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8/28/2008 - CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (AFPN) -- More than 130 Charleston Air Force Base Airmen deployed from here Aug. 27 to a forward-deployed location in Southwest Asia to support operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Members of the 15th Airlift Squadron, 437th Operations Support Squadron and 437th Maintenance Group will fly and manage missions in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. The squadron will assume control of the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron from the 14th Airlift Squadron based out of Charleston AFB, who will return home. Lt. Col. John Lamontagne, the 15th AS commander, said there was no...

YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN (WTOL) - As we celebrate Independence Day, four veterans of World War II want to thank those who kept them safe in enemy territory years ago. They were recently reunited at the Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti thanks to the Experimental Aircraft Association. News 11's Jennifer Boresz was there and has their story. These men are called the 'Forgotten 500' in a published book. As more and more people hear the story, however, they're hoping the daring rescue mission and the men behind it will never be forgotten again. "When they said pull that rip cord, I started...

6/16/2008 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Twelve Airmen working together for the past nine months at the remote Iraqi Military Training Base of Kirkush, located in the Diyala Province just over 10 miles from the Iranian border, are hoping to work themselves out of a job. As the only Americans living among thousands of Iraqi Soldiers and trainees, their objective has been to work with the leadership at the base to improve operational and logistical processes. "We're here to train and advise the Iraqi Army. Our goal is to put ourselves out of a job," said Master Sgt....

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of four U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors. They are Maj. Barclay B. Young, of Hartford, Conn.; and Senior Master Sgt. James K. Caniford, of Brunswick, Md. The names of the two others are being withheld at the request of their families. All men were U.S. Air Force. Caniford will be buried May 28 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., and Young’s burial date is being set...

4/29/2008 - MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) -- Airmen from the 23rd Wing at Moody AFB performed a maritime rescue in the Gulf of Mexico April 25 that saved six lives. Moody Airmen responded by providing two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters from the 41st Rescue Squadron, a 71st RQS HC-130P King and pararescue assets from the 38th RQS. The wing received the support request from the Joint Personnel Recovery Center at Tyndall AFB, Fla., around 11 a.m. The request was in response to a report the Coast Guard received from the Eos, an 800-foot Panamanian-flagged tanker ship operating in...

On Dec. 3, 1943, a B-24D Liberator bomber with two Army airmen from Massachusetts flew a stealth mission to destroy Japanese war vessels in the Bismarck Sea. The mission turned out to be a success. The crew found a Japanese convoy and bombed it.

4/24/2008 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne and Chief of Staff of the Air Force T. Michael Moseley have issued the following letter highlighting the contributions of America's Airmen: Airmen, This past Monday, the Secretary of Defense delivered an address at Maxwell AFB to the students of our Air War College and Air Command and Staff College. Initial press coverage of his remarks misrepresented the tone and content of his address. Whereas some press reports characterized Secretary Gates as making a singular critique about one Service's commitment to the Global War on Terror, his...

Family and friends waited in anticipation at Volk Field Saturday to welcome home the troops of the Wisconsin National Guard Troop E, 105th Cavalry.  Roschelle Easterday, wife of Troop 1SG Paul Easterday, can't wait to see her husband, who's been gone almost a year fighting in Iraq. "We're pretty excited to see each other.  It's been a long time and the rest of his family's here as well and we're pretty excited," says Easterday.     Soldiers from the Troop E, 105th Cavalry saw significant action while stationed in Iraq, which made some family members nervious at times.  "If I don't get in touch with...

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2008 – On his way home from working in his family’s field near Kirkuk, Iraq, Rahmey didn’t see the hidden improvised explosive device until it was too late. Soldiers and U.S. soldiers load an Iraqi teenager injured by an improvised explosive device onto a medical evacuation helicopter near Kirkuk, Iraq, March 27, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's Company C, 2nd Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade.  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Staggering for home after the blast, the 13-year-old Iraqi boy had no way to know that his life would be saved by...

