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  • 357th FS executes Agile Dragon

    Airmen from the 355th Wing participated in exercise Agile Dragon at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, May 21 – 27, 2021. 100 Airmen from the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base deployed eight U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs to execute agile combat employment principles in simulated real-world scenarios.

  • Not your average kit

    By definition, a kit is a set of articles, a set of parts, tools or supplies, which can be large or small and are packaged, mailed or transported by working sections. For a support section within the 55th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, a kit is something vital to ensuring mission accomplishment in a

  • Total Force Integration proved at PSAB

    Rooted in a sea of sand, the U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT) mission is, in-part, seamlessly accomplished by both active duty and the Air National Guard—proving the concept of Total Force Integration (TFI). TFI is nothing new. Once called “Future Total Force,” TFI became the standard about 15 years

  • A-10 ACE Immersion

    The 354th Fighter Squadron hosted an A-10 Thunderbolt II agile combat employment immersion at Volk Field Air National Guard Base, Wisconsin, May 20, 2021.

  • Airman’s Foundational Competencies: An Air Force Initiative

    In this episode of The Air Force Starts Here podcast, we explore the Airman’s Foundational Competencies. The Air Force has identified 24 Airman’s foundational competencies for all Airmen, as part of a systematic competency-based approach to develop the force. In to episode 51 of "The Air Force

  • Two off-duty 64th AEG Airmen aid motorcyclist after collision

    Two Airmen deployed with First Air Force (1AF) 64th Air Expeditionary Group (AEG) in support of federal COVID-19 response efforts aided a motorcyclist following a collision on May 22, 2021, in Pine Township, Ind. The Airmen were off-duty from the state-led, federally supported Roosevelt High School

  • 4th Fighter Squadron enhances interoperability during Atlantic Trident 21

    U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft and Airmen from the 4th Fighter Squadron, compromised of active duty Airmen from the 388th Fighter Wing and reservists from the 419th FW, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, are participating in Atlantic Trident taking place at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base,

  • AFCEC initiative targets infrastructure readiness, disaster recovery

    First, it was Category 5 Hurricane Michael with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour and pure destruction as the eye passed directly over Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, Oct. 10, 2018. A few months later and nearly 1,000 miles away, it was the icy waters of the Missouri and Platte rivers that

  • IROC prototype could revolutionize Air Force energy

    A revolutionary tool for energy managers, civil engineers and others, is being pioneered at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center’s Natural Disaster Recovery Division. The Installation Resilience Operations Center, or IROC, is being tested at Tyndall through a contract.

  • 38th RQS celebrates 20th anniversary

    The 38th Rescue Squadron hosted a celebration May 21, in honor of its 20th anniversary. Although the rescue mission has not changed, the ability to accomplish the mission has improved over the last 20 years.

  • Hill Airmen, F-35 tested during concurrent exercises at Tyndall AFB

    Airmen from Hill’s fighter wings recently deployed the F-35A Lightning II to Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., for concurrent training exercises – one a large-scale, joint-force air war, called Checkered Flag, the other an air-to-air weapons evaluation, Combat Archer.

  • Summer water safety; tragedy can be avoided

    Summertime is heading our way, and with the warm weather, more adventures abound. Whether you are into boating, swimming, kayaking, or paddle boarding, there will be water hazards.

  • 2021 Hurricane Season Readiness

    Are you prepared for hurricane season? According to the National Hurricane Center, the Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30. In order to prepare, Air Force members and their families are encouraged to first determine which evacuation zone their home is located in. To find

  • Risk Management - the key to a safe and enjoyable summer

    The Department of the Air Force reminds Airmen and Guardians to apply sound risk management when enjoying outdoor and recreational activities with family and friends this summer. The summer focus period runs from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.

