AFCEA - Los Angeles

The Air Force released details of the service's plan to fully integrate women into previously closed career fields June 18.

The implementation plan was recently submitted to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel for review.

More than 99 percent of Air Force positions are currently already open to female Airmen. In fact, 2013 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Department of Defense allowing women to serve as combat pilots.

The Air Force plans to open the remaining seven career fields -- all tied to special operations -- by Jan. 1, 2016.
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The 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron and 435th Contingency Response Group continuously train to meet sustainable medical readiness throughout the European theater here.

Training not only benefits Ramstein Airmen, but also other allies like the Polish air force who have consistently engaged in AE training and familiarization throughout 2012 and 2013.

"All NATO countries benefit from having highly skilled and qualified teams to transport wounded warriors from theater back to higher levels of medical care, and eventually back to their home country," said Lt. Col. Kevin D. Hettinger, the 435th CRG flight surgeon and Poland AE Building Partnership Capacity team lead.
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Indications are that the F-35 joint strike fighter program -- the most expensive aviation program in Defense Department history -- is on track, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics told a Senate panel here June 19.

Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee this morning, Frank Kendall said the F-35 will be the premier strike aircraft for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

"The department's and my focus has been on the efforts to control costs on the program, and to achieve a more stable design so that we could increase the production rate to more economical quantities," Kendall told the senators. "Indications at this time are that these efforts are succeeding."
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The Air Force's top officer reported on the growing strain sequestration has put on readiness, personnel and modernization to a group of civic and industry leaders attending the Air Force Association's monthly breakfast here, June 17.

Sequestration has hit the Air Force hard, said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III.

Like the rest of the Defense Department, the Air Force has seen severe reductions in funding, leading to concerns about critical mission factors including the readiness of pilots and aircraft that aren't flying today.
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Air Force Reserve Command is expanding its Innovative Readiness Training, or IRT, program this summer to help communities control mosquitoes.

C-130 Hercules aircrews will spray Williston and Minot in North Dakota June 30-July 3, and York County and the City of Poquoson in Virginia July 22-26. These communities are prone to high mosquito populations due to standing water, flooding and high precipitation.

In addition to drastically decreasing the number of irritations and infections, and the threat of West Nile Virus due to mosquito bites, these IRT missions will provide essential real-world training to aircrews, pest management personnel and maintenance members that they would not have otherwise received.
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Contracts valued at $5 million or more are announced each business day at 5 p.m.

Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley will be honored during a ceremony June 21 at 1 p.m., at Joint Base Andrews, Md. 

The ceremony will stream live online at the Pentagon Channel's live stream site (here) and Air Force Link's live video page (here).

Donley was confirmed as the 22nd secretary of the Air Force Oct. 2, 2008. He had been serving as the acting secretary since June of that year, as well as for seven months in 1993, making him the longest serving secretary in the Air Force's history.
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Thirty-seven military commissaries in Europe and the Pacific will remain open with local national employees while U.S. civilian employees are affected by furloughs, the Defense Commissary Agency's top official said here today.

Most Defense Department civilian employees will be off work for up to 11 unpaid furlough days from July 8 to Sept. 30 as the Pentagon copes with deep spending cuts for the rest of the fiscal year. DeCA civilians will be furloughed on Mondays.

"DeCA is committed to doing everything possible to minimize the impact of any budget decisions on its patrons," said Joseph H. Jeu, DeCA's director and CEO. "We're doing just that at overseas commissaries, where we have sufficient local national employees to open during furloughs."
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Carrying the largest payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory, the multi-mission B-1B Lancer is the backbone of America's long-range bomber force, and is flown here by the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron.

"We have a lot of coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan," said Lt. Col. Seth Graham, the 34th EBS commander. "They're able to focus on executing their various missions because of the air support we provide 365, 24/7."

The colonel said it's hard to put into words the importance of what his unit does, but instead explained in a vignette the importance of his units air support to the nation's ground forces.
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Permanent change of station and temporary duty assignments to Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever AFB, Cheyenne Mountain Air Station and the U.S. Air Force Academy have been restored, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced.

A stop movement order, requested by the Air Force Space Command and USAFA commanders, was implemented June 14 in reaction to wildfires burning in the Black Forest northeast of Colorado Springs.

