Airpower Summary--10 May

Here's the latest wrapup of the Air Force's contribution to the war.

Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs dropped 500-pound bombs on insurgents firing on a coalition convoy near Sangin. The attack by the A-10s was confirmed a success by an on-scene joint terminal attack controller.

Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles provided shows of force to deter enemy activity around a coalition convoy near Sangin. The aircrews also provided reconnaissance information of a possible insurgent compound and watched over a second convoy in the area that had received small-arms fire.

In total, 39 close-air-support missions were flown in support of ISAF and Afghan security forces, reconstruction activities and route patrols.

n Iraq, an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon dropped a guided bomb unit-38 on a building near Baquba from which coalition forces had been receiving small-arms fire. The bomb drop resulted in the destruction of the building and no further small-arms firing was reported.

Other F-16s provided successful shows of force supporting ground forces in Balad hit by an improvised explosive device and receiving small-arms fire. The enemy fire stopped after the F-16s flew by. The F-16s also supported Iraqi Army forces who were under small-arms attack.

Near Baghdad, F-16s provided a show of force for convoy members after a rocket-propelled grenade attack. They also watched over a suspicious compound and passed the information gathered to a JTAC.

Also near Baghdad, F-16s provided armed overwatch during two coalition raids. Insurgents were captured and detained during the raids.

Over Muqdadiyah, RAF GR-4 Tornados provided shows of force and overwatch for coalition forces receiving small-arms fire in the area. The small-arms fire stopped after the shows of force. The Tornado crews also searched for mortar positions and watched over a coalition convoy.

In total, coalition aircraft flew 46 close-air-support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom. These missions supported coalition ground forces, protected key infrastructure, provided overwatch for reconstruction activities and helped to deter and disrupt terrorist activities.

Hoops stars to officers

Robert Sanchez from the Denver Post has written a great article about the Air Force men's basketball team. Four of the starters are seniors and are now months away from being commissioned as officers in the US Air Force. Sanchez does a great job of contrasting the difference between these young men and their counterparts at "normal" universities, and then describing what they have waiting for them after graduation.

They expected to play basketball somewhere, but their talents were more suited for Division II ball, or the Ivy League, where several of them had offers.
Still, in their minds, they imagined sinking the game-winning shot in front of thousands of screaming fans on national television. They imagined they could someday have their own sliver of March Madness.
But they never imagined the opportunity would come on a hillside in Colorado, where the iron gates around the campus are as much about keeping people in as they are about keeping others out.
"One of the most common sayings around is that this is a great place to be from, but not be at," says Eric Kenzik, a 22-year-old junior from Florida who wants to fly Air Force transport planes or bombers upon his graduation next year - a decision his parents support.
"It's one of those things where you can't explain it if you're in it, and you can't understand it unless you're part of it," senior center Nick Welch says. "Survive this, and then you'll know."
It's hard to call the academy a college because it is unlike any collegiate experience.
You're told when to wake up, when to eat, when to go to class, when to study and when to go to bed.
Academy life means basic training before you step inside a classroom. It means being told your zipper has been pulled too low on your military issued jacket. It means averaging 18 credit hours a semester when a five-year player at another college might take only 24 an entire year. It means calculus and aerodynamics classes even though you're an English major who has no interest in calculus or aerodynamics. It means eating with 4,000 other cadets at the same time every day while your buddy at the University of Utah grabs a Big Mac at midnight.
But for the players who took the challenge, for them, it means the opportunity to become a better person.
"Every day of my life here, I'm being challenged to be better than I was the day before," Welch says. "By going through this, I'm developing into a leader."
At most college programs, basketball is the most rigorous and scheduled part of an athlete's life. At the academy, it's just another thing to add to the pile.
"Sometimes I'll see the look on their faces that says, 'I was up until 5 a.m. studying, I've got practice and exams and someone chewed me out this morning,"' coach Jeff Bzdelik says. "I know then that I should ease my foot off the gas."

The Falcons will be hoping against hope this afternoon to see if they make it to the Big Dance. If they don't, it won't be the end of the world. Their life is just beginning.

Now that's a model airplane!

