After months of hard training and expectation, the rubber finally hit the street in Turkey for the 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. With a proper transfer of authority inside the southeastern Turkey city of Gaziantep, Dec. 13, the formidable responsibilities of safeguarding civilians from airborne threats now becomes the daily mission for almost 300 air defense Soldiers out of Rhine Ordnance Barracks in Germany. “At the top of the day, always remember that there are greater than one million people inside the city of Gaziantep dependent on you for defense from... Read More »

Israeli warplanes this week practiced long-range missions including mid-air refueling in what local media said was a signal to archfoe Iran. The Israeli air force on Thursday posted pictures and video of the exercise on its website, without saying where or when it passed off. But the accompanying text gave what the net version of Haaretz daily called “the heaviest of hints concerning the goal of the exercise…a possible attack on Iran.” Haaretz said the drill happened with the Greek air force. Israel says that until Iran halts what the Jewish State and its US ally say is a covert... Read More »

Lockheed Martin and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) celebrated the beginnings of the 1st F-35 Lightning II for Australia yesterday. The aircraft, designated as AU-1, officially began the mate process, where major components of the aircraft are joined together to form the aircraft’s structure. AU-1 will then make its way down the assembly line and roll out of the factory for delivery to the RAAF in the summertime of 2014. Jeff Babione, Lockheed Martin Vp and Deputy Program Manager for F-35, highlighted the continuing partnership between Lockheed Martin and Australia. “Today marks a brand new beginning for tactical aviation... Read More »

Nominations for active-duty line officers interested by the financial management leadership program, or FMLP, are because of the Air Force Personnel Center by Feb. 15, 2014, AFPC officials said Dec. 18. The FMLP is a four-year program that gives non-finance officers the chance to realize leadership experience as comptroller squadron commanders, said Capt. Thomas Cook, of AFPC comptroller officer assignments. “Financial management is a valuable skill for future strategic leaders, providing non-finance officers with opportunities to develop and use critical business management skills,” he said. With the exception of rated officers and fiscal management officers, this system is open to... Read More »

Beginning Dec. 20, Soldiers shall be eligible for expedited pre-flight screening at airports, meaning they’ll have the ability to get into the specific line where they don’t must remove their shoes and belts or take laptops out in their baggage. All service members, including those within the Reserve, National Guard and Coast Guard, may be eligible for TSA Precheck Program, because the program is famous. Those within the Guard and Reserve don’t need to be in an activated status, and repair members don’t need to be in uniform, said Mark Howell, Transportation Security Administration spokesman. Not eligible are personnel inside... Read More »