Without its growing fleet of unmanned aircraft, the Air Force would not be as effective. It's why Predators, Reapers and Global Hawks are in such demand on the battlefield.

Airman Magazine is published bi-monthly by the Air Force News Agency for the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs. As the official magazine of the U.S. Air Force, it is a medium of information for Air Force people.

Readers may submit articles, photographs and artwork. The Airman staff welcomes suggestions and criticisms.

CONTENTS:
4 Raptor rapture
With the F-22 Raptor now fully operational, pilots and maintainers are discovering just how awesome the stealth fighter is and what it can do.

10 Deciphering Cyberspace
A new breed of Airmen warriors is learning to dominate cyberspace.

18 Drug War Sentries
Keeping tabs on illegal drug runners is a team affair.

30 Medal for Mettle
Air Force awards combat medal for the first time.

38 Glimpses of Humanity
There’s blood, death and dying all around nurses in war zones. But glimpses of humanity shine through the gloom.

43 Getting SE RE-ious
Fairchild team teaches Airmen how to stay alive behind enemy lines.

Read Airman Magazine, Fall 2007 Online

On the Cover
Airmen are at war in cyberspace, fighting attacks against Air Force networks every eight seconds. So strikes don’t affect Air Force missions, cyber warriors fight off probes, virus and worm attacks and other attempted
breaches.

Design by G. Patrick Harris
Photo by Tech. Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo

Download Airman Magazine, Winter 2007

ZIP. PDF format, 6.4MB.

RAPTOR Rapture
Pilots say the F-22 is a true marvel to fly
by Staff Sgt. Matthew Bates
photos by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Rogers

Growing up in Bloomfield, Ind., Lt. Col. Kevin Fesler dreamed of flying airplanes. He watched them take off and land at the airport and wondered what it was like to be in the cockpit, the world far below, and the seemingly limitless sky, stretching out as far as the eye could see.

He had to find out.

So, instead of asking for a new bicycle or the latest toy, he started asking for money for his birthdays and at Christmas. When he had enough, he bought flying lessons at an airfield that was nothing more than a grassy strip of land five miles from his childhood home.

“I don’t remember a time I didn’t want to fly,” he said. “After learning to fly on that grass strip, I was fortunate to get an Air Force ROTC scholarship and then a pilot training slot. And now here I sit.”

“Here” is a good place to sit. Colonel Fesler is commander of the 94th Fighter Squadron at Langley Air Force Base, Va. It’s the second fighter squadron in the Air Force to receive and operate its fifth-generation fighter, the F-22 Raptor.

This modern marvel of technology is a far cry from anything Colonel Fesler ever imagined flying when he was a youngster. Sometimes, even the grownup version has a hard time believing he gets to fly the stealth jet.

“I think if I sat down and really thought about it, it would seem overwhelming,” he said. “It’s certainly not what I envisioned I’d be flying as a kid. It’s an amazing plane.”

Colonel Fesler felt this way right from the start. He still remembers his first Raptor flight. He had to do it solo, of course, because there isn’t a two-seat Raptor trainer, like with the F-15E Strike Eagle he used to fly.

“I remember thinking that I wanted to do everything perfect,” he said.

This meant going over numerous checklists in his head, recalling things he’d learned in the simulator and relying on his prior experience in the Strike Eagle. In the end, everything worked out and the colonel had a successful first flight.

Still, he was all business. ...

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