  • Reducing the stigma, encouraging mental health care in the military

    In the military, the stigma of mental health is grounded in the cultural misperception that a service member must have "zero defects" to be mission-ready. While the Department of Defense strives to identify and eliminate barriers to care that service members face regarding mental health treatment,

  • AUAB’s 540-degree protection system

    As technology and warfare changes, so too does the focus for base defense. No longer can the military focus solely on the 360-degree defense of the base perimeter – defending the airspace is also necessary to fight in today’s contested environments. This is where the counter-small unmanned aerial

  • GRIT: A different way to bond

    The 386th Expeditionary Mission Support Group are investing in “collective success” by implementing a program designed to strengthen resiliency and encourage communication through deliberate and meaningful personal and professional development from commanders and supervisors. GRIT is a way to

  • 1AF completes BLUE FLAG 21-1 homeland defense exercise

    Members of Continental U.S. NORAD Region (CONR) – 1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern) completed a week-long BLUE FLAG exercise May 14 focused on refining processes to defend North America against cyber, cruise missile and other air, space and cyber domains threats.

  • For the Warfighter: Operational Test advances at NE21

    As Northern Edge 21 concludes, the 53rd Wing is returning home having achieved major test objectives for multiple weapons systems May 3-14, 2021. In addition to F-15EX deep end testing and B-52 long-range kill chain milestones for hypersonic weapons, the 53d Wing’s F-35s, MQ-9s, F-15Cs and F-15Es,

  • Risk vs reward

    As the weather improves, there’s no surprise that many of our Airmen who ride motorcycles have been out more. Therefore, it’s crucial to remember the importance of motorcycle safety while riding. In April 2021, two Airmen from Travis Air Force Base lost their lives because of a motorcycle accident.

  • Tackling Tornadoes Takes Teamwork

    Across military operations, weather influences the entire spectrum of planning to execution. From carrier groups routing around typhoons to installations evacuating aircraft in advance of a hurricane, weather drives human behavior daily. Within the 557th Weather Wing, forecasters are preparing now

  • Ruck march honors fallen police officers at the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing

    U.S. President John F. Kennedy named the week in May where the 15th falls, National Police Week, where law enforcement officers who have fallen in the line of duty are honored for their sacrifice. U.S. Air Force Security Forces Airmen take that to heart as they are also members of law enforcement,

  • Team Phoenix inducts 42 new members

    “…I will faithfully uphold the Team Phoenix code of ethics, promote mutual respect, and help others in times of need. I promise to improve the culture around me and encourage my peers to do likewise. I take this obligation freely and I volunteer without reservation.” These words were repeated by 42

  • Innovation saves 37 work-hours using spreadsheet

    In a deployed environment, unit travel representatives (UTR) have to find an extra 40 hours to complete the duties required of them within a five-day span. U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Caleb Jones, 386th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron manpower analyst, created a macro, a recorded series of

  • Run Toward the Fire: My journey through mental illness

    Suicide has been a part of my Air Force journey. It took a conversation with someone I trust and respect greatly, who also happens to be a mental health professional, to realize that suicide came nearer to defining my own story than I’d been willing to admit. “I’m going to give you one piece of

  • 4 FW executes ACE at AGILE FLAG 21-2

    The 4th Fighter Wing recently demonstrated their ability to rapidly generate combat air power and sustain readiness from multiple austere locations in a degraded operational environment.Airmen from the 4th FW, exercising as the 4th Air Expeditionary Wing, employed mission generation, command and

  • Project Strike Rodeo: F-15E loaded with five JASSMs

    The 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron completed a munitions proof-of-concept called Project Strike Rodeo, May 11, 2021, that validated loading five AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) on an F-15E Strike Eagle. This lays the foundation for follow-on flight testing that would more

  • Hill's fighter wings deploy F-35 to France

    U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft and Airmen from the 4th Fighter Squadron, compromised of active duty Airmen from the 388th Fighter Wing, and reservists from the 419th FW, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, arrived at Mont-de-Marsan Air Base, France, May 10, 2021.

  • COMACC visits Moody AFB

    Gen. Mark Kelly, commander of Air Combat Command, toured Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, May, 5-6, 2021.Kelly and Command Chief Master Sgt. David Wade, ACC, set out to expand their knowledge of the current and future operations of the 23d Wing and 93d Air Ground Operations Wing.

