The U.S. Air Force accepted a land gift offer from the State of New Mexico during a ceremony in Santa Fe Jan. 18, hosted by the New Mexico State Land Office.
The 11,000-acre land gift, valued at approximately $3.2 million, will support the Joint Air Force Special Operations mission at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.
On June 23, 2008, the State of New Mexico and the Air Force entered into a Memorandum of Understanding that initiated the framework for gifting the land. The Air Force Real Property Agency, the 27th Special Operations Wing, the Air Force Special Operations Command, and Headquarters Air Force have worked with the State of New Mexico to receive this gift.
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The Air Force will file a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed establishment of an F-35 Lightning II pilot training center within the continental United States Jan 20.
The current Air Force and Air National Guard installations under consideration are: Boise Air Terminal Airport Air Guard Station, Idaho; Holloman AFB, N.M.; Luke AFB, Ariz.; and Tucson International Airport Air Guard Station, Ariz.
"Candidate installations were identified through a deliberate process that began with a clear definition of training requirements and progressed through a screening process," said Kathleen Ferguson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations. "For planning purposes, the Air Force is analyzing the impacts of basing increments of 24 aircraft, from 24 to 144, depending on capacity at the candidate installations."
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The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center received the 2011 Robert T. Mason Depot Maintenance Excellence Award at a presentation ceremony here Jan. 11.
John B. Johns, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for maintenance at the Department of Defense, presented the award, which was given for Tinker Air Force Base's outstanding efforts on the KC-135 Stratotanker Programmed Depot Maintenance line in fiscal 2010.
More than 400 personnel from the 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group gathered for the event. Ross Marshall, the OC-ALC executive director, officially accepted the award.
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The 11th Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson , Alaska, mobilized rescue crews to search for and rescue two hunters stranded near Bird Creek, Alaska, Dec. 31, 2011.
The 210th, 211th and 212th Rescue Squadrons traveled through Eielson AFB to rescue a father and son when, during a hunting trip, their snowmobile left them stranded 20 miles from their truck.
The two men decided to make the long trek back to the truck only to find their vehicle would not start. They made shelter in a snowmobile trailer, prepared to spend more than 36 hours in temperatures as low 35 degrees below zero before their rescue arrived.
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Thousands of Airmen from across Air Education and Training Command attended the 2012 AETC Symposium here Jan. 12-13 to learn about world-leading capabilities and technologies for educating, training, recruiting and innovating.
More than 120 vendor booths, 70 seminars and panels, and a number of keynote speakers set the stage for a unique learning environment.
"It is really a great opportunity for all of our Airmen who are able to participate to learn more about the entire AETC enterprise," said Gen. Edward A. Rice Jr., the AETC commander. "I know everyone is an expert in their particular piece, but I want them to learn about what others do."
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Over the last few years, physical fitness has become a focal point for Airmen readiness across the U.S. Air Force. Here, at the Afghan air force compound, nine female AAF members and one American advisor are also making it a point of emphasis in their military training and daily lives.
What began as an idea, quickly turned into reality after the group of female AAF members noticed a lack of programs geared towards women at the base fitness center. After making several inquiries, the group and U.S. Air Force Capt. Vanessa Vanden Bout, a Force Support Squadron advisor belonging to the 439th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, began collaborating on how to start a regimented fitness program with an emphasis on changing their lives both physically and mentally.
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During a Jan. 16 ceremony here, the 48th Security Forces Squadron NCO in charge of vehicles was awared the highest tribute the Federal Republic of Germany can pay to individuals for services to the German nation.
German Interior Minister Dr. Hans-Peter Friedrich presented the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany to Staff Sgt. Trevor Brewer in honor of his actions during the March 2, 2011, shootings at Frankfurt International Airport in which two Airmen were killed and two others wounded.
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Senior defense officials from six countries announced a multilateral partnership in wideband global satellite communication, which is valued at more than $10 billion, Jan. 17 here.
The officials from Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the U.S. held an initial WGS partnership steering committee meeting prior to the announcement.
"This new WGS partnership provides an example of how the U.S. plans to continue exploring opportunities to strengthen our existing cooperative relationship and to build new partnerships," said Heidi Grant, the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs. "These activities will bolster our mutual trust, help to achieve further interoperability for our warfighters, and will increase the capabilities and capacity of all partners."
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Select passenger terminals across Air Mobility Command are establishing pages on Facebook to provide passengers more predictability when it comes to space-available and space-required passengers.
The overall goal of the AMC Space-A Facebook program is to use social media to expand knowledge about Space-A travel, while providing a more predictable travel experience and making AMC the preferred travel choice for eligible personnel.
"As a Department of Defense asset, Air Mobility Command is unique in the fact that we are responsible for transporting eligible DOD card holders and their families around the world," said Col. William Zeck, Air Mobility Command's air transportation chief. "What we want to do is provide our travelers with enough information to plan their trip and enjoy their Space-A traveling experience."
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Going 100 mph down the flightline might be normal for an F-16 Fighting Falcon, but for the drivers of the U-2 chase car it's also a daily event on the ground.
As an instrument of safety, pilots use the U-2 chase car to monitor take offs and landings of the aircraft in an attempt to warn the pilot of any possible complications or dangers.
"The car is really important as a margin of safety," said Maj. Alex Scott, a 5th Reconnaissance Squadron U-2 pilot. "Actually, in the past they tried using other aircraft as chasers, but they couldn't fly slowly enough, so as a result they started using high-performance muscle cars."
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