News from the Air Force

[BubbleGumTiger]

Air Force Signs Officer-Exchange Agreement with Polish Air Force:

Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz and his Polish air force counterpart Lt. Gen. Lech Majewski signed the Military Personnel Exchange Program memorandum of understanding at a ceremony in Warsaw this week during Schwartz's official visit to Poland. Under the agreement, the two nations' air arms will exchange military officers, according to a release from the US embassy in Warsaw on May 30, the day of the signing. "MPEP promotes mutual understanding and trust, enhances interoperability, strengthens air force-to-air force ties, and develops long-term professional and personal relationships," states the release. Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Cassidy told the Daily Report on May 31 that the agreement calls for three reciprocal exchanges initially: one C-130 maintenance officer, one F-16 maintenance officer, and one logistics-readiness officer. The USAF airmen—captains according to the embassy release—are expected to be in place, along with their families, at Powidz Air Base and Krzesiny Air Base in Poland by the end of 2013. Their Polish counterparts are scheduled to be at Luke AFB, Ariz., and Pope Field, N.C., within that same timeframe.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Aviano Gets New Static Display:

Officials with the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano AB, Italy, unveiled a new F-16 static display for the base on May 29. The aircraft was one of the 34 F-16s supplied to the Italian air force as part of the Peace Caesar Program in 2003, according to Aviano officials. Italy acquired the F-16s to bridge the gap until its Eurofighter Typhoons were in place. The NATO ally recently returned the last of the F-16s. Aviano officials said approximately 4,125 manhours were needed to decommission the F-16 for its display role, including sanding and painting it and removing its egress seat and gun.

[BubbleGumTiger]

PACAF: Proposed Move of Eielson's F-16s Would Save Millions:

After an initial outlay of $5.6 million, the Air Force would save $14.6 million from Fiscal 2013 to Fiscal 2017 by moving the 18th Aggressor Squadron from Eielson Air Force Base, near Fairbanks, Alaska, to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, near Anchorage, according to a newly released Pacific Air Forces report. Part of the savings would come from the reduction of 81 military positions, states PACAF's May 31 release on the report. PACAF dispatched a site activation task force to both bases in April to study the overall impact of the proposed move. The Air Force also expects there would be additional savings of $227 million through Fiscal 2017 based on proposed manpower adjustments in base operating support at Eielson, according to the release. Brig. Gen. Mark McLeod, PACAF's director of logistics, said Eielson "is, and will continue to be, a valuable strategic location." For example, the Alaska Air National Guard's 168th Air Refueling Wing will continue to operate from there, he noted. But Alaska lawmakers have not embraced the proposal.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Lippman: Saudis Not Going Nuclear:

Saudi Arabia likely would not pursue a nuclear weapon even if Iran reveals to the world that it has one of its own, said Thomas Lippman, adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute and award-winning author and journalist, Monday. "In my opinion, the disincentives of pursuing nuclear weapons are so overwhelming for Saudi Arabia that it would be national suicide for them to go down that path," Lippman told attendees of his June 4 speech on Saudi Arabia that AFA's Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies sponsored in Arlington, Va. Lippman said the Saudi government realizes that its nation's future lies in full integration into the world economy and industrialization. "If they were to break their agreements under the Nonproliferation Treaty . . . and go down that path of nuclear outlaws, their future would look more like North Korea than Norway," he said. "I just don't see that happening."

[BubbleGumTiger]

Silver Star for Francis Gary Powers:

On June 15, 2012, more than 50 years after downed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers returned from Soviet captivity, the Air Force will posthumously award him a Silver Star medal for his heroism. Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz will present the decoration to grandchildren of Powers during a ceremony in the Pentagon, said service officials June 5. Schwartz will honor Powers for demonstrating "exceptional loyalty" while enduring harsh interrogation in Lubyanka prison in Moscow during his 21 months of confinement that began on May 1, 1960. On that day, a Russian SA-2 surface-to-air missile shot down Powers' U-2 airplane during a top-secret CIA-run reconnaissance mission over the Soviet Union. His shootdown and capture was one of the Cold War's most memorable incidents. It heightened tension between the two superpowers and delivered Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev a propaganda coup. Despite faithfully serving his country and helping to gather invaluable intelligence on Soviet bomber and ICBM forces during numerous U-2 flights over Soviet territory prior to his shootdown, the nation never treated Powers as a hero until after his death. He died in August 1977 at age 47.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Academy Training Group Realigns:

