The Air Force spent countless dollars and numerous lost man-hours in the treatment of 56 civilian contractors at a deployed location whose unit mascot exposed them to rabies.

The situation was entirely preventable and caused a massive drain on mission resources, Air Combat Command officials said.

Not only did this failure to follow the rules put lives at risk, it placed a tremendous burden on the local medical treatment facility, encumbered the theater logistics system, and diverted mission focus, said Col. Ken Hall, ACC Deputy Command Surgeon.

The contractors had adopted a stray dog that later became infected with rabies. It bit a number of people over four days and was eventually quarantined. It died the next day and tested positive for rabies.

General Order 1A is designed to prevent this type of situation from occurring among service membe

Air Force officials are designating some positions in U.S. Central Commands area of responsibility as 365-day extended deployments in an effort to provide stability and allow for long-term relationship building with host governments.

The new tour lengths will affect only about 200 key and critical operational and joint task force staff positions, officials said. People in the remaining positions will serve in the current air and space expeditionary force structure.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper directed the extended tours in response to requests from joint task force commanders seeking continuity in selected positions, often where the local culture requires more time to establish meaningful ties with local people and host governments.

These key positions are an integral part of a combatant commanders mission and the air and space expeditionary force structu

Air Combat Command officials announced the winners of the 2004 ACC Media Contest, which honors the best journalism and photojournalism work in the command's base newspapers.

First-place winners will compete in the Air Force Media Conte

The Air Force Assistance Fund "Commitment to Caring" campaign runs Feb. 14 to May 6, asking Airmen to contribute to any of four Air Force-related charities.

The charities benefit active-duty, Reserve, Guard, retired Air Force people, surviving spouses and families. This is the 32nd year of the fund drive. Charities receive 100 percent of designated contributions.

Though people in Air Combat Command contributed more than $900,000 to the Air Force Aid Society in 2004, people in the command actually received more than $4 million in direct assistance, said retired Lt. Gen. Mike McGinty, Air Force Aid Society chief executive officer.

For 63 years this (AFAS) has been an Airmen-helping-Airmen program - one for which we should all be very proud, said General McGinty.

General McGinty hopes the 2005 campaign raises $5.2 milli

A left brake anti-skid malfunction during landing and the pilot's failure to follow an emergency checklist caused an F-16C to depart the runway and come to rest on its targeting pod system, ordnance and external fuel tank at Balad Air Base, Iraq, July 10, 2004, according to an Aircraft Investigation Board report Air Force officials released today.

The aircraft, assigned to the 120th Fighter Wing of the Montana Air National Guard at Great Falls International Airport, was deployed with the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The aircraft was returning from a night close air support mission when on touchdown an electrical malfunction caused the left anti-skid system to sense a skid condition in the left whe

Students and instructors alike developed a new appreciation for the word training during the 2005 Environmental Training Symposium, which ended here today.

About 153 instructors taught 111 courses to more than 1,250 students throughout the week-long event at the Kentucky International Convention Center.

More than 32,100 hours of instruction was given throughout the training symposium, which required attendees to participate in a minimum of 26 hours of classes, said J.P. Smith, the symposium director.

On track to complete close to 30 hours of instruction during the event was Staff S

The 1st Fighter Wing celebrated the Takeoff to Raptor Initial Operating Capability today, marking the beginning of F/A-22 operations here.

Although Langley just received its first two Raptors in January, the planning process began several years ago.

Six years to be exact, according to Lt. Col. Sheryl Hutchison, chief of the 1st Fighter Wing F/A-22 integration office.

That is when the site survey team assessed our facilities and developed the budget for everything that needed to facilitate the bed-down, she explained.

Since then, the wheels have been in motion for Langley to host the first operational Raptor squadron, and the integration office at Langley has been instrumental in making that happen.

The 1st Fighter Wing F/A-22 Integration Office exists to help prepare the base to receive the Raptor and get to an initial operating capability by December, said M

The 2005 Environmental Training Symposium, an event that combines the efforts of five major commands and focuses on nine major base organizations, began here today at the Kentucky International Convention Center.

More than 1,500 students from across the Air Force, other government agencies and national academia are participating in more than 520 class sessions covering 111 Environment, Safety and Occupational Health topics.

The vast number of students and training courses reflect the importance commanders at all levels place on this symposium, said Gen. Donald G. Cook, Air Education and Training Command commander, in his video address to attendees during the opening ceremony.

The Air Force environmental program isnt just about compliance and cleanup, the general said. Its about incorporating activities into a management system which is cost-effective and focused on defining mission nee

Although transparent to most, a recent Department of Defense-level change now affects the way the Air Force Personnel Center manages the release of officer promotion board results.

The officer promotion board results for major through colonel will now be released no earlier than nine months prior to the first pin-on from the list.

The change makes public releases timelier in relation to when promotees actually start pinning on the rank, said Capt. Avis M. Resch, chief of Air Combat Command officer promotions and evaluations.

The change will have no affect on the majority of future promotion releases because Air Force boards are typically convened on a timeline where results are made public approximately six months prior to the first projected pin-on date, said Captain Resch.

However, one board that is affected by the changes is the latest 2004 majors list for line of the Air Force, judge advocate general, medical service corps and nurse cor