• Cheese, wine, tankers and lots and lots of coffee

    'Twas 2:30 a.m., when all through the baseNot a plane was flying, not even a sim;But the students are up, studying awayA French pilot in particular: Capt. Aurélien Leray.The KC-135 Stratotanker training building is as dark as the sky outside, with the exception of room OFT-12, where Leray is

  • C-17 receives makeover

    Members of the 97th Air Mobility Wing Maintenance Division conducted an inspection of a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III during a 720-day home station refurbishing Oct. 10, 2013. This inspection occurs periodically, to ensure the aircraft is operationally ready by cleaning and refurbishing

  • Veteran lives for international instruction

    Cary Davidson was a young captain when he trained his first international student pilot on the U.S. Air Force C-141 Starlifter 25 years ago. The year was 1988 and Altus AFB trained students from around the world on the C-141 and the U.S. Air Force Lockheed C-5 Galaxy. The KC-135 Stratotanker kept

  • An Airman's Story: DUI and the Road to Recovery

    (Editor's note: This is an update to an article that was published April 3, 2009 in the Kaiserslautern-American Newspaper, which is attached at the end of this article.)This is an update to an article I wrote while stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, for the local Kaiserslautern-American

  • Water quality, conservation at Altus AFB

    Water conservation has become increasingly important at Altus AFB due to an ongoing drought in Southwest Oklahoma. In addition to the amount of water, the quality of the water has also become an item of interest for on and off-base residents.The City of Altus is currently at stage-three water

  • Cadet visits hometown Air Force Base with new perspective

    Cadet 2nd Class Jeremy Delzer spent the first 18 years of his life in Altus and now he is back as an officer-candidate to learn more about Altus AFB's mission. Delzer and nine other cadets are spending three weeks at Altus AFB as part of the Air Force Academy's Operation Air Force Program, which

  • Summer safety tips from the 97th AMW ground safety office

    Summer is here and the weather is becoming warmer at Altus. With warm weather comes more outdoor activities. The 97th Air Mobility Wing ground safety office reminds Airmen and their families to keep risk management in mind when venturing outdoors for sports, recreation and other summer

  • 97th TRS provides USAF with mission ready aircrew

    If you want to fly, fight and win in a C-17 Globemaster III or KC-135 Stratotanker, you have to come to Altus AFB first. Because that's the only place in the world where more than 600 boom operators and loadmasters every year learn the refueling and cargo loading mission for the U.S. Air Force.The

  • Sexual assault survivor finds peace after joining AF

    (Editor's note: "This story is a personal, victim-submitted account of an actual sexual assault and its aftermath. The names and identities of the individuals involved have been omitted or altered to maintain confidentiality").Remembering the pain in her dark and terrible past, Airman Jackie

  • Month of the military child: The Greiners' insight

     Military children face challenges every day while adapting to a constantly-changing environment.April is the month of the military child. To help explain the roles that children play in a military family, Col. Michael Greiner, 97th Mission Support Group commander, and his family, offered to give