Got this in an email from an Air Force friend of mine. Not sure who the guys in the photo and video are, but they sure do take their hobby seriously. From the text of the email...

A B-52 flying model with 22 foot wingspan! Actually has 8 "real turbines" at about $1500 each! Took over 2 years to build. Takes multiple pilots, as there are so many things to control.

Click HERE to see the video of its first flight. It's 8 minutes long, but pretty cool.

Falcons win nailbiter

They did it again! Air Force beat Wyoming by hitting a layup at the buzzer to win by 2. Read all about it here.

Warren Nolan has a great site that tracks all kinds of college basketball streaks and records for the season, along with team and conference RPIs. It's updated all the time. You'll notice how many lists Air Force is on. This is turning out to be an amazing season.

Air Force stages amazing comeback!!!

Down by 21 at one point in the first half, Air Force (15-1) rallied in the second to win by 8 points against New Mexico. The Lobos were on fire during the first half, hitting 3 after 3. And the Falcons couldn't have been colder. In fact, they didn't reach 10 points until there were only 6:52 left in the half. The only bright point in the first half was that the Lobos were racking up the fouls, so that Air Force was in double bonus by the end of the half. And the fouls continued into the second half. New Mexico ended up with 20 fouls and 3 players with 4 fouls each. The Falcons took advantage of it, hitting 21 of 23 from the line. Air Force's biggest lead was 12, occurring several times.

The win extends 15th-ranked Air Force's home winning streak to 25, still third-best in the nation. It also extended their winning streak to 12, second-best in the nation. And their 15 wins give Air Force the third-most wins in the nation.

UPDATE: 21:17: Here is the Albuquerque Tribune's take on the game.

Air Force wins 11th straight

Air Force is on fire! Earlier this week, they broke Colorado State's 9 game winning streak to extend their own winning streak to 10. Today, they beat UNLV, who had a 10-game winning streak, 56-50 to make it 11 straight wins. It also extended their home winning streak to 24, third-best in the nation. Their 11-game winning streak is also third-best in the nation. By holding UNLV to 50, Air Force will improve their tenth-best 56.1 points allowed average.

UPDATE (6 Jan 07, 22:23)The Gazette has a good article about the game.

Air Force wins 10th straight

Air Force won its 10th straight last night in its conference opener against Colorado State. Both teams went into the game with a streak of 9 wins. It turned out to be one of its toughest games yet. Think of it as an early lesson for going into the conference schedule in the MWC, which had a great year against non-conference opponents. The Rocky Mountain News has the story. Photo by AP.

Both came in dripping with experience and confidence. And both played with impressive skill and passion, sharing the ball and taking well-conceived shots before a loud, appreciative crowd of 7,280.

"Our players have embraced playing on the road, and it served us well (Wednesday night)," said Air Force coach Jeff Bzdelik, whose expression was more relief than joy. "I cannot say enough about our players. How many teams in the top 150 teams in the country have played only six games in their home arena and have a record like we have?"

Air Force--A top 25 force in basketball

Irv Moss from the Denver Post has a great article on Air Force basketball.

...there's nothing prankish about this Air Force team. It already has victories of 69-68 over Long Beach State, 79-45 over Stanford, 84-46 over Colorado, 67-53 over Texas Tech and 94-58 over Wake Forest. The only loss was a 71-56 setback to Duke on Nov. 20.
Bzdelik has let his coaching and his players do the talking. His record in a season and a half is 36-8, including a school-record 24 wins last season.
While statistics explain why the Falcons are winning, Bzdelik has a more important reason to explain how they win. He quickly learned what his players' everyday life is like at Air Force, and he used it as an advantage on the basketball floor. His Falcons play as a team.
"Unselfishness is a way of life for them," Bzdelik said. "They have a serve-before-self attitude. They learn to sacrifice for a greater cause. That's a huge asset for a coach in a team sport. If you lined up our basketball team one-on-one with most of our opponents and played a one- on-one game, our record would be 1-11. Five guys working together pack a pretty powerful punch."

Read the entire article...

UPDATE: 22:07 PST Mark Kiszla from the Denver Post has his own article here.