3/27/2008 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- In its 50 years of flight, only six women pilots have been at the controls of the U-2 Dragon Lady. Three of those six are currently in the Air Force, and two of those three are currently fighting in operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, flying with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing's 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, the only U-2 squadron in Southwest Asia. Maj. Merryl Tengesdal and Capt. Heather Fox, both U-2 pilots with the 99th ERS and deployed from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., continue to add to women's and the U-2's history,...

3/25/2008 - ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Nine Iraqi firefighters graduated the Basic Firefighter Skills Course here as Airmen of the 407th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Fire Department trained the newest graduates March 24 at Ali Base. The six-week course teaches students "the basics of fighting fires, search and rescue and lifesaving skills," said Chief Master Sgt. Jeffrey Horne, the 407th ECES fire chief. Hazim Nadoom, an Iraqi who has been translating the course for the firefighters since 2006, said the course is working. "We have a guy from two classes ago who was able to save a little baby and...

3/24/2008 - KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Hundreds of Kirkuk Air Base Airmen commemorated the fifth year anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom by honoring the 42 Airmen who gave their lives supporting the war on terrorism March 20 here. The ceremony included a 21-gun salute, a flag-folding ceremony performed by the base honor guard, and ended with a bag pipe performance of taps and "Amazing Grace." Members of the 727th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron also set up a memorial in-front of the formation to honor the sacrifices of two Airmen from the 727th EACS who died during combat operations...

Missing WWII Airman is Identified The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is 2nd Lt. Arthur F. Eastman, U.S. Army Air Forces, of East Orange, N.J. He will be buried in September in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. Representatives from the Army met with Eastman’s next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the...

CAMPBELL HALL — When Sean Harrington drives around Orange County, he scans the roadsides looking for wires, overturned dirt, suspicious-looking rocks or any other evidence he's about to be attacked. He can't help it. Harrington, 24, did two tours in Iraq, leading patrols both in Kirkuk and in the south. His squad's job was to protect Iraqi truck drivers transporting goods from the port city of Umm Qsar to the interior. "My unit was hit 21 times," he said at his home in Campbell Hall, where he's enjoying a week's leave from Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. "It seemed...

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — Arming fighter planes with bombs during wartime is no off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all proposition. Munitions airmen with the right tools and training must prepare munitions to order, assembly-line fashion, at what can be a relentless, keep ’em coming pace. Airmen of the 51st Munitions Squadron at Osan have been honing those skills this week as part of the annual Foal Eagle exercise. The squadron is part of Osan’s 51st Fighter Wing. “It’s meant to be an assembly line,” Capt. Andrea Wild, the squadron’s maintenance operations officer, said Wednesday. “There’s a lot of different components that are...

3/19/2008 - GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (AFPN) -- Approximately 50 Airmen deployed to support Joint Task Force Guantanamo in February to put the finishing touches on the Expeditionary Legal Complex construction projects at Camp Justice here. With a group of civil engineers including plumbers, carpenters, electricians, heavy equipment operators and air conditioning and heating specialists on hand, the new members of the 474th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron will finish the projects initiated by their unit predecessors. Joint Task Force Guantanamo personnel conduct safe and humane care and custody of detained enemy combatants. The 474th ECES Airmen will support base members while...

3/19/2008 - MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) -- With last year's operations in Afghanistan among the highest since they began in 2001, Airmen here are acutely aware of the mission importance to refuel aircraft supporting those operations, as well as provide world-class service and care to transiting passengers, said Col. Harrison Smith, the commander of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing, the host unit at Manas Air Base. The wing members' attention to detail in the latter of those tasks was not lost on the Marines moving through this week and last. "Deploying to this theater is never an easy task,...

