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  • Sharp, crisp, motionless: Whiteman AFB Honor Guard performs with pride

    “On behalf of the president of the United States, the United States Air Force, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of appreciation for your loved one’s honorable and faithful service.”For many spouses and family members, a funeral ceremony accompanied by this phrase may be the

  • Surviving life’s toughest challenge

    Capt. Brittany Rhanes, 341st Operations Support Squadron intercontinental ballistic missile emergency war order planner, was diagnosed with vulvar cancer Feb. 17. According to cancer.org, vulvar cancer is a form of gynecologic cancer affecting 0.6 percent of all cancers in women, and less than 20

  • My 9/11 story: defending liberty

    ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. – It was a day just like any other when then Rev. David Knight drove to his Air Force recruiter’s office to drop off an application for active duty chaplaincy.Knight had begun the application process in March 2001 after learning the age limit for chaplains to enter

  • My 9/11 story: bringing the fight to the enemy

    ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. – On Sept. 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people lost their lives, and more than 6,000 people were injured in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. For many currently serving their country in the armed forces, the attacks on Sept. 11 cemented their

  • Documenting a Tragedy: AFGSC historian recalls Khobar Towers

    "Our Nomads have Ceased Their Wandering.” The epitaph, etched into a monument at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, refers to the 33rd Fighter Wing Airmen who lost their lives in the terrorist attack on Khobar Towers. Command Historian Yancy Mailes, Air Force Global Strike Command, was a 27-year-old

  • More than surviving

    “Other people get cancer, not me,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Lauren Palmer, a 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (AMXS) commander support staff (CSS) personnel craftsman. “That will never happen to me.”That’s exactly what Palmer thought­—even after she noticed a lump on the bottom of her neck

  • SERE: ensuring the worst is met with success

    While navigating the skies, pilots can experience any number of challenges, especially in a combat environment.One critical error or malfunction could leave military aviators with nothing but their will to survive. Relying on their Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training will make the

  • Predicting the unpredictable: Weathering Mother Nature

    With 21st century technology in every pocket, it is easy to fall into the illusion that people have mastered the ability to control their world. But a single glance out on an unexpected thunderstorm and the memory of a forgotten umbrella reminds one of just how many aspects in life remain out of