7/30/2013 - AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy (AFNS) - Pilots in the 555th Fighter Squadron are overcoming various challenges as they return to flying status after a three-month hiatus from the cockpit due to sequestration. In what the 31st Operations Group commander describes as a "crushing blow to readiness," the 555th FS pilots now require a minimum four to six months of retraining … [Read more...]
Archives for July 2013
Freedom Gets Underway to Support First Overseas Crew Swap
SOUTH CHINA SEA (NNS, July 30, 2013) - As the deployment to Southeast Asia draws to a close for USS Freedom's (LCS 1) "Gold" crew, an advance team of "Blue" crew Sailors is in Singapore to participate in a brief sea trial that began July 30, as part of the upcoming crew swap. The crew swap is a key milestone during Freedom's maiden overseas deployment to Southeast Asia, and … [Read more...]
Enhanced Combat Helmet Heads to Production
(Katzaman, MCSC Corporate Communications, July 30, 2013) - After successful stringent tests that program experts say well exceeded initial requirements, the Marine Corps is getting ready to field its new enhanced combat helmet. In the first quarter of fiscal 2014 the first of thousands of ECHs will be issued to warfighters bound for deployment. The collaboration with the … [Read more...]
MRE Production for 2014 Does Away with Lasagna, Refried Beans, Fajitas
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, July 30, 2013) - Barbecue shredded beef, vegetarian taco pasta, and seasoned black beans will replace chicken fajitas, vegetable lasagna, refried beans and potato cheddar soup in the 2014 production of Meals, Ready-to-Eat. Each year, the Combat Feeding Directorate goes into the field to test new food items with the warfighters and get input on … [Read more...]
One of AF Most Decorated Heroes Passes Away
7/29/2013 - SHALIMAR, Fla. (AFNS) - One of the most decorated Airmen in Air Force history, whose career spanned three wars and four decades, has passed away. Retired Col. George Everett "Bud" Day, an Air Force pilot, shot down during the Vietnam War and imprisoned in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" along with Sen. John McCain, defiantly resisted the North Vietnamese for more … [Read more...]