Air Force personnel have begun an intensive effort to fabricate new wing levers for the T-38 trainer fleet to keep the aircraft flying. After Air Force investigators identified that a T-38 aileron actuator lever, a flight control, was a contributing factor in the fatal crash of a Talon in April at Columbus AFB, Miss., the service made the decision to replace this component. But to manufacture the 1,600 new levers (800 left levers and 800 right levers) quickly enough to avoid having to ground the fleet, the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB, Utah—the center responsible for repairing T-38s—asked for help from the Air Force’s other two depots: the Oklahoma City ALC at Tinker AFB, Okla., and Warner Robins ALC at Robins AFB, Ga. Working around the clock, personnel in the three depots have been churning them out. Oklahoma City personnel, for example, are manufacturing the left levers. They built 50 by Aug. 18, and will continue to supply 50 per week until the order is complete. (Tinker report by Brandice Armstrong)
Billy Mitchell: Lessons a Hundred Years Hence
Dec. 16, 2025
Exactly 100 years ago, on Dec. 17, 1925, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell was convicted by court-martial for violating an order that required approval before he could engage with the media. Mitchell’s provocative thoughts and unorthodox methods sought attention for a cause that he saw as uniquely American.
