Free Republic

In May 2018, the Donald Trump administration withdrew the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, popularly known as the Iran nuclear deal. The United States then ramped up sanctions on the Iranian theocracy to try to ensure that it stopped nuclear enrichment. The Trump administration also hoped a strapped Iran would become less capable of funding terrorist operations in the Middle East and beyond, proxy wars in the Persian Gulf, and the opportune harassment of ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The sanctions are clearly destroying an already weak Iranian economy. Iran is now suffering...

The A-10 will continue to fly in support of America’s ground forces, thanks to the quick passing of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. The aircraft, which has not been manufactured since the early 1980s, is useful to the U.S. but is showing its age. Just two years ago, nearly half of the A-10 fleet was grounded. The spending plan will include money for new wings, as well as other upgrades. “The A-10 Warthog has immeasurable value to our U.S. troops on the ground and plays a critical role in our military strategy in the Middle East and around the...

**SNIP** However, the president’s design dreams were potentially undercut across town at Wednesday’s House Armed Services Committee’s markup of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., put forth an amendment that would require congressional approval for changes to the paint scheme and interior design of Air Force One. Although Republicans said it seemed like a poke at the president, Courtney defended it as an economy measure. “Additional paint can add weight to the plane, additional fixtures inside the plane can also add cost and delays to the delivery of the plane,” Courtney said, noting that he...

The Air Force granted a religious accommodation to allow a Sikh man to become the first active-duty airman to wear a turban, beard and unshorn hair.

Residents of a neighborhood in Las Vegas got an unwelcome surprise in the form of an airplane door falling out of the sky and hitting an apartment building and car. The incident took place near Nellis Air Force Base, which is just northeast of Las Vegas. It is unclear what type of plane the debris fell off, but it did not appear to come from a civilian aircraft.

President Donald Trump will deliver the Air Force Academy’s graduation speech on May 30, the White House confirmed Thursday. Trump bumped expected speaker Vice President Mike Pence from the podium for the ceremony in Falcon Stadium, where about 1,000 seniors will pin on the rank of 2nd lieutenant. It will be Trump’s first stop in Colorado Springs since his visit during the 2016 presidential campaign. **SNIP** Trump’s remarks haven’t been written, but addressing his push for a separate Space Force is a safe bet. Colorado Springs is home to the bulk of the military’s space troops and is in the...

During Air Force Academy’s graduation on Thursday, senior cadets will be told about the uncertain world they are entering and the battles they may face. It may be underwhelming for 22-year-old Parker Hammond. He’s already fought a private war. Hammond went from a strapping 275-pound offensive lineman as a freshman to a shriveled and shivering senior as he fought through chemotherapy. He battled cancer, and he battled bureaucracy to get the lieutenant’s bars he’ll pin on after he crosses the stage in Falcon Stadium on Thursday.

A special operations pilot at the Air Force Academy is accused of rape, rape of a child and three counts of sexual abuse of a child, the school announced Thursday. Maj. Travis J. Burns will appear in military court Monday for an Article 32 hearing, which “is similar to a civilian grand jury proceeding,” an academy news release says. “The primary role of the hearing is to determine if probable cause exists to support the charge and its specifications.” A preliminary hearing officer presides over the hearing and submits a report of the proceedings with recommendations to the special court-martial...

May 1 (UPI) -- A U.S. Air Force exercise involving high-energy microwaves and guided lasers to shoot down drones was a success, contractor Raytheon announced. Dozens of unmanned aerial targets were defeated in the tests at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., a Raytheon statement released on Tuesday said. The event expanded on previous directed energy demonstrations, including a U.S. Army exercise in 2017 and a previous Air Force test in January. The high energy laser system uses invisible beams of light to shoot down aerial targets, and the high-powered microwave bursts disrupt drone guidance systems. Its primary advantages are speed...

DENVER — A U.S. Air Force cadet accused of brutally raping another cadet last year went on trial Monday in federal district court. Alvaro Pablo Velarde, an international student from Lima, Peru, faces two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact. A female cadet said he raped her in her dorm room so violently on Oct. 23, 2018 she was in intense pain and left with a concussion. It is the policy of Denver7 to not identify victims of alleged sexual assault. Velarde was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2018. Prosecutors said...

