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Come Back, All is Forgiven: Servicemembers who were discharged from the military for refusing to comply with the now-changed COVID mandate are being wooed to return to service by various branches of the military. Critics say the real motivation is failing recruitment stats. The letters are "not an apology” or an “attempt to make things right,” said one military defense lawyer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Both the U.S. Army and Air Force have sent letters to former servicemembers who were separated from the military branches for refusing to comply with the 2021 Defense Department’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, providing guidance on how to seek...

Enlisted airmen who work in some of the Air Force's most difficult jobs will receive from $900 to $5,400 less annually beginning next month as the service faces financial challenges that affect the ranks. Hundreds of service members will see cuts to their Special Duty Assignment Pay, known as SDAP, in fiscal 2023 -- which starts Oct. 1. Those monthly payments, ranging from $75 to $450, were an extra incentive "to compensate enlisted service members who serve in duties which are extremely difficult," according to budget documents. [Snip] To avoid the cuts, lawmakers would have to reinstate the Special Duty...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army said Wednesday it will immediately begin discharging soldiers who have refused to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine, putting more than 3,300 service members at risk of being thrown out soon. The Army’s announcement makes it the final military service to lay out its discharge policy for vaccine refusers. The Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy have already discharged active-duty troops or entry-level personnel at boot camps for refusing the shots. So far, the Army has not discharged any. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth issued the directive Wednesday ordering commanders to begin involuntary separation proceedings against those...

Two months after the Pentagon began requiring all troops to get the coronavirus vaccine or face dismissal, the vast majority have now had shots, in part because none received a religious exemption, military officials said. https://t.co/3zpPg5hpG6 — NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) November 4, 2021 Troops who refuse the coronavirus vaccine won’t see any extra protections or leniency in how their dismissals are handled, Defense and Veterans Affairs officials confirmed Wednesday. Instead, decisions on whether to give those individuals other-than-honorable discharges — potentially blocking them from a host of veterans benefits — will be left to local commanders, and their cases won’t...

The son of a Bomber Command pilot whose plane exploded in a fireball in Nazi Germany has revealed his father's incredible story of survival during the war. Gerald Sherwood, 80, from St Austell, Cornwall, told how Wing Commander John 'Flap' Sherwood took part in a daring mission before being captured in his new book. He also highlighted how the RAF hero was chucked in Stalag Luft III - the Luftwaffe-run prisoner of war camp made famous by the Great Escape.

Two Active-duty Airmen assigned to the 319th Reconnaissance Wing at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., are dead following an early morning shooting at the base, according to an Air Force statement. The names and ranks of the victims are being withheld, pending next of kin notification. The shooting occurred around 4:30 a.m. on June 1. “Base emergency services responded to the scene, have it contained, and believe there is currently no risk to other personnel at this time,” according to the release. An investigation is underway and mental health experts are available “to care for those impacted,” the service...

On June 27, 1944, I graduated from Tuskegee Army Flying School, established in Alabama shortly before America’s entry into World War II... My journey to the flight line started in my high-school library... I came across a magazine article about the first all-black flying combat unit... I decided right then that when I turned 18 the squadron was where I wanted to serve. The train ride down South was eye-opening for a teenager who’d never traveled far from New York. When the train crossed the Mason-Dixon Line, the conductor came by and pointed at me: “Move to the colored car.”...

It was March 4, 2002. American special operations forces were fighting to establish observation posts high above Afghanistan’s Shah-i-Kot Valley, as conventional troops continued their push through the valley floor below. One of those men, Air Force Technical Sgt. John Chapman, was alone in the pitch-black, wounded and slowly regaining his consciousness in the thigh-deep snow of a 10,469-foot peak known as Takur Ghar, as scores of Al Qaeda fighters closed in. The operators were due to lift-off from their Gardez base around midnight and quietly land near the base of the peak before climbing to the top. But maintenance...

Four Shaw Air Force Base airmen accused of spray-painting satanic graffiti on a rural South Carolina church have been identified. Kayla Eilerman, 18, of Ingleside, Texas; Clayre Savage, 18, of Port Barre, La.; Daveion Green, 19, of Leeland, N.C.; and Brandon Munoz, 20, of Baltimore are all charged with trespassing, malicious injury to a house of worship and criminal conspiracy. The four were arrested Thursday and charged with vandalizing historic Salem Black River Presbyterian Church, which dates back more than 250 years. Shaw Air Force Base confirmed Friday that the four accused are airmen.

An airman assigned to the 18th Munitions Squadron has died after falling from Aha Falls, officials from Kadena Air Base, Japan, said Saturday.

The strategic bombing campaign during WWII cost the lives of roughly 160,000 Allied airmen and 33,700 planes in the European theater alone. We have collected incredible images of the last moments of World War II bombers. Wherever possible we have added information to the images about the crew’s fate.

