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ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska, March 16, 2009 – Air Force Airman Derrick Bell has found that a lot of determination and a little help from his friends helped him meet his goal of returning to military service when it seemed that both his age and weight might have prevented it. Air Force Airman Derrick Bell, left, after he lost 115 pounds to join the Air Force Reserve’s 477th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. On right, before he spent 11 months to reaching his goal. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The 38-year-old...

Ohio Humvees Help In Kentucky Storm ReliefSun, Feb 01, 2009. 03:31 PM By: Jennifer Steck Louisville, KY. (AP) -- Airmen from the National Guard are headed to Ohio to pick up Humvees to aid in relief efforts from the ice storm that has crippled parts of Kentucky, especially in the western region. Sgt. Phil Speck of the Kentucky Air National Guard says the Airmen will board a C-130 in Louisville on Sunday afternoon to fly to Columbus, Ohio. They'll drive back to Kentucky in the Ohio National Guard's humvees and spread out to areas of western Kentucky where they are...

OINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 301st Fighter Squadron [301st Fighter Wing - J.J.] out of Fort Worth Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Texas, pulls into a hangar here for alert-status preparation. A frenzy of crew chiefs work together to get the aircraft turned around quickly for the next go. Among the crew chiefs, a master sergeant and a senior airman with the same last name on their nametapes work side-by-side preparing the jet for the fight. Air Force Reservists Master Sgt. Darrel Brownlee and his son, Senior Airman Kevin Brownlee, 332nd Aircraft Maintenance...

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Three World War II veterans, all members of the Tuskegee Airmen, will be guest of a Hattiesburg doctor at Tuesday's inauguration of Barack Obama. Dr. Robert Higginbotham, Reginald Ballard and Robert J. Searcy, all of Los Angeles, didn't have transportation to the historic event. Stanley Saulny, M.D. Dr. Lynn McMahan

1/13/2009 - DAYTON, Ohio (AFNS) -- A new exhibit at the National Museum of the United States Air Force now gives visitors a chance to see not only the service's past, but also its present and future. Called "Warrior Airmen," the new exhibit highlights how today's Airmen are contributing to the war on terrorism, both in the air and on the ground. The exhibit includes more than 400 artifacts, three dioramas with fully dressed and equipped mannequins, an audiovisual presentation on a 15-foot wide screen, and compelling firsthand accounts "The Air Force has always been an adaptive service," said Dick...

1/6/2009 - CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq (AFNS) -- An Airman and Soldiers here conducted a humanitarian operation Dec. 16 to deliver aid to citizens of Bedouin camps near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah. Tech. Sgt. Joseph Slysz, the NCO in charge of COB Adder's criminal intelligence department from the 732nd Provost Marshal Office Det. 5, recently became aware of a personal security detachment's work with the nomadic Bedouin people and said he wanted to get involved. The personal security detachment staff has visited the camps three to four times per week during the last six months. "I noticed...

1/2/2009 - MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyz Republic (AFPN) -- "I knew I was unhealthy and had to make some changes, especially when I thought about my five-year-old looking up at me," said Senior Airman Jarvis Johnson. "Without changes, I wouldn't be around to see him and my daughters grow up." When you ask someone what they can accomplish in six months -- just 24 short weeks -- they may say something like, "I plan to finish a couple college courses," or maybe, "I'm going to read a couple books," or "Tour a little." Many may say they are going to...

12/31/2008 - PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- A group of Air Force Reserve Command Airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing here departed on the last leg of a 14-month deployment to Afghanistan Dec. 27 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Approximately 40 helicopter aircrew members, maintenance specialists and logistics and support personnel gathered with their friends and families at the wing's helicopter squadron facility for tearful farewells. The reservists will be replacing a similar-sized group of rescue-wing Airmen already in Afghanistan supporting the U.S. Army medical evacuation operation. Rescue Airmen from the 920th, and from the wing's sister...

Staff Sgt. Michael Murphy plays "Papa Noel" and delivers treats and toys to Iraqi children in Baghdad, Dec. 19, 2008. Photo by Master Sgt. Brian Davidson, 447th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — Iraqi children living at the Victory Base Complex in Baghdad recently received a surprise visit from “Papa Noel” thanks to U.S. Airmen from Sather Air Base. The event was sponsored by the 447th Air Expeditionary Group Rising Six Council, a group of men and women in the ranks of Airmen through technical sergeant.A fire truck arrived bringing Papa Noel, played by Staff Sgt. Michael Murphy complete...

12/10/2008 - TAJI, Iraq (AFNS) -- A handful of American Airmen are helping the Iraqi army turn a run down military base into an operational military hub. Taji Military Base is home to the country's only national-level maintenance and supply depots, and American Soldiers and Airmen advisers are assisting the Iraqis with everything from water and fuel distribution to management of dining facilities. The base is one of the largest military bases in Iraq sits north of Baghdad in the rural community of Taji. The base was once a military center of excellence in the Saddam Hussein regime. Today, Taji's...

