• Alaskan Raptors: Leveraging the total force to build combat capability

    An F-22 Raptor flightline expeditor jogs outside, breaching the wall of frigid night air. His focus narrowed on ensuring that his team has the tools and parts they need to fix the jets. Planning the next step in the process and communicating with the crew is crucial to completing the tasks

  • Pilots combat remote Alaska elements to rescue fellow Airmen

    The forecast called for a long string of beautiful days--light winds and clear skies flecked with the occasional wandering cloud. A high-pressure system was settling in from the northwest, pushing all the usual seasonal nastiness away from the area near the Arctic Circle. Travelers and residents

  • 3rd Wing redeploys from Southwest Asia

    The 3rd Wing's 525th Fighter Squadron deployed to the Central Command area of responsibility to relieve its sister squadron, the 90th Fighter Squadron, also located at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The swap-out of fifth generation aircraft took place after five months of supporting combat

  • Fly softly, carry a big mission

    At just under 44 feet long and 15 feet high, a C-12F Huron pales in comparison to the much larger C-17 Globemaster III, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in a dynamic mission here. "The C-12 mission is to keep our long range radar sites up and running, constantly scanning the skies for the

  • Innovation advances F-22 as strategic force in the Pacific

    The newest strategy in fighter employment will enable combat-ready F-22's to rapidly refuel, rearm, and redeploy. The new concept was demonstrated here during joint exercises in August.The usual method of deploying fighters is structured around large footprint packages to a select few operating

  • A wrench in every plan: maintainers keep ‘em flying

    The hangar echoes with the hollow metallic sounds of machinery, men and women working around the clock, all day, every day. Riveting, wrenching, welding and wiring all lend their peculiar notes to a low mechanical chorus of bustle and repair, the disordered symphony of things painstakingly restored

  • 3rd MUNS inventory assures the mission

    You are getting ready to leave the house for your daily physical training before work. Your PT gear and reflective belt are on and your uniform bag is in hand to change afterward. The workout ends, you head in to get cleaned up and change. Going through your bag, you realize you didn't pack your

  • Innovation integral part of 3rd Wing mission

    In the 3rd Wing, innovation is the mission.Airmen expect to encounter and overcome challenges. In the arctic environment, Airmen commonly compete with sub-zero temperatures, near 24-hour darkness, remote training areas, and rapid weather changes. In addition to these challenges, Airmen continue to

  • 3rd Maintenance Operations Squadron Inactivates

    The 3rd Wing inactivated the 3rd Maintenance Operation Squadron in a ceremony on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Monday. The 3rd MOS' mission was to keep personnel and equipment at a high state of readiness for worldwide deployments. They maintained and launched numerous aircraft supporting the