The 306th Flying Training Group realigned under the 12th Flying Training Wing in a ceremony at the Air Force Academy airfield in Colorado Springs, Colo. "It's fitting that the 306th Flying Training Group, which hosts US Air Force Academy airmanship programs and screening for rated flying positions, joins our family," said Col. Richard Murphy, commander of the 12th FTW, during the June 5 ceremony. The wing is headquartered at JBSA-Randolph, Tex. "The 12th Flying Training Wing, with operations in Texas, Florida, and now Colorado, is separated by more than 1,600 miles. Yet we are one team with one mission: to deliver unrivaled airpower leaders for the future of our United States Air Force," said Murphy. Academy officials said the realignment will not change the 306th FTG's mission: to ensure powered flight, soaring, and parachuting courses contribute measurably to cadets' leadership and character development. Air Education and Training Command boss Gen. Edward Rice ordered the realignment due to the scheduled inactivation of 19th Air Force, they said.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Last Piece of Former Lowry Air Force Base Relinquished:

The Air Force transferred Buckley Annex, the final 70 acres of the former Lowry Air Force Base, to the Denver community during a ceremony. The transfer occurred on June 1. Lowry closed in 1994; areas of the former base have been steadily redeveloped as commercial and residential space since then. Closure of the annex was announced in 2005, according to a June 6 release from officials at nearby Buckley Air Force Base, also in the Denver area. The grounds of the former base are expected to host approximately 800 homes—with close proximity to parks, schools, jobs, and transportation—and create some 700 retail, construction, and office jobs, states the release. Terry Yonkers, the Air Force's assistant secretary for installations, called Lowry's redevelopment a tremendous success. The Air Reserve Personnel Center was the last military tenant on the grounds of Lowry. It shifted to Buckley last August.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Back to the Training Requirements Drawing Board:

The Air Force has decided not to move forward at this time with plans to conduct low-altitude flying training in parts of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico for its special operations forces, announced 27th Special Operations Wing officials at Cannon AFB, N.M. While "the need for the low-altitude training still exists," emerging training requirements, including those based on lessons learned in Afghanistan, "now overlap with the need for the proposed low-altitude training," states the wing's June 5 release. As a result of this and "the many public comments received" during the draft environmental assessment of the low-altitude training proposal, service officials are now evaluating whether a more detailed environmental analysis is appropriate, according to the release. They are refining special operations flying training requirements and expect to make that determination in early 2013, states the release. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), in whose state low-altitude training would occur, welcomed the decision. "I want to ensure that pilots and crews receive the training they need to perform their combat missions, but this training plan needed to be better coordinated with local communities and other airspace users," said Udall in a release June 6.

[BubbleGumTiger]

South Dakota F-16s Show Mettle:

South Dakota Air National Guard pilots last week flew their F-16 Block 40 fighters for the first time in a major exercise, dropping ordnance over the Smokey Hills ANG Range in Kansas, according to local press reports. The 114th Fighter Wing began trading out its older F-16 Block 30s in 2010, reaching full operational capability with the Block 40s in time for an operational readiness inspection at the wing's base on Joe Foss Field last week, reported Sioux Falls' Argus Leader on June 10. The sorties to Kansas were part of the activities conducted during the inspection. The wing's Block 40 aircraft are equipped with features like the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System and more powerful engines, reported Sioux Falls' WJTV news on June 8. The Air Force is upgrading a number of F-16 Block 40/50 aircraft with enhanced structural and computing abilities under a service life-extension program and "our Block 40s are in the group," said 114th FW commander Col. Russ Walz.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Difficult Decisions:

The decision to freeze all cuts to the Air National Guard in Fiscal 2013 may make life more difficult for Congress in Fiscal 2014, but that's no reason to go along with the Air Force's proposed force structure plan, said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Senate Armed Services Committee chairman. "What [the Air Force] did was not at all thought out; there was no case made for it," Levin told defense reporters in Washington, D.C., June 14. "It was so disproportionate to what the other services were doing." The Air Force has proposed cutting 5,100 Air Guard positions, 900 Air Force Reservists, and 3,900 Active Duty billets next fiscal year, saying further cuts to the Active force would negatively impact readiness. Levin remained hopeful that the national commission that the SASC called for in its budget mark-up would provide recommendations on the proper active component-reserve component mix and outline a path forward.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Boeing's Bonus Airplane:

