The Air Force Personnel Center has dispatched a team to Southwest Asia and installed self-service kiosks to provide enhanced personnel support to deployed airmen. This effort began in November 2010 in collaboration with the Air Staff and Air Forces Central. The six-person Total Force Service Center-Forward team went to Southwest Asia at the end of April. Since then, it has installed four of the kiosks at different locations in the region and scheduled meetings with personnel at several bases to assess the needs of deployed airmen. The team also is charged with determining whether the move to 179-day deployments is presenting any support gaps. “We understand the unique challenges combat airmen face in the [area of responsibility] to obtain personnel support, and we are taking a multi-faceted approach to develop innovative solutions,” said Todd Fore, AFPC executive director. (Randolph report by TSgt. Steve Grever)
B-52 Stratofortress bombers marked a new first in Operation Epic Fury when some of the BUFFs flew over Iran carrying JDAM-guided gravity bombs, according to people familiar with the matter. The development signals a weakening of Iranian air defenses and a new use for the venerable bomber in the nearly…