AFCEA - Los Angeles

In wartime and peacetime, the total force construct is virtually seamless, with Guardsmen and Reserve service members who are indistinguishable from their active-component peers. Our recent air operations in Libya are but the latest example.

The ability of our Guardsmen and Reservists to deploy on short notice and seamlessly integrate with the active force is unique and was absolutely vital in Libya. One critical reason the total force works so well in the Air Force is that many Guardsmen and Reservists are subject matter experts who work in related fields -- such as pilots and aircraft mechanics -- in their civilian jobs.
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Inspired by the achievements of Bessie Coleman during the early days of aviation, Willa Brown would go on to have an impact on African-American involvement that would lead to the creation of the famed all-African-American "Tuskegee Airmen" combat flying squadrons during World War II.

As a young high school teacher in Gary, Ind., and later as a social worker in Chicago, Willa Brown felt that her talents were being wasted. She sought greater challenges and adventures in life, especially if they could be found outside the limited career fields normally open to African Americans.
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The Secretary of Defense visited Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Feb. 3, to show his appreciation for the dedicated and hard-working service members who ensure wounded warriors receive world-class care.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta started his visit at the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility here, where in front of more than 100 Airmen, reporters and commanders, he delivered a heartfelt speech on his appreciation for the job of caring for wounded service members.

"Continue to do what you do best, which is to take these lives (of wounded servicemembers) and give them a new life so they can be with their family," said Panetta, the 23rd defense secretary. "I deeply appreciate what all of you do, I can't tell you how proud we are of the service you provide."
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Making changes to the Air Force is "hard, but manageable," Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley said here today.

Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz detailed force structure changes that will be made in the service over the next year. The men spoke during a Pentagon news conference.

The Air Force will cut 286 aircraft over the future year's defense plan including 123 fighters, 133 mobility aircraft and 30 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, the secretary said. Among the fighter aircraft that will be retired are 102 A-10 close-air support aircraft. This has led to questions about whether there will be enough close-air assets left to support ground forces.
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Contracts valued at $5 million or more are announced each business day at 5 p.m.

The Air Force and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are working to establish a national partnership aimed at managing wildfires.

Officials with the USFWS, Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment, Air Force Legal Operations Agency, Air Combat Command and 4th Fighter Wing met Jan. 12 to discuss development of a cooperative agreement for wildfire support.

The discussion included cost apportionment and agency roles and responsibilities for wildfire incidents affecting both USFWS and the Air Force. The meeting was hosted by headquarters Air Combat Command on behalf of the Air Force Civil Engineer, Maj. Gen. Timothy Byers.
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The 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight here was named as the best in the Air Force recently.

For its outstanding 2011 accomplishments, the flight was recognized with the Senior Master Sgt. Gerald J. Stryzak Award as part of the overall 2011 Air Force Civil Engineer and Environmental awards.

The award, named in honor of an EOD technician who died in a 1980 aircraft crash in Egypt, recognizes the EOD flight that distinguished itself as the top performing unit in the Air Force throughout the year.
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When my 3-year-old asked me why I was going to the desert in 2004, my reply was simple. I said, "Daddy has to go feed the camels," and that was enough to sustain his curiosity. My 7- and 8-year-olds didn't buy it.

Despite their doubt and his bewilderment, I went forth and tried my best to help by supporting ground and air operations in Iraq in an expeditionary maintenance squadron. This was my first deployment and, though it seemed difficult at the time, it was the easiest mission perhaps I'll ever endure.
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Air Force officials announced proposed force structure changes which support the new DoD strategic guidance retiring 286 aircraft over the next five years, including 227 in fiscal year 13.

According to Secretary of the Air Force, Michael Donley, the Air Force is shaping itself for future challenges by realigning Air Force assets with the Defense Department's new strategic guidance.

"We've had to adjust our force structure based on our strategic objectives and to balance capability and capacity with constrained budgets," Donley said. "We must have the right tools and enough of them to credibly deter potential adversaries and to deliver on our objectives."
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In the face of a changing strategic environment and constrained budgets, the Air Force will maintain its agility, flexibility and readiness to engage a full range of contingencies and threats, according to Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley.