  • 822d BDS supports Agile Flag 21-2

    The 822d Base Defense Squadron provided security and opposing forces for the 4th Fighter Wing, North Carolina, during Agile Flag 21-2, May 3-5, 2021.Air Combat Command’s Agile Flag 21-2 tested the 4th FW’s ability to deploy as a lead air expeditionary wing from its main operating base at Tyndall Air

  • Legacy of service strengthened by community roots

    A community is only as strong as those who contribute to it. A village together can help one another raise the metaphorical child. Nowhere is this line of thinking more significant than in the communities that foster the nation’s men and women in arms and their families.

  • DoD tests CBRN Aircrew Protective Suit Upgrade at Nellis

    Representatives from across the Department of Defense (DoD) in conjunction with the 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron participated in ongoing developmental testing of the new Uniform Integrated Protective Ensemble (UIPE) Air system at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

  • 5th ASOS fires on all cylinders during Yakima FTX

    The 5th Air Support Operations Squadron, located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, conducted a week-long field training exercise here, April 26-30, 2021. The 5th ASOS is a combat support unit located at Fort Lewis, Washington. The squadron provides tactical command and control of airpower

  • 609th AOC optimizes ATO production, first to use KRADOS operationally

    U.S. Air Forces Central’s 609th Air Operations Center made history this week when it became the first AOC to operationally utilize the Kessel Run All Domain Operations Suite to plan and execute the Master Air Attack Plan. The KRADOS suite of applications, which was developed by the Air Force Life

  • Celebrating 80 years of elite simulated warfighter training

    From wooden rifles to virtual reality, Nellis Air Force Base has used simulation to train warfighters for decades. Today, Nellis Airmen can step inside the new Virtual Test and Training Center, which uses advanced computer-generated models to simulate in-flight combat. On the contrary, during World

  • B-52 Hypersonic Kill Chain Employment Success

    A B-52 Stratofortress from the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, conducted a successful simulated hypersonic kill chain employment from sensor to shooter and back during Northern Edge 21, May 5, 2021.

  • Agile Flag - A Base Appears

    What would happen if personnel needed to be rapidly deployed to a location where nothing was on the ground except a landing strip? That is one of the questions that Air Combat Command’s Agile Flag 21-2 experiment sought to answer

  • 34th Fighter Generation Squadron completes Agile Combat Employment exercise

    From April 27-30, Airmen from the 34th Fighter Squadron and 34th Fighter Generation Squadron completed an Agile Combat Employment (ACE) Exercise, designed to prepare Airmen to rapidly forward-deploy fighters and operate from a forward base. Pilots and maintainers from the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill

  • Thunderbirds announce new commander

    The commander of Air Combat Command, Gen. Mark D. Kelly, has officially selected the next Thunderbird commander to lead the United States Air Force Thunderbirds for the 2022 and 2023 demonstration seasons.

  • Tyndall celebrates 80 years of air power

    The 80th Anniversary of Tyndall Air Force Base prompts us to remember our past so we may better plot the course of our future. What has been clear from the beginning is Tyndall has fulfilled a key portion of the defense needs of a nation.

  • Qualifying DM’s first ADM teams

    The 355th Security Forces Squadron hosted its first ever Advanced Designated Marksman Course at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, and in Florence, Arizona, April 14 – 16, 2021.

  • 379th ECES SAPR Reps stand for change

    Sexual assault and harassment can be emotionally devastating and unjust, but the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Representative Program trains Airmen, who volunteer, how to assist victims if an incident has been reported to them.

  • Swamp Fox is here

    With a roar of their engines, a contingent of F-16CJ Fighting Falcon aircraft from the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th “Swamp Fox” Fighter Wing, joined the Prince Sultan Air Base team this past month.While their mission here is a defensive one, Swamp Fox personnel offer a sense of

  • Airman crosses four decade threshold while deployed to the 332nd AEW

    Looking back 40 years is something many of us can do, however it’s a far more select group that can look back over a 40-year career. Chief Master Sgt. David R. Purtee enlisted in the U.S. Air Force April 25, 1981, at 17 years-of-age, from his hometown of Lancaster, Ohio.

