Young military children who thought the first day of school was imminent may not have to worry about reading, writing and arithmetic until next year because of a change in entrance age requirements.
The new rule, which goes into effect this fall with the start of the 2009-2010 school year, requires that students reach the pre-established age by Sept. 1. Students must be 4 years old to enroll in prekindergarten or the Defense Department's Sure Start program. Kindergartners must be 5, and first graders, 6. Under current rules, children have to reach the above ages by Oct. 31.
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AF General
Good leadership is an attribute we should all aspire to attain, but unfortunately not everyone makes the effort to achieve it.
Good leadership is a skill that is very attractive to employers and employees alike.
Who wants to work for or hire for a bad leader? I think the answer is no one. So, how do we become good leaders?
Leadership is not a secret that only highly educated or elite people can acquire; it is there for you to learn, grow and nurture. It's a lifelong process that we continue to expand on and grow. One of my earliest experiences with leadership and continuing to develop it came more than 20 years ago while I was stationed at Royal Air Force Bentwaters, England.
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AF General
Despite dangers U.S. convoys face in delivering supplies to coalition forces in Afghanistan by way of Pakistan, military operations there aren't susceptible to those threats, the Defense Department's top uniformed logistician said Feb. 26.
Gen. Duncan J. McNabb, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, ensured members of the House Armed Services Joint Air and Land Forces and the Air Power and Expeditionary Forces subcommittees that troops get what they need, because his command doesn't rely on one option or system of resupply.
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AF General
An Airman here is honoring his brother's service two years after he paid the ultimate sacrifice when an improvised explosive device detonated and struck his vehicle while on patrol in Baghdad, Iraq.
Senior Airman Jason Nathan was killed June 23, 2007, and today Staff Sgt. Joe Nathan Jr. is deployed to Joint Base Balad serving as a weapons loader and paying tribute to his brother's military commitment.
"I volunteered to come over here," said Sergeant Nathan, a member of the 332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Tiger Aircraft Maintenance Unit deployed from Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla. "I'm here to help with the protection of my country, doing my duty and what is being asked of me to serve my country. I wanted to deploy so I could have the experience. Also, I wanted to do my part. I think my brother would be proud of me."
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AF General
A little known unit here, working in a bank of trailers hidden from the public, performs a unique mission for the Air Force: hacking into the vast Air Force computer networks to help protect those networks from an enemy's attack.
The Air Force hackers from the 57th Information Aggressor Squadron here and the Kansas Air National Guard's 177th Information Aggressor Squadron, known collectively as the Aggressors, help prepare Air Force, joint and allied personnel by replicating current and emerging threats as a professional information operations opposition force.
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AF General
Airmen from the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron's Avionics Flight here apply their technical expertise to sustain mission readiness for F-15E Strike Eagles flying out of Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
The flight maintains and repairs three dozen various avionics systems for the Strike Eagle, which flies a variety of missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
"We are the only F-15 centralized repair facility in theater," said Tech. Sgt. Henry Diogo, flight day shift production supervisor deployed here from the 48th Component Maintenance Squadron out of Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom.
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AF General
Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean last week, sailors aboard the Trident strategic missile submarine USS Maryland prepared to start a series of underwater practice maneuvers known as "angles and dangles."
The Maryland's captain, Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey M. Grimes, and his chief of the boat and senior enlisted leader, Master Chief Petty Officer Michael C. McLauchlan, intently observed the actions of the officers and enlisted crew in the control room as the vessel silently tilted downward.
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AF General
A group of flightsuit-clad Airmen bustled about the tail of a parked C-130 Hercules on the flightline like they owned the place. If it weren't for the medical badges embroidered on their jackets, one could've easily mistaken them for a gaggle of crew chiefs.
It didn't take long before the medical team removed any question about who they were and why they were there. In just under 20 minutes, the group of eight aerospace medical technicians and flight nurses had to on-load 1,500 pounds of medical equipment onto an aircraft and render it fully operational before the plane departed for takeoff. This was all part of a weekly training mission to ensure these medics can care for warfighters supporting expeditionary operations.
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AF General
Defense Department officials will allow the news media to photograph the flag-draped caskets of fallen U.S. troops returning home if their families agree, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Feb. 26.
The announcement authorizes family members to choose whether to allow media access to the homecomings at Dover Air Force Base, Del., reversing a long-standing policy barring the press.
"I have decided that the decision regarding media coverage of the dignified transfer process at Dover should be made by those most directly affected -- on an individual basis -- by the families of the fallen," he said.
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AF General
Although Maj. Gen. Frederick Roggero, Air Force Safety Center commander, has several priorities concerning safety in the Air Force, it is no surprise that ground safety has now quickly made it to the forefront of his priority list.
During the last 10 years, on average, the Air Force has lost about eight Airmen each year to mishaps that occur while on duty.
"That's a tragic loss but what's worse is when we look at that same 10-year time period, we lose almost 60 Airmen each year to off-duty ground mishaps," General Roggero said. "If you're doing the math, that's almost 600 Airmen lost over the last 10 years."
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AF General