As part of the KC-46A tanker program, the Air Force will pay for the development, fabrication, and test of an interim aircraft that Boeing hopes to market as a commercial product, according to service and company officials. In the tanker's test program, Boeing will deliver two aircraft as 767-2Cs—a new freighter variant that will lack refueling gear—and another two airplanes configured as all-up KC-46 tankers. The Air Force doesn't see the situation as evidence that the US military is subsidizing the commercial aircraft industry. That's a charge Europe has frequently lodged with the World Trade Organization. Maureen Dougherty, Boeing's KC-46 program manager, said in a June 13 interview the 767-2C—which bridges from the 767-200ER to a configuration that the Air Force can use as the basis of the KC-46—is going to be a commercially available aircraft. However, the 767-2C will be "provisioned" for the tanker conversion, and may not be attractive to commercial customers without changes, said Air Force KC-46 program manager Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan. If Boeing wishes to market the aircraft, "that's OK with us," he told the Daily Report. But one should not construe the arrangement as a subsidy of a commercial project, he said.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Key Player in Air Force Nuclear Revitalization Retires:

Maj. Gen. Donald Alston, 20th Air Force commander, will hand off his command in a ceremony at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., on June 15 and will retire from the Air Force, effective Sept. 1, after more than 34 years of service. A 1978 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Alston has overseen the nation's ICBM forces since July 2010. He played a pivotal role in the revitalization of the Air Force's nuclear enterprise by serving as the head of the Air Staff's then-new office of strategic deterrence and nuclear integration from November 2008 to June 2010. In that capacity, he drove the headquarters-level policy changes that helped restore standards of excellence across nuclear units. "Our ongoing efforts to improve experience levels in certain areas will take time," said Alston of the future of the ICBM forces. "But as those efforts move along, we are continuing to improve the quality of our training across the force, and that work improves the daily preparation that goes into accomplishing each day's workload."

[BubbleGumTiger]

Fifth GPS IIF Satellite Completed:

Boeing has finished fabrication of the fifth of 12 Global Positioning System IIF satellites, announced the company June 18. "Boeing, in close partnership with the US Air Force, is focused on execution and mission assurance," said Craig Cooning, Boeing's general manager of space and intelligence systems, in the company's release. Two of the five completed IIF satellites are already operational on orbit as part of the 31-satellite GPS constellation. The other three are in storage awaiting launch, states Boeing's release. The third IIF satellite is slated for launch during the fourth quarter of 2012. A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket will carry the satellite into space from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., states the release.

[BubbleGumTiger]

End of the Line:

The Air Force on June 19 ordered its 224th, and likely its final, C-17 transport from Boeing. The company received a $169.8 million contract to provide the new-build airlifter off of its production line in Long Beach, Calif., announced the Pentagon. Work on this airframe is expected to be completed in May 2013, according to the Defense Department's release. Congress appropriated the funds for the Air Force to build a fleet of 223 C-17s. However, with the loss of a C-17 in a crash in Alaska in July 2010, lawmakers provided the money for the service to procure a replacement aircraft, the 224th, to keep the fleet size at 223. The Air Force leadership maintains that the service does not need any more C-17s beyond that. The Pentagon has just launched a nine-month mobility study to assess how well the US military's transport enterprise supports the Obama Administration's new defense strategy through 2018. Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said in March he thinks the Air Force's proposed fleet of air mobility assets, including its C-17 force, is right-sized for the strategy.

[BubbleGumTiger]

New Cyber Course Churns Out First Class:

Air Force weapons officers are adding cyber security to their arsenal of expertise. On June 16, eight of these airmen completed the first cyber weapons instructor course at the Air Force Weapons School at Nellis AFB, Nev., said base officials in a release. These officers are part of an Air Force movement to bring increased cyber knowledge to the US military. "The purpose of this course is to refine these officers' cyber skills and round them out by teaching them to be expert instructors, problem solvers, leaders, and tacticians, ultimately teaching them how to integrate the cyber piece with the entire spectrum of Air Force and joint capabilities," said Maj. Brent Wells, operations director for the cyber WIC, in the June 18 release. "We want our graduates to transform and inspire our nation's combat power," said Lt. Col. Bob Reeves, commander of the 328th Weapons Squadron that runs the course.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Cannon's New Aircraft Fleet Grows:

