U.S. AIR FORCE NEWS

  • NORAD fighters escort troubled aircraft

    Two F-16 Fighting Falcons intercepted a civilian aircraft Sept. 30 over Muncie, Ind., at the North American Aerospace Defense Command's direction and stayed with the aircraft and its unconscious pilot until it crashed, NORAD officials reported. NORAD scrambled the Air National Guard F-16s at about

  • New protective vehicles head to Afghanistan

    The first parcel of an influx of vehicles designed to protect troops from deadly roadside bombs is expected to arrive overnight in Afghanistan, said a Defense Department spokesman Sept. 30 here. The expected delivery comes soon after department procurement officials awarded an order for more than

  • Web site offers help for military families in transition

    Sixteen-year-old Robyn Lutzkanin loves the military. As a military child, she said she has moved often and enjoys seeing new places and meeting new people. "It really opens your eyes up to the world," Robyn added. But she admited to dreading the transition of moving to that new place and having to

  • Joint force employs humanitarian effort in American Samoa

    Two C-17 Globemaster IIIs departed here Sept. 30 with approximately 100 military personnel to provide humanitarian assistance to the island of American Samoa. The island nation was struck Sept. 29 by an 8.3 magnitude earthquake generating 15-foot waves and destroying whole villages. At least 111

  • Vandenberg officials battle fire on base

    Emergency responders as of 9 p.m. PDT were working to contain a fire that started near Vandenberg Middle School here at approximately 11:45 a.m. Sept. 30.  As of that time, 20 fire engines, 10 aircraft and six bulldozers were being used to fight the fire, that has burned approximately 350 acres on

  • Charleston Airmen supply CENTCOM first M-ATV shipment

    Charleston Airmen began the distribution Sept. 30 of a new version of the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle from here. The MRAP All-Terrain Vehicles, or M-ATVs, were the first to be delivered to the Afghanistan theater for operational use, and many more are to come said, David Hansen, deputy

  • Officials announce homeowners assistance program details

    Defense Department officials announced Sept. 30, the details for distributing $555 million available under the Homeowners Assistance Program. The program is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in February, and it's designed to partially reimburse those whose service to the

  • Scott AFB wing changes name, adds new mission

    The 375th Airlift Wing here officially became the 375th Air Mobility Wing Sept. 30 as a result of the Air Force's most recent Total Force Integration effort.The TFI effort called for the creation of an associate unit consisting of active duty KC-135 pilots, boom operators and maintainers who will

  • Iraqi air force assumes control of their C-130 operations

    Iraqi air force officials officially began fully independent C-130 air operations Sept. 29, marking the end of the U.S. C-130 air advisory mission here. A ceremony deactivating the U.S. Air Force's 321st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron and marking assumption of C-130 operations, maintenance and

  • Critical Care Air Transport Team mission to save lives

    A critical care air transport team, or CCATT, with the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, received an urgent call the morning of June 24. A Marine had been severely injured by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Afghanistan and needed immediate evacuation