensuring our talented men...

Southern Strike Exercise Prepares Special Operators

Two hundred members of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla., are participating in exercise Southern Strike with the Mississippi National Guard at the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center and Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center, Miss. The...

Refueling for the Fight

Two KC-135 Stratotanker crews from the Utah Air National Guard’s 191st Air Refueling Squadron completed two weeks of training with new F-16 pilots from from the 555th and 510th Fighter Squadrons at Aviano AB, Italy, on Oct. 27. The pilots...