The Air Force has released a report indicating the August midair collision of two F-16s off the coast of Virginia was caused by one of the pilot’s poor sleep habits:
The accident investigation report by Air Combat Command says the pilot had trouble balancing his Air National Guard and civilian careers and only had about four hours of sleep each night in the 48 hours prior to the August collision. The pilot needed Read more
Deborah Lee James has been confirmed by the US Senate, which clears the way for her to be sworn in later this month as the newest Secretary of the Air Force.
“On behalf of the more than 690,000 men and women of the U.S. Air Force, I want to welcome Secretary James to our Air Force family,” Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said in a Dec. 13 statement. “I’m confident that she’ll lead us with the same vision and passion she’s shown throughout her public service and private sector leadership, building on the extraordinary accomplishments of our Acting Secretary Eric Fanning, who has magnificently led our Air Force these last few months.”
Acting Secretary Eric Fanning has been filling in since Secretary Donley retired in June.
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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey was accompanied by (or perhaps accompanied) the members of “Duck Dynasty” on a trip to Kandahar, Afghanistan. General Dempsey was apparently out of uniform:
They sang Have a Hairy Christmas (first two minutes of the video)… Read more
The US Air Force’s secretive X-37B reusable unmanned space vehicle has surpassed a year in orbit.
The unmanned X-37B spacecraft — flying a mission known as Orbital Test Vehicle 3 (OTV-3) — launched into space atop an Atlas 5 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 11, 2012. What payloads the space plane is toting and the overall mission goals on its confidential cruise are classified.
The Space.com article notes that “skywatchers” have been constantly monitoring the X-37’s orbit and altitude changes. What it is actually doing remains a mystery.
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Former Air Force Chief of Staff General Michael “Buzz” Moseley — famous for his advocacy of the F-22 during his 2005 to 2008 tenure — recently said it was time for the Air Force to say goodbye to the A-10.
“You got to let it go and progress in to the next generation,” said retired Gen. T. Michael Moseley…
The article recalls controversy from Congress over the Air Force’s Read more
The Air Force has reported that a T-38 that crashed in July near Sheppard Air Force Base was brought down by a bird that shattered the canopy and took out an engine:
Sheppard officials said Tuesday the bird struck the jet’s canopy, shattering it and sending fragments into an engine that then failed.
The incident was compounded by the pilots’ attempts to execute a turn that increased drag. The jet lost airspeed, then stalled.
The crew safely ejected.
The Air Force recently began researching the possibility of updating the canopies on the 50+ year old T-38 fleet. Their T-X replacement trainers have reportedly been held up by government budget issues.
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Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh previously told Airmen to stop following guidance that was “stupid.”
“If it doesn’t make common sense, if it doesn’t make the mission better, if it doesn’t take better care of our people, then just don’t do it and tell your boss you’re done.”
Notably, his message was to Air Force leaders, explicitly telling them their people “don’t feel empowered” even to do what seems smart.
General Welsh recently hammered the point again, this time making the parental statement that Airmen should use “common sense:”
Common sense would dictate that if Airmen run across something in their duties that doesn’t make sense, then they should suggest better ways to do them, Welsh said…”If it doesn’t match common sense then I don’t care what it says in the AFI, let’s talk about it.”
There is enough to do, the general said, without Read more
Senators Mark Udall (D-Co) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo) have proposed an amendment to the yet-to-be-approved 2014 National Defense Authorization Act that would require the Air Force to review safety for its ejection seats:
Under the amendment, the Air Force also must analyze how ejection seats protect the head, neck and spinal cord during ejection; analyze any initiatives currently looking at making the ejection process safer; and update Congress on the status of any testing or qualifications on upgraded ejection seats.
The article notes Read more