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If you’ve visited our news channel, you know what’s going on in your neighborhood and around the military. But do you know what your peers think about what’s going on? Here, you’ll find our views on the news of the day, along with views from your friends, co-workers and neighbors.

Air Force Times: Opinions & Columns


  • Editorial: Get rid of officers who cross ethical boundaries
    Three cases of inappropriate Air Force contracting decisions cast new doubts about the service’s ethics and the way senior officers do business. Worse, they threaten to undermine the Air...
  • Forums
    I spent 20 years as an F-15 and A-10 crew chief, and the production supervisor and his expeditor obviously needed a refresher course in Leadership 101. One of the most important virtues of good...
  • Editorial
    For the third consecutive year, the Pentagon’s budget request for fiscal 2009 calls for big hikes in enrollment fees, deductibles and pharmacy co-pays in its Tricare health insurance program.
  • Larger F-22 Raptor force is right idea, but hard to sell
    The Air Force’s top officer is serious about a new fighter.
  • United front
    Adm. Michael Mullen, the relatively new chairman of the Joint Chiefs, wants the chiefs to take a united stand on any major changes lawmakers demand in President Bush’s military budget for...
  • Today’s aerial gunners join mission dating to WWII
    When he climbs into his HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter at Balad Air Base, Iraq, Staff Sgt. Daniel Sipel is following in a tradition as old as the Air Force.
  • Letters
    I’m writing in response to an opinion expressed by Tech. Sgt. Matt Greene in the “Fitness for fighters” letter [Sept. 17]. I truly appreciate his opinion, but I ask that as a...
  • A virtual shame
    The Air Force announced this week that enlisted airmen no longer will learn about a promotion from their commander. They’ll have to go to a Web site.
  • Rule book resentment
    During the past several months, there has been a sequence of letters in Air Force Times regarding dress and appearance standards. It started with a chief master sergeant’s reasonable...
  • Stopping IED threats
    The two-year-old Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization has the critical — and so far, elusive — mission of living up to its own name. The insurgent networks that build and...
  • Editorial
    We’ll probably never know exactly what happened Sept. 16 when private security contractors protecting a State Department convoy in Baghdad opened fire.
  • Editorial
    It was a startling, if not unexpected, admission.
  • Vietnam redux
    Listening to Gen. David Petraeus explain to Congress how he intends to pacify Iraq brought back with painful clarity the warning Clark Clifford said he issued to President Johnson when the Vietnam...
  • Familiar, fuel-efficient F-16 deserves respect
    The F-16 Fighting Falcon will continue fighting for years to come.
  • Letters
    There was an article on the wear of rank for officers, i.e., no shiny rank [“ABU rules restrict unit patches, rank insignia,” Sept. 17]. But how about the poor noncommissioned officer out...
  • 60 reasons Airmen say why their service is the best
    On the 60th anniversary of the Air Force, we asked readers to reflect a bit on life in the military and what makes the Air Force better than its sister services. We got lots of responses, some...
  • Spin, doctored
    This summer, the Army, National Guard and Defense Department issued requests to industry to hire contractors to analyze and monitor media reporting and make recommendations to the highest ranks of...
  • ‘Warrior culture’ obscures concept of citizen at war
    The brass in our military service branches keep telling troops that they live in a warrior culture.
  • Editorial: Establish valor database to honor national heroes
    After watching the film “Saving Private Ryan,” which showed scenes of the U.S. cemetery in Normandy, France, Monty McDaniel became curious about the grave of his uncle, who is buried...
  • Letters
    Warrior ethos ... who are we kidding? I could not disagree more with the change to include fitness test performance on performance ratings. Eight years ago, I chose the Air Force over sister services...
  • History: U.S. air power saw supersonic progress in first 40 years
    When Wilbur and Orville Wright began work in 1907 on their Wright Flyer for the Army Signal Corps, the aviation pioneers were building a primitive biplane of wood, fabric and glue, held together by...
  • Editorial: Congress can fix Feres
    After 21-year-old Nathan Hafterson died during a routine medical procedure in March 2006, his family might well have expected they could sue the doctors and hospital whose negligence they say killed...
  • Editorial: More research needed
    A new study of Air Force women and sexual assault reaches the startling conclusion that more than one in four Air Force women have been raped.
  • Letters to Air Force Times
    Regarding Robert F. Dorr’s “Keep the faith (to oneself)” [Back Talk, Aug. 2]:
  • Petraeus’ report should be first step out of Iraq
    A USA Today/Gallup poll conducted in early August shows that 32 percent of Americans have never heard of the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, or hold no opinion of him.
  • Letters: Uniform policy unfair to Reserve technicians
    How immature it is for Air Force Reserve Command to force nonbargaining unit Air Reserve technicians to wear their military uniform while on civilian status [“Reserve techs object to wearing...
  • Pay comparisons miss the point: We have no counterparts
    The Congressional Budget Office has commented over and over again that military pay is good enough [“A fresh look at pay,” July 16]. Give me a break. I get really tired of hearing that we...
  • History: Heroism across the ages
    Thirty years ago, it was impossible to visit a base without seeing a sign that read: “The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly and fight, and don’t you ever forget it.”...
  • South Korea tour may be a good deal for airmen
    More than half a century after a battlefield armistice that ended the Korean War, American troops are still a vital part of the U.N. force that guards South Korea.
  • Function comes first
    Following the Vietnam War, there was a debate in Congress about attack helicopters and whether the Army’s procurement of them represented a duplication of the Air Force’s requirement to...
  • Letters
    I want to respond to the letter in the Aug. 13 Air Force Times “Airmen combat-ready.” The writer said we are trained at the same levels as soldiers before the Air Force sends anyone...
  • CSAR mission finally gets the national exercise it deserves
    It’s hard to believe, but Air Force officials say they never conducted a national-level combat search-and-rescue exercise until this year.
  • Keep the faith (to oneself)
    That Sunday morning, the word spread quickly around the basic training squadron.
  • Letters
    It’s an exciting time at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, as we welcome the newest, most revolutionary, most talked about air dominance fighter in the history of aviation. The F-22 Raptor will...
  • Editorial: A lesson’s dear price
    On Aug. 7, at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, 19-year-old Airman Paige Renee Villers died of adenovirus, an illness so common in military basic training that it has received a special nickname...
  • Editorial: A simple solution
    The Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act provides troops with legal protections for breaking apartment and auto leases upon receiving deployment orders.
  • Inappropriate message
    A charitable group that enjoys at least tacit official support from the Pentagon is embroiled in a controversy that is proving too hot for defense officials.
  • Letters
    I read both “Get fit (they’re not kidding)” [Aug. 13] and “Your new review” [July 23], about our fitness scores being included in our enlisted and officer performance...
  • Letters
    With all respect to retired Col. David Welling, I disagree with his proposed Military Medic’s Creed [“Medics deserve own creed,” Letters, July 16]. While I recognize the unique...
  • Editorial: Be upfront on airlift needs
    Everyone agrees the military could use more airlift.
  • Editorial: Truth is long overdue
    The Army, Pentagon and now the White House have turned the death of Cpl. Pat Tillman into a national disgrace without end.
  • The voice of the force
    I understand Tech. Sgt. Jerry Sutton’s frustration that earning an advanced degree from a civilian institution does not satisfy the requirements of the Air Force enlisted evaluation system for...
  • Vision of a smoke-free Air Force might be just a pipe dream
    An airman who hates cigarettes told me he wants a smoke-free Air Force.
  • Not a priority
    At a time when the Air Force is reducing people and cutting corners to pay for wartime urgencies, I’m not convinced it needs the Joint Cargo Aircraft.
  • Editorial: Right plan for reservists
    Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., is the latest lawmaker with a plan to lower the age at which reserve and National Guard members can begin drawing retirement pay.
  • Riflemen should be trained by, serve in Army, Corps
    Every Marine, first and foremost, is a rifleman. Any Marine will tell you that, and I respect it.
  • Letters
    A letter in the June 25 issue of Air Force Times regarding the Airman’s Creed [“Service more than pilots”] struck a nerve with me. Former Airman 1st Class Don E. Averett Sr.’s...
  • Editorial: Evaluating airmen
    The long-awaited revisions to the enlisted and officer performance reports — the first overhaul in 15 years — make important changes that will contribute to fairness and accuracy.
  • Letters
    As an ROTC graduate, I enjoy the rivalry among the Air Force Academy, ROTC, Officer Training School and Academy of Military Science commissionees. It is a fun part of being an officer, and I hope the...
  • Plain talk
    When Navy Adm. Michael Mullen becomes chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — he is expected to receive Senate consent — will he give serious advice to President Bush and to Defense...
  • Editorial: Right training, right time
    It would be hard to find anyone who thinks annual, Air Force-wide training in protecting the president is a good use of airmen’s time.
  • Rural America answered the military’s call, deserves better care
    The government goes to great lengths to recruit young men and women to enlist in the military. Recruiters often travel the extra mile to convince young people from rural America that the military is...
  • Editorial: The price of war
    In early July, perhaps before, perhaps soon after you read this, the U.S. military will reach a somber wartime milestone: 4,000 troops...
  • Editorial: Upsetting the apple cart
    When large corporations lay off workers, one can be sure that soon after will come calls to work smarter and be more efficient.
  • Editorial: Budget for construction
    If the House and Senate appropriations committees have it right — and there’s no reason to doubt them — the Pentagon is headed for rough water on military construction that could...
