AFCEA - Los Angeles

Contracts valued at $5 million or more are announced each business day at 5 p.m.

When Airmen enlist in the Air Force, they take an oath to defend the Constitution "against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

To uphold that vow, Airmen must remain vigilant and train to be prepared in the worst-case scenario. Airmen at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., participated an active shooter exercise to prepare them on what they should do in case an unauthorized person enters the base with a firearm.

View the slideshow below to catch a glimpse what the Airmen experienced during the exercise.
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Use of a Web-based application designed to offer an information exchange environment for Defense Department users has grown markedly as defense spending cuts loom, Defense Information Systems Agency officials said.

Since 2007, Defense Connect Online has been the "go-to" mechanism among several new enterprises within DOD's networks that entrust remote services with a user's data and software through cloud computing.

Defense Connect Online is the designated enterprise tool allowing DOD partners to collaborate on either classified or unclassified networks, said Alfred Rivera, DISA's director of enterprise services.
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Use of a Web-based application designed to offer an information exchange environment for Defense Department users has grown markedly as defense spending cuts loom, Defense Information Systems Agency officials said.

Since 2007, Defense Connect Online has been the "go-to" mechanism among several new enterprises within DOD's networks that entrust remote services with a user's data and software through cloud computing.

Defense Connect Online is the designated enterprise tool allowing DOD partners to collaborate on either classified or unclassified networks, said Alfred Rivera, DISA's director of enterprise services.
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Forty years ago today, a C-141A Starlifter transport jet with a distinctive red cross on its tail lifted off from Hanoi, North Vietnam, and the first flight of 40 U.S. prisoners of war began their journey home through Operation Homecoming.

By the day's end, three C-141A aircraft would lift off from Hanoi, as well as a C-9A aircraft from Saigon, South Vietnam. In a steady flow of flights through late March 1973 under terms set through the Paris Peace Accords, 591 POWs returned to American soil.
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A group of Airmen here are part of a unique shop created to help identify maintenence issues in MC-130 aircraft faster.

The 353rd Special Operations Maintenance Squadron wire analysis shop is a test bed for automatic wire test sets. Air Force Special Operations Command officials initiated the AWTS program about four years ago in order to provide special operation maintainers a program to help pinpoint maintenance issues with MC-130s in significantly less time. Each test program set is built to specifically identify wire malfunctions on the aircraft.
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Sixteen Airmen from Hurlburt Field, Fla., took part in a 450-mile, six day ruck-march, in honor of five fallen Air Commandos.

Of the sixteen, were four teams which included members from the 319th Special Operations Squadron, the 34th SOS, the 18th Flight Test Squadron and the 25th Intelligence Squadron.

The Commandos' six-day journey began on the Emerald Gulf Coast and concluded at MacDill Air Force Base's U.S. Special Operations Command fallen hero memorial, where stories were told, tears were shed and fallen comrades were remembered.
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Contracts valued at $5 million or more are announced each business day at 5 p.m.

Calling it "a matter of fundamental equity," Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta today signed a memorandum to the service secretaries and the Pentagon's top personnel official extending benefits to same-sex partners of service members.

Here is the secretary's announcement of the policy change:

"Seventeen months ago, the United States military ended the policy of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' We have implemented the repeal of that policy and made clear that discrimination based on sexual orientation has no place in the Department of Defense.
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The Tuskegee Airmen were an elite group of African-American pilots in the 1940s. They were pioneers in equality and integration of the armed forces. The term "Tuskegee Airmen" refers to all who were involved in the Army Air Corps program to train African-Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft. The Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, bombardiers, maintenance and support staff, instructors and all the personnel who kept the planes in the air.

View the slideshow below to see a snapshot of the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen.   View slideshow  
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Airmen and local Afghan elders gathered around a broken water well in a small nearby village here and traded ideas about how to fix a pump and bring fresh groundwater back to the village.