3/18/2008 - MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) -- Manas Air Base Airmen, Soldiers and transitory personnel got a firsthand glimpse into history this week. Three Medal of Honor recipients from the Vietnam War toured the base and spoke at several local engagements on their stop here before touring other locations in the U.S. Air Forces Central area of responsibility. Retired Army Col. Robert L. Howard, Marine Capt. John J. McGinty III and Army Command Sgt. Maj. Gary L. Littrell highlighted Manas Air Base's contributions in the war on terrorism. "Americans appreciate the great service you've provided for our country," Colonel...

Regional World War plane wreckages found in ArunachalItanagar (PTI): Arunachal Pradesh is gradually becoming the missing link of hundreds of war heroes who disappeared while flying fighter planes during the Second World War in the eastern front. And no else but the state Governor Gen (Retd) J J Singh, former chief of Army staff, took notes on Monday evening from Oken Tayeng who had already spotted wreckages of aircraft of the Allied Forces in eight locations in Lohit, Dibang valley, Upper Siang and Papum Pare districts. It all started when Tayeng, a local tour operator, joined an American investigator...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - In honour of the crouching, naked blonde painted on its nose, its pilot had named his bomber the "Hot as Hell". But it was a freezing and stormy day as the American B-24 Liberator made its way across the Himalayas on Jan 25, 1944, flying what was known as "the Hump", perhaps the most dangerous route in air transport history. It was one of nine American planes that went down that day as they tried to resupply China's besieged army in the city of Kunming, desperately trying to hold out against the invading Japanese during World...

3/12/2008 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Airmen from the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron here were called out to rescue two American citizens lost on a hiking trip March 2. "We initially started hearing information about a possibility of American citizens getting lost during a hiking trip at around 4 a.m.," said Navy Lt. Evan Scaggs, a 64th ERQS pilot and the flight lead for the rescue. "The Joint Personnel Recovery Center started to gather information about who the people were, where they were and checking to see if there were any other problems, while we were on stand-by...

WASHINGTON - Borrowing a theme from the presidential contest, Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday that the possibility of a 3 a.m. emergency call to the White House is all the more reason for the next commander in chief to follow through on President Bush's plans for a national missile defense. "It's plain to see that the world around us gives ample reason to continue working on missile defense," Cheney told the conservative Heritage Foundation at a dinner recognizing the 25th anniversary of President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, a proposed network of rockets capable of shooting down incoming intercontinental ballistic...

2/26/2008 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- "Some people think you open a box and there is a bomb, ready to be loaded on an aircraft," said Tech. Sgt. Erick Chrostowski, the 455th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron munitions production supervisor here. "There is more to it than that," he said. The initial steps of the process are identifying, obtaining and storing the assets essential to build the variations of bombs needed to support different mission requirements. Once a specific bomb is requested, the assets are moved from storage to the munitions assembly conveyer pad, where individual pieces collectively become a...

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- An Air Force member killed his two children before killing himself in a military campus house at Tinker Air Force Base on Monday, authorities said. According to Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel, a military member and his ex-wife were involved in an altercation just before 2:30 p.m. The ex-wife left the home and heard gunshots, Whetsel said. Tactical teams arrived by about 2:40 p.m. Nearly two hours later, they gained entry into the home, where they found three people dead -- including two children, ages 4 and 8. Whetsel said his department is investigating...

OKLAHOMA CITY — An active duty member of the Air Force is believed to have shot his two children before turning the gun on himself, authorities said.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2008 – Before technology allowed U.S. aircraft to break the sound barrier, raw courage and bravery pushed the Tuskegee Airmen through the Army Air Corps color barrier. Retired Air Force Col. Charles E. McGee, a member of the all black 332nd Fighter Group, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, signs a copy of his biography during a Feb. 21, 2008, book signing at the Pentagon. Photo by John J. Kruzel  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Three intrepid airmen of the all-black 332nd Fighter Group appeared here today in the Pentagon concourse to sell and sign copies of...