  • Necessary limits
    Some media question a recent change to embed ground rules in Iraq. The requirement states that images of wounded service members “will not be released without the service member’s prior...
  • Letters
    I applaud Air Force leadership for attempting to revive the service’s military image with a proposed “new” service dress uniform. The new uniform harkens back not only to those worn...
  • New service dress uniform could still be a hit
    The Air Force is testing a new service dress uniform that Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley said “will make us look more military.”
  • Blog: Tales from the Sandbox
    Military Times staff writer Kelly Kennedy shares her...
  • Letter: Keep Guard, reserve distinct
    I have read retired Army Col. James T. Currie’s proposal for merging the National Guard and reserves [“Merge reserves into Guard to save money, resources,” Back Talk, June 4] and...
  • Editorial: Teach fighting wisely
    Half a century ago, airmen were among the most skilled martial-arts practitioners in the military.
  • Editorial: Give troops their leave
    On April 18, Pentagon personnel chief David S.C. Chu announced details of a new plan to compensate combat troops who are deployed longer or more often than Pentagon policy permits.
  • Letters
    I was disappointed in the May 21 article about the Air Force wanting to change to a .45-caliber handgun [“In pursuit of stopping power”]. Many of the debated issues have already been...
  • A degree of frustration
    Academic achievement is a personal accomplishment that has essentially become a professional requirement for advancement in today’s Air Force.
  • Not all C-5 Galaxies are worth modernizing
    One of the biggest challenges facing Air Force leaders is strategic airlift, the long-range, cargo-hauling job performed by the C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III.
  • Editorial: Photo rules hide the truth
    Some of war’s most memorable images include the wounded and the dead. It is impossible to chronicle a war without including that defining characteristic. But if the most current ground rules...
  • Letters
    Has the Air Force gone off the deep end by considering Barksdale Air Force Base, La., to be the new Cyberspace Command headquarters? What kind of high-tech workforce is going to relocate to the Deep...
  • Wing’s move from Richmond is emblematic of eroding state powers
    There’s a barren look to Col. Jay Pearsall’s office. Pearsall commands the Virginia Air National Guard’s 192nd Fighter Wing. The headquarters is in a corner of Richmond...
  • Journalists’ hands are tied
    Every day, thousands of American men and women perform untold acts of bravery and drudgery on behalf of what our leaders have defined as vital American interests in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Editorial: Make moving less painful
    Whoever coined the name “Families First” for the military’s effort to overhaul its household goods shipping process was either the sunniest of optimists or the most cynical of...
  • Crew chiefs belong in same squadron as pilots
    The Air Force should assign crew chiefs to the same units as pilots.
  • Follow Brits’ WWII example: Keep cyber command’s profile low
    The addition of a third medium — cyberspace — to the Air Force mission, along with the fanfare accompanying start-up of a new cyber command, is sharp contrast to the secrecy shrouding a...
  • Letters: No uniform answer, but lots of opinions
    The overwhelming negative reaction to the new uniform proposed by Air Force leaders is troubling [“Uniform dislike,” May 28]. The leaders are out of touch with their followers. When I was...
  • Editorial: ABU could be even better
    The new airman battle uniform is winning praise from the right people as it makes its debut in the war zone. Airmen wearing the ABU say they like it, and — perhaps as important — so do...
  • LETTERS
    Retired Lt. Col. Bob Kellas’ letter, “Advisory service a waste” [June 4], highlights his concern with dedicating funds to Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century advisory...
  • LETTERS
    I agree with Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. [“Senator pushes for gun makers to compete to replace the M4,” May 21]. The M4, while a fine weapon and better in most situations than the M16...
  • Combat rescue helo mess is a disservice to troops
    If you’re in a combat search-and-rescue outfit wondering when you’ll get a new helicopter, you’ve been betrayed. The Pentagon, with its bloated acquisitions bureaucracy, has let you...
  • Down with decals
    While completing a one-year individual augmentee tour working with Air Force and Army personnel at Fort Bragg, N.C., and Hurlburt Field, Fla., I was surprised by the security policy now in place at...
  • Letter: Recruit medics from high school
    I’m writing in response to the article “More medical airmen easier said than done” [May 21] because I wonder if the Air Force thinks about recruiting personnel for hard-to-fill...
  • Editorial: Combat skills required
    The Air Force and Navy plan to commit even more airmen and sailors to the war in Iraq in the year ahead.
  • Editorial: Fixing the death gratuity
    In 2005, Congress raised the so-called “death gratuity” paid to survivors of service members who die on active duty from $12,000 to $100,000 — a generous gesture of wartime support.
  • Letters: EODs risk their lives, too
    Concerning the article in the May 7 Air Force Times [“One tough task”], Iraq showed how tough Air Force security forces have it in Iraq. I do not want to take anything away from what the...
  • Vintage solution
    The Air Force has a great tool for recruiting, retention and public relations that costs almost nothing.
  • Editorial: Painful but necessary cuts
    Air Force pilots have been immune to large-scale cuts in recent years, but that is changing.
  • Editorial: Prorate danger benefits
    It’s no secret that you can qualify for a full month’s danger pay — $225 — and a month’s federal tax-exclusion benefits — worth far more — for spending even...
  • Merge reserves into Guard to save money, resources
    I testified May 16 before the congressionally chartered Commission on the National Guard and Reserves. My testimony centered on two themes: first, that the current reserve deployment schedule will...
  • LETTERS
    I enjoy the Air Force Times articles and stories affecting our Air Force quality of life and its people. We value our people, and we make every effort to train and educate them on mishap prevention...
  • From the forums
    Once photos of the Air Force’s proposed new service dress coat were posted on AirForceTimes.com, readers filled our message board with an assortment of comments. Here’s a sample of what...
  • Tending to their memory
    On Veterans Day we honor the men and women who have served this country in the armed forces. We have parades with active-duty troops marching in their uniforms. Veterans wear distinctive clothing,...
  • Editorial: Let junior troops testify
    One battlefield lesson seemingly never learned is how fundamentally wrong it is to be less than fully open and truthful about what is taking place in the war zone.
  • Editorial: Uniform dissent
    The service dress uniform has been ridiculed as a military business suit or an outfit worthy of airline pilots ever since it was introduced by then-Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill McPeak in the early...
  • Letters
    I truly enjoyed the column highlighting the career sacrifices of military spouses [“Military spouses’ career sacrifices deserve notice,” May 14, Back Talk]; however, I was...
  • Letters: Alternatives to the M9
    Being a retired Security Forces noncommissioned officer who once carried the excellent but woefully underpowered M15 .38 revolver, I’m delighted to read that the Air Force is moving ahead with...
  • U.S. needs unified, diplomatic approach to Iran
    If you’re in the armed forces, you may wonder whether our nation’s leaders are preparing to send you into a war with Iran.
  • Technology is no guarantee of victory
    The proposed 2008 Pentagon budget requests $75 billion for research and development of new weapons. The desire for new high-tech systems is so great that despite the heavy strains even the small wars...
  • Letters
    We recently experienced our first visit to the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va. It is a majestic, beautiful tribute to all the men and women who have served their country as airmen. Although we...
  • I was wrong: Ban on gays in uniform should be lifted
    The time has come to remove restrictions on gay Americans serving in the armed forces.
  • Editorial: Don’t delay on sidearm
    The Air Force believes it needs to replace its Beretta M9 handgun with a larger caliber sidearm.
  • Set PT rules and move on
    In response to Chief Master Sgt. Bob Henson’s opinion column on physical training uniform standards [“Tighten up,” Back Talk, May 7], I have to say I’m in agreement with the...
  • Editorial: Money, not task forces
    A committee drawn from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council has produced a report that discusses how the Department of Veterans Affairs could better serve the rising number of...
  • Military spouses’ career sacrifices deserve notice
    Recently, I enjoyed a margarita and a good laugh with a longtime college friend, and fellow military spouse, as we recalled a military-life moment. For each of us, there had been a tough move to a...
  • Kabul fallout
    Airmen in today’s combat zones feel they’re “walking on eggshells,” as one described it, following a general’s official rebuke of two lieutenant colonels over a roadside...
  • Moseley inconsistent on discipline
    In the AirForceTimes.com article “Moseley: Air Force pinched by ground war needs,” this statement was attributed to Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley: “Not only do we not have...
  • Editorial: Trust UAVs to Air Force
    On May 9, the House Armed Services Committee is expected to weigh in on a dispute between the Air Force and the other services — especially the Army — over unmanned aerial vehicles that...
  • Letters
    As I read the article about the new top Defense Department doctor [“A prescription for cutting costs,” April 16], I found it interesting that he sounded much more like an accountant than...
  • Editorial: Pay proposal is fair
    For more than a century, disabled military retirees were required by law to forfeit a dollar in retirement pay for every dollar received in disability compensation.
  • Editorial: A half-staff salute in May
    In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, where 32 students and teachers died at the hands of a highly disturbed gunman last month, the media published lengthy profiles of every victim and...
  • Tighten up
    Visit any Air Force base and hordes of people are running everywhere. Go to the base gyms and they are packed. It seems airmen everywhere have figured out physical training is a good thing.
  • Editorial: Limit in-lieu-of taskings
    Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley said last week he is increasingly reluctant to send airmen to do Army and Marine Corps jobs that are outside the airmen’s core competencies.
  • Air Force should govern unmanned aerial vehicles
    Unmanned aerial vehicles are the business of the Air Force.