All Airmen, including civilians, are now authorized to proceed on orders. Airmen assigned to or living in the area or whose dependent family members live in the affected area are reminded to log in to the Air Force Personnel Accountability and Assessment System at https://afpaas.af.mil to account for themselves, if they have not already done so, AFPC officials said.
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Rifle at the ready, eyes watchful and wary, sweat beads form on their brows and trickle down their chins, exhaust fumes and gritty sand fills their noses, words can barely be heard over the whine of engines, yet the Airmen of the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron's Fly-Away Security Teams maintain a constant vigil over the aircraft, personnel and cargo coming in and out of the airfield here.

FAST members are required to fly on specific missions, to certain locations, to ensure the aircraft and crew are protected from hostile fire or on-board security breaches.
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More than 1,000 Airmen, spouses and local community members turned out here June 17, for a town hall meeting with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said he came to Minot AFB because he wanted a chance to interact with those performing what he called "the vital work for our nation," noting that throughout the life of the B-52 Stratofortress and intercontinental ballistic missile force, there has been a history of silent, dedicated service, often in times of hardship and uncertainty.
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The Air Force inactivated the 81st Fighter Squadron June 18, here, in support of force-shaping procedures across the service.

The squadron employed the A-10 Thunderbolt II, and the closure signals the end of A-10 operations in Europe.

"For 71 years, the men and women of this fine squadron have ensured America's security," said Col. David Lyons, the 52nd Operations Group commander. "The 81st Fighter Squadron piloted many of the most iconic and legendary aircraft the world has ever seen. It leaves me with one thought -- that whatever ... was provided or whatever mission was demanded, the squadron delivered without question and without fail."
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Contracts valued at $5 million or more are announced each business day at 5 p.m.

NASA officials selected an Airman as one of the eight military and civilian candidates to become an astronaut trainee.

After a 1 ½ year search, officials chose Lt. Col. Tyler N. Hague, the Department of Defense deputy chief of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, out of more than 6,100 applicants. Hague is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
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NASA officials selected an Airman as one of the eight military and civilian candidates to become an astronaut trainee.

After a 1 ½ year search, officials chose Lt. Col. Tyler N. Hague, the Department of Defense deputy chief of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, out of more than 6,100 applicants. Hague is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
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Air Force officials have updated the career job reservation constrained list and released remaining fiscal 2013 quotas for career fields on the list, as well.

The career job reservation program enables the Air Force to manage the number of first-term Airmen who reenlist in career fields where projected manning levels exceed Air Force needs, said Mike McLaughlin, the AFPC reenlistments chief.

Six enlisted career fields have been removed from the constrained list, while quotas dropped for 16 others and two remain unchanged.
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Reserve component medical personnel from the Air Force, Navy, Army and Air National Guard came together for medical innovative readiness training June 2-15, on the islands of Lanai, Maui, Molokai and Hawaii.

The medics provided free health care clinics and performed community service projects for under-served populations scattered throughout the four islands during Tropicare 13.

The reservists and Guard members worked closely with local health agencies and community organizations to operate five clinics. The clinics offered basic dental, medical and optometry examinations, health education classes, and pharmaceutical and laboratory services to area residents.
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The new Professional Development Guide, or PDG, AFPAM 36-2241, is now available at www.e-publishing.af.mil.

Printed guides will be distributed to all promotion-eligible active duty Airmen in the grades of E-4 through E-8 and airmen first class with at least two years in service. Base and unit Weighted Airman Promotion System monitors will assist with the distribution of printed guides slated for early fall.

Effective date of the new guide is Oct. 1, 2013. Master sergeants testing this December will be the first examinees to use the guide to prepare for promotion testing.
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Units in U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa now have the ability to obtain equipment and supplies for free through the command's Business Transformation Office Airmen's List SharePoint site.

The site, accessible through the USAFE Portal, allows unit representatives to post equipment or supply items no longer needed for others to claim. Command officials hope to save money by repurposing supplies and equipment, via the site.

"It's important to take advantage of every opportunity to reduce costs, save money and resources, especially with the financially restrictive environment we're in," said Maj. Rene Alvidrez, the deputy director of the USAFE-AFAFRICA BTO and Airmen's List site designer.
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