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FEATURES

  • McChord Club manager retires after 43 years of service

    After serving more than four decades in the Department of Defense, Wayne Bechard retired as the manager of the McChord Club in a ceremony here, Sept. 24.Bechard, a native of Yakima, Wash., began his service in 1970 as an enlisted emergency room technician in the Air Force. He later retrained into

  • FTU puts boomers in sky

    (Editor's note: This is part two of a three-part series on boom operator training. Part one was published Aug. 29, 2013.)After a three to 15 month period of fundamental courses, technical reviews, flight simulators and time in between classes, KC -10 Extender boom operator students earn the

  • One shot: Guard member uses tintype

    You only get one shot at life.  This is the message conveyed through the deployed works of Staff Sgt. Ed Drew, California Air National Guard, 129th Rescue Squadron aerial gunner who frequents Travis for services and support.Drew is tall and athletically built. As an aerial gunner, he is who you

  • Loadmaster delivers last C-17, father delivered first

    For one family, the term "like father, like son" has never been more true.Any father would be proud to watch their son be a part of the arrival of the last C-17 Globemaster III to Joint Base Charleston. However, for retired Chief Master Sgt. Bob Morris, felt more than pride knowing his son, Tech.

  • Grenier pilots to protect after surviving 9/11

    As Derek Grenier finished showering in the bathroom of his friend's 34th-floor apartment he felt the floor give and shudder under his feet. It was Sept. 11, 2001, and the coming events would change Derek's life.After feeling the entire structure shake, Grenier continued getting ready for the day,

  • Ops never stop

    Attention to detail is a phrase every Airman is familiar with, however, for the Airmen with 6th Operations Support Squadron airfield management team, this phrase is more than just a cliché. This hypersensitive attention is what keeps the more than one billion dollars worth of local and transient

  • Service dog brings life to Fairchild NCO

    The old saying, "dogs are a man's best friend," is no more true than for Staff Sgt. Abigail Foster.In November of 2011, Foster adopted a young golden retriever that would change her life forever.After the removal of a golf-ball sized brain tumor in 2004, Foster's journey through a maze of medical

  • KC-10, KC-135 escort Japanese jets

    Aircrew members here operating the KC-10 Extender and crew members flying two KC-135 Stratotankers from Yokota Air Base, Japan, partnered in late August with the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force to escort six of their F-15 Eagles from Japan to Eielson AFB, Alaska. The JASDF members were participating

  • The journey home: Final USAF C-17 takes inaugural flight

    As the sun rose above Long Beach, Calif., the last U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III, P-223, rolled off the Boeing assembly onto the flight line where it was prepared for its inaugural flight to Joint Base Charleston, S.C.A ceremony was held on stage with the P-223 in the backdrop for all to see,

  • The patrol that never ends

    "MacDill is the only base with a twenty-four-seven, three-sixty-five marine patrol," said Staff Sgt. Christina Ryder, a crew leader with the 6th Security Forces Squadron marine patrol. "Ever since 9/11 we've had a constant patrol in these waters." In the 12 years since 9/11, there has not ceased to