• Air Force combat controllers - only the toughest need apply

    Air Force combat controllers are a rare breed: an elite group of specialists who accompany U.S. ground troops - usually small teams of special operations forces - to serve as a liaison between those forces and the air support they rely on. Each combat controller is a fully qualified air traffic

  • 'Sumos' support Northern Edge with aerial refueling

    With approximately 200 aircraft taking to the Alaskan skies for Northern Edge 2009, thousands of pounds of fuel are needed to keep pilots and their jets in the air to get the vital training they need. To help keep those jets in the air, the "Sumos" or Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152

  • Northern Edge fields new radar system

    The next generation aircraft, the F-35 Lightning II, is undergoing field tests. Throughout the military, numerous exercises and units are participating to help perfect the many parts from radar to maneuverability of the next generation aircraft. The Joint Strike Fighter Program, which is heading the

  • NWTC crosses into Northern Edge 2009

    The Army's Northern Warfare Training Center, headquartered at Fort Wainwright, participated in Exercise Northern Edge 2009 here June 17 by instructing a visiting Navy SEAL team on cold-weather river crossing techniques. "The instructors from the NWTC showed us some excellent techniques that our guys

  • VX-9 ‘Vampires’ test their limits in Alaska

    Among the 9,000 servicemembers in Alaska for Northern Edge 2009 is a squadron of Sailors, Marines and civilians doing more than just testing themselves against their sister services. The "Vampires" of Navy Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 9 are tasked with the duty of evaluating new equipment and

  • Northern Edge 2009 gets Buff

    The 96th Bomb Squadron from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, deployed here for exercise Northern Edge 2009 to practice mission planning and war-time procedures. The 96th BS brought three B-52H Stratofortress long-range bombers, or "Buffs," to train in the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex and

  • Pilot reflects on experience at Northern Edge

    In Northern Edge, Alaska's premier joint-training exercise, pilots from the Air Force, Navy and Marines are conducting fast-paced, aerial battles to challenge and test participating units on the Northern frontier. For one Navy pilot, Lt. Michael Patterson, from the Navy Strike Air Warfare Center,

  • Elmendorf selected as pilot site for new hiring process

    Elmendorf has been selected by Air Force officials to be a pilot site for a new  Defense Department federal hiring process. The Enterprise Staffing Solutions will replace USA Jobs and standardize varying methods of federal hiring for all DOD branches. The goal is to increase the applicant's

  • PACAF civic leaders visits Elmendorf

    As part of a tour of the Pacific's "Strategic Triangle," a civic leader tour, hosted by Gen. Howie Chandler, Pacific Air Forces commander, spent about two days at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, earlier this week. The general and 22 civic leaders from Hawaii, Alaska and Guam toured the 3rd Wing's