News from the Air Force

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MAFFS in Force:

For the first time since 2008, a total of eight specially modified C-130s from the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve are helping the US Forest Service fight wildfires raging in Colorado and several northwestern states. Since June 25, four Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped C-130s staging from Peterson AFB, Colo., have battled the flames; on June 30, four more aircraft arrived there. As of early on July 1 local time, these eight airplanes had dropped more than 190,000 gallons of fire retardant in 73 airdrops, states a Peterson release. Starting on July 2, four of the MAFFS C-130s will begin staging out of the Wyoming Air Guard's base in Cheyenne, announced Cheyenne officials. This will give the Forest Service "tremendous flexibility to assist with several regional fires at once," said Col. Jerry Champlin, 153rd Air Expeditionary Group commander. Two C-130s from Cheyenne's 153rd Airlift Wing and two from the North Carolina Air Guard's 145th AW will operate from Cheyenne. Two Aircraft from the California Air Guard's 146th AW and two from Air Force Reserve Command's 302nd AW at Peterson will continue to stage from the Colorado base.

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F-16 Pilot Receives Distinguished Flying Cross:

Maj. John Caldwell, an F-16 operational test pilot with the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla., recently received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism in protecting a special operations team that came under enemy ambush on May 2, 2011, in Nuristan province, Afghanistan. Then a captain, Caldwell responded with his F-16 to the ambush of some 90 insurgents, according to Eglin's June 29 release. The friendly forces were taking casualties. He executed a danger-close strafing run that broke the enemy's charge and then re-attacked, this time with an "expertly placed" joint direct attack munition that completely neutralized the ambush, according to the release. "Guys on the ground that night are telling the story of the F-16 that saved them and how they wouldn't be standing today" without Caldwell's actions that day, said Col. David Hicks, Eglin's 53rd Wing commander, who pinned the DFC on Caldwell. "I was at the right place at the right time and I believe anyone in my squadron would do the same thing," said Caldwell.

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Instructor Pilot Receives Top Safety Award:

Capt. Frank Baumann, an instructor pilot with the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard AFB, Tex., received the 2011 Koren Kolligian Jr. Trophy, the Air Force's top flight safety award. Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presented Baumann with the trophy during a June 27 ceremony at the Pentagon. The Air Force recognized Baumann for his ingenuity and bravery in recovering a T-6 Texan II after a severe flight-control malfunction during a flight from Sheppard in September 2011, according to a June 28 Air Force release. When his flight controls failed, Baumann verbally directed the student pilot in controlling the aircraft's elevator, while Baumann manipulated its ailerons and rudders to enable a safe recovery and landing. "One of the reasons we are as effective an Air Force as we are is simply that our aviators are able to recognize a condition, use their training and skill to deal with it, and, most importantly, bring the aircrew home," said Schwartz. Baumann credited all those who helped him that day, including his student, and his wingman.

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Four Air Guardsmen Died in C-130 Firefighting Crash:

Four members of the North Carolina Air National Guard's 145th Airlift Wing in Charlotte died when their Modular Airborne Firefighting System-equipped C-130 crashed on July 1 while fighting a woodland fire in southwestern South Dakota. Two other crewmembers, whom officials are not naming, were injured in the crash and hospitalized, according to the North Carolina National Guard's July 3 release. The deceased are: Lt. Col. Paul K. Mikeal, 42, of Mooresville, N.C.; Maj. Joseph M. McCormick, 36, of Belmont, N.C.; Maj. Ryan S. David, 35, of Boone, N.C.; and SMSgt. Robert S. Cannon, 50, of Charlotte. "Words can't express how much we feel the loss of these airmen," said Brig. Gen. Tony McMillan, 145th AW commander. "Our prayers are with their families, as well as our injured brothers as they recover." Mikeal was an evaluator pilot with the 156th Airlift Squadron. McCormick was an instructor pilot with the squadron. David was a navigator with the squadron. Cannon was a flight engineer serving with the 145th Operations Support Flight. The cause of the crash is unknown and is under investigation.

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Hostage Completes F-22 Qualification:

Gen. Mike Hostage, Air Combat Command boss, completed his F-22 pilot qualification, reinforcing his personal stake in the Air Force's efforts to identify the reasons why some Raptor pilots have experienced dizziness and disorientation in flight, announced ACC officials. "I'm asking these airmen to assume some risk that exceeds the norm in day-to-day training, and I have to be willing to do it myself and experience firsthand what they do," stated Hostage in ACC's July 5 release. He added, "Flying the airplane allows me to understand exactly what our airmen are dealing with." Hostage completed the qualification training with the 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall AFB, Fla., home of the F-22 schoolhouse, on June 27. Air Force officials are still working to determine the root cause of these physiological incidents. Recently, ACC directed Raptor pilots to remove the upper pressure garment of their aircrew flight equipment during routine flight operations after testing revealed that it may restrict the pilot's breathing in some instances, according to the release.

