Pentagon

RIVERDALE -- Hanging in a hallway of the Pentagon is a picture of Bob Ramos, 86, dressed in his U.S. Air Force blues -- the uniform he wore during a long and distinguished career.

The photograph is part of the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Agency's Pioneers in Blue program.

Master Sgt. (Ret.) Norberto Ramos, is among 39 Air Force veterans, including medal recipients, historic figures and mentors, recognized in the program's second year for their contributions to the service.

WASHINGTON -- The White House and the Pentagon voiced regrets Wednesday for newly published photographs that purport to show U.S. troops posing with the bodies of dead insurgents in Afghanistan, with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta calling them a violation of America's "core values."

WASHINGTON -- The military has come under sharp criticism at a House hearing for failing to create a searchable database of medal recipients.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Local lawmakers are gearing up to prevent Hill Air Force Base from becoming a casualty in any Base Realignment and Closure action that may occur as the Defense Department cuts its budget.

Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, on Tuesday presented to the Senate Republican Caucus a proposal to set aside $500,000 for the Utah Defense Alliance, a nonprofit organization that has played a key role in keeping the base open during BRACs in 1995 and 2005.

Caucus meetings are closed to the public.

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is preparing to tighten its belt, but with an election-year battle looming in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta wants to stress the positive: Parts of the budget devoted to reshaping the military to fit a new global strategy will actually get fatter, he says.

Capt. Jeff "Bong" Haney was headed back to base in his F-22 Raptor fighter jet, ripping through the frigid Alaskan night beyond the speed of sound at more than 1,000 mph, when things started going terribly wrong.

Packed tight in cold-weather gear to protect him from the bitter temperatures, the Air Force pilot pulled back on the control stick at about 38,400 feet to gain altitude. Then Haney saw his plane was beginning to fail him.

A caution light glowed green through his night vision goggles, alerting him that a section of the aircraft was overheating. Almost instantly, the F-22’s onboard computers detected an air leak in the engine bay and began automatic shutdown of various systems — including the main oxygen supply.

Gasping for air, Haney set the throttles to idle and began lowering the plane to the snow-covered valley below. About 35 seconds later, Haney’s plane began to roll upside down. He couldn’t recover. There amid the Talkeetna Mountains north of Anchorage, Haney, 31, crashed and died.

The crash was another grim episode for the controversial Lockheed Martin Corp.-made F-22 fighter jet that has been in service since 2005, yet never called into combat despite conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. The plane, the military’s most expensive fighter jet, has continued to experience equipment problems — notably with its oxygen systems.

WASHINGTON — What are taxpayers supposed to think? The Pentagon says threatened budget cuts will invite aggression, endanger national security and devastate its operations.