Members of the 777th Expeditionary Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force Squadron took on the task of fixing multiple well pumps with help from Airmen from the 755th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron.

The Airmen traveled by foot in small groups over dirt roads, carrying all their tools, equipment and weapons.
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I was recently picking up a few items at a local retail chain at lunchtime; everywhere I walked, someone wanted to shake my hand or say, "Thank you for your service." It made me proud to be wearing the uniform of the U.S. Air Force.

While waiting in the checkout lane, I noticed a little boy shopping with his mom was staring at me from his perch in the cart. I smiled and said "Hello," but he just kept staring.

His mom apologized and explained he was crazy about people in uniform, and his hero was Captain America. She said he watches the movie over and over and puts on a little uniform to defend the house.
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The 86th Airlift Wing and 435th Contingency Response Group conducted a Flying Training Deployment with the Israeli air force's 103rd Squadron Jan. 27 to Feb. 8 here.

The FTD advanced the ability of both American and Israeli air and ground crews to perform in combat operations, as well as strengthened partnerships between the two allies.

"The purpose of this training was to hone our tactical expertise while building partnerships and maximizing bilateral training," said Capt. Raymond Bevivino, 37th Airlift Squadron pilot and FTD mission commander. "This opportunity allowed us to accomplish training that we just can't get anywhere else."
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Many are familiar with the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, but they were not the first African-Americans to serve in the American armed forces. African-Americans have continuously served in the U.S. military since colonial times.

After the fighting began in 1775, the British offered to free any African-American slave who served with them, leading Gen. George Washington and the Continental Congress to offer the same proposal. As a result, several thousand African-Americans served as Continental Soldiers, Sailors and Marines.
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The U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band joined bands from seven other nations here at the Musikschau Der Nationen (Music Show of the Nations) Jan. 23 - 27 to remember veterans of all nations that fought in World War I and World War II.

The five-day festival, which was attended by 22,000 people, displayed how music can transcend culture and help nations create valuable diplomatic effects.

Bands from Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Mexico, Sweden, Austria and Russia participated in the festival. After rehearsals, five shows were presented to capacity crowds in Bremen's OVB Arena.
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On their first visit to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Cody had many words for the Airmen here.

The two they said most often were "thank you."

Throughout their visit, which included the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Group, 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron and the Craig Joint Theater Hospital, Welsh and Cody thanked the Bagram Airmen for their hard work, devotion and skills.
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Afghan Border Police explosive ordinance disposal technicians are one step closer to being qualified after a joint training validation event with U.S. Air Force EOD technicians, Feb. 5.

Being validated will allow the ABP to receive more equipment to train more technicians, and respond safely to improvised explosive devices in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistan.

Afghan Border Police 1st Lt. Azim Noori, the 3rd Zone, Quick Reaction Force Kandak lead technician has attended three counter IED and explosives schools that totaled six months, and is currently the 3rd Zone primary counter IED instructor for the Explosive Hazard Reduction Course in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
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Contracts valued at $5 million or more are announced each business day at 5 p.m.

The 1950s were a tumultuous time for the United States as the winds of changes blew across the country and the social landscape was transformed as the Civil Rights movement went into full swing.

In 1954, the Supreme Court case ruling in Brown v. Board of Education overturned laws that permitted state-sponsored segregation. Just a few years before that in 1949, progressive and innovative Air Force leaders began paving the road to equality for all service members and ordered the service to be totally racially integrated.
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 For one airman assigned to the 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, being a reservist allows her time to pursue other passions while also serving her country.

"It's like living two completely different lives," Senior Airman Denice Luke said. "That's why I like it so much."

Luke is an air transportation journeyman deployed from Robins Air Force Base, Ga., to one of the busier aerial hubs in the Air Force Central Command area of responsibility. From Dec. 15 through Jan. 15, Luke processed 9,118 passengers, 4,142 tons of cargo and serviced 435 aircraft, which culminated in her selection as flight, squadron, group and, ultimately, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing airman of the month.
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