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Super Herks Create Super Formation:

Sixteen C-130Js took to the sky above Dyess AFB, Tex., this week for a training exercise, creating the largest Super Hercules formation ever, according to base officials. "We didn't do this to make history," said Col. Walter Ward, 317th Airlift Group commander, in a July 5 Dyess release. "That is a byproduct of what we did. We pushed ourselves to the maximum capability of the aircraft, our maintainers, and our operators today to practice standard textbook procedures, to execute them with precision, so that if we're called upon to do a large formation-type scenario, we can deliver with confidence." Crews conducted two simulated airdrops during the July 2 mission. Dyess has received 20 Super Herks since April 2010 and is slated to have a total of 28 in place next year, making it the largest C-130J unit in the world, according to base officials. "This is a huge show of our ability to put this many aircraft in the air," said Maj. Daniel Hilferty of the 317th Operations Support Squadron. "A 16-ship formation takes a lot in order to manage it."

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NRO Satellite Launched:

The Air Force and its industry partners successfully launched a classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite into orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket fired from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. "Our government and industry teams have done it again with this morning's perfect launch," said Col. James Fisher, director of NRO's office of space launch, of the June 29 mission in NRO's release. He added, "All their hard work has contributed to providing superior vigilance from above for the nation." The launch came just nine days after a ULA Atlas V rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying another NRO payload into space. "To be able to support back-to-back NRO missions in just over one week speaks volumes of the partnership we have here at the 45th Space Wing," said Brig. Gen. Anthony Cotton, wing commander, in a July 3 release. ULA officials said the June 29 launch was the inaugural flight of the RS-68A engine, an upgrade of the RS-68 with added thrust.

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No Krasni Flag:

Russia won't be participating in an Air Force Red Flag exercise this year, according to an exercise spokesman at Eielson AFB, Alaska. What? Russia at Red Flag? Several media outlets—including the Voice of Russia radio network's English-language website—ran stories last week suggesting Russia would indeed be sending fighters to a Red Flag exercise in October, either at Nellis AFB, Nev., or in Alaska. This would be an extraordinary first if true, and a watershed development in US-Russian relations. But, alas, no red-starred Flankers and Fulcrums will be populating the ramps at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Eielson, or anywhere else. Air Force officials told the Daily Report on July 6 that Russia had requested sending observers—not aircraft—to a Red Flag exercise this fall, but it won't be happening. While it would have been interesting to see those Sukhoi and MiG fighters at Red Flag—playing Red Air, perhaps?—modern Russian-designed fighters have already played in a Red Flag. In 2008, India brought its Su-30s MKI fighters to Nellis.

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Airmen and members of the local community gathered at Scott AFB, Ill., to dedicate the base's newly renovated air passenger terminal in honor of A1C Zachary Cuddeback, July 6, 2012. An Islamist-inspired Kosovar Albanian shot and killed Cuddeback, 21, of Stanardsville, Va., in an attack on airmen in March 2011 in Frankfurt, Germany. Cuddeback was born at Scott in July 1989, and is buried in nearby O'Fallon, Ill., northwest of the base. Here, Cuddeback's parent's, Robert Cuddeback and Celia Loyet, unveil the bronze plaque dedicating the passenger terminal to their son.

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Little Rock Tests Electronic Flight Bags:

In an effort to cut down on paper waste, C-130 aircrews at Little Rock AFB, Ark., earlier this month received more than 700 iPad 2s as part of an Air Mobility Command initiative to replace flight bags with electronic tablets, announced officials with Little Rock's 19th Airlift Wing on July 10. The tablets arrived on July 2 and will undergo a six-month trial period during which aircrews will store publications and other paperwork on them electronically, rather than carrying them aboard in paper form in flight bags. A typical publication bag can weigh between 60 pounds and 80 pounds, and costs more than an iPad, said MSgt. Brandon Bowers, a 19th Operations Group evaluator flight engineer. "The tablets will give us more information with less weight, while saving money and conserving resources," he said. AMC envisions that every mobility flier will eventually have a tablet for duty, but for now, the 19th AW is the lead unit for the testing phase of this initiative.