Missing WWII Airmen Are Identified The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of three U.S. servicemen, missing from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors. They are 2nd Lt. John F. Lubben, of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.; Sgt. Albert A. Forgue, of North Providence, R.I.; and Sgt. Charles L. Spiegel, of Chicago, Ill.; all U.S. Army Air Forces. They will be buried on April 18 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. Representatives from the Army met with the next-of-kin of these men...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Feb. 12, 2008 – Regardless of what job Air Force members have, being an airman comes first. And in today’s Air Force, being an airman sometimes means doing a job normally performed by soldiers. Air Force Senior Airman Vanessa Velez, a convoy driver with the Bagram Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan, poses for a photo in front of her Humvee before a mission, Feb. 10, 2008. Velez, a vehicle maintenance controller with 6th Logistics Readiness Squadron, at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., has driven more than 120 convoys during her deployment. Photo by Master Sgt....

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Jan. 29, 2008 – The Air Force Theater Hospital's 98 percent survivability rate for injured U.S. servicemembers would be meaningless if the wounded were unable to survive their journey out of the combat zone. Four years into the war, the process of saving lives and safely transporting critically injured and ill troops out of Iraq has become one of the greatest military feats in modern history, according to Air Force Lt. Col. Beverly Johnson, chief nurse for the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility here. The CASF is a minor conglomerate of different functions. It's at once...

1/15/2008 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Airmen of the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron here airdropped nearly 80,000 pounds of food and water through the Afghan sky Jan. 14 as part of humanitarian efforts in the region. The supplies were pushed out the backdoor of a C-17 Globemaster III and the cargo landed at the feet of forward-deployed troops operating in Afghanistan's mountainous, snow-covered terrain. Soldiers on the ground will share much of the food and water with Afghan people in the area as part of U.S.-led efforts to stabilize the country and bring democracy to the region. "I think the...

For Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first female head of the 2.4 million-member U.S. Episcopal Church, military conflict in the Middle East hits very close to home. Jefferts Schori has a 26-year-old daughter, Kate, a pilot who was recently deployed to the United Arab Emirates as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. "We raised our daughter to make her own decisions and she's clearly done that," Jefferts Schori said Friday in Birmingham. "We're very supportive of the work she's doing, believing that it's far better to have leaders who come with a solid, moral, ethical base and...

1/11/2008 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- A 13-man team from Balad Air Base made quality-of-life improvements, security repairs and facilitated more than 85 emergency maintenance repairs during a 30-day assignment in December and January to an Army patrol base in Samarra, Iraq. Among the improvements the group of Airmen made were improvements to the Patrol Base Olson aid station to include new lighting and updated plumbing. The Airmen also repaired a damaged security forces facility, built new living quarters, added power panels, and installed new receptacles, lighting, electrical panels, water heaters, water tank and pressure pumps. "We'll go...

1/8/2008 - DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFPN) -- On my way to work the other day, I saw a minor car accident. A sedan full of teenagers slammed into the bumper of a Lincoln Towncar driven by an elderly gentleman. Immediately, a uniformed Airman leapt from his truck to provide aid. After checking on the occupants of each vehicle, the Airman began to direct traffic and assist the victims in calling for emergency services. It took only minutes out of his commute, but to these citizens -- he was a hero for the day. This is the third time...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Jan. 4, 2008 – One airman’s commitment to a fallen comrade came full circle Jan. 1 with the dedication of a road in his honor here. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Blaine Arsenault, 455th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, stands by a sign dedicating a road near the fuel farm at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, to the memory of fallen Air Force Master Sgt. Randy Gillespie, Jan. 1, 2008. Gillespie was Arsenault's first supervisor and a career fuels specialist who died July 9, 2007 near Herat, Afghanistan. Photo by Capt. Mike Meridith, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

1/3/2008 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- Three Airmen deployed here from the 110th Fighter Wing at Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, Mich., received a welcome holiday message recently. Staff Sergeants Bryce Moore, Kevin Rynbrandt and James Liston received word on Dec. 21 that they all were selected for pilot training. "Our supervisor must have been pretty confident we would get accepted," Sergeant Rynbrandt said. "He purchased cigars ahead of time to celebrate." For the three selectees, it was the culmination of nearly three years of preparation. "I starting working on my package in college, and decided toward the...

