AFCEA - Los Angeles

C-17 Globemaster III aircrews integrated with multiple aircraft types to complete an airdrop training mission as part of Cope Tiger 2010 March 8, here.

The C-17s from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, flew in a three-ship formation to conduct airdrops while under escort of A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from Osan Air Base, South Korea; F-15 Eagles from Elmendorf AFB, and Singapore air force F-16s.

C-130 Hercules from Yokota AB, Japan, also participated in the mission.

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It was 1:30 in the morning Jan. 13 when Tech. Sgt. Chris Grove answered the phone call that shaped the next two weeks of his life.

Just hours after taking that call, Sergeant Grove and his nine-person team of combat controllers from the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron here were deploying to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in response to the earthquake.

Living up to their motto, "first there," the Air Force Special Operations Command combat controllers arrived at the Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport around 6 p.m. Jan. 13 with much work ahead of them.
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Popular generic drugs like omeprazole, zolpidem and cetirizine, which treat gastrointestinal problems, insomnia and allergies, also are available under familiar brand names. While generic drugs are not advertised on television or in magazines, they provide the same benefits as their brand-name counterparts at a lower price for Tricare beneficiaries and the government alike.

Because of the safety, efficacy and cost-savings provided by generic drugs, it is Department of Defense policy that all Tricare beneficiary prescriptions are filled using generic-equivalent medication when available.
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Coalition airpower integrated with ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force troops in Afghanistan during operations March 9 according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.

Air Operations in Afghanistan:

Close Air Support

Musa Qala
Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II pilots provided armed overwatch for friendly forces. The pilots conducted a show of force to deter enemy forces from firing rocket-propelled grenades. The show of force was deemed successful when enemy fire ceased.
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Electronic Systems Center program managers are in Virginia the week of March 8 for a contract kick-off meeting on Increment One of the Cyber Control System, after awarding the critical $8.9 million contract to Electronic Data Systems, a Hewlett Packard company, two weeks ago.

CCS Increment-1 will enable active defense of the Air Force network by automating and simplifying data feeds that provide network operators real-time information on network anomalies, which could represent threats or even active attacks.
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Considering today's explosive popularity of social media and online research it may come as no surprise that military recruiting Web sites are rushing to keep up with new technologies and trends.

Air National Guard officials are riding that wave with more personal interactivity in their public recruiting and retention Web site, using video and photo stories to tell Air Guard-member stories directly to online visitors.

The revised recruiting Web site went live in February. Its revised design draws upon navigation links with the newest Web design technologies to present the Air Guard experience in a calendar format.
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Officials at the Air Force Safety Center here have released the list of recipients of the Secretary of the Air Force, Chief of Staff and Chief of Safety Awards for 2009.  These awards, according to safety officials, exemplify the best of the Air Force safety teams and the hard work of the winners.

Maj Gen Frederick Roggero, the Air Force chief of safety, said the Air Force has many safety achievements to be proud of in 2009 including the safest year ever in aviation safety. The Air Force nuclear surety program was strengthened through functional-expert visits to field units, publication of the Nuclear Surety Bulletin and by providing deficiency analysis through quarterly Dull Sword reports.  Explosive Site safety planning improved significantly throughout the Air Force resulting in more than 950 sites approved in FY 2009.
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Federal officials are taking action to reverse years of decline in the percentage of people with disabilities in the federal workforce, speakers said at a March 5 training session held to prepare for a Federal Hiring Event for People and Veterans with Disabilities scheduled for April.

The percentage of people with severe disabilities employed by the federal government has fallen steadily in recent years, dropping from 1.24 percent in 1994 to 0.88 percent in 2008, said Jo Linda Johnson, director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Training and Outreach Division. Many more people with disabilities are willing and able to make important contributions working for the federal government, she said.
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For 10 year old Betsy Dombert, all it took was one look at the five F-16 Fighting Falcons, the Thunderbirds, flying in perfect formation for her to know what she wanted to do in her life.

Though, now Captain Dombert, the 8th Fighter Wing director of staff at Kunsan Air Base, isn't flying for the Thunderbirds; she is doing what she always wanted to do: flying the F-16.

Captain Dombert's first experience with the military wasn't from that fateful day when she was 10. Her father had served in the Army as a helicopter pilot.
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The Web-based project, "30 Days Through Afghanistan," kicked off Feb. 8 and aims to bring the people, the mission and the experiences of the men and women assigned to the International Security Assistance Force to a worldwide audience through the eyes of Tech. Sgts. Nathan Gallahan and Kenneth Raimondi.

Sergeant Raimondi, a broadcaster, and Sergeant Gallahan, a print journalist, are traveling throughout Afghanistan for 30 continuous days visiting each of the five regional commands and giving a first-hand perspective of the counter-insurgency mission. The two reporters will produce video and print news stories as well as document daily adventures through blogs and video blogs to showcase the troops in an interactive manner.
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More than 1,000 civilians and servicemembers watched as World War II Women Airforce Service Pilot corps remembered their sisters-in-arms during a wreath-laying ceremony March 9 at the Air Force Memorial here.

