Recently added articles from Airman:

Airman Villers.(COMMENTS)(Letter to the editor)

May 01, 2008; Villers, Michelle ... Thank you! We loved the article ["Michelle's Yellow Rose," March-April 2008]. It was beautifully written. The pictures you chose are awesome. We are so touched and so grateful for your work in all of this. What a beautiful tribute to our beautiful Paige. Someone called our home yesterday, ...

True warriors?(COMMENTS)(Letter to the editor)

May 01, 2008; Hering, Brendan ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This "warrior" thing is spiraling way out of control. Your "Home Front Warriors" headline [January-February 2008] is outrageously preposterous. While I'm all for the "total force" concept, calling a stateside civilian support employee a warrior is just ...

The "Book".(COMMENTS)(Letter to the editor)

May 01, 2008; Malec, William ... The Book 2008 [February-March issue] is another truly great and near flawless annual edition. I was a little disappointed when perusing the missiles pages when I didn't see the AGM-114 Hell fire included, though Hellfire missiles hang from the MO-9 Reaper and its little brother, the MQ-1B ...

Into the future": Air Force secretary, Chief of Staff detail how airmen will continue safeguarding America tomorrow.

May 01, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] How will the Air Force continue to safeguard the United States in the future? By flying and fighting of course. But charting the Air Force's strategy for the future is not that simple. What Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne ...

Airmen at war: taking the fight straight to the enemy.(Brief article)

May 01, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After more than 17 years of fighting in the Middle East, Airmen continue to prove their worth and commitment to winning the war on terrorism. Overhead, during every battle of the war--right in the enemy's backyard--Airmen provide the airpower ...

C-130 Hercules pilot: the joy of flying low and slow.

May 01, 2008; Spencer, Kimberly ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As the sun slowly dips below Afghanistan's horizon, Capt. Malinda Hammond is just beginning her duty day. She walks briskly toward one of the workhorses of the Air Force fleet, a C-130 Hercules, heading to the cockpit. After six years on active ...

MQ-1 predator maintainer: healthy predator can strike back.

May 01, 2008; Desjarlais, Orville F., Jr. ... The thing about enemy rockets and mortars is they don't distinguish between man or woman, local national or foreigner, active-duty Airman or Air Force contractor. So when the alarm of an imminent attack sounds, all most people can do is dive for cover. Most don't get a chance to ...

Weather forecaster: looking for a break in the clouds.

May 01, 2008; Davis, Bennie J., III ... On a miserable winter night at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, Staff Sgt. Michael Ragsdale was working the graveyard shift. Outside, a thick fog cut visibility to less than a quarter mile. The January 2008 temperatures averaged 30 degrees below normal, the country's coldest on ...

Combat operations director: protection is still his games.(Walter Manwill )

May 01, 2008; Langton, Joel ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Protecting people is his business, and Lt. Col. Walter Manwill takes it personally. The former Brigham Young University offensive lineman once protected his quarterback Jim McMahon, who later went on to the Chicago Bears and 1985 Super Bowl ...

Aerospace medical technician: keeping the survival rate high.

May 01, 2008; Lamance, Rich ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A true oasis in the desert, the Air Force theater hospital at Balad Air Base, Iraq, is one of the most advanced field hospitals ever used in wartime. The survival rate--for American servicemembers, Iraqi military and police, civilians, even ...

Avoiding the plague of non-combat injuries: simple guidelines help keep Airmen healthier.(TOP 10)

May 01, 2008 ... It's obvious that some of the greatest dangers to Airmen serving in a war zone are insurgents, roadside bombs, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and bullets. But what crawls around beneath their feet, sneaks into their lungs or worms its way into their minds may be just as ...

B-2 spirit crew chief: staff Sgt. Joshua A. Varga.(PROFILE)(Brief article)

May 01, 2008 ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "My job has its challenges every day. I troubleshoot, manage short-term and long-term maintenance forecasts and training, break sweat and bust knuckles to modify, inspect, service and maintain my aircraft. And if at the end of the day I can call my ...

Air traffic controller: orchestrating aerial and ground movements.

May 01, 2008; Larlee, Jeremy ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An airfield in a war zone is like an orchestra of aerial and ground activity. That's the case at Sather Air Base, Iraq, located next to Baghdad International Airport. It's one busy place. There are planes constantly landing, taking ...

Air component coordinator: keeping things moving in Africa.

May 01, 2008; Desjarlais, Orville F., Jr. ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As a C-130 Hercules pilot, Maj. Jeff Ausborn sees the world from high above the ground, where people and animals are indistinguishable. The world looks different when viewed through tiny cockpit windows. But he got a different perspective while ...

Air transportation specialist: leader of 'the pack'.

May 01, 2008; Wagers, Scott ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] How do you take a disoriented gaggle of travel-weary passengers, 50 tons of equipment, high-tech weaponry and anything else you can strap to a pallet and stuff it into the back of a war-zone bound cargo plane in less than three hours? Give up? ...

Combat camera videographer: what you see is what you get.

May 01, 2008; Ricardo, Cecilio ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Loaded down like a pack mule, Senior Airman Michelle Emery was ready for another early morning rendezvous with the Soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division. Today the combat videographer would document them doing a cordon search. She knew it ...

C-17 loadmaster: keeping warfighters supplied.

May 01, 2008; Gonzales, Ben ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On any given day, Staff Sgt. Adrienne Gariglio could load anything, from pallets of plastic spoons to a 100,000-pound tank, into her C-17 Globemaster III. But people, especially those she helps fly in and out of the war zone, are her most ...

The Air Force's last ace? It took 55 years to confirm pilot's Korean War kills.(HERITAGE)

May 01, 2008; Bates, Matthew ... When retired Lt. Gen. Charles Cleveland answered the phone, he thought nothing of it. It was probably just one of his buddies looking to chat or someone trying to sell him another magazine subscription. But it turned out to be one of the most important calls of his life. ...

Frontline duty: faceless warriors sustain war effort.(Frontline duty)

May 01, 2008 ... To fight the war on terrorism, Senior Airman Bryan Gallagher makes sure aircraft have fuel to fly and fight--night and day. On any given day in Iraq and Afghanistan, other faceless Airmen do their part to win the war. Airman Gallagher, a fuels technician at a base in ...

The Baghdad beat: living and working in a dangerous town.

May 01, 2008; Langton, Joel ... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Airmen in Iraq welcome all the help they can get as they fight to stabilize one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Security forces Tech. Sgt. Traci Bauder knows that's especially true in Baghdad. Pock-marked with bomb ...