Archive

Archive for January, 2012

Airmen assist victims of avalanche, downed aircraft in Afghanistan

January 26th, 2012 Comments off
A team of U.S. Air Force and Afghan air force aircrew and support personnel snapped into action Jan. 24 to provide life-saving support to 31 Afghan victims of an avalanche.

Additionally, the team supported an Afghan aircrew that had downed their aircraft in an effort to rescue the victims of the avalanche in Northern Afghanistan near the city of Fayzabad.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Chas Tacheny, the 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group deputy commander, was in charge of putting a team together for the mission. He said his first priority was to ensure that this mission didn't add additional victims to the situation.
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Combat rescue helicopter acquisition process underway

January 26th, 2012 Comments off
More than 30 potential civilian contract companies were in attendance during Industrial Days sponsored by the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Jan. 9-11.

The event, hosted by the Air Force Combat Rescue Helicopter Program, gave potential contractors a glimpse into the service's plans to replace the aging HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters.

"The CRH's primary mission is to recover isolated personnel from hostile or denied territory, but it will also conduct humanitarian, civil search and rescue, disaster relief, and non-combatant evacuation missions," Maj. Ian Kemp, Chief, Combat Rescue Helicopter Requirements Branch, said.
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National Museum USAF displays formerly classified reconnaissance satellites

January 26th, 2012 Comments off
Military, government and industry officials gathered Jan. 26 to officially place three formerly classified reconnaissance satellites on public display in the Cold War Gallery at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force here.

The three satellites -- Gambit 1 KH-7, Gambit 3 KH-8 and Hexagon KH-9 -- were among the most important U.S. photo reconnaissance systems used from the 1960s to the 1980s, and played a critical role in winning the Cold War and maintaining U.S. national security, officials said.
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Developing Airmen continues to be a priority

January 26th, 2012 Comments off
An Air Force leader's most important job is to care for and develop Airmen through a combination of education and experience, but every Airman must also actively seek opportunities to learn and grow. This agreement between leaders and leaders-to-be is the foundation of the most powerful air force in the world.

Rapidly changing technologies and increasingly complex global conditions have changed the way we approach national security, and tomorrow's leaders must be technologically proficient, highly educated, strategic thinkers able to smoothly adapt to their changing world. Education is critical to developing that type of leader.
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AF officials announce Lance P. Sijan Award winners

January 26th, 2012 Comments off
Air Force officials recently announced the winners of the 2011 Lance P. Sijan Air Force Leadership Award.

The Lance P. Sijan Air Force Leadership Award recognizes Airmen who have demonstrated outstanding leadership abilities.

The senior officer category winner is Maj. Laura Dejong, who is assigned to Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. As an Air Force Office of Special Investigations commander deployed to Iraq in 2010, DeJong led a joint 21-person team overseeing 205 missions conducting offensive counterintelligence in northern Iraq. While at Patrick AFB, her leadership ensured unparalleled investigative effort to 13 Operation Wingspan investigations into counterfeit KC-135 Stratotanker/E-3 Sentry aircraft parts, resulting in six guilty pleas. Her accomplishments led to her
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National database helps protect military from financial fraud

January 26th, 2012 Comments off
Their presence outside military bases has become all too familiar: businesses peddling cars, electronics and other items with undisclosed conditions or sky-high interest rates that quickly become a financial nightmare for service members.

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced as one of its first orders of business that it is partnering with the Federal Trade Commission to put a stop to such scams.

The bureau, which was created to consolidate financial regulators and protect consumers, has created a national database to share between state and federal law enforcement with information about companies that target military members for consumer and financial fraud.
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Air Force announces selections to colonel, major

January 25th, 2012 Comments off
The 2011B Colonel Line of Air Force and Nurses Corps Central Selection Boards selected 539 lieutenant colonels and 112 captains for promotion.

The entire list for each category can be found at the below locations.
The boards considered 4,100 lieutenant colonels and 180 captains for promotion. The results of the boards are as follows:
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Adaptive Fitness and Sports Camp puts wounded warriors ‘back in game of life’

January 25th, 2012 Comments off
When Master Sgt. Christopher Aguilera arrived to breakfast the first day of the Air Force's Joint Adaptive Fitness and Sports Camp held here, his heart dropped.

In the same room were Capt. Tony Simone and his wife Andrea, two people he hadn't seen since last year's one-year anniversary ceremony of a HH-60 Pave Hawk crash in Afghanistan. Simone was the pilot and Aguilera was the gunner and they were attempting to rescue wounded NATO allies. Both were left with wounds and injuries from which they're still recovering today. Both were the only two survivors in the crash that killed five other Airmen.
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Barksdale AFB mourns fallen EOD hero

January 25th, 2012 Comments off
Airmen and families here gathered to mourn the loss of a 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance technician Jan. 20.

Senior Airman Bryan Bell, 23, was killed in action Jan. 5 by an improvised explosive device while performing his duties for Delta Company, 466th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, in Shir Ghazi, Helmand province, Afghanistan.

During the memorial ceremony, Bell, a native of Erie, Pa., was described as a fun-loving, humorous, kind-hearted and courageous Airman who brightened up any room he walked in.
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AF names mission support squadron commanders

January 25th, 2012 Comments off
More than 580 officers from various Air Force career fields have been selected for mission support, training and recruiting, and deputy maintenance group command, Air Force Personnel Center officials announced.
 
Using squadron commander candidate lists released in November, wing hiring officials, major command functional managers and Air Force Personnel assignment teams matched candidates to projected command positions, said Jim Playford, the AFPC developmental and special duty assignments branch. Assignment teams will coordinate change of command and reporting dates with gaining and losing units to effect the announced command assignments.
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