Airman articles from February 2002

Airman archives from February 2002

Singapore's 'sling': Mixing it up over the South China Sea.(combat training)
February 1, 2002... The two F-16 Fighting Falcons slowly started their takeoff roll. As they gathered speed, their engines roared, echoing off nearby apartment buildings. Seconds later, two more jets rumbled down the runway. One by one, they took off from...

Asia 101: Singapore offers airmen a spicy, one stop, East-meets-West feast.
February 1, 2002... The large number of people who live in tiny Singapore used to make Tech. Sgt. Sean O'Heam a bit uneasy. A country boy, he grew up on the vast plains of West Texas. Where meeting folks is a planned event. So the first time he emerged from a...

Enduring images.(war on terrorism)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, airmen and other service members have been heavily involved in Operation Enduring Freedom. The fight against terrorism has taken airmen to...

Guardian Airman. (Airman's World).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... SOUTHWEST ASIA -- How do you keep a security forces flight marching in the same direction? Put it in the capable hands of Airman 1st Class Marianne Schaeffer. She runs the Air Force "A" flight security forces dispatch center for the 332nd...

Into the fire. (Airman's World).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... DOVER, Del. -- Two firefighters from the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron fire and emergency protection flight, Dover Air Force Base, Del., practice putting out a combustible Fuel fire at the Dover State Fire School. The firefighters attend the...

Airborne emergency room. (Airman World).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -- On a short electronic leash, their beepers went off, and five members of the medical team sprung into action, racing through hospital halls to gather deployment gear. Simultaneously, the crew of an HC-130...

Under the wire. (Airman's World).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... KUNSAN AIR BASE, Korea - Staff Sgt. Gary Underwood attempts to identify an unexploded ordnance during a recent base exercise. Underwood is an explosive ordnance disposal member assigned to the 8th Civil Engineering Squadron. The periodic...

NCO fights back from 3-seconds of devastation. (Airman's World).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. - The flip, slide and face-first smash into the jagged stone wall took, by Staff Sgt. Paul Poplawski's recollection, a little less than three seconds to complete. Rocks cored the Wisconsin native's face...

Regal eagles inspire visitors in Alaska. (Airman World).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... ELMENDORE AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska - After five years as a bald eagle cage volunteer coordinator, Staff Sgt. Larry Shoemaker prepared a supreme "flight meal" for three chums on his last workday. His salmon portions were super-size sushi...

Kickin' up a storm. (Airman World).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... SAN ANTONIO - As a personnel officer, it's not unusual for Capt. Michael Brothers to push far results. But as a biathlete hoping For a spot on the U.S. Olympic biathlon team, he's pushing Far a different kind of result. Brothers started...

Guardsman balances Bugs and Hercs. (Airman's World).(Interview)
February 1, 2002... MUNIZ AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Puerto Rico -- Owning Volkswagen cars and serving in the Air National Guard are the rights of passage in the life of Tech. Sgt. Raymond Gonzalez. A C-130 turboprop engine mechanic with the 156th Maintenance...

'Don't panic': Anthrax threat deserves concern not overreaction. (Airman Consumer).
February 1, 2002... Military medical experts are echoing the same warnings and reassurances as civilian medical professionals -- Don't panic! The detection of anthrax contamination in the U.S. mail system has heightened our sensitivity and awareness associated...

Air Mail.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2002... Hind sight We enjoyed "Seeing the Light" [September '01] about the vision that can be obtained with corneal refractive surgery, like photorefractive keratectomy. We believe, though, you missed an important opportunity to explain the...

Frozen in time: Life on Lajes is like a 300-year step backward, but with a modern twist.(Lajes Air Base, Azores, Portugal)
February 1, 2002... Airman 1st Class Avita Weeks is late for work. And not for the first time. Today it's due to a bad traffic jam, a bottleneck in the center of one of the city's main streets. She's growing more frustrated with each passing second, but all...

A fateful mission: Chance meeting with Tuskegee Airmen changes B-24 bomber crew.
February 1, 2002... Somewhere in America, late in the evening, a family sits around the television, about to watch a rented movie. One of the kids asks his pop what the point is of renting the same movie for the second year in a row. "Sure, Cuba Gooding...

Skeleton crew: Utah trio hopes to slide into the Winter Olympics.
February 1, 2002... Senior Airman Trevor christie has lived through what he calls the most important minute of his life more than once. He relives it each time he slides head first down an ice track on his skeleton sled, his chin a mere two inches off the...

Tuskegee memories: Raymond Cassagnol's Tuskegee training helped start the Haitian air force.(Interview)
February 1, 2002... Combat situations flew through the computer at Raymond Cassagnol's home in Mobile, Ala., as he wrote the memoirs of his rich 81-year life. He had a long way to go -- maybe 150 pages -- before he penned the passage about enlisting in...