Leaders hold key to AFSO 21 success

A cornerstone of the secretary of the Air Force’s tenure is Air Force Smart Operations 21. He recently said that Air Force leaders hold the key to success for the initiative. "I have told our leaders that we cannot allow AFSO 21 to escape the wing leadership, whether that is the wing commander,

Over the Pacific

From playing fields to battlefields

Sports and the military share a common bond journalistically. It’s not unusual to read about a classic battle, how a player had plenty of fight left, how a team showed a warrior mentality or how they were outnumbered.Sports have liberally borrowed clichés from the GI world for years. Now it’s the

AFSO 21 initiative leads to safer flying at Lakenheath

As Air Force Smart Operations 21 went Air Force-wide this year, the 48th Fighter Wing here jump-started its program with weekly AFSO 21 initiatives briefed at wing stand-up. “I want every Airman, civilian and (Ministry of Defense) employee on this base to understand, first of all, what AFSO 21 is,

Wild Blue Country headed yonder

Ten of the 74 academy bandsmen are traveling to the Middle East in June to provide entertainment support.Wild Blue Country, the country music group, will spend much of June and July traveling to forward operating bases that have never had live entertainment. They are the first musicians from the

CENTAF releases airpower summary

U.S. Central Command Air Forces officials released the airpower summary for May 30.In Afghanistan, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs responded to coalition troops taking small-arms fire from Taliban extremists near Deh Rawood. The A-10s conducted several strafing passes, ending the engagement. In

Silent vigil

U.S. military responds to Indonesia earthquake

The U.S. military is sending about 100 troops to Indonesia to contribute to international humanitarian relief efforts in the wake of a devastating 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck May 27 near the ancient city of Yogyakarta. The deployment is part of a larger U.S. government response to a request

Loadmasters help reposition Australian Defense Forces

The U.S. Pacific Command is using its strategic airlift capability to help the Australian Defense Force. At the request of the Australian government, two C-17 Globemaster IIIs from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, are moving equipment and troops from the Solomon Islands back to Australia. This will

Airmen train Iraqi soldiers on base defense

When most Airmen think of base defense, they may think about security forces checking ID cards at the gate. However, a U.S. team in Iraq is showing that base defense means much more. A group of five security forces Airmen and their Army commander have combined to form a base defense unit, or