Free Republic

The U.S. Air Force has a morale problem with its combat pilots. The issue is lack of action for the pilots. That, plus the increased use of unmanned aircraft, and the very real prospect that the age of the manned combat aircraft may be coming to an end. This is made worse with hundreds of fighter pilots being assigned to operating Predator and Reaper UAVs. This was not popular duty, even though the pilots still draw flight pay. It is tedious work, although the UAV operators often saw more combat action than they did when piloting F-16s or F-15s. The...

For the second time in less than a year, the U.S. Air Force has relieved the commander of a combat wing. This time it was the 5th Bomb Wing, a B-52 outfit. Previously, the commander of one of the three Minuteman ICBM wings was relieved. The three missile wings control 450 American Minuteman III ICBMs. In this case, two other senior officers were also relieved (one of them the guy in charge of the Wing Maintenance Squadron.) In both cases, the reason was "loss of confidence in his ability to command". That's milspeak for "too many little things have gone...

Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems was awarded a $46 million contract modification from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to continue development of an infrared sensor intended for a missile warning system that may succeed the over-budget and behind-schedule Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) now in development. The Air Force several years ago began planning for a so-called third-generation missile warning system even as it continued to fall behind on the development of SBIRS, a program dogged by technical troubles. Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Sunnyvale, Calif., is the prime contractor for the SBIRS program, which consists of dedicated missile...

The U.S. Air Force has hired Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems to study the possibility of integrating additional Missile Defense Agency (MDA) sensors into the U.S. Space Surveillance Network that tracks orbiting satellites, a Raytheon official said Oct. 28. The Tewksbury, Mass.-based company was awarded a $3 million contract from Air Force Space Command for a program called the Enterprise Sensing Prototype Architecture for Space Situational Awareness (ESP-SSA), Joe Chapa, Raytheon’s technical director for national theater security programs, said in an interview. The Air Force’s Space Surveillance Network employs a host of optical telescopes and radars around the world. The telescopes...

You would think that an unpiloted space plane built to rocket spaceward from Florida atop an Atlas booster, circle the planet for an extended time, then land on autopilot on a California runway would be big news. But for the U.S. Air Force X-37B project — seemingly, mum's the word. There is an air of vagueness regarding next year's Atlas Evolved Expendable launch of the unpiloted, reusable military space plane. The X-37B will be cocooned within the Atlas rocket's launch shroud — a ride that's far from cheap. While the launch range approval is still forthcoming, SPACE.com has learned that...

The US Air Force said on Thursday the commander of a nuclear wing had been sacked after his unit failed a safety inspection, trucks carrying missile parts crashed and officers under him fell asleep with launch codes in hand. Colonel Christopher Ayres, commander of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, was removed Wednesday "due to loss of confidence in his ability to command," Air Force Space Command said in a statement. The Air Force has tried to improve its handling of the country's nuclear arsenal after a series of mishaps and blunders led to...

Officials from 8th Air Force here reached a milestone in nuclear enterprise transformation Oct. 1 with the transfer of nonbomber units to 9th Air Force and 12th Air Force. Under this unit reassignment, 12th Air Force officials at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., gains control of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale AFB, Calif.; the 55th Wing at Offutt AFB, Neb.; and the 552nd Air Control Wing at Tinker AFB, Okla. Officials from 9th Air Force at Shaw AFB, S.C., is now responsible for the 116th Air Control Wing at Robbins AFB, Ga.; and the 819th RED HORSE at Malmstrom...

With the July 4th holiday quickly approaching, and particularly with the current occupier of th White House and his wholly un-American views and policies, let's take time to remember and support our brave U.S. military, all branches. They, along with our faith and own involvement here at home, make our liberty possible. That liberty is the hallmark to our peace and prosperity, and to our ability to turn back external...or internal...threats to it, as we must now. Our fine military personnel efforts overseas, and our own here. We have started several groups, one for each branch of service, on facebook...

Note: The following text is a quote: THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ___________________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 2, 2009 NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE: Daniel Ginsberg, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, vice Craig W. Duehring. Louis B. Susman, of Illinois, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

A possible UFO sighting, as reported by the Journal of Scientific Exploration, date unknown. (Reuters) Something's out there. Just ask the 14 seemingly respectable and sane men gathered in a conference room two blocks from the White House. All say they've had a close encounter of the extremely unsettling kind. Conspiracy theories about UFO sightings and aliens are hardly new, but now it's a multinational group of apparently sane airline pilots and former government officials that is alleging an international cover-up of alien sightings. Members of the group have gathered in the US capital this week to talk about the...

