The US Senate declined to promote a Navy Captain to Admiral over an incident that occurred more than 20 years ago: he shot down a US Air Force fighter.
A Senate committee has refused to approve a promotion to admiral for a Navy officer who, as a young fighter pilot during a training mission, deliberately shot down an Air Force plane whose Read more
Update: An official Defense.gov article notes the recent changes in Armed Services uniform policies and covers some of the highlights.
Just after the US Air Force abandoned “blues Mondays,” the US Marine Corps has announced that, as of tomorrow, Fridays require Marines to wear service uniforms instead of their utilities:
Beginning Jan. 4, 2013, all non-deployed Marines and sailors assigned to Marine units, regardless of component, active or Reserve, will be required to wear the appropriate seasonal service uniform each Friday.
The reasons given are the “form fitting” nature of the service uniform Read more
In an interesting bit of timing, given the Air Force Chief of Staff’s recent health and welfare inspection, Maxim magazine was covered by the New York Times in a story highlighting its ubiquity within the military.
Why? Basically, troops can’t get racy magazines like Playboy or Penthouse shipped to the war zone overseas — but Maxim, while it may skirt the line, doesn’t cross it:
Maxim, a testosterone-fueled magazine featuring adolescent humor and plenty of scantily clad actresses, has become for today’s Army what Esquire was to soldiers fighting in World War II and Playboy was during the Vietnam War…
The sale of “explicit” magazines on military bases comes up in the news every few years. At one point, Lifeway publishers was attempting to create a Christian alternative to the popular magazines. For now, the rules actually “benefit” Maxim: Read more
Multiple news outlets reported a California Air National F-16 crashed in the California desert on Friday.
No details were given, except that it was a medium altitude emergency and the pilot safely ejected.
The F-16 military jet went down in Owens Valley in Inyo County. The pilot safely ejected from the aircraft.
Pilots at the 144th Fighter Wing are on what’s called a “safety stand down” day, meaning all flights are grounded as part of standard procedure following a crash.
As is standard procedure, the Air Force will investigate the mishap and report it some months from now.
The Air Force has declared Eglin Air Force Base “ready” to begin training the first students in the F-35A Lightning II. Four pilots provided a “test case” to evaluate the unit’s readiness:
During the [evaluation], experienced pilots transitioned from the F-16 and A-10 aircraft, to the world’s first multi-role stealth fighter. Two Read more
The AF.mil article announcing the Air Force “health and welfare” inspections has become a repository for interesting stories about how inspections are being conducted locally. Two interesting replies:
12/7/2012 8:13:40 AM ET
We had a team of inspectors come through my workcenter yesterday. They took down all of our photos of aircraft with nose art because someone might be offended. They also made me take down a USO photo of the dallas cowboy cheerleaders that was signed thanking my shop for our service…mitch, sheppard
Targeting nose art is an interesting choice, given the Air Force itself displays traditional “pin up” nose art the National Museum of the Air Force. For the time being, the Wright Patt base commander, Col Cassie Barlow, has Read more
Most recent articles on the high visibility sexual scandals in the Air Force have focused on charges of sexual assault, largely with reference to the Lackland basic training incidents. Despite a fairly thorough article at the New York Times (which included that topic), almost no one has been talking about Air Force Technical Sergeant Jennifer Smith — who is threatening to sue the US Air Force over the sexually-charged atmosphere in the fighter pilot world. (The Air Force Times picked up on the story just days ago.)
This is particularly notable in light of the recent “health and welfare inspection” ordered by Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen Mark Welsh, since the inspection seems to precisely target some of TSgt’s Smith’s allegations (yet the media continues to connect it to other accusations). Notably, there are reports Shaw AFB — where TSgt Smith reportedly lodged the complaint — did a “health and welfare” inspection weeks before Gen Welsh ordered it Air Force wide. The organization representing TSgt Smith, “Protecting our Defenders,” certainly made the connection.
As noted in the New York Times more than a month ago, TSgt Smith has filed an “administrative complaint” (PDF, with attachments) that reads much like a primer on the vices of the fighter pilot world. She seeks Read more
Another article, this time from USA Today, paints the Air Force with the “new culture” mantra in light of the modern emphasis on UAVs, RPA, and other unmanned vehicles:
The rise of drone warfare has meant a dramatic cultural shift for the Air Force…
Like other media reports on the topic, the article doesn’t really say what the “dramatic cultural shift” actually is. (It does take a swipe at fighter pilots, saying Read more