Air Force Featured Stories

  • On the Road: Chaplain's journey to higher calling

    (This feature is part of the "Through Airmen's Eyes" series on AF.mil. These stories focus on a single Airman, highlighting their Air Force story.)In Abak, Nigeria, Dec. 8, 1974, a mother, nine-months pregnant, feels that her baby is ready to arrive. The duration of the journey to the hospital is

  • Around the Air Force: Sept. 2

    On this look around the Air Force, the KC-135 Stratotanker celebrates 60 years of service, a new KC-46A Pegasus training center opens its doors, and a preview of this month's Airman magazine is available.

  • 5 hours of work for 15 seconds of action

    A C-17 Globemaster III flies low, with its cargo door open. In 30 seconds it will drop 2 tons of food and water to a disaster-stricken country; the pallets will land safely, all due to the expertise of aerial delivery specialist riggers.

  • C-17 Airmen expand global reach

    Forging combat mobility forces is something that the aircrew instructors of the C-17 Globemaster III take extremely serious, but that mission is not just limited to skies over the U.S. A team of Airmen from Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, recently spent two

  • What it takes to be a boom operator

    Boom operators on an Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker have the ability to pump thousands of pounds of fuel to any capable aircraft, thousands of feet above the ground, flying at 200 knots, all while only 47 feet from colliding into each other. However, before any of this is possible, they had to go

  • Altus AFB Airmen deliver aid to Liberia

    Ten Airmen from the 97th Air Mobility Wing here, delivered humanitarian and medical supplies to Liberia Sept. 25 - Oct. 3, in support of Operation United Assistance to provide aid to the Ebola stricken region.

  • Altus AFB produces mission capable boom operators

    For the past 16 years, the 97th Air Mobility Wing has been the only schoolhouse for training initial KC-135 Stratotanker boom operator students, which trains around 265 Airmen and international students a year.

  • Simulators train aircrew at fraction of cost

    Using simulators for the majority of pilot training is a huge advantage. They operate at about 5 percent of the cost of real jets. One hour of flying in a C-17 costs approximately $23,424 -- a substantial difference compared to the simulator.

  • Air Force moves closer to KC-46A beddown

    The Air Force is a step closer to bedding down its anticipated fleet of KC-46A Pegasus aerial tankers. Officials recently announced Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma will serve as the Air Force's KC-46A formal training unit and McConnell AFB, Kansas will be the first active duty-led main operating base