  • Letters
    Why on earth would the Thunderbirds be getting F-16 Block 52s, while under the Base Closure and Realignment Commission’s plans we are retiring older, less capable Block 42s?
  • Media ignore true heroes
    I was thinking of the war in Iraq in comparison to the Virginia Tech tragedy. First, what happened is a tragedy and the families of those students are in my prayers. It shouldn’t have happened,...
  • Letters
    Who is editing Air Force Times these days and about which Air Force do they suppose to report? My question comes from the front page of the April 16 issue. On it, Maj. Troy Gilbert, an F-16 pilot who...
  • Editorial: Let airmen see EPRs
    Chief Master Sgt. Rodney McKinley, chief master sergeant of the Air Force, got airmen’s attention on a recent trip to Hurlburt Field, Fla., and Lajes Field in the Azores.
  • Given investigation’s findings, lt. cols. didn’t deserve discipline
    Did an Air Force general act in haste when he rebuked two lieutenant colonels over a roadside altercation last year in Afghanistan?
  • War stories
    From my foxhole-view as a tactical battalion commander in western Baghdad in 2006, the American press, although not perfect, has reported the reality of the Iraq war.
  • War debaters lack answers
    The debate over what we should do about the Iraq war is necessary and appropriate in our democracy. Unfortunately, too much of the so-called debate, as represented by “Appeal for...
  • Editorial: VA owes veterans more
    Lawmakers are watching with alarm the exploding backlog of veterans’ benefits claims, now estimated at 600,000 cases and growing as troops return from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Letters
    How many No. 1 priorities can we have as an Air Force? I have a hard time understanding what our priorities are when we are told the F-22, F-35, Joint Cargo Aircraft , CV-22, CSAR-X, KC-X ,...
  • Stop fighting global war on terrorism,’ start fighting al-Qaida
    Democrats haven't accomplished much since taking over Congress, but they've taken one worthwhile step in deciding to ditch the term “global war on terrorism,” which suggests...
  • Problematic privatization
    It is refreshing to read that the surgeons general of the three services are fighting to keep more active-duty medics instead of allowing them to be replaced with civilians.
  • Editorial: North owes explanation
    On March 29, Lt. Gen. Gary L. North, commander of U.S. Central Command Air Forces and 9th Air Force, disciplined two lieutenant colonels who pulled guns on a Blackwater USA contractor in Afghanistan.
  • Editorial: Update ex-spouses' law
    The Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act — which allows for the court-ordered division of military retired pay between service members and former spouses when they divorce...
  • British troops fed Iran’s propaganda
    “Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.”
  • Editorial: British troops fed Iran's propaganda
    “Duty is the great business of a sea officer; all private considerations must give way to it, however painful it may be.”
  • Letters
    I want to question the legality of having a personal sidearm while in a war zone [“Guns & banter,” March 12, Frontlines]. How many rules and regulations are being broken by Gen. T....
  • Protestors should focus on policymakers, not recruiters
    Several recent confrontations have put some of our airmen in harm's way. These conflicts didn't occur on the streets of Baghdad or in the skies over Afghanistan but right in America's...
  • A Tweet goodbye
    Capt. Jeremiah Dixon climbed out of a T- 37B Tweet cockpit at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, on March 27, after completing a flight that had been delayed a couple of days because of bad weather. I...
  • Letters to the editor
    Question of ‘immorality’
  • For some airmen, there’s no need for tests
    Let me be clear: The new uniform stinks [“Hail Hap!” March 26]. The belt not only enhances the gut, it brings back horrible memories of 1970s leisure wear. Think “Three’s...
  • Give the new service dress uniform a chance
    With a new service dress uniform, members of the Air Force will look more military.
  • Editorial: Time to open up
    For the second time in three years, the National Security Archive — an independent research institute and library at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. — has given the...
  • Editorial: Level with troops
    President Bush’s Iraq surge plan announced in January called for extending some current deployments and accelerating some others, enabling the military to increase the number of troops in Iraq...
  • Time wasted
    It was supposed to be simple.
  • 2 plans for Iraq
    It takes commitment to build democracy
  • Letters
    Leadership with character
  • Editorial: IED team: little to show
    In the often surreal world of federal Washington, a billion dollars is a drop in the ocean.
  • Editorial: Who railroaded officers?
    On Sept. 16, two Air Force lieutenant colonels and a Blackwater USA employee had a showdown in Afghanistan that ended with one of the officers drawing down on the security contractor with his M4. In...
  • Where credit is due
    Air Force leaders deserve praise for their work on a new service dress uniform that will make airmen look more military.
  • Adding troops would intensify biggest problem in Iraq
    Although the president is asking for more ground troops in Iraq, he provides little logic as to why the 150,000 there in the recent past were not enough.
  • Letters
    MORE PLANE BUILDERS
  • Letters: Pace’s remarks revive debate over ‘don’t ask’
    Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said homosexual behavior is immoral. I salute him for saying that. The media and some members of Congress have condemned him.
  • Editorial: Service members and the freedom of speech
    Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech . . .
  • Editorial: Fixing fractured reserves
    Almost all of the 13 members of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserve have military experience. Several served in uniform for decades.
  • Editorial: Risk worth taking?
    With its plan to cut training flights by 10 percent, the Air Force is taking a calculated gamble that for the next few years — until its modernized fleet is rolling off production lines in...
  • Battlelabs can help fight new threats
    I was disappointed to see that the Air Force is shutting down the force protection battlelabs [“Losing the labs,” Frontlines, March 5] in favor of funding the much-publicized F-22 and the...
  • Letters
    SO MUCH FOR SAVINGS
  • In it together: Budget decisions should be immune to interservice rivalries
    I recently had the privilege of visiting members of the Air Force in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are doing amazing work. Serving alongside their joint teammates, their warfighting contributions are...
  • Deterrence can work in the Middle East
    If the American intervention in Iraq succeeds, the reason will not be the desperate pacification campaign now underway in Baghdad.
  • Editorial: No harm, no hearing
    In a split second on a road in Afghanistan, Air Force Lt. Cols. Gary W. Brown and Christopher R. Hall decided to try to protect themselves. Now that decision is on trial and their careers are in...
  • Editorial: Blame at Walter Reed
    In the wake of intense media coverage about problems with housing and medical evaluations plaguing injured combat troops who are outpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, the Army...
  • Treatment of wounded is ‘shameful
    I have been following Air Force Times’ reports on the disgraceful conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Building 18 in Washington, which houses our troops who are recuperating...
  • Air Force Times Letters
    Band makes a difference
  • 60 years forward, one nude pictorial back
    It has been 60 years since the Air Force was founded as a separate service. Airmen whose careers spanned those years drove the transformation from an air force to an air and space force. These...
  • Bitter medicine:What the Air Force must give up now to pay for tomorrow
    “We’re in this death spiral here,” a general said. It’s “the great train wreck.”
  • Air Force Times Editorial: VA investigation needed
    According to his family, when former Pvt. Jonathan Schulze told a Department of Veterans Affairs psychologist that he was feeling suicidal, he was told that the earliest appointment he could get was...
  • Diplomatic skill, experience make Fallon a perfect fit
    The recent selection of Adm. William “Fox” Fallon, current commander, Pacific Command, to replace Army Gen. John Abizaid as commander, Central Command, has raised some eyebrows within the...
  • Nonstop nonsense: Other matters outweigh Pelosi’s transportation dilemma
    While they ought to be debating bigger issues, a few lawmakers on Capitol Hill are haggling over what kind of Air Force plane should transport the speaker of the House of Representatives.
  • Air Force Times Letters
    Fitness questions remain
  • Air Force Times Editorial: Fix disability system
    Recent reports by the Military Times newspapers, The Washington Post and others have highlighted the plight of hundreds of injured and wounded troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.
  • Air Force Editorial: New budget reality
    For close to 15 years, Air Force leaders have pushed for two hugely expensive new fighter aircraft, the F-22A Raptor and the Joint Strike Fighter — now known as the F-35 — ignoring...
  • U.S. must re-establish historic multilateral links
    Debate over the next phase of political and military strategy for Iraq is in full cry, just as new leaders in Congress and the Defense Department confront major strains on military personnel,...
  • Air Force Times Letters
    Academy not a prison
  • No politics required: Airmen are public face of the service, not its ‘ambassadors’
    Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne should have chosen a different word when he said this winter that every airman is an ambassador.
  • Air Force Times Editorial: Vaccine policy at issue
    Just as the Pentagon is set to resume mandatory anthrax shots for the troops, the vaccine’s sole manufacturer, Emergent BioSolutions, says it is testing its product as a potential treatment...
  • Air Force Times Letter: Decals good for bikers
    I love the idea of stickers no longer being required on car windows to gain entry to our air bases [“Stickers coming off,” Feb. 5, Frontlines]. Hill Air Force Base, Utah, quit issuing...
  • Air Force Times Letter: Decals good for bikers
    I love the idea of stickers no longer being required on car windows to gain entry to our air bases [“Stickers coming off,” Feb. 5, Frontlines]. Hill Air Force Base, Utah, quit issuing...
  • Air Force Times Editorial: A drawdown or not?
    During the Air Force Association meeting last week in Orlando, Fla., Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and Secretary Michael Wynne told reporters they may reconsider this summer the plan to draw...
  • Revive and restore our medical facilities, system
    Our military health care system is stressed and, in some respects, unsustainable.