  • 688th Cyberspace Wingmen enhance National Military Command Center mission

    Airmen of the 688th Cyberspace Wing, 38th Engineering Squadron provided direct support to the National Military Command Center in Washington D.C. The Wingmen directly enhanced the joint staff and the Secretary of Defense’s execution of the NMCC mission by engineering and installing updated

  • Airman deployed to the 332nd AEW shares story of life-long resilience

    Senior Airman Francis Andrew was born in Sudan in Northeast Africa where one night his town suffered the ravages of civil war, as soldiers attacked without warning ripping him from the life he’d known until that point. At seven years of age, this Airman, currently deployed to the 332nd AEW, suffered

  • Top cop visits Moody, discusses future of base defense

    The U.S. Air Force’s top cop, Brig. Gen. Roy W. Collins, director of Security Forces, and deputy chief of staff for Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection, Headquarters USAF, met with Airmen during his first visit to Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, April 29 - 30, 2021.

  • Air Combat Command Announces 2021 Award Winners

    General Mark D. Kelly, the commander of Air Combat Command (ACC), announced the recipients of ACC's 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year, First Sergeant of the Year, Officer of the Year, and Civilian of the Year Awards for 2021.

  • Team Creech conducts MQ-9 IRF training

    Airmen from the 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing conducted an immediate response force (IRF) training at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. March 22- 26, 2021.

  • Air Force transitions from CVR Teams to more secure systems

    Beginning June 15, Commercial Virtual Remote (CVR) Teams will no longer be an option within the Air Force, and all information stored in that system will go away. As the CVR environment goes away, the Air Force network version of Microsoft Teams – a separate application with slightly different

  • Partnering for the Children

    In 2006, the Bay Area Education Alliance was formed. This alliance between Tyndall AFB, Naval Support Activity Panama City, and Bay District Schools, serves to meet the unique needs of military members with children assigned to Tyndall. April is designated as the Month of the Military Child by the

  • 53rd Wing gears up for Northern Edge 21

    More than 25 aircraft, and hundreds of Airmen, from across the 53rd Wing are headed to Alaska in support of Northern Edge 21, INDOPACOM’s premier bi-annual exercise designed to increase joint combat effectiveness in all spectrums of warfare, May 3-14, 2021.

  • ASAB bringing in a storm: TYPHOONS

    U.S. Air Force 386th Air Expeditionary Wing and the Italian National Contingent Command Air/Task Force Air Kuwait leadership came together to commemorate the first operational takeoff of two F-2000 Eurofighter Typhoons from Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, April 20, 2021. The aircraft are part of Task

  • The last ride

    Driving home yesterday, a familiar country tune blasted in the background: “It’s not if they will, but how they remember you.” It was ironic and somewhat poetic to hear those words on April 27th, exactly ten years to the day since our family was forever changed by the U.S. Air Force’s largest single

  • DAF kicks off 2021 Fall Prevention Focus

    For the eighth year, the Department of the Air Force is partnering with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration during the National Safety Stand-Down to prevent falls being held May 3-7. The DAF theme for this year’s focus is “Make a Difference in Fall Prevention.” The theme incites every

  • TACP officer becomes F-16 pilot

    A convoy of Afghan Humvees makes its way down narrow roads in urban Afghanistan while escorting an Afghan Army Corps commander in the summer of 2016. From the rear, a Tactical Air Control Party officer witnesses a rocket-propelled grenade rip through the lead Humvee, as a gunner with a heavy machine

  • ACC to Kick off AGILE FLAG 21-2

    The lead wing and experiment objectives are in place for a deployment like no other, taking place in the pan handle of Florida. Air Combat Command’s AGILE FLAG 21-2 experiment will test the 4th Fighter Wing’s (Seymour-Johnson AFB, North Carolina) ability to deploy into theater as a lead Air

  • PSAB Welcomes new SAPR duo

    In April 2021, the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing welcomed new additions to the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program team: 1st Lt. Darby Germain, Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, and Senior Master Sgt. LaTonya Reno, the full-time Victim Advocate.

  • Testing new tech on the A-10

    Operational test personnel from the Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Command Test Center, a tenant unit on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, conducted a ground test on a new visual display system for the A-10C Thunderbolt II, April 14, 2021.