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Dec. 31, 2007 – Days after deploying here, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Stephen Thackery saw firsthand the cost of the Taliban’s war on the Afghan people and responded as he was trained -- by saving lives. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Stephen Thackery, a medic with the 33rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, stands by one of the squadron's HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Dec. 29, 2007. Since February 2006, Air Force HH-60s have been flying alongside Army helicopters to help provide medical evacuation throughout Afghanistan. Photo by Capt. Michael Meridith, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- An Airman and his team discovered fragments of pottery, possibly dating back as far back as 2,000 years during a recent job at Kirkuk Air Base. Tech. Sgt. Kelly Wayment, a heavy equipment operator with the 506th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron here, was carrying out a routine operation near a helicopter landing pad when he noticed something peculiar. Sergeant Wayment was spotting for fellow 506th ECES member Staff Sgt. Michael Massey as he drove a grader over the area. "I noticed something on the ground that looked kind of like a rock," said the...

While I was in Fallujah, Iraq, embedded with a U.S. Special Operations Command Task Force, Time Magazine gave Russian President — and soon to be Prime Minister (and long to be ruler) — Vladimir Putin, the magazine’s politically correct moniker of “Person of the Year.” Time’s brilliant editors reasoned that Mr. Putin deserves the title because he has “brought Russia roaring back to the table of world power.” There is no doubt that Mr. Putin has made a significant impact in Mother Russia. Given the record prices for petroleum and natural gas — which Russia has in abundance — it...

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan , Dec. 25, 2007 – Thousands of miles away from home, airmen in Afghanistan still found ways to celebrate the holiday season, all while providing continuous airpower and combat support for U.S. and Coalition forces throughout the country. While family and friends back home marked the holiday season with gifts and celebrations, deployed airmen in Afghanistan fueled, loaded, maintained and flew aircraft, while others carried out critical expeditionary combat support and reconstruction missions. That hard work was punctuated by time for brief holiday celebrations, special meals and church services. But the commitment of airmen to the mission...

12/20/2007 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- For Iraqi police to succeed in securing their nation from the hands of insurgents, they need proper training and equipment, and they get help from American servicemembers at the 732nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, Det. 6. In five days, Airmen from the unit built a classroom, mock checkpoint, covered live-fire range and living quarters with heat and air conditioning for up to 30 students. "We are providing Iraqi police with a great facility to live and train," said Tech. Sgt. Thundercloud Hirejeta, a Det. 6 electrician. "They will be very happy with the...

12/18/2007 - ARLINGTON, VA. (AFPN) -- Members of the Civil Air Patrol paid their respects to fallen Airmen at a wreath laying ceremony at the Air Force Memorial here Dec. 15. CAP Brig. Gen. Amy Courter, national commander, joined the Hagerstown, Md., unit at the memorial to "offer support in the spirit the Civil Air Patrol always has." "We came out here to honor Airmen at their memorial," General Courter said. "Of our 23,000 cadets across America, to bring some of those cadets here is just a terrific honor." The ceremony included several members of the unit's honor guard, a...

12/19/2007 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Airmen of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing recently helped give the gift of freedom to the citizens of the Afghan village of Musa Qalah. Afghan national security forces, backed by coalition forces, were able to defeat the Taliban insurgents that had controlled the town since February and freed its citizens from the enemy's control. That Dec. 12 victory was in no small part due to airpower, which kept ground forces supplied and provided critical close-air support during the seven-day fight. With the Taliban using civilian homes to stockpile weapons, including suicide vests...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HERO, Afghanistan, Dec. 19, 2007 – Airmen in a medical mentoring team here have been working hard to ensure the successful opening of an Afghan National Army hospital for the past several months. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Edward Weaver, a medic deployed from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., instructs Afghan National Army medical personnel on spinal immobilization techniques at the newly opened Kandahar ANA regional hospital in Afghanistan. The medical mentoring team arrived to find the construction 500 days behind schedule and immediately took on the task of supplying the hospital and getting it opened before...

