Interesting article in April‘s Armed Forces Journal. Lt. Col. Edith A Disler, an associate professor of English and deputy head of the Department of English at the Air Force Academy, argues that the Air Force is attempting to reassert its masculinity through language. Essentially, she argues that two prominent, rather recent linguistic changes or

The U.S. Air Force’s first stealth fighter and one of the services’ most attractive planes (especially if you’ve ever seen one fly overhead), the F-117 Nighthawk, will be retired April 21st. [Danger Room]

Religious right wingnuts American Family Association are attempting to get the military to stop selling Playboy and Penthouse wherever fine reading material is sold on bases. By law, most skin mags can’t be sold in military stores. Playboy and Penthouse aren’t deemed scandalous enough to fall under those regulations, though. When I was in Air [...]

Oops: The Army, Navy and Air Force unwittingly advertised for recruits on a website for gays, who are barred from military service if they are open about their sexual orientation. When informed Tuesday by USA TODAY that they were advertising on GLEE.com, a networking website for gay professionals, recruiters expressed surprise and said they would [...]

What You Missed If You Didn’t Read Today’s NYTimes Black women in South Carolina are afraid to vote for Barack Obama because he might be assassinated. Russian President Vladimir Putin. Oh, what a character.We have this: “We cannot build Russia’s future by tying its many millions of citizens to just one person or group of [...]

When my father, and later I, was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base, C-130s sang me to sleep at night from the runway across from our house (and, later, my dorm). A new report says it’s “The Best Military Aircraft Ever.” (Warning: PDF) Which is probably true: It’s a highly versatile aircraft — performing duties [...]

But I didn’t get this till today: Whereas President Harry S. Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 on July 26, 1947, to realign and reorganize the Armed Forces and to create a separate Department of the Air… (Engrossed as Agreed to or Passed by House) HCON 207 EH 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. [...]

Ever wonder what being Tasered felt like or sounded like? Check out this video obtained by PETA from the U.S. Air Force showing the effects of Tasers on pigs. Awful. [Hotel Tango: Danger Room]

The sounds of these guys (and what I thought were KC-135 medevacs but may have actually been C-9s) on the runway across the street and golf course from my house on Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. sang me to sleep at night: The Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunters are currently deployed to St. Croix in [...]

My little brother just sent over these pictures he took of the POW/MIA Memorial at Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. Lest we forget . . .