In the autumn of your years, as you reflect on the mark you have left, you will be proudest of those times you took the risk to do the right thing and not the expedient. And you will be most ashamed to recall the times you remained silent when you should have stated your mind.
General Charles G. Boyd, USAF, Retired, May 2006
Col Christopher Sage recently wrote an article (oddly, published at the commercial Air Force Times rather than through the Air Force) calling on the Air Force to explicitly add “courage” to its list of core values that currently include integrity, service, and excellence.
The trait of courage was absorbed under integrity in the 1997 construct, and only briefly described as “doing what is right…”
Courage should be explicit, not implicit, in our core values. It is time to elevate courage to its proper place.
In an interesting bit of history, Col Sage notes that the 1997 Air Force pamphlet on the core values focused on the institution, rather than the individual:
“Our first task is to fix organizations; individual character development is possible, but it is not a goal.” It goes on Read more
An impressive landing feat, particularly when you consider the fact he couldn’t see what was below him. Note the completely empty deck as he lands… Read more
Textron/Cessna’s Scorpion — an industry produced military-jet hopeful previously noted — continues to progress through its flight test, according to a local press release:
Recent flights have been gathering data about the aircraft’s performance at various speeds, altitudes and climb rates, and the responsiveness of its avionics, flight controls and landing systems, the Read more
A US Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier out of Yuma, AZ, crashed just south of Phoenix on Friday: Read more
Two years ago, two pilots took to 60 Minutes — with a Congressman for protection — to declare the F-22 had serious oxygen problems and the Air Force wasn’t acting with a sense of urgency to fix them.
Now, the lower ranking of the two, Capt Joshua Wilson, is still wondering if he’ll ever get back in the cockpit:
A member of the Virginia Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Squadron, Wilson hasn’t been permitted to fly the jet since early 2012. He’s fighting disciplinary actions that he sees as retribution for going public.
Wilson has reportedly had his promotion revoked, been prohibited from serving in a full-time position with ACC, and told he would face an FEB — a flying evaluation board that would likely take away his wings.
According to the report, Read more
A congressionally-requested Government Accounting Office report on the US Air Force drone community was recently publicized:
Senate leaders in Sept. 2012 asked the GAO to study the Air Force’s approach to managing the remotely piloted aircraft crews, which has tripled since 2008…
The intent was to analyze how the drone community is being managed and treated, in the face of rumors of low morale, low promotion rates, and underappreciated warfighters. The GAO created and interviewed focus groups, concluding: Read more
The US Navy reported that a T-34C Turbomentor crashed in the Gulf of Mexico last Thursday:
A U.S. Navy T-34C Turbo Mentor aircraft assigned to Training Squadron 28 (VT-28) with two pilots aboard crashed today while conducting a routine training mission over the Gulf of Mexico…
The T-34 does not have ejection seats; instead, Read more