  • Air Force Times Editorial: Empty posturing on Iraq
    Having been AWOL on its Iraq war oversight duties for the first four years of the conflict, the Senate finally seemed poised in early February to stage a debate on the conflict.
  • Air Force Times Editorial: Empty posturing on Iraq
    Having been AWOL on its Iraq war oversight duties for the first four years of the conflict, the Senate finally seemed poised in early February to stage a debate on the conflict.
  • Air Force Times Letters
    Don’t mock financiers
  • Super, Hercules
    The C-130J has stymied its critics since the first one was ordered in 1995.
  • Air Force Times Letters
    Private care superior
  • Air Force Times Editorial: One is too many
    Like thousands of America’s youngest generation of veterans, former Marine Jonathan Schulze came home from Iraq, hung up his uniform and tried to move on.
  • Air Force Times Editorial: Making fitness count
    The Air Force is poised to add physical fitness test results to the performance reviews of its enlisted airmen and officers.
  • Keep historic A-12 on display at Minnesota Air Guard Museum
    The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is penalizing volunteers in Minnesota for taking good care of one of its airplanes.
  • Get the fight off the ground
    If you haven’t read the Army and Marine Corps’ new counterinsurgency doctrine set out in Field Manual (FM) 3-24, you should.
  • Air Force Times editorial: Send ABUs to desert
    It is unsettling to think that the Air Force’s new utility uniform, heretofore showcased only in its crisp, factory-fresh splendor, will soon be stained by whatever carnage awaits airmen during...
  • ‘Citizen soldier’ became hero with Hell Hawks in Europe
    When retired Col. James G. Wells died Jan. 11 at age 86, the Air Force lost a hero and a combat leader.
  • Air Force Times editorial: Improve Reserve GI Bill
    In what has become something of an annual rite, lawmakers once again are talking of improving GI Bill education benefits — and the place to start is with fixes to the Reserve GI Bill.
  • Air Force Times letters
    Enlisted want course, too
  • Airman in charge
    If you’re a staff sergeant or a captain doing one of the hard jobs that today’s hard times demand, maybe you lack the luxury of thinking much about the four-star officer atop your...
  • Needed: a force for today’s fight — and tomorrow’s
    In the Jan. 10 Washington Times, retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Scales, former commandant of the Army War College, lamented the portion of the defense budget directed at the Army and the Marine Corps...
  • Military not ready to change ‘don’t ask’
    What does sexuality have to do with one’s ability to do one’s job? I suppose nothing if that person and those around him are professionals. I believe that is what retired Gen....
  • Air Force Times editorial: Planes and people
    The chairman of the House armed services military personnel subcommittee says his top legislative priority this year is to make sure the military is the right size and has the right people to...
  • Will a living airman ever again rate highest valor award?
    In December, Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., suggested that the nation is being too tightfisted with its highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.
  • Sergeant sets poor example
    Staff Sgt. Michelle Manhart is a disgrace to every woman who has ever worn the uniform [“‘When I’m not in uniform,’” Frontlines, Jan. 22]. She put herself out there in...
  • Listen up
    Who should be responsible for making strategic and military policy?
  • Air Force Times Letters
    By adding a reduction in force of more than 1,000 captains and majors with six to 12 years’ experience to the inventory of other force-reduction efforts — Selective Early Retirement...
  • Air Force Times editorial: A short-term surge?
    President Bush’s new objective in Iraq appears to be to stabilize the country so Americans can leave with our heads held high.
  • Air Force Times letters
    The information accompanying a photo of C-17s in formation on Dec. 21 is a distortion of history [“History on the fly,” Transitions, Jan. 8]. It was not the largest formation of aircraft...
  • Best defense is U.S.-based
    Wars are won, experts argue, only on the ground, where troops lock eyeballs with their foe. Success depends on soldiers’ and Marines’ ability to take terrain and hold it, they say.
  • Air Force Times editorial: 6 issues for new Congress
    The new Democratic Congress has an ambitious agenda for its first 100 hours in power, to include the national minimum wage, embryonic stem cell research and alternative energy options.
  • Air Force Times letters
    I was not aware the Air Force Academy had retired enlisted personnel on the staff. But after reading the article “Bringing up junior” in the Dec. 25 issue, I can readily see why it has...
  • Air Force Times editorial: Looking for a new course
    The military professionals who make up the core of today’s career force no longer believe President Bush is on the right track in Iraq. According to this year’s Military Times Poll, only...
  • Air Force Times editorial: BAH standards outdated
    The 3.5 percent average increase in the Basic Allowance for Housing in 2007 is lower than in recent years, when the average hikes ran to 6 percent, 7 percent or more.
  • Air Force Times editorial: It’s about time
    The Air Force says its experiments with jet-engine fuel made from natural gas are going well — welcome news in a world that has likely bid adieu to the peak of oil production.
  • Air Force Times editorial: All services essential
    When President Bush told reporters that he wants to grow the size of the Army and Marine Corps, it was welcome news.
  • Gary Blied: Solemn flight delivers airman to final repose
    On Dec. 3, I was the co-pilot for American Airlines Flight 1904, traveling from Chicago to Miami.
  • New year, new hope: Reasons for optimism as the Air Force enters 2007
    As we enter a new year, it’s an ideal moment for a few observations about how the Air Force is doing.
  • Troops hoping to be ‘home for Christmas’ has a historical ring
    “I will be home from the war by Christmas.”
  • Air Force Times letters
    Air Force Times’ editorial “Trust but verify” [Dec. 18] is sloppy journalism. Although the newspaper broke the story about then-Brig. Gen. Richard S. Hassan’s misconduct and...
  • Robert F. Dorr: A fair shake
    Imagine an Air Force crew arriving in Mobile, Ala., to pick up a new KC-30 tanker at thefactory.There it is, on the parking apron at the assembly plant. Painted in the “cloud gray” used...
  • Air Force Times letters
    At 10½ years of service, I went through Officer Training School and received my commission early in 2005. At that time, I had not heard of the force-shaping initiative. I learned about it near the...
  • Air Force Times editorial: A mess to clean up
    Just in time for the holidays, Republican leaders of the outgoing 109th Congress and Democratic leaders of the incoming 110th Congress have teamed up to drop a large lump of coal on our troops and...
  • David R. Welling: ‘Transformation’ has weakened a strong military
    Poet Wallace McRae, author of a collection titled “Cowboy Curmudgeon,” penned a fine poem called “Reincarnation” that describes a conversation between two cowboy friends about...
  • UH-1N replacement is one need that can’t be postponed
    The Air Force is busily replacing many of its older aircraft. The aging UH-1N Twin Huey helicopter isn’t one of them.
  • Air Force Times editorial: Lawmakers honor valor
    Nothing fires the blood of a war veteran more than a poser who wears or boasts about combat medals and decorations he didn’t earn.
  • Air Force Times letters
    In response to Robert F. Dorr’s column “Something to prove” regarding the Air Force’s selection of the HH-47 as the CSAR-X winner [Back Talk, Dec. 4], the Air Force made the...
  • Charlie Dunlap: Airmen must understand meaning, purpose of airpower to succeed
    What do you understand about airpower? Surprisingly, for a lot of people who call themselves “Airmen,” the true answer is “not as much as I should.”
  • Air Force Times letters
    The Military Officers Association of America sponsored a symposium to discuss the all- voluntary manning of our military. Based on what I read, the generals and bureaucrats seem to be doing a lot of...
  • Air Force Times editorial: Choosing the right helo
    The controversy surrounding the Air Force’s selection of the Boeing HH-47 as its new combat search-and-rescue helicopter stems from widespread surprise at the service’s answer to a...
  • Editorial: Don’t reinvent the wheel
    The Army may have been slow in 2004 to fit its vehicles with armor plate, but it’s moving at record speed in 2007 when it comes to buying combat robots.
  • Tough choice
    There is a long and unfortunate history of ill-conceived decisions made in Washington, D.C., that have negatively affected the military. But a new one, having to do with the contentious Air Force...
  • Letters
    Thanks for publishing the excerpt from Lt. Col. David Bolgiano’s opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal [“Deadly double standards,” Frontlines, July 16]. It’s important to...
  • Spat between Clinton, DoD official good for no one, troops included
    Is it wrong for a Pentagon official to be disrespectful toward a member of Congress?
  • Editorial: Get your own EODs
    Few service members are more in demand these days than the airmen, soldiers and sailors who work in explosive ordnance disposal. Away from home much of the time, they protect their fellow service...
  • Editorial: Time for action
    These are the facts:
  • Editorial: Fitness non-negotiable
    The Air Force is getting tougher about physical fitness, and we applaud those efforts. Performance reports will soon note whether airmen, enlisted and officers, have passed their physical fitness...
  • Editorial: Upgrade the GI Bill
    Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb wants a renewed national commitment to the GI Bill to reward wartime service and sacrifice of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.
  • Taking techno-warfare too far
    When machine replaced man during the Industrial Revolution of the early 1800s and threatened the centuries-old caste of the English artisans, they rose up in protest.
  • Letters
    I want to respond to the letter in the July 23 issue of Air Force Times by retired Maj. Van Harl [“Respecting fallen airman”]. He stated that the Air Force forced untrained and...
  • Its inaccuracies make ‘Rescue Dawn’ a military movie to miss
    The film “Rescue Dawn,” which opened in theaters July 27, is the story of Dieter Dengler, a German-born U.S. naval aviator who was shot down in Laos on Feb. 1, 1966, and imprisoned for...