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Nellis Airman Awarded DFC with Valor:

The Air Force awarded SSgt. Justin Tite, an aerial gunner with the 88th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev., the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device for his heroic actions during a rescue mission in Afghanistan last year. Maj. Gen. Bill Hyatt, Air Force Warfare Center commander, presented Tite with the decoration during a July 9 ceremony at Nellis. "In all honesty, I'm just humbled to get this," said Tite. He added, "I don't take this award necessarily [because] of just what I've done. I think it's more or less for the [rescue] community itself." On April 23, 2011, Tite was the gunner aboard the lead HH-60 helicopter, call sign Pedro 83, during a mission to rescue the aircrew of a downed Army helicopter. During the course of a six-hour-long mission, Tite's actions in covering friendly troops and suppressing intense enemy fire helped make possible the life-saving rescue of two soldiers and the recovery of another soldier's body. In April, Capt. Elliot Milliken, one of the Pedro 83 pilots, received the DFC for his heroics during the mission.

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More Isn't Always Better:

Not all active duty service members, retirees, or family members think more generous and more expensive military compensation benefits are automatically the best option, according to a new study by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Over the course of 12 weeks, more than 2,600 persons responded to the think tank's survey, explained Todd Harrison, the CSBA senior fellow who authored the study, during a July 12 press event in Washington, D.C., unveiling it. Not surprisingly, service members of all ranks placed a high value on basic duty pay, though lower ranking service members marked this as an even higher priority, he said. The majority of respondents also valued keeping years of service for retirement at 20 years versus dropping it to 15 years. In addition, "More than 80 percent of service members in each age group would prefer a one percent increase in basic pay in exchange for raising the retirement collection age to 50," states the study. On the other hand, performance-based bonuses ranked fairly low when compared to the cost of implementation.

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Court Martial Begins in Training Abuse Scandal:

The general court martial for SSgt. Luis Walker, a basic military training instructor facing multiple counts of sexual misconduct, began on July 16. Walker, who is assigned to the 737th Training Group at JBSA-Lackland, Tex., faces a total of 28 counts, including rape, adultery, aggravated sexual assault, and violating a lawful order regarding unprofessional relationships with trainees from October 2010 to June 2011, according to an Air Education and Training Command release. If convicted, he faces life in prison. Walker is one of at least 12 MTIs under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct with trainees. Last month, the Air Force launched an investigation, looking for other abuses of power at all AETC training facilities. Since then, several other MTIs have come forward with allegations of abuse at San Antonio-Lackland, states the release. "The fact that MTIs stepped forward . . . cannot be overlooked," said Col. Polly Kenny, 2nd Air Force staff judge advocate. "It demonstrates that these [non-commissioned officers] care about the integrity of the MTI corps, and are not willing to tolerate behavior that will tarnish a hallowed Air Force institution."

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Put Down the Electronic Devices and Have a Conversation:

Air Force leaders need to do a better job of balancing technological advances and human interaction, said CMSAF James Roy. While digital tablets, social networks, and cell phones can be invaluable, it's important not to lose the value of plain-old face-to-face conversations, he wrote in a July 17 Chief's Perspective. "Real human interaction—yes, for some of us it may be awkward at first, but getting to know each other better is an investment that will yield incalculable returns," wrote Roy. "Stronger connections will create a foundation on which we can grow more meaningful relationships." That's not to say that technology can't, and shouldn't, augment those relationships. "As airmen, we have to understand how to use technology, because without it we are not as well-equipped to do our jobs," he stated. However, he continued, "as human beings, we also have to understand how and when not to use technology, because when distracted by it, we are not as well-equipped to relate to others."

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E-11A Fleet Completes 3,000th Sortie in Afghanistan:

The Air Force's small fleet of Battlefield Airborne Communications Node-equipped E-11A jets flew its 3,000th sortie from Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, in direct support of coalition forces in that nation. "It's a great honor and feeling of satisfaction knowing our missions have such a significant impact supporting the ground and air forces in theater," said Lt. Col. Paul Bedesem, an E-11A pilot with Kandahar's 451st Tactical Airborne Gateway, in commenting on the milestone sortie on July 14. Airmen and contractors of the 451st TAG operate the E-11As as overhead communications relays to help ground troops overcome the communications limitations imposed by Afghanistan's mountainous terrain. The modified Bombardier BD-700 business jets augment the Air Force's BACN-outfitted EQ-4B Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft. The 451st TAG reached 3,000 sorties in less than four years of operating in theater, according to the unit's July 18 release.