Cannon AFB, N.M., last week received its seventh new-built MC-130J Commando II aircraft, announced manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The special-mission airplane arrived on June 20 direct from the company's production facility at Marietta, Ga., states the company's June 21 release. Assigned to Cannon's 522nd Special Operations Squadron, aircraft no. 5695 will support covert infiltration and recovery, aerial refueling, and clandestine resupply, like Cannon's other new MC-130Js. This airframe is the seventh of 11 aircraft slated for delivery to Cannon, according to Lockheed Martin. Air Force Special Operations Command is procuring the MC-130Js to replace legacy MC-130s in the fleet.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Combat Talon from Son Tay Raid Retired:

Members of Air Force Special Operations Command gathered at Cannon AFB, N.M., for the retirement of the MC-130E Combat Talon I aircraft that led the Son Tay Raid to free US prisoners of war from North Vietnam in August 1970. On June 22, tail number 64-0523 flew in to Cannon from Duke Field, Fla., where it had served in recent years with Air Force Reserve Command's 919th Special Operations Wing. The retirement ceremony at Cannon was that same day. The MC-130E will now undergo several months of demilitarization before it rests on permanent display at Cannon's airpark, according to a June 25 base release. This Combat Talon first flew in 1966 and amassed more than 23,500 flight hours, according to 919th SOW officials in a June 25 release. "We are extremely proud of our special operations forces heritage and what this aircraft means to AFSOC," said Col. Buck Elton, commander of Cannon's 27th SOW.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Learning Hot Spot:

Air Force Academy cadets and personnel deemed mission-critical were holding their ground, as of midday on June 27 local time, as the Waldo Canyon fire raged in Colorado Springs, Colo., according to academy officials. At the time, "no structures" on the academy were threatened by the fire, they said. However, leadership had ordered the evacuation of some 2,200 residents of the Douglass Valley and Pine Valley housing areas at the academy's southern end "as a health and safety precaution resulting from the unpredictability of the fire," stated the academy's release of updates on the fire. The academy grounds remained closed to visitors and non-essential personnel, and academy officials suspended on-campus athletic activities until further notice, academy spokesman Harry Lundy told the Daily Report. However, the academy planned to go ahead on June 28, as scheduled, with in-processing of cadets for the Class of 2016, according to a release. Many of those incoming cadets would otherwise be stranded at airports en route, said Lundy. He said new cadets were briefed on evacuation procedures should the fire crawl closer to the campus, but he emphasized that the situation posed no immediate danger.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Composure in the Chaos:

The Waldo Canyon fire was still raging in Colorado on June 28 near the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, where academy officials used the day to begin welcoming new cadets. "In-processing went well. The cadet area is at the north end of the academy and is the safest part of the installation," academy spokesman Harry Lundy told the Daily Report. He said, from his vantage point, the sky was actually "mostly sunny." Early in the day, academy firefighters, supported by US Forest Service aircraft, contained a 10-acre fire on the academy's southwest corner, near Pine Valley. Academy officials said the fire did not reach any structures. Also on June 28, the Air Force temporarily halted permanent change of station moves and most temporary duty assignments to the academy through July 1. The move affects more than 200 personnel—but not cadets, said service personnel officials. Academy officials also announced that they were relocating some 550 cadets off of academy grounds in order to reduce the footprint of cadets and focus on the incoming members of the Class of 2016.

[BubbleGumTiger]

Training Abuse Appears Localized, but Still Totally Unacceptable:

The Air Force continues to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct by 12 of its male military training instructors at JBSA-Lackland, Tex., home of basic military training, said Gen. Edward Rice, Air Education and Training Command boss, June 28. So far, 31 female former trainees have come forward, describing abuse in incidents dating back to fall 2009, Rice told reporters during a Pentagon briefing. Nine of the accused 12 MTIs were in Lackland's 331st Training Squadron, he said. Lackland officials earlier this month relieved the squadron commander of duty since "he was the commander of a unit in which an unacceptable level of misconduct occurred," said Rice. Despite such misdeeds, Rice said the bad apples do not reflect on the professionalism of the other airmen in the MTI cadre, which numbers some 500. "My assessment to this point," he said, is that this "is not an issue of an endemic problem throughout basic military training. It is more localized, and we are doing a very intensive investigation of that squadron to find out what exactly happened and why." Rice said one option under consideration is to have female MTIs for female trainees.