  • Letters
    I disagree with Gens. Charles Horner, Michael Ryan and Michael Short on their Back Talk column of Jan. 28 [“The tanker debate: Why bigger is better”].

  • The Air Force is cutting members to save money, but also asking for more money to hire more members. This reminds me of companies who fire expensive experience in exchange for hiring cheaper...
  • Letters
    The Commission on the National Guard and Reserve proposes “scrapping the entire military retirement system and making active-duty troops wait until at least age 57 or later to begin drawing...
  • Government must stop treating Guard like active-duty force
    The Air National Guard is changing, but the changes aren’t good for troops, taxpayers or the nation.
  • Editorial: Smart thinking, not money, is the answer
    The final budget of any U.S. administration draws intense scrutiny, and the proposed 2009 spending plan is no exception.
  • George Marshalls wanted
    On these pages some weeks ago, several prominent retired Air Force generals offered views on what should guide the Air Force’s choice of a replacement for the KC-135 tanker aircraft. Similar...
  • Editorial: When ‘no’ means ‘no’
    The brief but intense flap between Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Air Force over the future of the F-22 was inevitable, given service leaders’ continuous efforts to drum up support for...
  • Editorial: An outdated standard
    Basic Allowance for Housing rates are vastly improved after five years of hefty increases earlier this decade. But the housing standards underpinning the rates are another story.
  • Academy denies cadet ban on downtown
    The “fine young cadets” are not “college students.” They are U.S. Air Force Academy cadets (i.e. officers in training) who voluntarily chose to go to USAFA and submit to the...
  • KC-10 provides an important lesson
    The Air Force’s KC-10 Extender, purchased long ago because it is both a tanker and a transport, has been pulling mostly tanker duty. Therein lies a lesson from an aging but stalwart aircraft,...
  • Letters
    I read the opinion titled “Airman can do anything” in the Feb. 11 issue [Letters].
  • Editorial: Continue the effort to ensure pay parity
    Congress and the Pentagon are gearing up for a reprise of what has become an annual rite of spring — wrangling over the size of the military pay raise.
  • Airmen need no reminders of Guam’s location, significance
    When the Air Force lost a B-2A Spirit bomber in Guam on Feb. 23, news outlets saw a need to remind readers where Guam is.
  • Letters
    It appears the Air Force is going to become a faceless, nameless military when it comes to personnel services and training. I am an Active Guard/Reserve airman and am becoming more and more appalled...
  • An indefensible defense budget
    As President Bush backs out the White House door, he is asking Congress to appropriate enough money for the coming fiscal year to enable the Pentagon and its government sidekicks to spend $1.2...
  • ‘Above All’ is new Air Force ad campaign
    My co-worker and I just watched the [promo] and were in awe of how unbelievably badly it was put together. Fundamentally, every¬thing about it is flawed; from the lame music, to the...
  • Editorial: Clarify need for airmen
    Airmen recognize the need to modernize the fleet, and have accepted the argument that downsizing the force was the price they had to pay to replace aging airplanes.
  • Editorial: Follow up for families
    Defense Department officials have spoken often and at length in recent years about their commitment to military families. But Congress wants to see less talk and more action.
  • The infamous flight suit
    What benefit to the Air Force is it to have members walking around in flight suits at headquarters? About the only thing I can come up with is easy identification of flying personnel, but isn’t...
  • Letters
    Aside from the fact that we have been spending money on unnecessary frivolities or legacy projects (new uniforms, etc.), the new slogan is, at best, mundane [“Above all,” March 3]. I do...
  • Tanker decision bad for Boeing, good for troops, taxpayers
    If you were reading newspapers shortly after the decision was announced, you’d have needed more than a glance at the headlines to learn who’ll build the Air Force’s next air...
  • Editorial: Above all, be forthright
    Over the past several years, the Air Force has spent an average of $53 million on its recruiting ads. It hasn’t missed a monthly recruiting goal since 1999. So good is its record, that even...
  • Editorial: Reward early promotions
    A sweeping new report on military compensation seeks to reward the military’s fastest risers with a permanent pay advantage.
  • Letters
    The Air Force has been struggling for a long time to find the answers to some of the uniform issues bothering enlisted members — without much success. While I was an enlisted crew chief, the...
  • Northrop awarded $35 billion to $40 billion contract
    How does choosing EADS over Boeing maximize U.S. interests? It doesn’t. The U.S. has appeared to shoot itself in the foot. Problem is the U.S. doesn’t feel any pain. Numb to the whole...
  • Stop taxing the troops
    Suppose that every time you pulled a dollar bill out of your right pocket and then put it in your left pocket, you were charged a few cents for the transaction. Odds are the dollar would stay put.
  • Five questions irrelevant to tanker decision
    When the Air Force announced that its new air refueling tanker would be the Airbus A330-200, many believed the service had chosen the better plane. But some objected for reasons unrelated to aircraft...
  • Editorial: Wrong decision, again
    Almost 12 years ago, 19 airmen were killed when terrorists blew up a fuel truck outside the Khobar Towers housing complex in Saudi Arabia.
  • Editorial: Rank injustice
    Rank has always had its privileges in the military — and nowhere is that more clear than in the final honors rendered to service members buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
  • 18 states vie for Cyber Command headquarters
    Stable weather for satellite communications would be a high pri¬ority; physical security would be second. Other than those two, I can’t really think of a geographic reason to pick one...
  • A virtual environment for a cyber command
    Many in the business world view the establishment of Cyber Command as a plum to be picked. Funding for the command is expected to reach $10 billion in the 2010 Program Objective Memorandum. However,...
  • Identity theft
    A lot of people believe the Strategic Air Command won the Cold War. Now, veterans of SAC, which went out of existence in 1992, are complaining that their most important symbol is being stolen. The...
  • Letters
    Recently, I had the opportunity to move up in family housing, but before I could move, I had to have my house inspected and the housing office had to verify I could pay for it.
  • Editorial: Raise single BAH rates
    A sweeping study of military pay calls for bringing fairness to the Basic Allowance for Housing. It’s about time.
  • Editorial: UAV career long needed
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates is pressuring the Air Force to get more Predators into the skies above Iraq, and the service is struggling to do just that.
  • 2nd star back in limbo for Khobar Towers CO
    Of course the decision has to be reversed. If the person who the USAF held to be responsible wasn’t actually responsible that would mean that the USAF held the wrong person accountable and will...
  • Letters
    I was very disappointed to see Air Force Cyber Command is proposing to use the Strategic Air Command patch as its own [“Patch plagiarism?” March 24, Frontlines].
  • Security-state mentality gets in the way of Air Force’s story
    When I was about 14 years old, a lieutenant colonel who was a test pilot knocked on the front door.
  • Decisive action
    We ask a lot of our combat aircrews. We ask them to go deep behind enemy lines, braving air defenses that include enemy fighters, anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles.
  • Editorial: Restoring faith
    For the past year and a half, officers and enlisted airmen have been waiting to see how the Air Force would handle the case of Col. Michael D. Murphy, former commander of the Air Force Legal...
  • Editorial: Don’t phish own waters
    In the pervasive online scam known as “phishing,” con artists create official-looking e-mails that appear to come from credit card companies, banks, charities, government agencies and...
  • B-52 crews to focus on nuke mission 6 months at a time
    If they are forced to focus exclusively on nukes for six months (or more) at a time, they’ll lose currency on the conventional side. This will come back to bite them a couple of years from now,...
  • Letters
    I am a former Air Guardsman, now a reservist, and the Guard’s mission and real-world problems go over the head of some active-duty people who never had to work a day outside of active duty in...
  • Commanders should encourage airmen to express opinions
    A disturbing theme has emerged in responses I’ve received to previous “Back Talk” columns: Some active-duty readers are reluctant to speak out for fear of damaging their careers. In...
  • Editorial: A program of success
    The story of the F-117A Nighthawk, the world’s first stealthy aircraft, is a reminder of all that is good about the Air Force.
  • Editorial: VA overhaul overdue
    Congress held a hearing last week on ways to modernize the benefits claims system at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has a backlog of 600,000 claims and counting.
  • Letters
    I’d like Robert F. Dorr to consider this alternate scenario in his charming story of how an F-86 test pilot showed up at his door in 1953 to answer questions about the Air Force’s most...
  • ABU problems
    Did anyone think this through? They fielded a uniform with no provisions for cold weather. They fielded a uniform with absolutely no coordination with the field. AAFES and the MCSS are a joke. Does...
  • ‘Above All’ ads misfire
    The Air Force is cool. That’s the message of the service’s new “Above All” advertising campaign. Like so much the military does today, the creation of a print, radio,...
  • Retirement-pay delay would discourage service
    The proposal to award 25 percent of basic pay to a retiree with 10 years of service, but not until the retiree reaches 62, ignores reality, history and human nature.
  • Editorial: Secure the vote
    A couple of decades into the Internet age, billions of dollars in commerce is transacted by credit cards via secure online servers.
  • Editorial: Make fitness count
    Airmen are steadily getting fatter, and Air Force fitness standards, which were toughened up in 2004, have failed to stop that trend.
  • College-campus model may replace chow halls
    Allowing airmen to spend their food allowances as the major universities do would make them manage their funds a little more wisely and give them more options for their meals.
  • Air power advocate with IW vision needed
    The Air Force claims to present “fighting forces with a highly asymmetric advantage over [irregular warfare] adversaries,” but it needs a vocal and visible air power leader to guide its...
