Airmen of the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing here surpassed the 600,000 flight hour mark in the MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft system Sept. 4 here.
The Predator fleet passed 250,000 hours in June 2007, after 12 years of flying, and it only took a year and eight months for the aircraft to fly an additional 250,000 hours to reach 500,000 flying hours in February 2009.
Due to the continuous demand for the aircraft by combatant commanders, the Predator reached 600,000 flying hours seven months later.
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Coalition airpower integrated with ground forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Sept. 29, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
In Afghanistan, coalition aircraft responded to a request for assistance in the Surkhabad area. A show of force was requested and successfully performed.
Asadabad saw Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles providing overwatch for a friendly forces' foot patrol. The patrol observed an enemy position and requested air support. Target coordinates were passed and precision-guided munitions deployed on the target destroying the enemy position.
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Defense Department employees paid under the National Security Personnel System will receive the same base salary increases this year as their General Schedule counterparts, a Defense Department official said Sept. 29.
The move comes as senior Defense Department, Office of Personnel Management and White House officials work to determine the future of the troubled pay-for-performance system.
Most civilians under the NSPS last year actually received about the same pay increases as they would have under the general schedule, said Brad Bunn, the Defense Department's executive officer for NSPS. But a report this summer by Defense Business Board officials found the system's "pay pool" process complicated and confusing for most employees.
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The Air Force men's and women's softball teams earned gold medals at the Armed Forces Slow-Pitch Softball Championships Sept. 25 at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.
The Air Force women's team went 6-3 during the tournament and won their third armed forces title in three years. During the men's tourney, the Air Force squad went 7-2 and won their tournament outright after a decisive 26-12 win over Army. The women's finished the tourney with the same records as their Army and Navy counterparts, but Air Force took first place after officials calculated head-to-head wins and run differentials.
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The U.S. Air Force Aerial Demonstration Team, the Thunderbirds, took to the Australian sky Sept. 26 showcasing the power and precision that embodies Air Force Airmen worldwide.
Flying wingtip-to-wingtip formations and in solo maneuvers, the Thunderbirds put on a show for a crowd of more than 70,000 spectators lining the beach in Townsville and filling the balconies of hotels for miles around.
"When I was 12, I actually had a Thunderbirds replica model," said Jason Bitossi, a local man who enjoyed the Thunderbirds' recent visit "down under" with his son, Kyle.
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In life, it can take as many as eight steps to solve a problem. However, according to the Air Force's Smart Operations for the 21st Century program, eight steps to solve any problem is all it should take.
"The eight-step process is a more disciplined approach to problem solving," said Col. Mark McLean, chief of Air Mobility Command's AFSO 21 initiatives.
This eight-step process is a new discipline being taught throughout the command in hopes of improving the ability to support the warfighter in AMC's core competencies which include airlift, aerial refueling and aeromedical evacuation.
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The recent arrest of several individuals involved in an alleged terrorist plot is a pressing reason to fulfill domestic mission requirements, which address manmade emergencies and natural disasters, the National Guard's senior officer said Sept. 28 here.
"We need to get on with this," said Gen. Craig R. McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau.
"We need to do it as soon as possible," he said. "No more pick-up game and no more cutting corners."
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More than 30 top scientists and research teams were honored at the Air Force Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Awards banquet on Sept. 23 here.
The ceremony was held at the U.S. Air Force Academy in conjunction with the first Air Force Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Conference.
Lt. Gen. Mark D. Shackelford welcomed the many honorees, senior Air Force and Academy leaders and national STEM professionals in attendance. Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Carrol H. "Howie" Chandler delivered the keynote address and helped present the awards. The following is a list of winners in their respective categories.
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Addressing the Air Force Command and Control, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Symposium here Sept. 29, the leader of the Air Force Space community said space and cyberspace are integrally connected.
"Think of space and cyber as circles on a Venn diagram," said Gen. C. Robert Kehler, commander of Air Force Space Command. Those circles, he noted, clearly overlap.
"In that overlap is access and persistence," he said.
The general said he doesn't think anyone fully understands the connection between space and cyber just yet, but he's sure it's a powerful one.
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The Air Force Command and Control, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Symposium kicked off here Sept. 28 with a presentation by former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper.
He told the mixed industry and government gathering that, in an era of flat or declining defense budgets, new platforms will be hard to come by.
"What that means is that the next generation of advancements and transformation in combat power will be more about how we integrate the stuff we've already got," he said.
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