Foam party at Eglin
May 15th, 2012 | Air Force Offbeat Photos | Posted by Brian Everstine
A reddit user uploaded this photo of a hangar at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., that had a rather unfortunate mishap. Reportedly, a spark set off the hangar’s fire suppression system, covering the A-10, F-15 and F-16 in foam. You can only imagine the fun the maintenance crew had cleaning up the mess.
F-22 pilots refuse to fly and other stories in this week’s Air Force Times
May 7th, 2012 | Air Force Raptor | Posted by Jeff Schogol
Two Air Force pilots granted whistle-blower protection have said publicly that they refuse to fly the F-22, which has been plagued by oxygen problems.
Eleven F-22 pilots have suffered hypoxia – oxygen deprivation – in the cockpit since September, and five maintainers have complained of similar symptoms, a spokesman for Air Combat Command said.
“I’m not comfortable flying the F-22 right now,” Maj. Jeremy Gordon, with the Virginia Air National Guard, told CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
The Air Force says it is pulling out all the stops to hone in on the problem, and has physiologists, doctors, engineers and others looking for a solution.
In other news, about 150,000 Air Force personnel including civilians and contractors are expected to go through the Air Force’s rifle qualification course by the end of the year.
Instituted six months ago, the course is meant to better simulate the up-close and personal combat situations that airmen find themselves in these days. Airmen learn how to field-strip and reassemble their rifle or carbine, clear malfunctions, and shoot while moving.
“It’s definitely a plus for us to get the experience of how to move instead of just standing and doing one movement,” Tech Sgt. Arturo Quinones said of the course. “I like it.”
And more than 6,400 officers and enlisted airmen are affected by the latest changes to the Air Force Specialty Codes, which became effective on May 1.
One change calls for additional selection and retention criteria for honor guard airmen to “reduce the man hours and funds expended for disciplinary and disqualification processes.”
It was not immediately known if any of the changes require airmen to retrain, reclassify or change their jobs.
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Can officers and enlisted airmen be “friends” on Facebook?
May 2nd, 2012 | Air Force Flightlines Offbeat | Posted by Jeff Schogol
Facebook is an important social media tool that allows supervisors to see what their subordinates are really doing when they call in sick, but should officers and enlisted airmen be “friends”?
Officers and enlisted cannot get too familiar because that could lead to fraternization, and that never ends well.
The Air Force allows officers and enlisted airmen to be Facebook friends, as long as they remain professional at all times, said Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Jennifer Spires. Any unprofessional social activity between officers and enlisted airmen, including online relationships, would be considered fraternization.
“The definition of fraternization is … ‘A personal relationship between an officer and an enlisted member that violates the customary bounds of acceptable behavior in the Air Force and prejudices good order and discipline, discredits the armed services, or operates to the personal disgrace or dishonor of the officer involved,’” Spires told FlightLines.
The issue of whether officers and enlisted can be friends on Facebook was a recent topic of discussion on the Air Force Times online forums.
“I believe that line needs to be clear in a military organization,” one person commented. “It’s like when a subordinate asks some crusty NCO/SNCO what his or her first name is and they promptly reply with ‘Sergeant.’ That’s the way it should be, but in a technological sense, we’re readily providing that info without even being asked for it on places such as Facebook along with every other detail of our personal lives. My subordinates (and superiors as well) do not need to see old pictures of me raising hell or see me posting what a crappy day I had.”
Another commenter wrote that becoming friends with the officers in your chain of command can make life uncomfortable.
“I just think it would be too weird if I posted a status as ‘taking a dump’ and my commander ‘liked’ it,” the person wrote.
Close air support in Do Ab
May 2nd, 2012 | Afghanistan Air Force Video | Posted by Brian Everstine
The Washington National Guard uploaded this video of Tech. Sgt. Tavis Delaney calling in close air support from an F-16 during a long battle near Do Ab, Nuristan province, in May of last year.
From our story on the battle:
… hundreds of Taliban fighters attacked with heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. Radio intercepts indicated they had been waiting days to lure, trap and kill the force of American and Afghan troops — and they had the advantage of numbers, position and firepower.
But when the attack ended 13 hours later, not a single American or Afghan troop was killed. None was injured. About 270 Taliban lay dead.
Delaney, a TACP with the guard’s 116th Air Support Operations Squadron, is set to receive the Silver Star this weekend.
Tags: Delaney, Silver Star, TACP
Navy getting its name on Andrews landmark
April 18th, 2012 | Air Force Offbeat Photos | Posted by Brian Everstine
David Brown, the managing editor over at Defense News, snapped this picture of the landmark water tower outside Joint Base Andrews, Md. The water tower has been an icon over the beltway with the Air Force logo standing on its own, until now as a result of joint basing.