  • Funding the future
    The U.S. news media reported fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan on March 3, but said nothing about the Horn of Africa, where AC-130 gunships of Air Force Special Operations Command have been quietly...
  • Letters
    I recently read the article regarding Gen. Terry Schwalier’s problems, once again, getting his second star [“Khobar Towers CO to petition president for second star,” April 21].
  • Process over purpose
    Three companies are vying for the $15 billion, 140-aircraft program: Boeing, which is offering the HH-47; Lockheed Martin, which is promoting the US101; and Sikorsky, which is offering the...
  • GWOT or not? The term isn’t important, but the facts are
    When we refer to what the military is doing today, should we use the term Global War on Terror?
  • A simple first step
    It is a well-understood shame that it can take a disabled veteran years to gnaw through red tape to collect what is owed. And should the veteran die before his claim is settled, which happens with...
  • Letters
    As a career airlifter with 18 years of heavy airlift experience (first with the C-141 and now with the C-5), I was dismayed to see the C-5 portrayed as a doomed airlift platform due to cost overruns...
  • Balance flight training
    Back in March, the Air Force announced that it planned to cut fiscal 2008 training flight hours by 10 percent, an attempt to save money for modernization and recapitalization of the fleet.
  • Good for recruiters
    The Air Force has a new career path — career recruiter.
  • Letters
    I am writing in response to “Too perfect” [Oct. 8].
  • Letters
    I am writing in response to “Too perfect” [Oct. 8].
  • Airlift answers
    American workers are busy manufacturing the most versatile airlifter ever built. But no new C-17 Globemasters were ordered in the 2008 budget. That means the C-17 plant and hundreds of its parts...
  • Welcoming chaplains
    The Catholic Church has difficulty finding enough people to be priests. And the military services struggle to find enough priests to become military chaplains.
  • Hidden danger
    Is housing privatization the unqualified savior some seem to think? It is tempting to say so because it has produced new or refurbished housing at certain bases.
  • Increase GI Bill benefits
    Without the political muscle to beef up the GI Bill so it fully covers the cost of a college education, lawmakers are seeking other ways to help troops pay for school.
  • Letters
    I would like to add my comments on the airman battle uniform.
  • Editorial: Questions for VA nominee
    The White House’s nomination of retired Lt. Gen. James Peake as the next secretary of Veterans Affairs is an interesting choice.
  • Editorial: Test of a good leader
    How can an individual’s leadership potential be determined?
  • Letters
    It was a great article in the Oct. 29 Air Force Times.
  • Cancel this show
    Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley seem imprisoned in a two-man, two-act stage play with two incompatible story lines.
  • Standing by policy, beliefs, Pace set example for all to follow
    Just before his Oct. 1 retirement, Gen. Peter Pace, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, faced one last question on his views about the Defense Department policy on gays in the military.
  • Airmen met the Challenge
    In Air Force Times’ online article posted Oct. 10 about the Marine team that won the Wilderness Challenge, little was said about the “best” Air Force team, which placed seventh...
  • Crack or chasm?
    Following an intense six-week investigation into the “Bent Spear” incident involving airmen at Minot and Barksdale Air Force bases, Maj. Gen. Richard “Dick” Newton, deputy...
  • Tough decisions needed to be ready for future conflicts
    America’s Air Force is smaller than when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
  • Editorial: Don’t cheat test, buddies
    The latest disturbing news from Iraq: troops have cheated on problem-solving tests used to spot traumatic brain injuries in order to avoid being pulled out of their units for treatment.
  • Editorial: Beyond nuke checklists
    Col. Joel Westa, the new commander of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., is in charge of fixing the problems that led to one of the most embarrassing episodes in Air Force history.
  • Letters
    Robert Farley’s arguments for eliminating the Air Force [“All or nothing,” Nov. 5] are not grounded in fact. He said “bombing ... failed to be a decisive factor in World War...
  • Editorial: Time off: They earn it
    The Air Force policy regarding time off after deployments dates back more than 10 years — long before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Editorial: Treat problems early
    A new study puts hard data behind the many anecdotal reports that mental health problems among combat troops often take months to appear.
  • Work on Raptor’s fuselage, data link is way overdue
    The Air Force needs to fix the F-22 Raptor as quickly as possible.
  • Letters
    I work in the Alexandria Neurosurgical Clinic in Alexandria, La.
  • Strength in diversity
    Since the integration of our military 58 years ago, and particularly following the establishment of the all-volunteer force, the U.S. military remains the greatest equalizing institution in our...
  • How I remember Pearl Harbor
    On Dec. 7, 1941, I was the commander of a radar station on top of Mount Solidad, near La Jolla, Calif. My detachment consisted of one officer — me — and about 42 enlisted radar...
  • Editorial: Give Young plan a chance
    Any initiative launched in the last year of a presidential administration faces an uphill battle for survival, and the prognosis is even worse when it comes from a team suffering record-low approval...
  • Does the Bush administration care about veterans?
    I believe most of our nation’s leaders, regardless of political affiliation, mean well toward those who’ve served in the armed forces. And I believe they have good intentions toward our...
  • Going with privatized housing is faster, cheaper, better
    Taking care of our people has always been an Air Force priority. Airmen are our most valuable asset, and they are most productive and focused on the fight when their families are taken care of...
  • Flight-line maintenance
    As a 23-year fighter crew chief, I wholeheartedly support the idea of putting not only crew chiefs, but all flight-line maintenance, back under the command of pilots.
  • Letters
    On Dec. 7, 1941, I was the commander of a radar station on top of Mount Solidad, near La Jolla, Calif. My detachment consisted of one officer — me — and about 42 enlisted radar...
  • Letters
    I just read the article in the Nov. 26 issue of Air Force Times titled “Home, but not free,” and I am interested in the topic of restricted post-deployment leave because it is a question...
  • Combat-injured vets deserve full bonuses
    For several months, the Defense Department has been aware of a problem and has done little to address it.
  • Editorial: Long road looms for VA
    The huge backlog of veterans’ benefits claims, now 400,000 and growing, is hardly a secret.
  • Air Mobility Command chief addresses critical issues
    “I’m glad to be back here, wearing this patch,” Gen. Arthur J. Lichte said. “The connection is in my heart.”
  • Self-service support
    The Army and Air Force recently selected the C-27J aircraft for assault airlift — direct, fixed-wing airlift support in the forward battle area on short, rough airstrips.
  • Editorial: Are we ready for next war?
    After six years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, readiness levels across the military have reached alarmingly low levels.
  • Think before we redeploy
    We can’t simply wish our armed forces home from Iraq — and we can’t leave them there indefinitely.
  • Editorial: Pilot cuts make sense
    The Air Force is known as a pilot’s service.
  • Editorial: Might alone won’t win
    After six years of conflict in what the administration bills as a generational struggle against Islamist extremism, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has it right: Military power, even purchased at a...
  • In high-stakes region, PacAF builds its fleet
    Now that he is in command of Pacific Air Forces, Gen. Carrol “Howie” Chandler is responsible for 55,000 airmen and a vast region that stretches from India to Alaska.
  • Letters
    I love the Air Force physical training test, but it needs some work. I came into the Air Force at 18. I was 6-foot-4, 173 pounds, and had a 34-inch waist. Fast forward 14 years: Parachuting has taken...
  • Editorial: Justify two-war budget
    In a tacit admission that the Air Force has failed to articulate a clear strategy for the future, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said Dec. 3 the service is developing a budget for what leaders are...
  • Editorial: Inappropriate housing
    Not long ago, troops living off base were paying about 20 percent of their housing costs out of pocket. Five years of above-average BAH hikes earlier this decade cut that figure to zero. Yet some...
  • Put ‘sortie generation’ troops with pilots? It makes sense
    The Air Force has announced changes for crew chiefs and other enlisted airmen who make it possible for pilots to fly.
  • Letters
    As an American, I am greatly ashamed at the rationale suggested to bring back the draft [“Conscript young citizens,” Letters, Dec. 3].
  • Saving the military
    The stage is set for our armed services to relive the worst days of the 1970s, when discipline broke down, crime ran rampant, race relations soured, many of the best and brightest in the junior...
  • U.S. must unite to aid vets
    It has become abundantly clear this year that our military medical system is not equipped to provide all the physical and psychological care that returning veterans need.
  • Forums
    I favor a 15-15-20 point system for push-ups, sit-ups and body comp respectively. That way you can tank the body comp and still pass if you max everything else out. The safety net for this would be...
  • Editorial: Close loan loopholes
  • Editorial: Patients shouldn’t pay
  • A legacy set in stone
  • Post-Iraq ‘reset’ must include investment in new aircraft
  • Letters
    I’m concerned about where the Air Force is going.
  • Editorial: Committed to the mission
    This year’s Military Times Poll reflects in cold hard numbers what we’ve known from our personal contact with the members of our professional military: It’s made up of tough,...
  • Editorial: Improve GI Bill benefits
    In a groundbreaking move several years ago, Congress linked GI Bill payment rates to inflation, ensuring that the payments rise each Oct. 1.
  • Letters
    Why do we feel like we have been kicked in the teeth yet again?
  • Waist measurement
    When this started, the Air Force said [that] it used informa¬tion from the Cooper Institute to come up with these waist mea¬surements. If 40” and 35” respectively are healthy...
  • F-15 among problems carried into new year
    The flagship of the Air Force’s fighter fleet is grounded.
