The sixth annual Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl football game featured the Houston Cougars (7-5) taking on the U.S. Air Force Academy Falcons (8-4) on Dec. 31 at the Amon G. Carter Stadium here.
Kickoff for the Armed Forces Bowl was noon Eastern, but the event started more than 24-hours prior to the kickoff when both teams were welcomed to Fort Worth with a luncheon at the Fort Worth Convention Center on Dec. 30.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, who survived severe injuries following a road-side bomb attack while deployed to Iraq, was the keynote speaker. Colonel Gadson was credited by the New York Giants football team for giving them the inspiration to turn their 0-2 season start into a Superbowl-winning season.
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A record-setting ground game couldn't help the Air Force Academy Falcons overcome early mistakes, as the University of Houston Cougars downed the Air Force 34-28 in the Armed Forces Bowl on Dec. 31.
The Falcons fumbled the ball on the opening kickoff, and Houston's Brandon Brinkley recovered the ball at the Air Force 25-yard line.
Four plays later, the Cougars hit end-zone paydirt on a one-yard run by running back Bryce Beall. With Jordan Mannisto's successful point-after kick, the Cougars took a 7-0 lead, less than a minute into the game.
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Amidst the thunder, lightning and an island wide power outage, the Hawaii Air National Guard and the 15th Airlift Wing prepared a meal for Honolulu's less fortunate here Dec. 27.
On the day before, Team Hickam's 15th Services Squadron began cooking 40 turkeys and 140 hams that were needed for a planned holiday meal to benefit the underprivileged, and it was the duty of Hawaii Air National Guard Airmen to complete the task -- they were not about to let the Christmas event take a back seat to weather.
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A group of Air Force Reserve Command Airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing here departed on the last leg of a 14-month deployment to Afghanistan Dec. 27 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Approximately 40 helicopter aircrew members, maintenance specialists and logistics and support personnel gathered with their friends and families at the wing's helicopter squadron facility for tearful farewells.
The reservists will be replacing a similar-sized group of rescue-wing Airmen already in Afghanistan supporting the U.S. Army medical evacuation operation.
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Exactly three weeks before inauguration day, the buzz of activity at the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee here is a notable exception to the traditional holiday lull that settles over the nation's capital between Christmas and New Year's Day.
More than 400 Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen -- active duty, reservists and National Guardsmen -- are busy preparing for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration Jan. 20. Another 300 will report for duty after New Year's, bringing AFIC to full strength with about 700 servicemembers.
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“The mission of the medical ETT (embedded transition team) is to train, coach, and mentor the ANA (Afghan national army) medical personnel in order for them to develop a self-sustaining medical system in order for the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to achieve security and stability,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Ed Fieg, Deputy Team Leader and senior physician mentor of the 205th Corps, Afghan Regional Security Integration Command – South said to bloggers Dec. 30th. Fieg said, while less than perfect, the ANA medical system are functional and have made remarkable strides over the past year.
Audio(Mp3)Posted by Capt. David Faggard, Air Force Public Affairs
Afghanistan, Afghanistan national army, Air Force blog, Airmen, DOD blogger's roundtable, USAF, youtube
In another example of a Lean initiative, an improved process for drilling a duct-liner is proving to be safer, faster and on course to save the Air Force $47,000 a year.
For seven years, mechanic Jerry Heiskill dealt with the frustration and discomfort of using a hand-held drill to re-drill holes into the augmentor mixing duct-liner following a welding repair.
"It took two of us to drill each hole," said Mr. Heiskill, who is assigned to the 548th Propulsion Maintenance Squadron. "One of us would operate the drill, and the other would hold down the liner, trying to apply constant pressure. When you have to drill as many as eight holes on one liner, it's backbreaking work."
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Quinnipiac built a 3-0 lead in the second period and held on for a 4-2 win over No. 11 Air Force in the championship game of the Toyota/UConn Classic Dec. 30, at the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum in Storrs, Conn.
Air Force fell to 14-3-1 overall this season and 11-1-1 in Atlantic Hockey. Quinnipiac is 9-6-1overall and 4-3-1 in the ECAC.
After a fast-paced first period, Quinnipiac drew first blood with 6.6 seconds left in the period. Each team had eight shots on goal in the period, but it was the Bobcats' eighth that got past Andrew Volkening. With 15 seconds left, the Bobcats started a rush from behind their own net and came up ice. A cross-ice pass from Bryan Leitch on the right side was right on the tape of Eric Lampe who scored his fourth of the season.
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Airmen assigned to the 36th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron have recently been showcasing the B-52 Stratofortress's ability to respond to threats at a moment's notice.
Throughout the month of December, Airmen from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., have been launching aircraft by a method known as cartridge starts, or "cart-starts."
During these launches, a small-controlled explosive is inserted into two of the eight engines located on the B-52.
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Air Force officials awarded a production contract to the Northrop Grumman Corporation Dec. 29 for the B-2 stealth bomber radar modernization program.
The production contract, with a target price of approximately $468 million, will provide advanced state-of-the-art radar components to ensure sustained operational viability of the B-2 bomber fleet at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., well into the foreseeable future.
Northrop Grumman Integrated System in Palmdale, Calif., is the B-2 RMP prime contractor and has significant subcontracting efforts with Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems in El Segundo, Calif.; Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, N.Y.; and BAE Systems in Greenlawn, N.Y.
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