This Week in American Military History: Mar. 8, 1965: The lead elements of 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines begin coming ashore at Da Nang, South Vietnam. Within hours, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines will arrive aboard transport aircraft at the nearby airbase. The Marines of 3/9 and 1/3 -- both part of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade -- are the first of America’s ground-combat forces destined for offensive operations against the enemy in Southeast Asia, once again putting teeth in the Marine Corps’ claim that it is “first to fight.” Mar. 9, 1847: Thousands of American soldiers and a company-sized force of...

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Constitutional Lawyer: If Obama Takes Oath, It Will Be Perjury - Plus Maps Out The Specific Chaos That Will Absolutely Ensue Obama Fomenting A Constitutional Crisis: Constitutional Lawyer Discusses Ramifications To Country The Philadelphia Bulletin Error 404, page removed!By John P. Connolly 12/01/2008Controversy continues to surround President-elect Barack Obama’s eligibility to serve as president, and a case involving his birth certificate waits for its day before the U.S. Supreme Court. A constitutional lawyer said were it to be discovered that Mr. Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen, it would have grave consequences for the nation.According to the Constitution, a president must...

American Patrol Report Letter to Supreme Court Justices I am writing about a possible threat to all of humanity. Under present law the President of the United States has sole authority to authorize the use of nuclear weapons. The possibility of holding the fate of the entire human race in ones hands is an awesome responsibility. The person to whom we grant that responsibility must be of the highest moral and ethical character. While the popular vote is a necessary prerequisite to assume the powers of the presidency, it should not be sufficient. I have become aware of serious questions...

Report cites Frank's proposal to cut military 25% President-elect Barack Obama raised questions during an election campaign stop in Colorado Springs when he asserted the U.S. needs a "civilian national security force" that would be as powerful, strong and well-funded as the Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force, but few of those questions have been answered. But now one report is proposing a possible solution for part of the equation: From where would the money for such an organization come? Democrats in Congress now are floating the idea of cutting U.S. military spending by 25 percent, or $150 billion a...

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, met with House Democrats yesterday, talking about his trip abroad and his observations. Obama told the caucus, according to an attendee, "Nobody said this to me directly but I get the feeling from my talks that if the sanctions don’t work Israel is going to strike Iran." The notion that Israel is preparing for such an action against Iran's myriad nuclear facilities is not new, with conjecture heating up in May after an Israeli military exercise featuring 150 aircraft flying almost a thousand miles over the Mediterranean Sea in what was seen as a dress rehearsal...

Also compares Muslim terrorists to religious 'radicals' in Oregon JERUSALEM – Sen. Barack Obama's military adviser and national campaign co-chairman has implied U.S. politicians are afraid of Jewish voters in Miami and New York City and that American Jews are the "problem" impeding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Merrill A. McPeak, a former Air Force chief of staff, also compared the Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations to what he described as religious radicals in Oregon and claimed "born-again [Christians]" supported the war in Iraq to help Israel. Discussing Middle East politics during a 2003 interview with the Oregonian newspaper...

EDWARDS AFB - The Air Force's fleet of B-52s, the nation's oldest active-duty aircraft, was certified Wednesday as the first that can use one of the Air Force's newest innovations: a cleaner-burning, domestically produced synthetic fuel blend. The certification is the culmination of a year-long test program conducted at Edwards, which was visited Wednesday by Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne to thank and congratulate the engineers, pilots and others who worked on the project. "This is a great day for the United States Air Force," Wynne said, "And another milestone for the Flight Test Center." Wynne called the B-52 fleet's...

By Dmitry Solovyov MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's strategic bombers have resumed their Cold War practice of flying long-haul missions to areas patrolled by NATO and the United States, top generals said on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENT A Russian bomber flew over a U.S. military base on the Pacific island of Guam on Wednesday and "exchanged smiles" with U.S. pilots who had scrambled to track it, said Major-General Pavel Androsov, head of long-range aviation in the Russian air force. "It has always been the tradition of our long-range aviation to fly far into the ocean, to meet (U.S.) aircraft carriers and greet (U.S....

Most Freepers Believe Major Metzger's "I was kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan" Story Is A Clinton Sized LIE. You may vote here: http://community.cnhi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/30110542/m/374106769