  • Editorial: Flight pay on hold
    More than three months into fiscal 2008, the Air Force has yet to finalize its primary retention incentive program for pilots.
  • Editorial: Bill, veto unfair to troops
    President Bush gave service members a rude holiday jolt Dec. 28 with a last-minute veto of the 2008 defense authorization bill.
  • Letters
    I am interested in knowing how the system for determining Basic Allowance for Housing raises was established.
  • Flight engineer retraining
    I’ve never found any rhyme or reason to the whole retraining pro¬gram in the Air Force. I don’t think the process is set up to meet the needs of the airmen and the Air Force. It is...
  • Troops left out of process for choosing presidential nominees
    The way the two major parties choose their nominees for president is wrong for all Americans, but especially wrong for service members.
  • Medical emergency
    The next time you happen upon an Air Force doc, ask this question: Do you think Air Force medicine is growing stronger and more capable as time goes by?
  • Editorial: Fix child custody rules
    A New York appeals court has upheld a 2006 ruling that should send chills through the ranks.
  • Editorial: TSAT money crucial
    Warfare has always been a jigsaw puzzle — all the pieces have to be in the right places for the whole to make any sense.
  • Minority rate of new academy class is step in right direction
    Last summer, I visited the Air Force Academy on what happened to be Cadet Acceptance Day, looking for information on minority students accepted for admission and becoming officers after four very...
  • ABU Parka MIA?
    I’m starting to see more individuals wearing the airman battle uniform and frankly it’s cold out. Clothing Sales isn’t restocking battle dress uniforms as much anymore, so I had...
  • Avenge not
    If you’re in the Air Force, the answer must be yes.
  • Letters
    I was reading the article “Lethal sisterhood” [Dec. 31] on female airmen in combat and noticed that the vehicle operations career field (2T1X1) wasn’t mentioned.
  • Editorial: Airmen need combatives
    Airmen now at Officer Training School are being introduced to the Air Force’s new hand-to-hand combat training program.
  • Editorial: The wrong message
    There was something funny about that voice.
  • EVANGELISM IN THE AIR FORCE
    I’ve never been denied promotion because of religion; however, I have been made uncomfortable plenty of times. As far as airmen and the freedom to express beliefs, they should do it on...
  • The tanker debate: Why bigger is better
    In the near future, the Air Force will select a replacement for the KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft. Some have suggested a smaller aircraft would be better, but we doubt the wisdom of that advice.
  • A crisis, but not end of world
    Beyond doubt, the Air Force of 2008 faces challenges. But are we on the verge of disaster?
  • Letters
    I appreciate the service Air Force Times provides to its readers, and would like to respond to the editorial “Flight pay on hold” [Jan. 14].
  • The tanker debate: It’s all about pilot control
    Selecting America’s next tanker aircraft is one of the most critical decisions the Air Force will make in 2008.
  • A force divided
    The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on homosexuals in the military has been controversial since it became law in 1993. Gays and lesbians have served their nation admirably...
  • Editorial: Pentagon must demand integrity from charity
    It’s becoming clear that America Supports You, a Defense Department charitable program that supports troops and their families, needs tighter oversight.
  • No promotion tests on deployment
    I have mixed feelings on this one. For many, it makes sense. They are working 12-hour-plus shifts. Can’t necessarily get a quiet place conducive to studying. Have more important things to worry...
  • Letters
    I read with absolute horror the Jan. 21 article regarding a soldier who lost custody of her child because she deployed [“Soldier loses custody while deployed to Iraq”].
  • Where are the Air Force’s female four-stars?
    The Air Force invited me to make an orientation flight aboard a tanker. It was May 24, 1984, at Mildenhall, England. I was writing a book.
  • New nuke-handling procedure issued
    153 pages — this isn’t a procedure; this is a recipe for administra¬tive fault-finding.
  • Letters
    I was reading the article in the Jan. 7 issue of Air Force Times in regard to Gen. Roger Brady’s outlook on the length of Air Expeditionary Force rotations and the Air Force taking on different...
  • Editorial: Retire this bad idea
    The Commission on the National Guard and Reserve, chartered by Congress to study and propose changes to every aspect of the reserve components, released its final report Jan. 31.
  • Editorial: Eye on the ball
    The Air Force has announced revisions in its nuclear weapons maintenance procedures.
  • Delaying new bomber would be a mistake
    The Air Force must move forward on a new bomber.
  • Pacific Air Forces steers through changes, challenges
    America’s air arm in the Asian and Pacific region is becoming more important every day.
  • New world, new strategy
    Ever since Sept. 11, fear has become the driving force in American daily life, with defense lobbyists and government officials ready to provide us security with increasingly excessive budget demands.
  • From the forums
    Anyone have any leads on where to get BDU function badges? I’ve been trying to order online but everything is ABU, and I was going to try to reach 2011 with BDUs. The problem I’m facing...
  • Letters
    What I think most folks fail to realize is that Basic Allowance for Housing is designed for the rental market and not the mortgage market.
  • Editorial: Change starts at the top
    Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently echoed the mantra of his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, by saying the military is not moving fast enough to address wartime needs.
  • Editorial: More than words
    “Our troops are our most valuable asset,” military leaders like to say. But as we begin National Military Appreciation Month, it is worth examining how actions and words sometimes...
  • Bill to ban pornography on military bases
    Has anyone informed Rep. Paul Broun that we pay his salary? Maybe we should get a say in what he is allowed to buy with his paycheck.
  • Letters
    The article on the Air Force Mobility Command weight loss directive [“Cutting the fat,” April 28] was very interesting, but I have to admit I was perturbed. As a diet therapy technician...
  • All for one
    Nowadays, it’s not so easy to define the pointy end of the spear.
  • Editorial: A tribute to you
  • The first decade
    During the Air Force’s first decade, from 1947 to 1957, I was a child and teenager growing up in Washington, D.C.
  • Letters
    Regarding “Help us celebrate,” Air Force Times, Sept. 3 [Frontlines]:
  • Editorial: Moseley’s tenure

Army Times: Opinions & Columns


  • Editorial: Exchange bill off base
    The issue of adult magazine sales in military exchanges has again reared its ugly head.
  • Choose better weapon
    If the H&K 416 is a better weapon, as opposed to the M4 carbine, the Army should reverse its decision and give the H&K 416 back to the Asymmetric Warfare Group.
  • Editorial: Test marks the spot
    The question is not whether the new marksmanship qualification test now under review at Fort Benning, Ga., should go Army-wide, but how fast can leadership make it happen?
  • Letters
    An article about Military Financial in the Dec. 31 issue of Army Times, “A 584 percent loophole in loan regulations,” has given certain readers the impression that the financial services...
  • A million boots on the ground
    As we continue to learn from Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, the southern borders of the U.S., peacekeeping operations and the expanding commitment of U.S. land forces to capacity-building tasks...
  • Editorial
    For the third consecutive year, the Pentagon’s budget request for fiscal 2009 calls for big hikes in enrollment fees, deductibles and pharmacy co-pays in its Tricare health insurance program.
  • What a Democratic president could mean for the military
    With voters unhappy about the economy and Iraq, and Republicans seemingly unable to unite behind one candidate, there is a high likelihood the Democratic Party will win the White House in November....
  • Brain-injured troops cheating on tests to stay in combat
    Troops in Iraq and elsewhere have tried to avoid being pulled out of combat units by cheating on problem-solving tests that are used to spot traumatic brain-injuries, military doctors say.
  • Letters
    A subject I may have missed in past issues of Army Times is that of the general order prohibiting the use of hand-held cellular telephones while driving on military installations.
  • Backtalk
    A group of battle-hardened enlisted infantrymen from the 82nd Airborne Division wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times recently that provided an assessment of the effectiveness of American...
  • Sense of urgency needed
    The two-year-old Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization has the critical — and so far, elusive — mission of living up to its own name. The insurgent networks that build and...
  • Pass wounded warrior bill
    On the list of military issues on which Congress has shown a breathtaking mismatch between rhetoric and action, few examples loom larger than taking care of troops wounded in the wars in Iraq and...
  • Editorial
    We’ll probably never know exactly what happened Sept. 16, when private security contractors protecting a State Department convoy in Baghdad opened fire.
  • Editorial
    On Sept. 17, the Web site for the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project — which has spent the past seven years collecting the oral histories of tens of thousands of combat...
  • Letters
    In reference to the June 25 article “New dress blues not finished yet,” in my opinion, this is the worst uniform-related decision the Army has come up with since the black beret fiasco.
  • An indelible legacy
    Consolidation and modernization of Defense Department medical capabilities in Washington, D.C., will go forward using Bethesda Naval Hospital as the geographical location of both Walter Reed and...
  • Editorial: Establish valor database to honor national heroes
    After watching the film “Saving Private Ryan,” which showed scenes of the U.S. cemetery in Normandy, France, Monty McDaniel became curious about the grave of his uncle, who is buried...
  • Letters
    As a veteran who received a Purple Heart for combat wounds, I felt compelled to respond to the letter by retired Col. Richard Mosco in the Sept. 3 issue of Army Times.
  • Letter: The blues over ACUs
    The Army Combat Uniform is a flop. The negative climate around this uniform is so high it almost outweighs the outrage encountered when we went to the beret.
  • Message accomplished
    You can’t turn on the news these days without having coverage of the latest celebrity miscreant interrupted by the endless debate over pulling out of Iraq. OK, it’s not really debate,...
