Serving Eastern New Mexico and West Texas
Emily Crowe Staff writer ecrowe@cnjonline.com Chris Martin’s family hails from Jasper, Tenn., but not even distance will stop them from celebrating life and joining the fight against cancer here in Clovis. A staff sergeant who works in air traffic control at Cannon Air Force Base, Martin is heading up the 27 Special Operations Support Squadron […]
By Christina Calloway and Eric Norwood CMI staff writers Like most people who get surprised by late night visitors, Amanda Bonilla was suspicious why her cousin’s ex-boyfriend and his friend were knocking at her door around 1 a.m. Saturday. Nothing about their appearance or actions suggested Abran Baeza, 22, of Portales, and Noel Webb, 32, […]
A new Joint Land Use (JLUS) committee made up of Curry and Roosevelt County businessmen and women will develop any policies or procedures necessary to build cooperation between Cannon Air Force Base and land owners in the two counties, according to committee members. Local Growth Management Committee Chairman and Curry County Commissioner Caleb Chandler said […]
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE — Senior Airman Blake Johnson sat down on a blanket in the grass with his wife, Meichelle, and their three children Friday afternoon to enjoy hamburgers and hot dogs as music played in the background. CMI photo: Alisa Boswell A canoe was used to hold ice cold drinks Friday at Unity […]
A delay in housing privatization at Cannon Air Force base will not impact the influx of military personnel, according to a base spokesman. Negotiations with investors have delayed housing privatization at Cannon Air Force Base from an Aug. 1 start date to January 2013, according to Maureen Omrod, a spokeswoman for Balfour Beatty Communities, the […]
A new base-partnership perspective was presented to members of the Local Growth Management Committee Monday at its monthly meeting in Clovis. Monterey, Calif., city manager Fred Meurer told members about his community's partnership between the Presidio of Monterey (Army base), which is a "shared services concept." "It's looking at both sides of the fence where […]
The aircraft fleet at Cannon Air Force Base has tripled in the last two years. The are 105 aircraft assigned to the base now with more coming, according to the 27th Special Operations Mission Support Group commander Col. David Piech. There were 35 aircraft at the base in May 2010, according to a previous CNJ […]
Portales railroad engineer Carlos Sena of the New Mexico Army National Guard tried to find the words to describe his overseas experience. Courtesy photo: Chris Holland Members of C Company, 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment with the Army National Guard during their deployment in Afghanistan earlier this year. Lt. Col. Chris Holland is the 12th […]
The 27th Special Operations Wing will conduct a series of prescribed controlled burns at Melrose Air Force Range over the next 60 days. The fires will clear vegetation amounts in targeted areas to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by training or lightning. Dates will vary, based on weather conditions. Information: 784-4131.
Joshua Baca, an adviser for the Veterans Business Outreach Center of Albuquerque, sat at a table with First Sgt. Robert Scales of the New Mexico Army National Guard and businessman Donald Sawyer. Alisa Boswell: CMI staff First Sgt. Robert Scales, left, of the New Mexico Army National Guard, and businessman Donald Sawyer, center, talk about […]
The children of New Mexico's Baptist Children's Home in Portales have extended family in the Air Force. Cannon Air Force Base members are putting forth an effort to be big brothers and sisters in the lives of the residents at the children's home, many of whom come from troubled circumstances. Staff members at the children's […]
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. — The 27th Special Operations Wing on Friday held an aircraft retirement ceremony on the flightline at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M. Col. Buck Elton, 27 SOW commander, was on board the MC-130E Combat Talon I, tail number 64-0523, as it made its final flight into Cannon from Duke Field, […]
Capt. Laurence Van der Oord of Cannon Air Force Base's public affairs said Friday that the Air Force is not terminating any training but has terminated its Environmental Assessment on the Low Altitude Training Area (LATA) proposal to fly training missions over areas of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. The Air Force Special Operations […]
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. — Air Force Special Operations Command leadership concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) could not be reached through the current Environmental Assessment (EA) of the 27th Special Operations Wing's Low Altitude Training Area proposal currently under review. Leadership anticipated that the No Action Alternative presented in the […]
The family of Army Sgt. 1st Class Dale Smith always knew he'd never be the same after his tour in Afghanistan quickly came to an end with a gunshot wound. Courtesy photo: Raymond Smith Sgt. Dale Smith holds his daughter, Cadence, 5, as they pose for a picture during a homecoming ceremony for the 4th […]
A Navy petty officer from Clovis was honored earlier this month for his rescue efforts aboard an MH-60S helicopter in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, according to a Navy press release Petty Officer 2nd Class Erik Potter, a member of the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 31 search and rescue crew stationed at Naval Division […]
A former Cannon Air Force Base lieutenant colonel spoke Friday at Eastern New Mexico University about how his life was affected by the recently-eliminated Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. CMI photo: Alisa Boswell From left, Lauren and Madeline Whitmore, introduce their father, Lt. Col. Ross Whitmore, Friday afternoon at Eastern New Mexico University's Becky Sharp […]
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Emergency crews searched the charred remains of a Virginia Beach apartment complex Friday after a fighter jet crashed into it just after takeoff in what Navy officials called a "catastrophic mechanical malfunction." Two Navy pilots — a student and an instructor from nearby Naval Air Station Oceana — ejected just before […]
A Cannon Air Force Base lieutenant missing since March 12 reported to a California air force base on Monday, according to a press release from Cannon Air Force Base public affairs officials. According to the release: 1st Lt. Scott Lee reported to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., and is on his way to Cannon. Lee […]
