Giving the GIFT of aviation

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Attendees of the Girls in Flight Training Academy, pose for a picture on the steps of a KC-135 Stratotanker on the flight line Nov. 5, 2012 during a tour of the base. The GIFT Academy provides the opportunity for women to advance and finish their aviation training. During their visit the attendees toured both the C-17 Globemaster III and the KC-135, experienced a full-motion C-17 simulator, as well as a tour of the air traffic control tower. (Courtesy photo)

John Bonsell visits Altus AFB

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Chief Master Sgt. (ret.) Paul Pitrat, 97th Civil Engineer Squadron fire department chief, speaks to John Bonsell, Senate Armed Service Committee minority staff director, during a tour here, Jan. 8, 2013. During the tour, Pitrat showed Bonsell the vehicles and equipment used by firemen. Bonsell visited multiple facilities to learn about the base and its mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Franklin R. Ramos / Released)

John Bonsell visits Altus AFB

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Col. Anthony Krawietz (R), 97th Air Mobility Wing commander, speaks to John Bonsell (L), Senate Armed Service Committee minority staff director, during a tour here, Jan. 8, 2013. Bonsell was briefed on the base mission and its support for world-wide missions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Franklin R. Ramos / Released)

31st ADA commander honors Airmen

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Army Col. Michael Morrissey (R), 31st Air Defense Artillery Battalion commander, presents Airman 1st Class Kaleb Wentworth (L), Kentucky Air Guard Contingency Response Group aerial port team member, with the Army Achievement Medal here, Jan. 9, 2013. Airmen from Altus AFB, Charleston AFB, S.C.; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; Travis AFB, Calif.; reserve units from Joint Base San Antonio, Texas and Wesover Air Reserve Base, Mass., provided a timely and safe deployment of Patriot missile batteris, about 400 Soldiers and more than two million pounds of equipment in support of NATO efforts to augment Turkey’s Self-defense capabilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Klynne Pearl Serrano / Released)

Altus AFB assists AMC, Fort Sill to deploy defense systems in support of NATO

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Soldiers from the 31st Air Defense Artillery Army Brigade, Fort Sill, Okla., board a 167th Airlift Wing, Martinsburg, W. Va. C-5 Galaxy on the Altus AFB flight line, Jan. 4, 2013. The soldiers were deployed along with Patriot-air-defense systems to de-escalate the situation along the Turkey-Syrian border. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Levin Boland / Released)

Altus AFB assists AMC, Fort Sill to deploy defense systems in support of NATO

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – A 167th Airlift Wing, Martinsburg, W. Va. flight crew reviews pre-flight checklists in the cockpit of a 167th AW C-5 Galaxy on the Altus AFB flight line, Jan. 4, 2013. Members of the 97th Air Mobility Wing, Kentucky Air Guard Contingency Response Group, 31st Air Defense Artillery Army Brigade, Fort Sill, Okla. and 167th AW joined forces to deploy batteries of Patriot-air-defense systems to de-escalate the situation along the Turkey-Syrian border. The deployment followed U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s orders Dec. 14, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Levin Boland / Released)

Altus AFB assists AMC, Fort Sill to deploy defense systems in support of NATO

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Members of the 97th Air Mobility Wing, Kentucky Air Guard Contingency Response Group, 31st Air Defense Artillery Army Brigade, Fort Sill, Okla. and 167th Airlift Wing, Martinsburg, W. Va., unload an M984 Wrecker from a 167th AW C-5 Galaxy on the Altus AFB flight line, Jan. 4, 2013. The units joined forces to deploy batteries of Patriot-air-defense systems, more than two million pounds of equipment and about 300 personnel from 3-2 Air Defense Artillery Battalion to Turkey in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Levin Boland / Released)

Altus AFB assists AMC, Fort Sill to deploy defense systems in support of NATO

Lawton, Okla. – Staff Sgt. Xavier Drake, 97th Security Forces Squadron base defense operations controller, drives an Air Force Humvee as part of a convoy from Fort Sill, Okla. to Altus Air Force Base, Okla., Jan. 3, 2013. Through multiple convoys, Soldiers from the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Sill, drove more than two million pounds of equipment to Altus AFB to prepare for a deployment to Turkey. The deployment followed U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s orders Dec. 14, 2012 to deploy batteries of Patriot-air-defense systems. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kenneth W. Norman / Released)

Altus delivers humanitarian aid to Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI – Staff Sgt. Brian Derosa, 58th Airlift Squadron loadmaster instructor, directs a forklift into the back of a C-17 Globemaster III from Altus Air Force Base in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dec. 28, 2012. The 58th Airlift Squadron transported 137,000 pounds of food to Haiti in support of the Denton Amendment, a program that provides relief to Haitian citizens by making the transportation of humanitarian aid possible. The goods transported to Haiti were donated by Operation Ukraine, a nonprofit organization that provides relief to Haitian citizens with food, medicine, and school supplies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Levin Boland / Released)

Altus delivers humanitarian aid to Haiti

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – 97th Logistics Readiness Squadron air operations flight members push a pallet loaded with food into the back of a C-17 Globemaster III, Dec. 28, 2012. After loading 137,000 pounds of beans and rice, members of the 58th Airlift Squadron transported the food to Port-au-Prince, Haiti in support of the Denton Amendment, a program that provides relief to Haitian citizens by making the transportation of humanitarian aid possible. The goods transported to Haiti were donated by Operation Ukraine, a nonprofit organization that provides relief to Haitian citizens with food, medicine, and school supplies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Levin Boland / Released)

Altus delivers humanitarian aid to Haiti

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – 58th Airlift Squadron and 97th Logistics Readiness Squadron air operations flight members load 137,000 pounds of food into a C-17 Globemaster III, Dec. 28, 2012. The food was transported to Port-au-Prince, Haiti in support of the Denton Amendment, a program that provides relief to Haitian citizens by making the transportation of humanitarian aid possible. The goods transported to Haiti were donated by Operation Ukraine, a nonprofit organization that provides relief to Haitian citizens with food, medicine, and school supplies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Levin Boland / Released)

Altus delivers humanitarian aid to Haiti

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. – Maj. Jody Turk, 730th Air Mobility Training Squadron assistant director of operations, and Maj. Bryan Bailey, 730th AMTS C-17 Globemaster III flight commander, review a pre-flight checklist in the cockpit of a C-17 Globemaster III, Dec. 28, 2012. The pilots were preparing to transport 137,000 pounds of food to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where it will be used to feed Haitian children. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Levin Boland / Released)