Flying Noble Eagle

June 12, 2008—The Air Force and its Auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol, flew some 345 sorties over the continental US during the month of May, according to figures released this week by the Air National Guard-led 1st Air Force/Air Forces Northern, headquartered at Tyndall AFB, Fla. The sorties flown by CAP more than tripled from the previous month. And, Air Guard and Air Force Reserve forces flew five times the number of sorties flown by their active duty counterparts. The CONUS portion of Operation Noble Eagle has flown more than 49,000 sorties since the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Verbatim

Instill Value
“When you get down to our airmen, they are not looking for praise, glory, and accolades. But they are looking for value—value in them as human beings. And to do that, we have to put value in the mission. When the nation, at the leadership level and every American’s level, places value in the mission, they will put value in the people. And that is what I find important to the airmen inside of the world that I live in.”
—Gen. John Corley, commander of Air Combat Command, during a four-star forum at AFA’s Air & Space Conference, Washington, D.C., Sept. 17, 2008.

Verbatim

What Does the Nation Expect?
"The question for us is, ‘Should a force that is extremely relevant and in very high demand in this very difficult environment of the global war on terrorism have airplanes that are 30 or 40 years old?'"
—Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster, head of Air Force Special Operations Command, commenting on the command’s aged fleet of gunships and special-mission airlifters and tankers, during a four-star panel discussion at AFA’s Air & Space Conference, Sept. 17, 2008.