2 Apr 2019

Behind the whistle: Airman volunteers as youth wrestling coach

The high pitch of a whistle, small hands and feet slapping the mat, deep breaths, and an occasional cheer from a parent fill the wrestling room of a local high school during a youth wrestling club practice. Behind that whistle and helping to prepare the O’Fallon Little Panthers Wrestling Club youth for victory throughout the season is Staff Sgt. Scott Luna, 375th Air Mobility Wing occupational safety technician.

1 Apr 2019

The impact a recruiter can make

A group of young men and women stand tall in the center of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway waiting to solidify one of the most important decisions of their lives. They will raise their right hand and say the United States Air Force oath of enlistment before thousands of people. In the crowd stands one person beaming with more pride than the rest. Without him they may not be where they are now. As a previously enlisted recruiter of three years, 2nd Lt. Joe Giles, 436th Supply Chain Operations Squadron flight commander for tankers and special missions, impacted the lives of many by helping them become Airmen.

28 Mar 2019

Serving Sisters: 2 Public Health technicians work side-by-side in same office

Two sisters who are five years apart are serving their country at the same time, at the same base, and in the same career field, working together every day.

28 Mar 2019

Honor Guard team renders honors on behalf of a grateful nation

Rows of headstones line a pathway to a recently dug grave under a tent which is shielding a family from an intensifying snowfall. A short distance away the sound of ceremonial gunfire punctuates the discreet sobs of loved ones saying their last goodbyes to their beloved Airman. As the wind carries away the smoke from the rifles, an honor guardsmen approaches the tent and presents a perfectly folded flag to the next-of-kin, hoping to demonstrate to them the appreciation the United States Air Force has for their loved one’s service.

21 Mar 2019

SFS teaches Airmen to 'defend the force' with weapons training

When sent to defend the country abroad, all Airmen must be capable and willing to use their weapon to “defend the force.” So how are those skills acquired? CATM is a course set aside for yearly qualification on the M4 carbine and M9 pistol for all Security Forces Airmen, as well as a host of other Air Force specialties including civil engineers and pilots. For other Airmen, the qualification may not happen until preparing for a deployment.

23 Jan 2019

375th MDSS team repairs life-saving equipment across 13 states

Deep in the basement of the 375th Medical Group, behind a series of doors and out of the way of most hospital traffic, is a long, narrow room that looks like an old high-school “shop class.” Bits and pieces of broken defibrillators and other medical gear sit on workbenches, waiting to be fixed by 11 technicians who call the workshop home. The technicians who work here belong to the 375th Medical Support Squadron’s Medical Equipment Repair Center—commonly referred to as MERC. It is one of only a few centers scattered throughout the Air Force qualified to repair and maintain life-saving medical equipment.

3 Dec 2018

The voice of history, from airships in Illinois to air strikes in Syria

The 1920s and ‘30s are known for their flapper-era glamour followed by years of Depression hardship, but, for Scott Field and its surrounding small towns, they were also a time when football field-size airships roamed the skies overhead. Mark Wilderman’s grandmother, Marguerite C. Haas, used to tell him her childhood stories of seeing the airships as she walked to school in Belleville, Illinois. Now, as the 375th Air Mobility Wing historian, Wilderman is tasked with sharing the story of Scott AFB’s airships with today’s Airmen.

24 Nov 2018

This Month in Scott AFB History: 24 November 1923-U.S. Air Service Airship TA-1 Maiden Flight at Scott Field

On 24 November 1923, the new U.S. Army Air Service training airship, TA-1, made its maiden flight at Scott Field.

7 Nov 2018

Keeping Scott cool: A look into Scott’s HVAC shop

The HVAC section is not only responsible for maintaining servers and equipment, but also for keeping about 210 buildings on base at a comfortable, safe temperature. “You look at one big, important building and then you also turn around and look at the individual we’re trying to maintain,” said Benjamin Brown, HVAC section supervisor, explaining how his section helps care for everyone from a child at the Child Development Center to an Airman living in the dorms.

10 Oct 2018

15th OWS’s top priority: To protect

Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the 15th Operational Weather Squadron closely monitors more than 11 million square miles of territory that stretches from the American Northeast, through Canada, to Greenland and the ocean in between.Their forecasting helps protect more than 418,000 personnel and $226 billion in assets, as senior leaders