Officials from the 305th Air Mobility Wing here welcomed home Airmen from the 6th Airlift Squadron March 2 as they returned from supporting operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
Throughout their four-month deployment, the C-17 Globemaster III squadron Airmen executed more than 3,000 sorties, off-loaded 101 million pounds of equipment and airlifted 146,000 passengers.
"Our mission was to provide combat airlift support to operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom," said Lt. Col. John Price, the 6th Airlift Squadron commander. "Without combat airlift, operations on this scale simply are not possible. We employed our C-17s to transport equipment, supplies and personnel from main operating bases to austere locations throughout the Middle East. By providing logistical and transportation support to our fellow servicemembers, we helped ensure success in combat and sustainment operations."
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The Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts program, commonly known as MyCAA, will resume March 13 for the more than 136,000 spouses who already have established an account, the Defense Department official who heads up the program announced March 11 here.
Officials announced a temporary halt in the program Feb. 18, pending a top-to-bottom review, after a six-fold spike in enrollments in January, a surge that overwhelmed the system and caused the program to nearly reach its budget threshold.
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The recently released request for proposals for the Air Force's next-generation tanker aircraft was fair, the Defense secretary said here March 11, and he expressed disappointment that Northrop-Grumman has withdrawn from the competition for the $35 billion contract.
Secretary Robert M. Gates also talked about military retention and the proper mix of military members, career civil servants and contractors during a question-and-answer period with servicemembers of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing at an air base in Southwest Asia.
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The Web-based project, "30 Days Through Afghanistan," kicked off Feb. 8 and has been bringing 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 visiting each of the five regional commands and giving a first-hand perspective of the counter-insurgency mission. The two reporters have been producing video and print news stories as well as documenting daily adventures through blogs and video blogs to showcase the troops in an interactive manner. The project started out to run for 30 continuous days but has been extended some additional days to cover all the regional command areas in Afghanistan.
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A 6-year-old quadriplegic became a pilot for a day Feb. 26 at Luke Air Force Base.
Brandon "Hulk" Davis, visited Luke AFB with his mother, Tina Davis; aunt, Jess Davis; future uncle, Chris and his home nurse, Emmy.
Brandon was selected to participate in the pilot for a day program at Luke after he was involved in a car accident about a year ago that left him paralyzed.
"He remembers what it is like to walk and wishes he could again," Mrs. Davis said. "He does have some dexterity with fingers on each hand, but his doctors don't have any hope for further recovery."
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Department of Defense officials announced March 10 that additional campaign stars are authorized for wear on the Iraq Campaign Medal.
The campaign stars recognize a servicemember's participation in DOD-designated campaigns in Iraq.
Airmen who have qualified for the ICM may display a bronze campaign star on their medal for each designated campaign phase in which they participated. The stars will be worn on the suspension and campaign ribbon of the campaign medal. One bronze service star shall be worn for each campaign served. A silver service star will be worn instead of five bronze stars.
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The Department of Veterans Affairs is allocating $39 million to fund about 2,200 new transitional housing beds through grants to local providers.
"VA is committed to ending the cycle of homelessness among Veterans,"
said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "We will use every tool at our disposal - health care, education, jobs, safe housing - to ensure our Veterans are restored to lives with dignity, purpose and safety."
The $39 million in funding is broken into two categories. About $24 million in grants are available to renovate or rehabilitate space to create about 1,000 transitional housing beds. The grants put a priority upon housing for homeless women and housing on tribal lands.
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Defense Department officials said they expect to launch a new policy in the coming months that will make head-injury evaluations mandatory for all servicemembers who may have concussions.
The current guidelines for treating servicemembers with such injuries allows for them to come forward on their own, said a senior official with the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.
Under the new policy, every servicemember exposed to such an incident will be required to seek attention. Troops will be required to rest and will be excluded from their unit's mission cycle for at least 24 hours, said Kathy Helmick, the senior director for traumatic brain injury at the center.
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Regular colorectal cancer screening saves lives
Colorectal cancer screenings may be an uncomfortable subject for some people to discuss, but their importance cannot be underplayed.
With one in 19 Americans being diagnosed with colorectal cancer in their lifetime, the good news for Tricare beneficiaries is that colorectal screenings are available to them at no cost.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate at least 60 percent of colorectal cancer deaths could be avoided with regular screening. When colorectal cancer is caught and diagnosed early, treatment is more effective.
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Members of the 56th Civil Engineer Squadron here are exploring ways to reduce the multi million dollar electric bill and go 'green' with plans to build one of the largest solar arrays in the Air Force by December 2011 at Luke Air Force Base.
2nd Lt. Christopher Warshaw, the 56th CES energy projects manager, said members of Luke AFB use more than 60 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year to support the mission.
"Costs continue to expand," he said. "Currently, the base spends more than $5 million on electricity and most of the electricity used is not generated in a 'green' way."
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