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Testing Reshuffle at Eglin:

Air Force Material Command, as part of its command-wide reorganization, inactivated the Air Armament Center at Eglin AFB, Fla., consolidating Eglin's 46th Test Wing and 96th Air Base Wing. Redesignated the 96th Test Wing during a ceremony on July 18, the unit's testers now report to the newly renamed Air Force Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., said AFMC officials in a July 19 release. Its development and acquisition missions are now aligned under the new Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. "Our mission to develop, test, and produce war-winning weapons remains vital . . . and it must continue," said Maj. Gen. Kenneth Merchant, outgoing AAC commander. AFMC eliminated the center, but retained its functions at Eglin to cut staff costs. A measure in the still-to-be-finalized Fiscal 2013 defense authorization legislation, however, could reverse the consolidation, reports Florida's Emerald Coast Daily News. "My pending legislation is explicit. . . . When it becomes law, the Air Force will be required to re-establish and restore the Air Armament Center," said Rep. Jeff Miller, who represents the Eglin community.

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Airman Killed in Colorado Theater Shooting:

SSgt. Jesse Childress, 29, an Air Force Reservist assigned to the 310th Forces Support Squadron at Buckley AFB, Colo., died in the mass shooting on July 20 in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., near Denver, announced Air Force officials on July 22. Childress, from Thornton, Colo., was a cyber systems operator on active duty orders. He was among the 12 fatalities and scores of wounded in the incident. Another Reservist was wounded in the shooting attack, according to the officials. This airman, also on active duty orders at Buckley, left a hospital on July 21 after treatment, they said. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class John Larimer, 27, of Crystal Lake, Ill., also died in the shooting, announced the Navy. Another sailor was injured. Alleged gunman James Holmes is in police custody.

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Uniform Religion:

The Air Force has addressed the issue of religious proselytizing that was occurring when outgoing Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz assumed his post in 2008, Schwartz told the Daily Report. During a mid July exit interview, Schwartz said his concern was that "there were people in leadership roles—commanders' roles—who did not appreciate sufficiently . . . the need to exercise care in how they articulated their faith." While everyone has the right to religious freedom, Schwartz said he was worried that when those with command authority "appear to promote" certain beliefs, those under their command could feel they'd be "at a disadvantage if they did not align accordingly." Service members must feel free to exercise their own religious beliefs "without concern for whether it will affect their promotability, their assignments, whether they will remain equally competitive with others, and so on," asserted Schwartz. These are "serious matters that relate to unit cohesion and discipline" and "commanders need to be smart about this," he said. Schwartz thinks the Air Force has "sensitized our commanders to their obligations in this regard." He added, "I think that's healthy for the Air Force."

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Schwartz Expects New Bomber Fielded by Mid 2020s:

In his final appearance for Pentagon reporters as Chief of Staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz on July 24 offered up a full-throated defense of the Air Force's next-generation long-range strike platform, and contended that the Air Force will field assets by next decade. Schwartz said the Air Force had worked hard to convince the Office of the Secretary of Defense that the capability was "needed for the nation" and the ability to place targets at risk is "an American strong suit, largely performed" by the service. Schwartz made it clear that he expects a combat-capable aircraft delivered by the middle of next decade. "We've talked about beginning to field the platform in the mid [20]20s," he said. "There are requirements and we are going to pursue this program in a very disciplined fashion, and do it in a way that capitalizes on already proven technologies" in aircraft manufacturing, sensors, and avionics integration, he added. Any future "family of systems" long-range strike concept depends on this capability, argued Schwartz. "Extending a sense of vulnerability on others is a tool of statecraft and one we should not concede," he said.

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Third GPS IIF Satellite Arrives at Launch Site:

The Air Force's third Global Positioning System IIF satellite arrived at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., earlier this month in preparation for its scheduled launch later this year, announced manufacturer Boeing. Dubbed SVN-65, this satellite is slated to go into orbit in October aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket, according to the company's July 25 release. Fielding the IIF satellites is part of the Air Force's overall effort to sustain and modernize the GPS constellation, which provides precision positioning, navigation, and timing services to the US military and civil users worldwide. "As each IIF satellite becomes operational, we continue the seamless transformation of the GPS constellation into an even more accurate, reliable, and durable navigation resource," said Craig Cooning, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems general manager. The first IIF satellite entered service in summer 2010. The second IIF spacecraft began operations about one year later. Boeing is contracted to build 12 IIF satellites.