The United States could be on the verge of posthumously awarding its highest military honor to a soldier who was killed in action in Afghanistan – and the news is stirring controversy. Sgt. John Chapman, an air force technician who was serving as a radioman for the elite SEAL Team 6 during mission in Afghanistan, died in fierce combat against Al Qaeda gunmen on an Afghan mountaintop on March 4, 2002. The Americans led a coalition of nations in the military effort to destroy Al Qaeda and the Taliban following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Air Force Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, this week declared the F-35A fighter jet ready for combat. While many pundits and politicians have questioned the worth of this jet, the only people who know the ground truth are the pilots themselves. A total of 174 U.S. pilots currently have been trained to fly Lockheed Martin’s F-35A Lightning II. The Heritage Foundation recently interviewed 31 of these former F-15C, F-15E, F-16C, and A-10 pilots. Each expressed a high degree of confidence in the F-35A, their new fifth-generation platform. Here are nine insights gleaned from those conversations: 1....

http://www.trunews.com/article/Is-Incirlik-Air-Base-being-held-hostage-by-Turkey Is Incirlik Air Base being held hostage by Turkey? July 20, 2016 Is Incirlik Air Base being held hostage by Turkey? Vero Beach, FL - (TRUNEWS) For a fifth consecutive day, Turkey has intentionally withheld power and vital supplies from the U.S.-NATO joint installation Incirlik Air Base. According to our sources, verified by TRUNEWS as parents and spouses of U.S. airmen currently stationed at Incirlik Air Base, no supplies have been flown or driven into the installation since Saturday, food and water are being strictly rationed, and only one week of fuel reserves remain to power their electric generators....

Erdogan locks US airmen, nuclear arms in Incirlik DEBKAfile Special Report July 20, 2016, 11:29 AM (IDT) Tags: Erdogan, Barack Obama, Incirlik air base, Turkey, US Air Force, Turkish army, US, Some 1,500 US airmen and their families have been locked in the southern Turkish air base of Incirlik together with a stock if tactical nuclear bombs since President Reccep Erdogan crushed an attempted coup on Saturday, July 16. In the four days up until Wednesday, July 20, therefore, no air strikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq have been staged that Turkish base.

A terminally ill former World War Two Spitfire engineer's 'last wish' to be reunited with the iconic plane was granted after top brass saw him looking forlornly through a fence at one from his wheelchair. Ken Farlow, 95, was an electrical engineer during the war, carrying out vital work to keep Spitfires and Hurricanes in the air in Syria and Palestine. But after being diagnosed with terminal colon cancer, the father-of-three asked daughter Helen if he 'could see a Spitfire - one last time'. Helen, 52, took him to Gloucestershire Airport where the vintage planes were being maintained by the...

Wife of Air Force officer among the dead in Brussels terror attack POLITICS | MAR 31, 2016 | BY MARTIN BARILLAS Identified among those killed by Muslim terrorists in Brussels was the wife of U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Kato Martinez. Defense Department officials identified Gail Minglana Martinez, 41, of Corpus Christi TX as among the four Americans murdered in a suicide bomb attack at the international airport outside the Belgian capital. Lt. Col. Martinez had been stationed in Brunssum in the Netherlands. The couple had been married 21 years. The Air Force officer, and the couple's four children, were...

The remains of the six Americans killed by a Taliban attacker in Afghanistan Monday were due to arrive back in the U.S. on Wednesday after an emotional ceremony at Bagram Air Field. Some U.S. servicemembers kneeled in front of the victims' photos, guns and helmets. Others saluted. Service members from several units at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, pay their respects during a fallen comrade ceremony held in honor of six Airmen Dec. 23, 2015. The six Airmen lost their lives in an improvised explosive attack near Bagram Dec. 21, 2015. (DVIDS) The six soldiers, one woman and five men, died...

Three Americans and a British grandfather who prevented 'carnage' by tackling the French train terrorist have been awarded France's highest honour for bravery. U.S. Airman Spencer Stone, National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos, their friend Anthony Sadler and Briton Chris Norman were presented with the Legion d'Honneur at the Elysee Palace in Paris. French President Francois Hollande, who pinned on their medals, praised the men for taking action in the face of terrorism. The ceremony was held as the first heroic passenger who wrestled a machine gun from the terrorist was today revealed to be an American professor.

A U.S. Air Force pilot taking part in Operation Inherent Resolve was killed when his F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed due to maintenance problems, according to the Pentagon. The crash occurred late Sunday Washington time. The Defense Department is calling it a “noncombat-related incident”, but acknowledged the aircraft was on its way to Iraq or Syria to participate in ongoing operations against the Islamic State when things went wrong. “The aircraft was returning to its base in the Middle East” when the crash occurred, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said. “Apparently there were some maintenance problems on takeoff. It turned around...