July 29, 2010 Current, former Airmen eligible for stop loss special pay Thousands of current and former Air Force members remain eligible to receive $500 in retroactive special pay for each month they were affected by stop loss. Airmen have until Oct. 21 to apply through the Air Force Personnel Center here.Air Force people eligible include active, retired and former
July 29, 2010 Local communities participate in anti-crime, drug prevention event Communities across America will come together Aug. 3 for National Night Out in an effort to curb drug use and crime. During the annual gatherings, communities and local law enforcement officials get the opportunity to meet and work together in crime and drug abuse prevention.In Bellevue, the chamber
July 26, 2010 Spouse jobs program to relaunch in October The Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts program will resume Oct. 25, but with some significant changes to the popular spouse employment program, a defense official announced today.Changes include a reduction in the amount of financial aid, a change in the population eligible to receive that
July 23, 2010 55th Wing, operations group welcomes new squadron More than 300 people celebrated the arrival of the 55th Wing's newest squadron, the 55th Intelligence Support Squadron, during an activation ceremony at the Patriot Club July 22. "This is a little bit of a different day and ceremony, which few commanders get to experience," said Col. John Hansen,
July 22, 2010 Airman pleads guilty during ‘trust’ court martial A member of the 55th Communications Squadron here pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and knowingly providing false information to a peace officer during his judge-alone court martial July 20.After accepting the plea of Airman 1st Class Corey Hernandez, listening to a number of witnesses during
July 20, 2010 12th Air Force commander visits Offutt Lt. Gen. Glenn Spears, 12th Air Force and Air Forces Southern commander, made his first official visit to Offutt as the 55th Wing's numbered Air Force commander on July 13 and 14. During his stay, General Spears was briefed on mission capabilities, saw new buildings, met with young Airmen and hosted
July 15, 2010 Officials announce NCO retraining program dates Approximately 4,345 Airmen will have the opportunity to retrain beginning today as part of the fiscal year 2011 NCO Retraining Program Air Force officials announced.The NCORP is a two-phase program designed to sustain the enlisted force by moving second-term and career Airmen from overage Air Force
July 15, 2010 Outreach 'essential' to suicide prevention, official says Preventing suicide among servicemembers and veterans calls for comprehensive education and communication, the director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury said here July 14.Testifying before the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Army Col. Robert
July 14, 2010 CSAF releases 'Vector' The Air Force's senior military leader released his vision for the future in a recent CSAF Vector 2010 that outlined five priorities and the "way ahead" for Airmen to maintain these priorities. "Our Airmen are responding to the nation's call with agility, innovation and expeditionary presence --
July 13, 2010 VA eases claims process for veterans with PTSD The Veterans Affairs Department will publish a final regulation July 13 intended to ease the claims process and improve access to health care for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. The new rule, to be published in the Federal Register, will relax the evidence requirement if the PTSD
July 13, 2010 Final MC-12 deployed to USCENTCOM AOR The 30th MC-12 Liberty was recently deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility completing the initial deployment plan, an Air Force official announced July 9."We mobilized a significant industry base and every resource at our disposal, and delivered the first Federal Aviation
July 12, 2010 Air Force's new 'virtual finance' takes customers out of waiting line The Air Force's new "virtual finance" is giving work time back to Airmen and civilians by providing a host of secure financial services that customers can access with a mouse click.Replacing the "Money - Finance Central" page on the Air Force Portal, the virtual finance page was developed with a
July 12, 2010 Fightin' Fifty Fifth wins 2009 Omaha Trophy During a special ceremony in the Bennie Davis Maintenance Facility July 7, the 55th Wing was awarded the 2009 Omaha Trophy for Strategic Aircraft Operations.In front of more than 300 wing members, 55th WG Commander Brig. Gen. John N.T. Shanahan accepted the trophy from David Brown and Mark Theisen,
July 12, 2010 Chiefs retire from Air Force after six decades With a combined total of six decades of active-duty service, Chief Master Sgts. Lisa and Roger Sirois retired from the Air Force July 6 in front of several hundred friends, family and Team Offutt members.Chief (Lisa) Sirois ends her career as the 55th Wing's command chief while Chief (Roger) Sirois'
July 9, 2010 Gates, Mullen urge participation in survey Noting the importance of getting the opinions of those who would be most affected by a possible repeal of the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law that bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, urged servicemembers to provide their input July 8.
July 7, 2010 New state-of-the-art ILS activated at Offutt Almost every day, dozens of aircraft land on Offutt's flight line, and not all of those landings are easy. Often times there are low clouds or other situations that impede the sight of pilots landing here. For the last 14 years, Offutt has utilized Precision Approach Radar, or PAR, to make things