• 'Like a homesick angel': Bulldog commander breaks active-duty record

    Forty-two days is a long time to spend defying gravity.On Feb. 3, Air Force Lt. Col. Clayton Percle, 525th Fighter Squadron commander, clocked his thousandth hour flying the F-22 Raptor and thereby crossed an invisible line in the air, into an elite club as exclusive today as the society of

  • COLD-WEATHER COOPERATION

    A trip to Alaska tops many people's bucket lists, but not many would want to visit in February. Make the destination a location known for brutal sub-zero temperatures and dangerous, mountainous terrain filled with avalanche hazards, and most people would surely pass on the opportunity.Military

  • Public Health Service lieutenant wins Buckner triathlon

    Michael Bakker cuts through the water as if it were his natural habitat. His white swimmer's cap rhythmically breaks the surface as he sucks in precious oxygen for the next lap.Bakker, a Public Health Service lieutenant assigned to the Indian Health Service, completed 9.62 miles at the Indoor Sprint

  • Former Marine sensei imparts wisdom and respect through martial arts

    "I will work hard to build true confidence through knowledge of mind, honesty of heart and strength in the body," begins the student creed of Sensei Ken Riley's Ketsugen Karate class at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson's Arctic Oasis community center."To keep friendship with one another and to build

  • Flying JBER

    Light breezes flow, as the sounds of a motor makes for mechanical music in the air. A Hobbico NexSTAR remote-controlled airplane flies past its controller -- a rookie learning how to fly for the first time.Though the hobbyist in question may be new to the RC world, members of the Alaska Radio

  • Blood and ink: JBER pararescueman finds solace from PTSD

    (This is the second part of a two-part series about Air Force Master Sgt. Roger Sparks, a pararescueman with the 212th Rescue Squadron.)The aftermath of war is ugly. Buildings are ravaged, fields are razed, and people die. Structures are rebuilt and fields and forests are restored, but the survivors

  • Engineers among last units to leave Afghanistan

    December 1950. The Korean War. Following the breakout of the Chosin Reservoir, Marines and Soldiers of the X Corps had avoided destruction by Chinese Communist forces and maneuvered south to the port of Hungnam. If they couldn't evacuate to United Nations lines, the battered unit would risk being

  • Guardian Angel recounts battle which earned him Silver Star

    (This is the first part of a two-part series about Air Force Master Sgt. Roger Sparks, a pararescueman with the 212th Rescue Squadron.)The air erupted with the percussive sound of machine-gun fire. Master Sgt. Roger Sparks jumped out of an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter and began the 40-foot hoist down