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  • Wheatland Union High School football team touches down on Beale AFB

    Diverse experiences with the Air Force influenced Joshua Crawley as a teacher and a coach and, helped him communicate with different groups of students. When asked if there was much similarity between the training, he received in the Air Force and the skills he teaches on the football field, he

  • KC-135 Maintenance: A Family Business

    From the outskirts of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to the heart of U.S. Central Command, a father-son duo worked hand-in-hand to enable air refueling operations that contribute to peace and security throughout the region.

  • 379th ECS facilitates critical communication throughout CENTCOM

    In the U.S. Central Command, all operations circulate around the ability to communicate clearly and effectively. Whether it be contingency response crews at forward-deployed locations relaying information or Air Traffic Control tower personnel clearing the skies - every mission depends on the 379th

  • AF Year in Photos

    This year's photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This annual feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

  • Boom operator returns to the controls 50 years after retirement

    It can take many years to master a skill, but that’s not the case for muscle memory. Muscle memory is influenced by everyday activities such as typing, driving, or even brushing your teeth. The day-to-day repetition is eventually performed with little to no effort. Retired Master Sgt. Eugene T. Beal

  • Multi-capable F-16 maintainers refuel multiple aircraft

    332d Air Expeditionary Wing F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft maintainers recently epitomized the Multi-Capable Airman concept by refueling a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a hot-pit exercise in Southwest Asia, Feb. 5, 2022. These Airmen employed their new skills to hot-pit refuel a 384th

  • My flight on a KC-135

    On December 14 I had the privilege of flying in a KC-135 Stratotanker from Fairchild AFB, to learn about pilot training, aircraft, air-to-air refueling, and the airmen who fulfill those missions. We arrived at the Deployment Processing Center at Shaw AFB and were greeted by Mrs. Lisa Allen,

  • Shaw honorary commanders observe mission from above

    Most people observe F-16 Fighting Falcons take on thousands of pounds of fuel during air to air refueling via photographs. Recently, a group of Sumter community members received the opportunity to watch the action live and in living color. On Dec. 14, members of the Shaw Air Force Base honorary

  • Red Flag-Rescue returns to advance premier training

    Red Flag-Rescue is the Department of Defense’s premier combat search and rescue exercise. The exercise provides advanced, realistic and relevant air-to-surface integration warfighter training in a robust contested, degraded and operationally limited environment. Red Flag-Rescue 21-2 was hosted

  • KC-135 Stratotanker: A gas station in the skies

    During Red Flag Alaska 21-3, 1st Fighter Wing F-22 Raptors, from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, complete multiple sorties, practice tactical maneuvers, and multi-squadron simulated combat objectives. Spending numerous hours in the air at a time requires a hefty load of fuel to keep them airborne.

  • 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.

  • Al Udeid Airmen, Qatar Emiri Air Force partnership enhances versatility

    Al Udeid Air Base has witnessed several milestones with the U.S. KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft. On Jan. 21, 2021, led by a Qatari police escort, a fuel truck and Airmen from the 379th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron made their way from Al Udeid AB to Doha AB – partnering with the Qatar

  • 379th AEW conducts first KC-135 hot refueling in USAF

    To advance the agility of Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Airmen from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing performed a validation and verification of the first hot refueling of a KC-135 Stratotanker in the U.S. Air Force on Sept. 21, 2020.

  • For the Love of Aviation: 191st AMXS Father, Son Deploy Together

    Editor’s Note: This is three of a three part series about family members deployed to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar together. As children, many boys aspire to be like their fathers, or at minimum make their father’s proud, which could manifest as good grades or being a star athlete; however, one senior

  • 44th EFS train with RSAF

    F-15C fighter jets from the 44th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Prince Sultan Air Base, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, fly in formation with two F-15SA Royal Saudi Air Force jets from the 6th Squadron, King Khalid Air Base, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during an integrated sortie flight in the Kingdom of

  • Refueling the deployed mission

    As aircraft quickly approach, the 28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron KC-135 Stratotanker’s aircrew carefully complete the necessary checklists to ensure they can accomplish their mission of delivering fuel to U.S. and coalition forces and, in turn, enabling war-winning airpower.

  • Total Force Integration: 9th LRS, 940th reservist fuels Beale

    The 9th Logistics Readiness Squadron petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) flight works to ensure the mission at Beale maintains a steady rate.The 9th LRS POL runs 24-hour operations to ensure the 9th Reconnaissance Wing's inventory of U-2 Dragon Ladies, RQ-4 Global Hawks and T-38 Talons receive fuel

  • 20th FW, 72nd ARS team up to stay sharp

    An F-16 Fighting Falcon cannot fly around the world on one tank of fuel. When the mission demands keeping the jets in the air, pilots can refuel with one of the Air Force’s gas stations in the sky. Grissom Joint Air Reserve Base, Indiana.

  • Air Force Vietnam veteran awarded after 45 years

    The sunshine reflecting off the black marble of The Wall That Heals in Camden, South Carolina, served as a backdrop for the Air Force ending a 45 year wait for retired Capt. Johnny Blye. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross May 5, for his participation in Operation Linebacker II during the

  • Global reach powers air superiority

    A KC-135 Stratotanker from the 101st Air Refueling Wing refuels F-22 Raptors from the 94th Fighter Squadron over the Atlantic Ocean, Feb. 22, 2018. The Stratotanker refueled four Raptors during this routine training mission. Refueling missions help the 94th Fighter Squadron accomplish their task of

  • Refueling keeps Red Flag flying

    The Red Flag Tanker Task Force, with air mobility assets from three bases, descended on the Las Vegas skies three weeks ago in support the international training exercise, Red Flag-Nellis 18-1.The RFTTF consists of personnel, aircraft and equipment from McConnell Air Force Base, Fairchild AFB, and

  • Finding a way to win

    It was a temperate day at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan when Lt. Col. Craig "Hypr" Andrle and his wingman, Capt. Adam "Hawk" Fuhrmann, began walking across the flightline to their soon-to-be airborne F-16CM Fighting Falcons.Andrle’s calm, focused demeanor both in the cockpit and in command was

  • Air Mobility Command enables delivery of Israel’s first F-35s

    SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Air Mobility Command Airmen worked around the clock to ensure Israel’s first two F-35 aircraft were delivered Dec. 12, making the U.S. ally the only country in the Middle East flying a fifth generation fighter aircraft. The 618th Air Operations Center, based out of

  • Seymour Johnson AFB tests new military refueling unit

    Airmen from the 4th Logistics Readiness Squadron participated in afirst-time military testing of a new Isometrics R-11 Refueler Unit May 16, 2016, atSeymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. The Airmen conducted fueling operations on F-15E Strike Eagles and KC-135 Stratotankers to assisted the