Several WASPs, many clad in their World War II-era service uniform, placed roses next to the wreath in memory of those who died during the war.

The audience included their families and as well as the families of those who have since died or couldn't travel.

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Under a clear blue sky, beneath the spires of the U.S. Air Force Memorial here, military aviators gathered March 9 here to pay homage to the achievements of the first women to fly military aircraft during World War II.

The memorial service and wreath-laying ceremony, with a reception afterward, was a prelude to the March 10 presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal to the 1,102 pilots who served as Women Airforce Service Pilots during World War II.

Retired Coast Guard Vice Adm. Vivien Crea, the keynote speaker at the service, told those assembled that by answering America's call to duty in 1942, they gave birth to a fledgling service that would become the WASPs with achievements that would go on to inspire another generation of women in the military.
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The last of three remaining remnants from Lackland's World War II-era housing facilities, a military open-bay barracks, was moved to a site behind the History and Traditions Museum.

The only basic military training dormitory left from the 1940s, Bldg. 6351 was loaded by a crane onto a flatbed trailer and relocated behind the museum. It will become a part of the museum's enlisted heritage exhibits following renovation and restoration.

The building was moved because of the construction area for a new BMT Airman Training Complex, the first of eight complexes and four dining-classroom facilities being built to replace the current recruit housing and training buildings. Two other remaining open-bay barracks in the construction area were torn down.
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More than 200 Airmen take part in the "Ability to Survive and Operate" course Feb. 24 through March 2 here.  Members of the 18th Munitions Squadron  trained to operate in an hostile environment covering mobility protective wear, post-attack reconnaissance sweeps, and unidentified explosive ordnance identification and reporting.

View the slideshow.

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In the latest issue of Airman magazine, the "Ghostwalkers," Airmen with a unique mission hone their skills for action outside the wire.

Whether they are called to secure a captured airfield or provide force protection in a combat zone, these security forces warriors depend on each other. Intensive training sharpens their individual proficiencies and forms the foundation of the teamwork required for success.

Follow the Ghostwalkers as they prepare for their next rotation into the unknown.
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Air Force officials here established the Single Airman Working Group to evaluate and develop morale and support programs for its members as part of the Year of the Air Force Family.

Officer and enlisted single Airmen representatives from each major command and subject-matter experts from several functional communities met Feb. 21 through 24 at Maxwell Air Force Base-Gunter Annex, Ala.

The forum's objective is to create an enduring roadmap that addresses the single Airmen support structure, said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy.
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Four members of the Utah Air National Guard's 151st Air Refueling Wing based here had a rude awakening Feb. 27 when the 15th floor of their hotel in Santiago, Chile, started to shake.

Deployed to Chile to provide flying and maintenance support to the Chilean air force on their new KC-135 "E" model aircraft, the group had no idea that a 8.8-magnitude earthquake would quickly cause them to become the some of the first U.S. armed forces members to support humanitarian efforts in the country.
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Four junior and 20 sophomore U.S. Air Force Academy cadets received the first unmanned aerial systems-remotely piloted aircraft wings awarded in the school's 55-year history during a function at the Dean's Heritage House Feb. 25, here.  

Lt. Gen. Mike Gould, the Academy superintendent and Brig. Gen. Dana Born, the dean of the faculty, presented cadets with certificates and UAS-RPA scarves during the event.

"I'm thrilled to recognize the first class of cadets to graduate from Airmanship 200, Airmanship 201 and Airmanship 202 and become the catapult leaders for the UAS-RPA program at the Air Force Academy," General Born said. "You are all pioneers."
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The commander of the Air Force Materiel Command returned here recently from a trip to Southwest Asia to interact with Airmen who depend on his command for the supplies, parts and maintenance services they need to get their jobs done.

General Donald J. Hoffman shared his message for the AFMC work force that if there's something in AFMC that someone is waiting for it better not be sitting in somebody's inbox waiting for action, he said.

He reiterated that message at the HQ AFMC annual awards breakfast, attended by approximately 350 people. He elaborated on what he observed during the trip that led him to stress heightened responsiveness.
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Pilots and aircrews from the U.S. and Pakistan air forces participated in a joint aerial refueling information exchange as part of an on-going effort to enhance cooperation and develop the air refueling capabilities of both nations in early March at Pakistan air force base Chaklala.

Pilots and aircrews from the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron arrived at PAFB Chaklala March 3 to conduct the information exchange with their Pakistan air force hosts.

Upon arrival, the Airmen invited PAF pilots and aircrews aboard their KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft to familiarize them with Air Force air refueling equipment and procedures.
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