Public affairs crews at multiple bases and major commands are doing what they can to keep airmen safe, notably uploading a series of awkward public safety announcements to YouTube. PA folks at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., have produced a series of great safety videos, with very high production and puppet value, called “Awkward Puppet Moments.” The one above reminds airmen to drink enough water while exercising in the Nevada heat. I recommend watching all of their videos. The videos focus on the typical summer safety issues: hydration, bicycle safety, water safety, etc. Air Combat Command’s entry, posted today, is…
Browsing: Air Force
Severe winds Sunday caused a retired F-16 to briefly take to the air again at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, boneyard this week. Winds recorded at about 65 mph miles per hour hit the boneyard, where retired aircraft sit in storage, and flipped lightweight F-16 flipped onto another Falcon. The steel cable tie-downs that were used to secure the aircraft snapped due to the high winds. The jet had recently had its engine removed, which made it light enough to go airborne, according to a base news release. The base lost power at about 7 p.m. Sunday night. Civil…
The Thunderbirds returned to the Major League Baseball All Star Game in Minneapolis last night, after missing last year’s midsummer classic. Twin Cities station KFAN posted this time lapse video, which included the national anthem and the flyover demonstration before the game. Last year, the demonstration team did not perform in New York City because of limits on flight hours due to sequestration.
Sixty-four new and expecting moms at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey took home a new crib, a rocker seat, an air purifier, a $100 gift card and a host of other gifts while hobnobbing with Kim, Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian of tabloid fame July 7. The event was courtesy of Operation Shower, a nonprofit that has hosted dozens of baby showers for over 1,600 military moms and families since its founding in 2007. The Kardashian sisters of E! network’s “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” hosted the July 7 shower at Battello, a waterfront restaurant in Jersey City. The 64…
Videographer Jaron Schneider posted this video telling the story of Staff Sgt. Larry Reid, Jr. Reid is the official photographer for the Thunderbirds. Reid is one of two photographers for the team, responsible for taking some of the crazy photographs that depict the official demonstration team in action. In the video, he describes how he uses his gear in the back of an F-16D to get the photos. The Thunderbirds are in the middle of their demonstration season. Here’s the schedule.
Four airmen were at the right place at the right time when a father of three children was caught by a strong current in the Buttahatchee River in Caledonia, Mississippi, over Memorial Day weekend. Staff Sgt. Joshua Keith, Airman 1st Class Kyle Carpenter, Senior Airman Ryan Werner and Staff Sgt. Alexander Gordy, all part of the 14th Operations Support Squadron at Columbus Air Force Base, helped save and revive a father who jumped in after his three children, according to a news release. The children’s grandfather also jumped in to help, but after struggling with the current, was unable to be revived…
A plan to start delivering F-16s to Iraq in September is on hold until the security situation improves, a U.S. official said. Last month, the U.S. evacuated contractors building the base for the F-16s at Balad as Sunni militants took large swathes of Iraq. Currently, 18 Iraqi pilots are training in the U.S. to fly F-16s, including 12 flying F-16s at Tucson, Ariz., according to Air Education and Training Command. While the Iraqi pilots are skilled aviators, they need hundreds of flight hours in F-16s to become flight leads and instructor pilots, said Tom Fox, Iraq Training Team Lead at…
The Air Force could add up to 1,440 cyber airmen and civilians at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. The base, which hosts the 24th Air Force and the National Security Agency, could bring in “approximately 1,280 to 1,440 additional manpower authorizations,” Christine Millette, 24th Air Force spokeswoman, said in an email to Air Force Times. “Joint Base San Antonio was chosen as the preferred alternative due to its optimized cyber mission synergy, proximity to supported command leadership, high-speed network capacity, available facilities, base community support and low cost option for the tax payer,” Millette said. Maj. Gen. James McLaughlin, commander of…
Maj. Robert Sides had a surprise in store for his son earlier this week at Kauffmann Stadium in Kansas City. His son, Austin, was selected to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Sides put on a uniform and full catcher’s gear to catch the ball, and then surprised his son. “I almost lost it myself. I grew up a pitcher, throwing with my dad and to be able to do this with my son after being gone all year, Facetime only goes so far. You need the contact and I miss that so much,” Sides said, according to Cut4. Sides…