  • Public affairs jobs too important to contract out
    This summer, the Army, National Guard and Defense Department issued requests to industry to hire contractors to analyze and monitor media reporting and make recommendations to the highest ranks of...
  • Army Times Letters
    In response to “Building soldiers” in the Aug. 20 Letters section, I must take issue with the letter writer’s suggestion for NCOs to do something about witnessing a lack of...
  • Letters: New names for FCS
    Army leaders have announced that the Future Combat System will be renamed and that a new name has been selected, but they’re not going to announce the name until further notice. In the Aug. 13...
  • Editorial: Cut back moral waivers
    One of the hallmarks of the Army as a society within a society is that soldiers agree to live by the stricter rules of conduct, appearance and personal choice that come with being a member of a...
  • Editorial: Congress can fix Feres
    After 21-year-old Nathan Hafterson died during a routine medical procedure in March 2006, his family might well have expected they could sue the doctors and hospital whose negligence they say killed...
  • Editorial: Acquisition in limbo
    No-bid contracts, bribery, fraud — that’s just the start of the alleged improprieties under investigation by the Army, which has launched two investigations into contracting problems...
  • Command and control
    I’m going to go out on a limb and recommend a radical move in order to win in Iraq and, subsequently, defeat Islamic terrorists: Turn Iraq into an American protectorate. Iraq as a U.S.,...
  • Letters
    I’m a Reserve/Guard soldier about to leave. Five months from now, I quit.
  • Letters
    Ask what soldiers want
  • ‘Serve, support and simplify’
    For many people in our country, Iraq is a headline, a subject of a TV news segment, a topic of debate in Congress. For many others, Iraq has become a focal point in their lives, a place of heroism...
  • Editorial: More dwell time needed
    Soldiers are being deployed too often, for too long.
  • ‘Chest full of lies’
    I knew Richard McClanahan when we were stationed together at Fort Sam Houston, Texas [“Chest full of lies,” July 30].
  • Health care must focus on patients and support the family
    April 16, 2005, will live in my memory forever. One minute I was mowing the lawn with my precocious 3-year-old son, Riley, by my side; the next, I was given the devastating news that my husband,...
  • Editorial: A simple solution
    The Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act provides troops with legal protections for breaking apartment and auto leases upon receiving deployment orders.
  • Inappropriate message
    A charitable group that enjoys at least tacit official support from the Pentagon is embroiled in a controversy that is proving too hot for defense officials.
  • Letters
    As one of 10 noncommissioned officers selected to compete in last year’s Armywide Best Warrior Competition, the NCO of the year for one of the Army’s major commands and a decorated...
  • Taking techno-warfare too far
    When machine replaced man in the Industrial Revolution of the early 1800s and threatened the centuries-old caste of the English artisans, they rose up in protest.
  • Editorial: Start with the truth
    The Army, Pentagon and now the White House have turned the tragic death of Cpl. Pat Tillman into a national disgrace without end.
  • Letters
    In a letter published June 18, Sgt. Maj. Lewis W. Worrell suggested that the Army should “get rid of items on the uniform that do not match the color of the rest of the uniform” in an...
  • Unmatched dedication
    When you step back and disregard the political motivations and public opinion surrounding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, you will find some of the best men and women America has to offer.
  • Editorial: An empty gesture
    Last week’s vote in the House to pull out most U.S. troops from Iraq by April 1 may have been a well-intentioned effort by Democrats to support the troops by bringing them home. Or it may have...
  • Editorial: Right plan for reservists
    Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., is the latest lawmaker with a plan to lower the age at which reserve and National Guard members can begin drawing retirement pay.
  • Letters
    I disagree with Sgt. 1st Class James Mixon’s belief that a soldier who is a junior or senior noncommissioned officer must have to first deploy prior before being able to training anyone...
  • Editorial: Tell stories of valor
    Four Army aviators made the news July 2 for amazing combat bravery and a daring rescue. Chief Warrant Officers 2 Mark Burrows and Steven Cianfrini, their OH-58 Kiowa helicopter shot from the sky...
  • To young disabled veterans: Don’t let VA bully you
    Twenty years ago, I was nearly killed in a parachute training accident during Joint Training Exercise Gallant Eagle 82.
  • Rural America answered the military’s call, deserves better care
    The government goes to great lengths to recruit young men and women to enlist in the military. Recruiters often travel the extra mile to convince young people from rural America that the military is...
  • Editorial: The price of war
    In early July, perhaps before, perhaps soon after you read this, the U.S. military will reach a somber wartime milestone: 4,000 troops...
  • Army’s adaption to counterinsurgency gives hope for work that remains
    Lost amid the clamor and din of our national debate on Iraq is the story of how our amazing, overworked Army is taking on the mission of counterinsurgency, or COIN.
  • Editorial: Budget for construction
    If the House and Senate appropriations committees have it right — and there’s no reason to doubt them — the Pentagon is headed for rough water on military construction that could...
  • Editorial: Balance home, away time
    Many soldiers have deployed three, four and more times to Iraq, Afghanistan or both. But you won’t hear much in the way of complaints, because a shared sense of honor and duty overrides most...
  • Letters
    I read the piece “Armor feud” in the June 11 Army Times that compares the current Interceptor body armor to the Dragon Skin variety. The first thing I looked at was the weight — 28...
  • Blog: Tales from the Sandbox
    Military Times staff writer Kelly Kennedy shares her...
  • Editorial: More growth needed
    Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren appears to have a lock on confirmation for the job. The generally gentle nature of questioning he got from members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 19...
  • U.S. needs a unified, diplomatic approach to Iran
    If you’re in the armed forces, you may wonder whether our nation’s leaders are preparing to send you into a war with Iran.
  • Letters
    According to Army Regulation 670-1 (Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia), Body piercing: “When on any Army installation or other places under Army control, soldiers may not...
  • Editorial: Give troops their leave
    On April 18, Pentagon personnel chief David S.C. Chu announced details of a new plan to compensate combat troops who are deployed longer or more often than Pentagon policy permits.
  • Necessary limits
    Some media question a recent change to embed ground rules in Iraq. The requirement states that images of wounded service members “will not be released without the service member’s prior...
  • Editorial: Photo rules hide the truth
    Some of war’s most memorable images include the wounded and the dead. It is impossible to chronicle a war without including that defining characteristic. But if the most current ground rules...
  • Letters
    Bonuses for captains is a great first step [“O-3s could soon get $20,000 retention bonus,” April 30].
  • ‘Army wives’ far from reality
    As an Army wife, I waited with bated breath to view the first episode of the new Lifetime series “Army Wives.” My mind was abuzz with all the trials and tribulations that surely must be...
  • Reporter’s notebook: Patrolling Adhamiyah
    The day started out calmly enough. But it wouldn’t stay that way long.
  • LETTERS
    Insurgent snipers are getting more effective, but little has been put out that is useful in helping prevent or reduce the effectiveness of sniper attacks.
  • Editorial: Keep individual honors
    For most Americans, the recent Memorial Day holiday was a three-day weekend of fun and leisure. A relative few took time to reflect on America’s war dead.
  • Journalists’ hands are tied
    Every day, thousands of American men and women perform untold acts of bravery and drudgery on behalf of what our leaders have defined as vital American interests in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  • Editorial: Award pay, not leave
    After more than five years at war, reservists continue to answer the call to arms, deploying at an unprecedented pace.
  • The road to returning to service
    Many Army retirees feel they could contribute a lot to the war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan by returning to service, but say they’ve had mixed experiences in trying to get back into uniform.
  • Editorial: Fixing the death gratuity
    In 2005, Congress raised the so-called “death gratuity” paid to survivors of service members who die on active duty from $12,000 to $100,000 — a generous gesture of wartime support.
  • Letters
    Having seen several photos of soldiers in the new service blues, I am not too thrilled with it as our service uniform.
  • Dragon skin vs. Interceptor
    Has Army-issued body armor served you well? Tell us about your experiences, your views on its effectiveness, comfort and weight. Have you or a buddy worn Dragon Skin? Tell us about that, too. Write...
  • Editorial: Prorate danger benefits
    It’s no secret that you can qualify for a full month’s danger pay — $225 — and a month’s federal tax-exclusion benefits — worth far more — for spending even...
  • LETTERS
    “Stretched thin: Deployments to leave only 4 stateside BCTs combat ready” [May 21] quoted Col. Edge Gibbons saying, “All of the brigades slated to deploy this fall will have had 12...
  • A closer look
    Despite widespread warnings that the Army is the sickest of our armed services and in danger of dying from overwork in Iraq, the Pentagon’s latest budget projections show the Army getting less...
  • Editorial: Openly test the vests
    Are soldiers going into combat with the world’s best body armor?
  • On the road to ruin
    News that the White House is now, more than four years into the Iraq war, seeking a “czar” to oversee policy implementation is a long-overdue admission that the administration has failed...
  • Letters
    The troops have spoken concerning the Army Combat Uniform.
  • Editorial: In the end, war’s truth cannot be contained
    One battlefield lesson seemingly never learned is how fundamentally wrong it is to be anything less than fully open and truthful about what is taking place in the war zone.
  • Letters: Withdrawal deadlines
    Congress confronted the White House over Iraq war policy by including a timetable for withdrawing troops in the most recent war funding bill [“Republicans seek quick veto of bill pushing troops...
  • Editorial: Money, not task forces
    A committee drawn from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council has produced a report that discusses how the Department of Veterans Affairs could