Showing posts with label Air Force. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Air Force. Show all posts

Monday, September 07, 2015

Tuskegee airman, WWII hero from N.J., dies at 90

Calvin Spann, a New Jersey native and one of the original Tuskegee airmen, died Sunday at his home in Texas. He was 90.

Spann, who was born Nov. 28, 1924, and grew up in Rutherford, volunteered for the Army Air Corps and was sent to Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1943 to start aviation cadet training. He was sent to Italy as a replacement combat pilot after completing his training.

Lt. Spann flew 26 combat missions over Nazi Germany.

As a fighter pilot, he participated in the longest bomber escort mission in 15th Air Force history: a 1,600-mile, round-trip mission, from Ramitelli, Italy, to Berlin.

Read more: Tuskegee Airman, NJ Native, Dies

Monday, April 07, 2014

Lt. Gen. Darren McDew to lead Air Mobility Command



Lt. Gen. Darren McDew is slated to take over the Air Mobility Command from Gen. Paul Selva, President Obama’s nominee to lead the U.S. Transportation Command, military sources say.

McDew is currently commander of the 18th Air Force, Air Mobility Command's sole war fighting numbered force, where he oversees 39,000 active-duty Airmen, Reservists and civilians and approximately 1,300 aircraft. He assumed this role in August 2012.

18th Air Force is responsible for providing rapid, mobility and sustainment for armed forces through airlift, aerial refueling, aero medical evacuation.

Gen. McDew was commissioned in 1982 following graduation from Virginia Military Institute. He began his career at Loring Air Force Base, Maine. His staff assignments include serving as a member of the Air Force Chief of Staff Operations Group, serving as an Air Force aide to President Bill Clinton from 1994-1996 and as a Senate liaison for the service.

The general is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours in a variety of aircraft.