A dozen A-10s from Air Force Reserve Command’s 442nd Fighter Wing departed Whiteman AFB, Mo., en route to two weeks of live weapons training at Eielson AFB, Alaska. “The wide open spaces of Alaska will allow us to employ munitions we couldn’t usually utilize” ahead of the unit’s upcoming overseas deployment, said wing Vice Commander Col. Gregory Eckfeld in a July 13 Whiteman release. The aircraft left Whiteman that same day to participate in Eielson’s Distant Thunder exercise over the nearby Joint Pacific Alaskan Range Complex. It will “be great training for everybody, especially our munitions folks,” said Eckfeld. “The biggest deal for maintainers [is] the live loads, which will provide extremely valued training with hints of danger,” noted Col. Michael Wood, 442nd Aircraft Maintenance Group commander. Roughly 200 pilots and support personnel from the wing are participating. (Whiteman report by TSgt. Kent Kagarise)
Celebrating 100 Years of Liquid-Fueled Rockets
March 11, 2026
March 16, 2026, marks 100 years since Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket. Over the past century, new and ever more capable liquid-fueled rockets have literally propelled humanity into space. Why liquid-fueled rockets?