Donley spoke to approximately 160 Airmen, industry officials and Air Force Association members Feb. 2 here to provide an overview of the Air Force's way forward and the strategic rationale behind the service's budget choices and priorities.
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As this presidential election year unfolds, America's voting process will get plenty of attention.

Thanks to two members of the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency headquarters, sorting through the how-tos of exercising this American right is at the fingertips of everyone in the Defense Department.

Pierre Terry and Laura Gonzalez, both voting assistance officers with the AFISRA Logistics, Installation and Mission Support Directorate here, condensed an array of voting information into a unit training pamphlet. This pamphlet was identified as a best practice during a recent inspection, then adopted by the DOD for maximum voter exposure.
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Air Force Specialty Codes on the fiscal 2012 career job reservation constrained list were updated effective Feb. 1, Air Force officials announced. Four AFSCs were added to the constrained list, and three were removed.

The career job reservations program enables the Air Force to control the number of first-term Airmen who reenlist in career fields where projected manning levels exceed Air Force needs.

Additions to the constrained list are:

-- 1P0X1, Aircrew Flight Equipment
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The Air Force now offers Career Development Course volumes online for use as promotion study material. The volumes offered online are those identified in the Enlisted Promotions References and Requirements Catalog as study references for Weighted Airman Promotion System testing.

The online library provides Airmen the opportunity to download those study materials for use on electronic devices. It also offers enhancements for visual learning.

"We wanted to create a site where Airmen can download the most current WAPS CDC study materials in a simple and easy-to-use format," said Dwayne Hafer of Air Education and Training Command's Airman Advancement Division.
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Air Force officials are field testing a new performance feedback worksheet to assess how supervisors interact and provide feedback to their Airmen.

The Airman Comprehensive Assessment worksheet is designed to increase supervisor awareness of activities affecting their Airmen and better facilitate interaction between Airmen and their supervisors.

The performance feedback program was designed as a formal communication between the supervisor and Airman to establish expectations regarding duty performance, said Will Brown, the Air Force Evaluations and Recognition Programs Branch chief at the Air Force Personnel Center.
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Night-vision goggles are an important tool for pilots and ground forces in low-light environments, so it's vital they learn how to properly use them.

A course at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph provides advanced instruction to Airmen already familiar with NVGs so they can go back to their units and share their knowledge with novice NVG users.

"The Air Force Night-Vision Goggle Academic Instructor Course is required for aircrew flight equipment specialists and anyone who teaches initial NVG training," 1st Lt. Shannon Scannon, 359th Aerospace-Medicine Squadron Aerospace Physiology Flight instructor, said. "Students come from every command - they include aircrew members, physiologists, optometrists and flight surgeons."
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An engineering student from Chicago would go on to become an important link in African-American aviation history and do much to take the accomplishments of the early pioneers in aviation and propel them to national acclaim.

William J. Powell was born in Kentucky in 1897 and moved with his family to Chicago, where he went on to attend the University of Illinois engineering program before the start of the first world war. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, Powell interrupted his studies and enlisted in the racially segregated 370th Illinois Infantry Regiment as a lieutenant.
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This week's photos feature Airmen around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

View the slideshow.

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Contracts valued at $5 million or more are announced each business day at 5 p.m.

Born out of the Electronic Flight Bag Initiative for aircrew and intended to cut down on inefficiencies, the Digital Air Wing Initiative is now in effect here.

Inefficiencies are felt most where the work is taking place, whether it is repeatedly inputting data manually or attempting to find a way through a complicated website, said Capt. Jeffrey Gilmore, the 60th Air Mobility Wing director of staff executive officer and the team lead for the initiative.

"We realized that many of the potential savings of the Electronic Flight Bag Initiatives for aircrew could be utilized by non-flyers as well," Gilmore said. "Our goal is to do things more efficiently while using fewer resources."
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