Finding a single drug abuser among thousands of servicemembers can compare to a shell game, but National Guard officials are placing all odds in their favor.
Officials are striving to keep the Guard's Citizen-Airmen and -Soldiers drug free through an increase in drug tests and the integration of new prevention programs.
Current Defense Department policy dictates that each service component test 100 percent of the end-strength, and increased funding since 2003 has helped the Guard's counterdrug experts toward their 100 percent drug testing goal.
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Service-disabled and low-income veterans who are reimbursed for travel expenses while receiving care at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities will see an increase in their payments beginning Jan. 9.
A recently passed law allows VA to cut the amount it must withhold from their mileage reimbursement. The deductible amount will be $3 for each one-way trip and $6 for each round trip -- with a calendar cap of $18, or six one-way trips or three round trips, whichever comes first. The previous deductible was $7.77 for a one-way trip and $15.54 for a round trip, with a calendar cap of $46.62.
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High above Iraq, Air National Guard F-16 Fighting Falcons fly over suspected terrorist areas, taking high-resolution images with a sophisticated photographic system contained inside a Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System, or TARS, pod.
Ground commanders use the imagery from these 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing TARS pods to help them achieve their tactical objectives.
Tucked in a small trailer here, the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron TARS team plays a key role in the production of imagery that is critical for ground forces' mission planning, providing battlefield operators with up-to-date imagery of roads, houses, structures, neighborhoods and other areas of interest.
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The U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, "Thunderbirds," has announced its 2009 air show schedule. In their 56th season, the Thunderbirds are scheduled to perform more than 73 shows in the United States, Puerto Rico and the Far East.
Entering his second season, Lt. Col. Greg Thomas, the team's commander and leader, welcomes the opportunity to again represent the nearly 700,000 active duty, Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and civilian Airmen, serving in the United States and overseas.
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Air refueling operations continue to be amazing aerial feats, especially for people who witness the process for the first time.
For Air Mobility Command Airmen, we consider it simply part of what we do but, in reality, it is quite remarkable to have two aircraft meeting less than 50 feet apart at more than 20,000 feet above the ground traveling at speeds close to 400 miles per hour while a tanker replenishes another aircraft with the fuel necessary to continue the mission.
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Optimally managing the unique head and neck injury patterns seen in Iraq and Afghanistan has led to a successful initiative out of Wilford Hall Medical Center here: sending the first surgical fellow to a war zone for a surgical rotation.
In the past, medical and surgical residents and fellows were not deployed to combat zones for hands-on training. Concerns over issues including preparedness for this intense experience, safety, supervision and work-hour restrictions made this type of experience difficult to plan.
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No. 11 U.S. Air Force Academy Falcons and University of Connecticut Huskies skated to a 2-2 overtime tie in the first round of the 16th annual Toyota/UConn Classic Dec. 29 at the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum in Storrs, Conn. Air Force won the shootout, 2-1, to advance to the championship game on Dec. 30 at 7:15 p.m. EST.
The Falcons will face the Quinnipiac Bobcats, who defeated Merrimack, 4-3 in overtime, earlier.
The game is officially scored as a tie and this was a conference game with each team getting one point in the league standings. Air Force is now 14-2-1 overall and 11-1-1 in the league. UConn is 4-11-1 overall and 3-5-1 in the Atlantic Hockey Association.
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Air Force Institute of Technology officials are offering 10 noncommissioned officers the opportunity to pursue an advanced science, engineering or management degree at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Ten NCOs from around the Air Force will be selected in February to attend the Enlisted-to-AFIT program. The program is designed to provide commanders with a diverse and renewable source of highly proficient and educated career NCOs.
Nominations are due to the Air Force Personnel Center here by Jan. 15 and can be sent to
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Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Dec. 29, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
In Afghanistan, an Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II dropped guided bomb unit-38s onto anti-coalition high value targets in the vicinity of Nangalam. The mission was confirmed a success by an on-scene joint terminal attack controller.
In the vicinity of Shurakian and Kajaki Dam, an Air Force B-1B Lancer and Navy F/A-18C Hornets dropped a GBU-12 and GBU-38s onto anti-Afghan forces who were firing rocket-propelled grenades at coalition forces conducting operations in the area. The JTACs declared the missions successful.
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Although they make up one of the Air Force's smallest career fields, their mission leaves a huge impact on the battlefield and can mean life or death for troops on the ground.
Tactical air control party Airmen serve as liaisons between ground commanders and pilots in the sky to eliminate the enemy's threat to ground forces. They're responsible for the planning, communicating and coordinating the ground commander's need for CAS, or close-air support.
"While infantry is the ground commander's piece of the world, he has to trust us on the information we give him and the air capability we can provide," said Tech. Sgt. Harvey Wagenmaker, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment air liaison officer. "How much trust he has in us is reflected on how often he uses us."
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