F-22 Raptors here reached Full Operational Capability (FOC) December 12, according to Gen. John D.W. Corley, the commander of Air Combat Command. The announcement offically makes Langley's F-22 squadrons combat ready. FOC for the F-22 means the aircraft are now ready for global engagement, said Lt. Col. Mark Hansen, the Air Combat Command F-22 integration officer. "Crews are now (fully) organized, trained, equipped and ready for the joint fight," he said. Since the F-22s reached initial operational capability two years ago, the 1st Fighter Wing and the Air National Guard's 192nd Fighter Wing have dedicated time and resources into finding...

12/7/2007 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- More than 200 U.S. forces at this air base in Southwest Asia attended a memorial retreat in honor of the 2,340 killed and 1,143 wounded in the Dec. 7, 1941 attacks on U.S. military installations on Oahu, Territory of Hawaii. "We have come here today to pay honor and homage to our nations' heroes, the fallen and survivors of the attack on Pearl Harbor," said Brig. Gen Charles Lyon, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing commander. "Let us never forget there is a price to pay for freedom. It doesn't come free" "Dec. 7th, a day...

KABUL, Afghanistan - Maj. Paul Anderson has probably seen more of Afghanistan than most people in the country, although he usually sees it from 6,400 metres above the ground. "That is the main and only highway between Kandahar and Kabul," he says, pointing at the tiny line of cars and trucks barely visible from the cockpit of his Hercules C-130 transport plane. The view out the window closely resembles a giant, coloured three-dimensional map. There is little to break up the monotony of sand and mountains except patches of green in some of the deeper valleys, the occasional silver thread...

BAGHDAD — More airmen will be doing soldier-type jobs in Iraq, and those that already are can expect to be deployed longer and more often than most in the Air Force. The Air Force next year will triple the number of airmen working under and helping the Army and the Marine Corps as part of its own “surge” in troops to Iraq, an Air Force commander said earlier this month. The boost comes as the service continues to try and draw down the number of airmen in the ranks and many commands are struggling with smaller staffs. There are about...

BAGHDAD — Most airmen like the Air Force’s new camouflage uniforms. They say they’re more comfortable and easier to maintain, and they dig the digital tiger print. Except there is one thing that gets them hot under the collar: The uniforms can be sweltering in warm weather. The Airman Battle Uniform, or ABU, is more rugged than the old uniforms, partly because the fabric is thicker. But in locations such as Iraq and Kuwait, where temperatures often reach the triple-digits in summer and remain in the low 80s in November, the last thing somebody wants is thicker clothing. “Whoever designed...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Nov. 11, 2007 – Airmen here honored veterans past and present with a 10-hour silent vigil today. Senior Airman Michael Salansky, a member of the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, stands a silent vigil in Afghanistan in honor of Veterans Day on Nov. 11, 2007. Photo by Capt. Michael Meridith, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Following a formal wreath-laying ceremony, teams of two airmen -- a total of 80 in all -- stood at “parade rest” near the flagpole of Camp Cunningham here as a constant reminder of the significance of Veterans Day....

11/2/2007 - KABUL, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Nearly, 2,000 young hopefuls descended upon the Afghan National Military Academy recently, all vying for the chance to be accepted into the academy and possibly study in the United States and Great Britain. A group of U.S. Airmen and Soldiers are currently working at the academy helping process the admissions, develop the course and mentor the faculty members. "It's very important that the future officers of the Afghan National Army have a good education so that they can lead their troops properly," said Lt. Col. Kevin Burns, a math mentor at the Academy, deployed...