AFMC Command News

  • F-35A completes first night refueling mission

    The first night refueling in the history of the F-35 program was completed March 26, 2012, here. Piloted by Lt. Col. Peter Vitt, 461st Flight Test Squadron director of operations, AF-4, an F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant, rendezvoused with an Air Force KC-135 tanker and successfully

  • Key Joint STARS equipment upgrades in the works

    The Electronic Systems Center here is working to upgrade critical mission equipment on the E-8 Joint STARS aircraft and recent flight testing is proving successful and advancing the program.Joint STARS is an airborne battle management, command and control and intelligence, surveillance and

  • Final Combat Talon I undergoes PDM

    In two weeks, the last MC-130E Combat Talon I will complete its final phase of programmed depot maintenance here before departing for its final run from the flight line. The Combat Talon I fleet has been at Robins for PDM since the 1990s. The program was transferred from Lockheed's Big Safari

  • Commentary: Hold the line on timeless leadership

    Before I transferred from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., I had an incentive ride in an F-16. At 15,000 feet, the view of Rogers Dry Lake Bed was surreal.The moment made me reflect on history, and I considered the many changes since the birth of the Air Force in 1947: the advent of personal

  • 31st TES ramps up for F-35 initial operational testing at Edwards

    Flight test at Edwards normally consists of squadrons taking an aircraft from the developmental test phase and preparing it for its operational test phase at another base.For members with the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron, a tenant unit assigned here under the Air Combat Command, the squadron is

  • President nominates Gen. Busch as new AFMC vice commander

    Air Force officials announced March 20, 2012, the President's nomination of Maj. Gen. Andrew E. Busch for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general with a new assignment.Pending Senate confirmation, Busch, commander of the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, will become the

  • AFMC commander to receive highest enlisted honor

    Gen. Donald Hoffman, commander of Air Force Materiel Command, will be inducted into AFMC's Order of the Sword in a ceremony March 30, 2012, at 5:45 p.m. at the National Museum of the United States Air Force."Induction into the order is the highest honor that enlisted Airmen can place on a leader,"

  • Air Force Marathon filling fast ahead of April 2 price increase

    If you're planning to run in the Air Force Marathon this September, time is running out to register. Not only does the price increase on April 2, there is a good chance the event will also be sold out by then."We traditionally experience a huge surge in registrations prior to a price increase," said

  • AEDC's Tunnel 9 is the site of unique program debut

    Arnold Engineering Development Center's White Oak site in Silver Spring, Md., is home to a new and innovative program sponsored by the Test Resource Management Center and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. According to Dan Marren, White Oak site director, this program, called the Centers

  • Hanscom lieutenant is Spirit of Hope Award nominee

    First Lt. Mitchell Johnson, Fixed Base Weather Observation System deputy program manager here, is nominated for the Spirit of Hope Award, named in honor of late entertainer Bob Hope and presented for outstanding service to the United States. The award recognizes a military member, civilian or

  • Speaker urges crowd to 'break through complacency' at YoCE event

    Air Force Materiel Command's successful 2011 initiative, the "Year of the Community College of the Air Force," has segued into 2012 being designated the "Year of Continuing Education," and personnel at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are positioning themselves to be engaged in the effort."Don't be

  • Air Force announces AFMC senior leader changes

    Air Force officials announced March 9, 2012, the President's nomination of two Air Force Materiel Command senior leaders for appointment to the grade of lieutenant general with new assignments.Pending Senate confirmation, Lt. Gen. Charles R. Davis, commander of the Electronic Systems Center at