Oriana Pawlyk

Ret. Air Force Colonel Martha McSally won Arizona's 2nd Congressional District Wednesday, becoming another proponent of the A-10. (AP photo/arizona daily star, kelly presnell)

Another A-10 ally gains a seat

By Oriana Pawlyk on December 17, 2014 Air Force, Leadership, Politics, Washington

Republican Martha McSally beat incumbent Ron Barber on Wednesday after a recount to take over Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District. McSally, a retired Air Force colonel who flew A-10s over Iraq and Kuwait, picked up six more votes to give her a 167 votes victory, according to RollCall. McSally joins the coalition of congressional members — which include Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H. — rallying to preserve the A-10. McSally criticized Barber during the race saying he “was asleep at the switch while the obvious threat of the A-10 retirement grew on his watch,” according to the Arizona Daily…

Capt. Eric Koenig accepted an offer from Paramount Pictures to purchase one of his screenplays, "Matriarch," on Veterans Day. (Photo of Koenig by Rebecca Amber/Air Force; Paramount Pictures via The Associated Press).

Airman’s screenplay bought by Paramount Pictures

By Oriana Pawlyk on December 10, 2014 Air Force

Whatever started out as just a hobby has now brought this airman one step closer to Hollywood. Capt. Eric Koenig, the 412th Aerospace Medicine Squadron dental flight commander, recently accepted an offer from Paramount Pictures to purchase one of the many scripts he’s written in the last three years, according to a news release. The screenplay sold for an amount in the mid six-figure range, the release said. The story, called “Matriarch,” revolves around two powerful, female characters. According to Koenig: The plot follows a female serial killer on death row and her prison psychologist. There is one undisclosed piece of…

NORAD launches Santa tracker. We still have questions.

By Oriana Pawlyk on December 1, 2014 AF kids, Air Force, Air Force Space Command, budget cuts

Each year, North American Aerospace Defense Command launches a website that allows little children to track Santa. Other media outlets may think, “Wow, what a cute story,” but we at FlightLines/Air Force Times want to go deeper and ask the hard-hitting questions you’ve come to expect from the best Air Force news blog on the web. Here is what we want to know about Santa’s upcoming sortie: 1) Has Santa cut training due to sequestration? The Defense Department’s fiscal 2015 plan – over the sequester cap, calling for $115B more over the next four years – still sits in the…

Air Force Times’ Dec. 1 issue comic

By Oriana Pawlyk on November 25, 2014 Comic

Welsh: ‘We lose about one AF member a day’

By Oriana Pawlyk on November 24, 2014 Air Force, Leadership

Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh is reminding airmen this holiday season in a somber – but realistic – message that Air Force casualties affect everyone, and the need to take care of one another has never been greater. In his latest “Airman to Airman” video, Welsh emphasizes the need to stay safe this holiday season by showing a rolodex – one of four on his desk – that holds the names of every airman who’s died since he became chief. “I’ve been the chief for 820 days now, and there are about 818 names in these boxes, so we…

Air Force Times’ Nov. 24 issue comic

By Oriana Pawlyk on November 18, 2014 Comic

Officer: Don’t drink and climb trees…and stay safe

By Oriana Pawlyk on November 13, 2014 Air Education and Training Command, Air Force, Air Force Academy

This officer may not have been arrested, but he suffered a) a blow to his ego and b) 25 broken bones. 2nd Lt. Stephen Hunter recently recalled for Air Education and Training Command’s Torch Magazine a misfit move he pulled back in May 2012 when he was an incoming senior at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. Hunter woke up to paramedics trying to treat his mangled body. The cadet, who had been drinking rum and Cokes since noon, thought it’d be a good idea to climb nearly 40 feet up a 110-foot cottonwood tree at 2 a.m. Until he fell.…

The Singing Sergeants Choir joins @CarrieUnderwood to perform “Something in the Water.” http://t.co/Nf1n5ki03o
— HBO (@HBO) November 12, 2014

Veterans Day: the Air Force in action

By Oriana Pawlyk on November 12, 2014 Air Force, Veterans

Whether it was in your community or on the jumbotron, Air Force members were honored across the country yesterday for Veterans Day. Check out some moments from sporting events, ceremonies, and from ‘The Concert for Valor’ held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.: The Singing Sergeants Choir joins @CarrieUnderwood to perform “Something in the Water.” http://t.co/Nf1n5ki03o — HBO (@HBO) November 12, 2014

The Eifel Powerhaus fitness center is offering t-shirts to individuals who reach certain weight lifting milestones as part of a new fitness campaign from Oct. 1 through the end of September 2015. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Chad Warren/Released)

Base gives airmen incentives to get fit

By Oriana Pawlyk on November 10, 2014 PT

Spangdahlem airmen can not only mold their arms before an upcoming PT test, they can train to be weightlifting champs. The Eifel Powerhaus fitness center at the German base launched two yearlong programs in October to get airmen to work toward new fitness goals. The first program, known as the Wall of Fitness, features a weightlifting competition broken down into different classes. For each weight class, competitors must complete three lifts: bench press, deadlift and squat. The participant with the highest total weight after all three lifts will claim the spot for their weight class on the Wall of Fitness.…

Air Force Times’ Nov. 10 issue comic

By Oriana Pawlyk on November 3, 2014 Comic

Author Oriana Pawlyk