  • One aircraft, two owners: Hawgsmoke builds on pilot, maintainer bond

    Maintenance professionals work countless hours on the flightline to prepare and equip aircraft for each sortie, while pilots must trust their lives to the quality of the maintenance. This relationship is honed and proven through countless deployments, exercises and most recently, Hawgsmoke 2021, a

  • Gamblers redeploy home to Shaw

    Airmen assigned to the 77th Fighter Squadron and the 77th Fighter Generation Squadron, also known as the “Gamblers”, as well as other Team Shaw units, redeployed from U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility late April.

  • DoD adds COVID-19 guidelines for deployers

    The Disaster Emergency Medical Operations Support Team tested more than 250 Airmen for COVID-19 prior to their departure to a deployed location April 15, 2021, here.

  • Kingpin command and control ops begin at Shaw

    The 727th Expeditionary Air Control Squadron officially began full operations from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., on April 20, 2021, after 10 years of operations at Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE. In total, more than 150 U.S. Air Force Airmen and coalition partners belonging to the 727th EACS have repositioned

  • AFW2 Announces Team Air Force for Warrior Games 2021

    The Air Force Wounded Warrior (AFW2) Program is proud to announce the 2021 Air Force Warrior Games team. A team of coaches and staff selected 45 primary and 15 alternates, a combination of active duty, Guard and Reserve Airmen and veterans, after their 2021 Virtual Air Force Trials competition. The

  • Developing Self: Airman’s Foundational Competencies Category

    The Air Force has identified 24 Airman’s foundational competencies for all Airmen, these competencies are universally applicable to all Airmen and are categorized into four groups: Developing Self, Developing Others, Developing Ideas and Developing Organizations. Developing Self includes the

  • AFW2 Behind the Scenes: The Family We Choose

    Family consists of the people that you are born to such as your mother, father, and siblings. Those ties are usually stronger than any other relationship throughout our lives, but the family that we choose can be just as strong as those we don’t choose. The Air Force Wounded Warrior (AFW2) Program

  • 53rd Wing welcomes F-15EX “002”

    The 53rd Wing welcomed the second F-15EX Eagle II to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., April 20, 2021. Flown in by Maj. Aaron Eshkenazi, F-15 pilot, the second F-15EX showcases the 53rd Wing’s traditional “OT” tail flash and is assigned to the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron. 

  • Enlisted trade boots for books, now serve Tampa community members

    U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Michael Jessup, 23rd Maintenance Operations Squadron, worked as a HC-130 maintenance instructor at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia when the Air Force announced a new program designed to boost numbers for its Nurse’s corps. The Nurse Enlisted Commissioning Program launched in

  • Reserve Airman makes history with innovative Project FoX/F-35 development

    For the first time ever, Air Force personnel livestreamed F-35 data directly from the aircraft’s mission systems computers to a connected computer tablet during a ground test March 31, 2021, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The event was a milestone for the Fighter Optimization eXperiment (FoX), a

  • 190th FS wins Hawgsmoke Overall

    The 190th Fighter Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, outperformed 12 units to win the Top Overall Team Award during the Hawgsmoke 2021 competition April 16. The 3-day event consisted of various competitions that tested maintenance, weapons load crews and pilots on their execution of skill in a

  • ROTC cadets tour SJAFB

    Airmen assigned to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, hosted ROTC cadets from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University April 8 to 9, 2021.

  • Air Force provides C2 advisors to operational-level commanders

    With global competition heating up, the need to maximize the agility of U.S. Air Force operational command and control has never been more pressing. Fortunately, the USAF’s Operational Command Training Program is a foundational piece of its current C2 training architecture.

  • Generations apart: A family legacy of commanding the 363rd ISR Wing

    As she enters the room, she flips on the light, illuminating her office. The familiar face of a man who helped guide her Air Force career resides in the picture frame close to her desk, reminding her every day of the leader she aspires to be. The silver eagles pinned to the epaulettes of her service

  • Moody hosts Hawgsmoke’s first weapons load competition

    The 23d Wing hosted Hawgsmoke’s first weapons load competition April 16, 2021, at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.The biennial competition consists of various categories to include bombing and marshalling, but it has never included a weapons load competition in the official scoring until 2021.