• Controlled Burn: Maintaining the Ecosystem

    U.S. Air Force Wildland Fire Branch members burn tall grass during a controlled burn at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, March 20, 2025. Burning the grass is more cost effective and beneficial to the ecosystem than mowing.

  • From Law Studies to Foreign Skies

    “I was in college to become a lawyer, but I started college when I was 16, and by the time I was in my early 20s, I was already burnt out. It was all just sitting in an office, pushing paper. I wanted something different.”

  • 2025 State of the Base address

    Col. Cory Damon, 22nd Air Refueling Wing commander, speaks to the crowd during the annual State of the Base address at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, March 13, 2025. Damon spoke about Team McConnell’s 2024 accomplishments and plans for the future, including the announcement of the 2026 Frontiers

  • From High School to High Altitude

    Lt. Col. Christopher Smith awaited a bittersweet connection as he embarked on his last flying mission as the 349th Air Refueling Squadron commander at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, March 11, 2025.

  • 2025 Mission Wichita class kicks off with a social

    Tech. Sgt. Darius Gamble, 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron airframe powerplant general noncommissioned officer in charge, socializes with Abigail Hammack, a civilian member of Mission Wichita, at the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita, Kansas, March 4, 2025. Mission Wichita is a program that