Vance Air Force Base’s mission is to train world-class pilots.
Everyone at Vance works every day to, in some way, achieve that goal.
Some work on the flight line, in the tower or RAPCON, in weather, security forces or maintenance.
And some work deep within Vance’s Ops Group building.
In this building, in rooms chilled year-round no matter the temperatures outside, a dedicated group of men and women work to keep a vital part of Vance’s training mission up and running.
They are the simulator technicians.
Much of each student pilot’s training is conducted inside these multi-million dollar machines, which are used to teach pilots to cope with all kinds of different situations they will encounter in an airplane, all without leaving the ground. read more...

Nothing can completely duplicate the thrill, the experience, of soaring high above the ground in a military aircraft such as those taking off every day from the runways of Vance Air Force Base.
But a ride in one of Vance’s flight simulators is the next best thing.
When Ron Hall first began working on flight simulators at Vance, the devices were decidedly low-tech.
In those days terrain model boards were used. read more...

The commander of the 82nd Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, will be featured speaker at the graduation ceremony for Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 09-14 at 10 a.m. read more...

Labor Day weekend marks the end of the Sane Summer safety campaign, a period historically associated with increased mishaps. read more...

I spent 24 years in nutritional medicine. Many of you know us as medical food service, the folks in the basement of the hospital who provide meals to the patients and staff. read more...

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas — I am a digital immigrant. You see, in the summer of 1972, as a senior at the Air Force Academy, I spent $125 on a small “personal computer.” At roughly $650 in today’s dollars, the small unit was able to do four things: add, subtract, multiply and divide. read more...

Hogs, choppers and sissy bars aside; anyone who has come within 500 miles of Sturgis, S.D., knows motorcycle riders have a language all their own. read more...

Elaine Johns

• Duty: Commercial Sponsorship coordinator, 71st Force Support Squadron Marketing
• Hometown: Edinburgh, Scotland
• Favorite PT regimen: Training for the Adventure Race
• Mission contributions: Johns secured 13 commercial sponsorships, totaling $9,000, for the energy conservation party held Aug. read more...

DALLAS — Just in time for football season, ConAgra and the Army & Air Force Exchange Service have cooked up plans to give away nearly $25,000 in grills before the end of September.
Now through Sept. read more...

You applied to college and were accepted. You went through four years of classes and exams. There were good times and bad, but you made it through to become an officer in the U.S. read more...

WASHINGTON (AFNS) — All military personnel will be vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus, and the vaccine will be available to all military family members who want it, a Defense Department health affairs official said Wednesday. read more...

Family vacations, boat trips and backyard barbeques are common ways to enjoy the Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, the holiday also is accompanied by an increase in the crime of impaired driving. read more...

Vance AFB is hosting the third annual Adventure Race Sept. 19.
The race will start at 9 a.m. at the base park with a 4.2-mile run down Southgate Road to Meadowlake Park where participants will raft two miles on the park’s lake and then bike 12 miles back to base. read more...

Five area teens experienced the thrill of aviation, through orientation flights with the Civil Air Patrol Aug. read more...

Five Team Vance airmen, members of Class 09-G, graduated Aug. 28 from Airman Leadership School at Altus AFB. read more...

This is a journal from 2nd Lt. Lynn Aird, Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 10-14. read more...

Master Sgt. Robert Rodriguez

• Hometown: Houston, Texas
• Organization: 32nd Flying Training Squadron
• Duty title: NCO in charge, Squadron Aviation Resource Management
• Time on Silver Talon Team: 16 months
• What has been the best part of serving on the Silver Talon team? Being a part of an elite group of military members paying the final respect and honor to our military citizens who served our great nation and helped pave the road to freedom. read more...

TOP PICK

Play ball!

Enid High School opens the 2009 football season with its annual homecoming game against Sand Springs tonight at D. read more...

“Physical training gear is workout gear. It doesn’t become a uniform until the commander determines that it is organized PT,” said Chief Master Sgt. read more...

Youth Programs will be hosting Fit-Factor Bowling from 1 to 3 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Falcon’s Nest Bowling Center. read more...

Saturday, 7 p.m.

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3 — Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day’s work for dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime (John Travolta). read more...

The CDC Morning Enrichment program starts Tuesday and runs from 8:30 to 11 a.m. Children ages 3 to 5 years old can learn language arts, math, science, art, reading, socialization, and gross and fine motor skills. read more...