<p>The first openly gay general at the Air Force Academy has been removed as commandant of cadets, but leaders there were mum Monday on the exact cause of the apparent firing.</p> <p>Brig. Gen. Kristin Goodwin, who led military training at the academy since 2017, was removed from her role as commandant amid an investigation, the school confirmed Monday.</p>

CAPITOL HILL: More than a week after the Air Force halted Boeing’s deliveries of KC-46 tankers, Congress and the public learned of the latest shutdown forced by the discovery of more Foreign Object Debris in finished planes. This time, outgoing Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told the chairman of the House Armed Services seapower and power projection subcommittee, that: “We actually stopped again the acceptance of KC-46s again after Foreign Object Debris was found in closed compartments.” Rep. Joe Courtney may have been briefed before the hearing began since he asked Wilson for an update on the FOD issue, citing...

The Air Force on Thursday grounded its fleet of B-1B Lancers to inspect the conventional bombers’ ejection systems after discovering a parachute rigging problem during a routine inspection, the service announced in a statement. Air Force technicians will inspect all 62 of the service’s B-1B aircraft during the stand down, said Air Force Capt. Earon Brown, a spokesman for Air Force Global Strike Command. The jets will be returned to flying status on a rolling basis as they are inspected and any issues are resolved, he said. The stand down marks the second such grounding of the Air Force B-1B...

Sen. Martha McSally, the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat, disclosed during an emotional Senate hearing on Wednesday she was "preyed upon and then raped" in the Air Force by a superior officer. The Arizona Republican, who served 26 years in the Air Force, made the disclosure during a Senate hearing on sexual assault allegations in the military. McSally said she didn't report the assault because she didn't trust the system, and was ashamed and confused. “My drive to fight against sexual assault in the ranks is not from the outside looking in," McSally began. "And it is...

Improving diversity and acceptance across the Air Force isn’t just about being politically correct, it’s a “warfighting imperative,” USAF Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said Friday. Speaking to a room packed full of airmen at AFA's Air Warfare Symposium, Goldfein said for himself and many leaders across the service, it can be hard to recognize issues other airmen face. These leaders need to accept that “we have blinders on as leaders,” and need to reach out to airmen from all backgrounds, races, genders, etc., to point out ways to improve. “The only way we can see that is to...

USAF chief of staff General David Goldfein, reflecting on the success of the F-35 at a recent USAF "Red Flag" exercise, gave both the People's Liberation Air Force and the Russians what we fighter pilots call a "face shot." Red Flag is a brilliant exercise in which many combat aircraft flying from Nellis AFB engage to simulate real combat scenarios within a well designed and instrumented extremely stressful air combat environment.  A "face shot" is slamming a missile right into the face, head on, of your enemy. The U.S. Air Force put the F-35 up against "the most advanced weapons systems...

A former U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist accused of espionage for Iran, Monica Witt, was allegedly radicalized in part during a stint at a George Washington University, which has taken $100 million from Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. Certain American universities have received funding from .... Middle Eastern countries. In some cases, the programs have been staffed by academics who are critical of U.S. policy and who publicly espouse fringe positions. Witt was charged Feb. 13 by the Department of Justice with sharing government secrets with Iranian officials. She was allegedly helping create a cyber-hacking operation on fellow former...

All U.S. Air Force airmen who have had non-deployable status for more than a year will soon face a disability board or be considered for administrative separation as part of the service’s implementation of the Pentagon’s so-called “deploy or get out” policy. A directive signed Tuesday by Air Force senior leaders states the service seeks to achieve a 95 percent or higher deployable rate within its units. The directive follows the October order by then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis for the Pentagon’s military services to create guidelines meant to motivate servicemembers to retain their ability to deploy into combat after troops...

Inside the government, some officials called her “Wayward Storm.” Her real name was Monica Elfriede Witt, an exemplary Air Force counterintelligence agent who had studied Persian and carried out covert missions in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. But by mid-2013, Ms. Witt had become disillusioned with the government — why, exactly, remains a mystery — and had left the military. Thoughts of betrayal consumed her, federal prosecutors now say, until she finally acted on them at the Iranian Embassy in Kabul, where they say she “told all.”

A former United States Air Force counterintelligence agent was charged with espionage after she defected to Iran and helped it target her former colleagues, the authorities said. In an extraordinarily detailed indictment made public on Wednesday, prosecutors disclosed that Monica Elfriede Witt, 39, gave the Iranians the code name and mission of a secret Pentagon program involving American intelligence operations. According to the indictment, she was working with members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The elite paramilitary group is known to carry out terrorist operations around the globe and has been sanctioned by the American government.