11/24/2008 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- Iraqi airmen conducted an aeromedical evacuation mission from here Nov. 21, ferrying an Iraqi servicemember injured in combat from the Air Force Theater Hospital here to Forward Operating Base Gabe in Baqubah, Iraq. "Aeromedical evacuation is crucial to the viability of the Iraqi air force," said Col. (Dr.) Paul Young, the Coalition Air Forces Training Team surgeon general and director of Iraqi Air Forces Aeromedical Services Training. "We're here in an advisory role to help the Iraqi air force create an aeromedical evacuation program that they're comfortable with and one that works...

11/14/2008 - SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (AFNS) -- Today, airlift operations are an integral part of Iraq's military and economic future, and the men and women of the 447th Air Expeditionary Group, working along-side the Iraqi military and civilian contractors, are developing Baghdad International Airport into a modern aerial hub that will be a driving force in building a free and independent country. As part of that development, projects aimed at cleaning up the "debris of war" are becoming increasingly important. One of those people working at the airport is Airman 1st Class Thomas Burns. Airman Burns is serving on...

11/13/2008 - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- Pennsylvania National Guard Soldiers now assigned to the Kapisa and Parwan Provincial Reconstruction Team meet Airmen responsible for close-air-support missions and toured the Bagram Airfield flightline to see the aircraft up close Oct. 28. Pennsylvania National Guard Bravo Company 3rd/103 Mechanized Infantry Soldiers deployed in Afghanistan fought their way out of more than 55 firefights in 4.5 months, and in those life and death situations A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and F-15E Strike Eagles pilots were high overhead to respond to their calls for close-air support. "It is awesome that they came by. We don't...

Airman Missing In Action From WW ll is Identified The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is Staff Sgt. Martin F. Troy, U.S. Army Air Forces, of Norwalk, Conn. He will be buried on Nov. 20 in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. Representatives from the Army's Mortuary Office met with Troy's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military...

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Police say an Air Force sergeant shot an intruder at his apartment, then gave the man first aid while waiting for police officers to arrive. Fayetteville police said Staff Sgt. Jared Johnson came home Thursday afternoon to find two men inside, The Fayetteville Observer reported Friday. Police Sgt. Samuel Oates said Johnson shot one man in the leg. Neighbor Jamal Triplett said he heard the gunshot and saw Johnson outside tending to the man’s wound while calling 911.

TAJI AIR BASE — The vaguely comforting scent of oil and mechanical parts drifted through the air as an Mi-17 Hip helicopter sat in the shade of a hangar here, Sept. 11. Its rear door lay open, and panels along its tail boom were lifted away and stowed as Iraqi Airmen crawled through the vehicle's innards. Two Airmen straddled the tail, about a meter from the tail blade, while a third had shimmied inside the tail boom, inspecting the inside. On a nearby table sat an Mi-17 technical order -- a step-by-step repair and maintenance manual that is just one...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 18, 2008 – Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan servicemembers celebrated the 61st anniversary of the U.S. Air Force during a ceremony at Camp Eggers here today. (Left to right) Air Force Lt. Col. Mathies Santos, a reserve airman deployed from Quonset Point, R.I., Air Force Maj. Gen. Jay H. Lindell, Combined Air Power Transition Force commander, and Air Force Airman 1st Class Jordan Ramsey, a security forces airman deployed from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., cut the traditional birthday cake during a ceremony for the U.S. Air Force’s 61st anniversary at Camp Eggers, Afghanistan, Sept. 18,...

HAWR RAJAB — Six months ago, the town of Hawr Rajab was a mere shell of its former self. Local shops were closed, their windows boarded up. The streets were abandoned. Homes were badly damaged. The town was once an al Qaida in Iraq (AQI) stronghold where violence and intimidation forced residents to flee their homes. But today Hawr Rajab is a different place. Air Force Capt. Michael Askegren, Patrol Base Stone site officer in charge, is deployed from Hurlburt Field, Fla. He had an eye-witness view of the city’s gradual transformation. “It’s a recovering city. You can see the...

8/28/2008 - CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. (AFPN) -- More than 130 Charleston Air Force Base Airmen deployed from here Aug. 27 to a forward-deployed location in Southwest Asia to support operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Members of the 15th Airlift Squadron, 437th Operations Support Squadron and 437th Maintenance Group will fly and manage missions in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. The squadron will assume control of the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron from the 14th Airlift Squadron based out of Charleston AFB, who will return home. Lt. Col. John Lamontagne, the 15th AS commander, said there was no...

YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN (WTOL) - As we celebrate Independence Day, four veterans of World War II want to thank those who kept them safe in enemy territory years ago. They were recently reunited at the Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti thanks to the Experimental Aircraft Association. News 11's Jennifer Boresz was there and has their story. These men are called the 'Forgotten 500' in a published book. As more and more people hear the story, however, they're hoping the daring rescue mission and the men behind it will never be forgotten again. "When they said pull that rip cord, I started...