Inspections Spread to All C-130s: The Air Force has expanded its inspection of C-130 upper-wing joint nuts to include all variants of the aircraft, meaning new J model are now being looked at in addition to older C-130 configurations, a service spokesman confirmed yesterday. Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis told the Daily Report yesterday that nearly 600 C-130s across the fleet will now undergo the examination to determine how many of them have cracked nuts like those first discovered on an older model C-130 undergoing depot maintenance at Robins AFB, Ga. This discovery prompted a time compliance technical order calling for the inspection initially of older model C-130s, but now includes all models across the active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve Command. Sholtis said, as of March 6, only about one quarter of the fleet had been examined. He characterized the TCTO as “one level below grounding” since C-130s are still allowed to fly if in support of high-priority, time-sensitive missions, such as in Afghanistan and Iraq. (For more, read yesterday’s Montgomery Advertiser report.)

New ANG Deputy: Maj. Gen. Patrick Moisio, an Arizona Air Guardsman, became deputy director of the Air National Guard on March 6. "I look forward to working with Maj. Gen. Moisio," said Lt. Gen. Bud Wyatt, ANG director, in a release March 6. Wyatt, who named Moisio for the position, added that Moisio “brings extensive field experience and [Quadrennial Defense Review] expertise that will benefit the Air National Guard, the US Air Force, and our nation." Moisio’s most recent assignment was as the commander of the 162nd Fighter Wing, an F-16 pilot training unit at Tucson International Airport. He joined the Air Guard in 1984 after serving as an A-7D and A-10 pilot, and lastly as an A-10 instructor pilot, in the active duty Air Force. A graduate of the Air Force Academy, Moisio succeeds Brig. Gen. Stanley Clarke III, who left the post in June 2008 to become the military assistant to the Air Force deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and programs.

Articulating the Mission: Air Force Materiel Command has released a list of five priorities that are meant to complement the Air Force’s overarching goals. In order of priority, they are: reinvigorate AFMC's role in the nuclear enterprise; implement effective and efficient integrated life cycle management to support the warfighter; support the Air Force by recruiting, training, and retaining a high-performing workforce; nurture and protect the command’s people and families; and be good stewards of government resources. The command’s leadership approved them on the eve of AFMC’s semi-annual senior leaders conference March 5-6 at Robins AFB, Ga. Gen. Donald Hoffman, AFMC commander, charged his senior staff to make the command's priorities a fundamental part of their daily mission. "We have to aggressively work on meeting the warfighter's needs," Hoffman told AFMC’s leadership, adding, "Everyone in this command has to contribute to warfighter support; it's our job." Like AFMC, Air Mobility Command updated its mission statement last December. (Includes Robins report by Ron Fry)

Engine Failure Doomed F-16: Catastrophic engine failure caused an F-16C to crash on the flight line of Joint Base Balad, Iraq, Nov. 12, 2008, Air Combat Command announced yesterday. The F-16 was deployed to Balad’s 55th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from the 20th Fighter Wing, at Shaw AFB, S.C. According to the findings of ACC’s accident investigation board (AIB report), the aircraft was initiating an afterburner takeoff when a second-stage disk fan in the engine failed, causing fan section components to tear through the rest of the engine. Investigation analysis discovered a previously undetected sub-surface crack in the disk, but could not determine the root cause of the crack. The F-16, worth $28.8 million, was destroyed during ground impact and the subsequent fire, but the pilot was able to exit the aircraft safely and sustained no injuries.

BONEs in Australia: Two B-1Bs from the 28th Wing at Ellsworth AFB, S.D., are in Australia this week to participate in the Avalon Airshow near Melbourne. The show starts today and runs through March 15. The flight over of the B-1s caused some press buzz, apparently by hyping an incident that occurred with the arrival of one of the B-1s. Here’s what happened, according to the wing: The first B-1 landed at Avalon without incident. Due to a delayed arrival, the second B-1 had to divert from landing at Avalon to Melbourne airport as it was past sunset and Avalon’s airstrip closes at sunset, SSgt. Eric Bolt, a spokesman for the wing, told the Daily Report yesterday. Upon landing at Melbourne, this B-1 did blow a tire, but the landing was still safe, said Bolt. This B-1 did not have to divert due to an in-flight emergency. Nor, he said, was the landing an emergency situation as reported in the Australian press. (Here’s what the Australians said: Herald Sun report, ABC News Australia report)

Alaska Bound: Fourteen F-22s and their pilots and support personnel from the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, headed back home March 3 after spending two weeks at Holloman AFB, N.M. The Elmendorf Raptors came to Holloman on Feb. 17 after participating in a Red Flag exercise at Nellis AFB, Nev. They did not head home to Elmendorf initially due to concern that Mount Redoubt, an active volcano near Elmendorf, might erupt based on its recent seismic activity. The F-22s, while at Holloman, were able to continue their training. “We were glad to assist," said Col. Jeffery Harrigian, commander of Holloman’s 49th Fighter Wing, which, like the 3rd Wing, is in the process of standing up two F-22 squadrons. Some Elmendorf C-17s and support personnel began relocating in early February to McChord AFB, Wash., as a precautionary measure. SMSgt. Stephen Lee, a 3rd Wing public affairs official, told the Daily Report yesterday that all of the base's air assets are now back home except for those F-22s currently deployed to Guam and a C-17 and E-3 AWACS now participating in an exercise in Thailand. (Includes Holloman report by SrA. Michael Means)

Open for Business: The Air Force Global Logistics Support Center opened Building 1515, its new headquarters building, Feb. 26 at Scott AFB, Ill., during a ribbon cutting ceremony. "The new facility features an open floor plan and a command and control center to help us support the warfighter 24/7," said AFGLSC commander, Maj. Gen. Gary McCoy. It is the first of two buildings that Air Force Materiel Command, AFGLSC’s parent organization, is constructing for the center at Scott. AFGLSC, which stood up nearly one year ago, is the Air Force’s hub for supply chain management. Its goal is to seamlessly integrate and oversee all logistic processes, technology, and resources to deliver end-to-end support to the warfighter more rapidly and at a reduced cost. (Scott report by SrA. Andrew Davis)

Doctrine Smart: The 2009-14 strategic plan of the Curtis E. LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education at Maxwell AFB, Ala., aims to move the service towards the goal “first imagined in 1997" of ensuring a direct relationship between doctrine education and warfighting, Maj. Gen. Stephen Miller, the center’s commander, said last month. “Doctrine is so fundamental to warfighting," he said. That relationship will be accomplished through professional military education, professional continuing education, accessions programs, and wargaming, said Miller. Implementing the strategic plan is “a daunting task,” he acknowledged. The LeMay Center is in the process of formalizing how it will determine what doctrine goes into PME, PCE, and wargaming. The center’s vision is to make every airman "doctrine smart, as all airmen require a certain level of doctrine intelligence to do their missions, Miller said. (Maxwell report by Carl Bergquist)

Plume Milestone: Engineers at the Arnold Engineering Development Center on the grounds of Arnold AFB, Tenn., last month successfully test fired the 100th rocket motor in the 15-year history of the center’s J-6 large rocket motor test facility. The Feb. 11 test was meant to validate the performance and structural integrity of a Minuteman III third-stage motor built in December 2000. “We want to make sure that these motors are performing the way they should,” said Randy Quinn, an AEDC project manager. The J-6 facility was built in the early 1990s and has been used since 1994 to test Minuteman, Peacekeeper, and other rocket motors. (March 6 Arnold report by Philip Lorenz III)