Features

Jan. 19, 2010
HEARTS APART - Wounded during an enemy rocket attack in Afghanistan, a Purple Heart recipient talks about the day that almost kept him from ever returning to his young bride and 11-day-old daughter

Capt. David Golden lay face down in the dirt. His head felt as though it had just been viciously kicked by a professional soccer player wearing a steel-toe boot. He reached up and touched his forehead. His hand came back covered in blood.Dazed, he still retained enough of his senses to know an enemy
Jan. 18, 2010
THE BIZARRE HISTORY OF CAR ACCIDENTS - The tragic, peculiar and heartbreaking

It is said that 42-year-old Mary Ward was the first person to die in a car accident. The manner of her death is straightforward: She was run over by a car. The intriguing note behind it is that she was run over by the steam-powered car she had just been riding in. In 1869, when there were hardly any
Dec. 3, 2009
BIRDS OF A FEATHER - After more than 4,000 bird strikes last year, the Air Force aggressively works to reverse the trend

Last year, National Transportation Safety Board officials confirmed that U.S. Airways flight 1549 struck a flock Canada geese, which were sucked into the engines and caused them to fail. The pilot, former Air Force aviator Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, successfully landed the plane in New
Dec. 3, 2009
BORN TO BE A CHEF - Raised in a restaurant and now tantalizing taste buds as a career, this Airman knows his way around a hazardous area ... the kitchen

Before Tech. Sgt. Rhodello Nuval reached 10 years old, he already had an idea he'd be a chef."Other kids would be out riding their bikes, and sometimes I'd go with them; but most of the time, I'd choose to stay in the kitchen and help my mom and grandmother cook. I just love to cook," said Nuval,
Dec. 3, 2009
THROUGH THE EYES OF A GUNSMITH - Master craftsman makes weapons safe for Airmen

For William L. Moore Jr., having a gun in his hand is as natural as having a hand on his wrist. It's part of who he is.For the past 26 years, Moore has been a small arms repairman for the Air Force Shooting Team and the Air Force Gunsmith Shop. Nestled in a bunker-like building at Lackland Air Force
Oct. 4, 2009
CREATING CANDOR - Lessons from a flight debrief

If you ever have the opportunity to observe a flight debrief after a training sortie, you should jump at the chance. You will witness something special.In the debrief, everyone makes constructive comments -- positive and negative -- regardless of their position or rank. If the flight lead did
Oct. 4, 2009
OFF THE GRID - Countdown to top five lessons from the track

Famed stuntman and motocross racer Mike "Mouse" McCoy said he has at one point or another broken every bone in his body.He acknowledged that riding motorcycles -- whether dirt bikes or street bikes -- can be a dangerous business and emphasized the mental preparedness needed to ride and remain
Oct. 4, 2009
FITNESS LIES I TOLD MYSELF - Getting ready for the revised Air Force fitness testing program

As we prepare for the revised Air Force fitness testing program, I've spent the last couple of months educating myself on diet and fitness -- subjects I thought I knew plenty about.I was mistaken.Throughout my career I've prepared for and passed each physical training test. Although I never scored
Oct. 4, 2009
DISASTER IN THE DESERT - Bus crash survivor and Air Force helicopter crew that saved her are forever linked

Elaine Hardy lay in the overturned bus and knew she was in trouble.Her left leg hung out of a shattered window, and her foot dangled grotesquely, seemingly attached only by the skin. But that wasn't the worst of it. Her right leg looked as if a Nile crocodile had clamped down and twisted it over and
July 15, 2009
IT'S LATE NIGHT WITH NED! - In the dark during a sandstorm, an F-16 pilot struggles with spatial disorientation while flying a combat mission over Iraq

The mission was intense. I had to fly my F-16 Fighting Falcon over Iraq at night in a sandstorm to conduct emergency close air support for troops surrounded by the enemy. Sound like a perfect setting for an in-flight catastrophe? ... It was.While attempting to fly visually in the dark with night

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