More than 200 Airmen are here supporting the 100th National Scout Jamboree July 26 through Aug. 4. Approximately 46,000 Boy Scouts are attending the jamboree from throughout the country.
The Airmen, including several U.S. Air Force Academy cadets, ran merit badge booths, and provided behind-the-scenes support like running a field hospital and supplying weather support, air traffic control for flyovers and safety oversight.
"We've got a huge safety mission here," said Col. Lee-Ann Perkins, the 334th Air Expeditionary Group commander. "There's a lot of stuff out there that could potentially hurt someone so we've got a lot of folks here making sure this is a safe environment for the Scouts. It's a big job with the number of Scouts who are attending the Jamboree."
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Whiteman Air Force Base's 509th Medical Group earned the highest rating in seven years for the entire Air Force during a recent Health Services Inspection July 12-16.
"We received an outstanding in the three areas and an outstanding overall which means we're doing an exceptional job in making sure we're keeping our finger on the pulse of the unit and taking care of our patients while at the same time taking care of the readiness mission and making sure the B-2 (Spirit bombers) are ready to operate," said Col. Kathleen Dunn-Cane, 509th MDG commander. "An outstanding alone would be pretty impressive but to get the highest score in the last seven years is really remarkable."
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Memorial Day is a time for remembrance; it'll certainly be a day one Airman here will never forget:
Senior Airman Emerald Ralston spent the day on an aeromedical evacuation flight from Germany to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. One of the patients was a combat medic who was injured in Iraq: Army Sgt. Ian Ralston, her brother.
Airman Ralston, a public affairs specialist, had been deployed to Afghanistan for about two weeks. Her job was to document and record the mission of joint and coalition efforts supporting the Afghan government. On a fateful day in late May, she was preparing for a mission, a convoy that would take her to her final deployment location, when she called home to check in.
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Joint terminal attack controllers test their skills in directing combat aircraft to enemy targets and providing close air support to units here July 23 during Exercise Allied Strike 10. Before they worked with aircraft, they tackled the obstacle course.
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Department of Veterans Affairs officials have approved $2.8 million to fund three new research projects that focus on testing or developing new treatments for illnesses affecting veterans who served in the Gulf War from 1990 to 1991.
The research incorporates recommendations of the department's Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Task Force.
"Reaching out to Gulf War Veterans is essential to the transformation of VA," said John R. Gingrich, the Veterans Affairs chief of staff. "This research is a great opportunity to do something that will improve the care and services these veterans have earned."
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Members of the 22nd Fighter Squadron here will participate in Allied Strike 2010 when they launch two F-16 Fighting Falcons twice a day Aug. 2 through 5.
The 16 pilots flying the sorties are part of approximately 200 servicemembers and 24 aircraft from the U.S. and five European nations participating in AS10. The exercise is Europe's annual close-air support exercise held to conduct robust, realistic CAS training and assists in building partnership capacity among allied NATO nations and joint services to refine the latest operational CAS tactics.
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Despite the tragic loss of four Airmen in a C-17 Globemaster III accident that occurred here July 28, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson's air show and open house will proceed this weekend.
"We do this to both honor the loss of our four Airmen and also to pay respect to all servicemembers who make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms," said Col. John McMullen, the 3rd Wing commander. "We hope our friends and neighbors throughout Alaska will come out and join us."
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This week's photo highlights feature Airmen around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.
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Researchers in the Space Based Infrared Systems program office at Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center here successfully completed a major system-level test of the interfaces between all SBIRS ground facilities and the GEO-1 satellite, June 30.
"Successful completion of the 5001.2 system-level test demonstrates the program's positive progress towards delivery and launch," said Capt. James Palmer, the SBIRS Systems Test program manager.
The test successfully demonstrated the command and control capability of the GEO-1 satellite using the Tri-band Antenna/Modem Suite modem. The test also demonstrated the ability to perform the process of transmitting and receiving data between the ground system and the satellite using rapidly changing frequencies known as frequency hopping.
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Senior Indian air force leaders visited the 705th Combat Training Squadron here July 26 and 27.
The IAF leaders were here to learn how the U.S. Air Force operators use simulators for different aircraft and how to do distributed mission operations, according to Maj. Mark Hadley, 705th CTS assistant director of operations. DMO is the networking of different simulators together across not only the same building, but across the world.
IAF officers toured the 705th CTS facilities to learn more about the employment of simulators for basic pilot training as well as for combined coalition operations. They are currently looking to upgrade their own simulators and this visit was part of a fact finding mission as they determine a way forward for the future.
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