Tags: Andrews, Joint basing
Schwartz wades into budget battle, blasts Rep. Ryan’s budget criticism
April 9th, 2012 | Air Force Politics | Posted by Brian Everstine
Air Force photo
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, speaking to a group of think tankers at the Atlantic Council on Monday in Washington, responded to criticism of the Pentagon’s support for the president’s budget proposal with some strong words.
Budget Committee Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., now famously criticized the military’s support of the budget to Capitol Hill, saying that he could not believe the generals could support the president’s proposal. Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also said that there is a debate within the Pentagon about the budget.
Ryan has since said he misspoke in his criticism.
When asked about the criticism, Schwartz said that the Pentagon acted in response to the Budget Control Act to craft a tight budget, and although he wishes “it could be Christmas every day,” the military found cuts that it could sustain.
“The adults did this,” Schwartz said. “I’m not sure to whom (they) are talking about, but I can tell you with certainty it isn’t the Joint Chiefs.”
Airmen and military working dogs get their due
March 28th, 2012 | Afghanistan Air Force Flightlines Iraq | Posted by Karen Small
Military working dogs and their handlers train at Joint Base San Antonio. (Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christopher Griffin)
Three airmen from Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., were honored Saturday for their work with military working dogs, although canines were the real center of attention. Florida Today reports that Tech. Sgt. Justin Sonnier, Tech. Sgt. Jessica Sonnier and Staff Sgt. Michael Moret received medals from the U.S. War Dogs Association at the Veterans Memorial Center of Brevard County.
The center showed off its new tribute to military working dogs: a life-sized bronze statue of Brutus the war dog standing next to an empty helmet, atop a granite marker. Maj. John Newton, commander of the 45th Security Forces Squadron at Patrick, also spoke at the event.
Air Force nu metal band Max Impact is back
March 1st, 2012 | Air Force Offbeat Video | Posted by Brian Everstine
The Air Force’s very own nu metal band Max Impact is back with a new video, released yesterday. This time they are highlighting special tactics airmen. Rock on \m/
Tags: Max Impact, Music video, Special Tactics
Check out this week’s Air Force Times: Religion in the Air Force, no iPads for AFSOC, SERB board and more
February 27th, 2012 | Air Force Flightlines | Posted by Jeff Schogol
In this week’s Air Force Times:
The Air Force continues to struggle with the role of religion in the military. The new head of the Defense Information Systems Agency recently gave a presentation at his first commander’s call that told airmen to “Always put God first, and stay within His will.”
This comes after Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz issued a memo in September warning service leaders to avoid even the appearance of proselytize.
“My intervention on this issue related to the very special relationship that commanders have with their subordinates,” Schwartz said at last week’s Air Force Association winter symposium. “It is unique. It is something that exists in the armed services that is not replicated elsewhere, and the fundamental point was for commanders to exercise care.”
Meanwhile, Air Force Special Operations Command has canceled plans to buy more than 2,000 iPads to store thousands of pages of flight instructions digitally.
A Toronto-based security and identity management firm claims AFSOC shelved its plan to buy iPads due to security concerns, but a command spokeswoman said security concerns were not a factor in its decision.
Air Mobility Command still plans to buy up to 18,000 iPads or equivalent computers.
In other news, a Selective Early Retirement Board selected 106 colonels for early retirement. The colonels, who have between 21 and 27 years of service, must leave the Air Force by June 1.
And retired Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Ross suffered career-ending injuries when a Navy pilot accidentally shot down his plane during war games in 1987. Now that Navy pilot has been nominated for a promotion to rear admiral. You can read what Ross has to say on the matter.
The issue is on newsstands now. To read it immediately, subscribe to our digital edition.
Tags: AFSOC, early retirement, Religion, SERB, shoot down, technology
Check out this week’s Air Force Times
February 20th, 2012 | Air Force Airframes Flightlines Politics | Posted by Jeff Schogol
In this week’s Air Force Times, you can read about what is buried in the service’s budget for next fiscal year, which plans to cut 9,900 airmen.
The Air Force has budgeted money for a reduction-in-force board to separate 388 officers, but a top service official says the Air Force isn’t planning any RIF or Selective Early Retirement Boards in fiscal 2013.
Meanwhile, airmen should expect to spend more time in classrooms and less time actually flying. The proposed budget would axe $38.4 million for pilot training, translating into 24,000 fewer flying hours next fiscal year.
The proposed spending cuts mean the Air Force expects to retire 227 aircraft next fiscal year. This week’s Air Force Times has a map showing which bases are losing or gaining planes.
In other news, the Air Force plans to roll out a system in which airmen can email Air Force doctors and request prescription renewals. The MiCare system should be available staring June 26.
Tags: AETC, budget, health care, personnel cuts, pilot training, prescription, RIF