EYES ON NUCLEAR FORCE. ÊFirst Lt. Phil Parentrau opens the blast door leading to the underground control room at an ICBM launch control facility at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.ÊThe nuclear force was in the news following the disclosure that dozens of missile officers had been implicated in a cheating scandal at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, in January. By yearÕs end, a force improvement program was in place to address morale issues. TRANSIT TO AND FROM AFGHANISTAN. Soldiers disembark their plane at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, where hundreds of soldiers and airmen worked to complete a transit hub by Feb. 1 to carry the U.S. through the waning days of the Afghan war.A WIN FOR A-10 FANS. The Air ForceÕs recommendation to retire the A-10 dominated the serviceÕs budget debate on Capitol Hill. Opposition, led by Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., worked. The final version of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act includes $331.1 million to block the retirement.MUSTACHE MARCH. Chief of Staff took the tradition Air Force-wide this year. Some enthusiastically participated; others objected to the ÒboysÕclub.ÓALL CALL. Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James Cody discussed enlisted evaluation system reform, force management programs and other issues during a March visit to Hill Air Force Base, Utah.ÊEnlisted promotion system reforms kick into gear in 2015, but involuntary force management programs have ended.20140630-N-EM343-190 - NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (June 30, 2014) ÐUS Air Force Master Sgt. David Keirns inspects landing gear bay on a C-17 Globemaster. (U.S. Navy Photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist William Clark/Released)
100TH SORTIE. An F-35 lands Aug. 26 at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. The fighter jet had completed its historic 100th sortie at the training base that will eventually be home to 144 F-35As.FORCE FOR GOOD. Staff Sgt. Daniel Leavindofske, 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron ramp team chief, and Senior Airman David Babcock, air transportation journeyman, assist with loading meals to a C-17 Globemaster III for a humanitarian airdrop mission over Iraq in August.F-22Õs DEBUT. The opening night of Operation Inherent Resolve on Sept. 22 gave the military the opportunity to unveil the combat capability of its newest operational fighter, the F-22. Two F-22s dropped bombs that night in Syria, destroying a building belonging to the Islamic State group.DISQUIET IN EUROPE. An F-16 jet from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, releases after receiving fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to RAF Mildenhall, England, during the NATO-led exercise Noble Justification in October. Events in 2014 Ñ including the invasion and annexation of Crimea in March Ñ kickstarted dozens of NATO and U.S. land, air and sea exercises in RussiaÕs nearest neighbors.WOMAN AT THE HELM. Gen. Lori Robinson in October became the first woman to lead an Air Force component major command.Ê She is the new commander of Pacific Air Forces and the air component commander for U.S. Pacific Command at a time when U.S. aircraft in the Pacific have a growing role in the Korean peninsula and face increased tension with China.EBOLA RESPONSE. In response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, airmen have been integral in setting up expeditionary field hospitals and transporting hundreds of passengers and hundreds of tons of cargo, including fuel, food, water and medical supplies.IN MEMORIAM. Capt. Will DuBois, 30, was killed Nov. 30 when his F-16 crashed shortly after takeoff as he was headed out on a mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the military's battle against Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria. "He lost his life being a hero," DuBois' father William DuBois Sr. said.Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James pins the Air Force Cross to the uniform of Master Sgt. Ivan Ruiz, a pararescueman from the 56th Rescue Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, during a ceremony at the Freedom Hangar on Hurlburt Field, Fla., Dec. 17, 2014. While deployed to Afghanistan with the 22nd Expeditionary Special Tactics Squadron, Ruiz protected his injured special operations forces teammates with fire support and provided emergency medical care under intense enemy fire in the dark, Dec. 10, 2013. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christopher Callaway)
