News from the Air Force

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F-35A Launches First AMRAAM

An F-35A strike fighter last week completed the aircraft type's first in-flight launch of an AIM-120 air-to-air missile, announced testers at Edwards AFB, Calif. The launch of the AIM-120C5 instrumented air vehicle from test aircraft AF-1 took place on June 5 over the Point Mugu Sea Test Range, according to Edwards' June 6 release. Point Mugu is off the southern California coast. "It's a testament to the entire military-industry test team. They've worked thousands and thousands of hours to get to this point," said Lt. Col. George Schwartz, F-35 Integrated Test Force director at Edwards who piloted AF-1 on this test sortie. "It's fantastic to see that it's all paid off," he added. This was "the first launch where the F-35 and AIM-120 demonstrated a successful launch-to-eject communications sequence and fired the [missile's] rocket motor after launch," paving the way for targeted launches in support of the Block 2B software release later this year, according to the release. The F-35A is slated to reach initial operating capability by December 2016.

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Balancing the Force

More than 900 noncommissioned officers in overmanned career fields will need to cross train or risk being forced out of the service. Airmen in overmanned career fields can volunteer to switch jobs from now until July 7, but if the force does not balance itself out officials with the Air Force Personnel Center will begin selecting the most qualified airmen for mandatory cross training, states a June 7 release. During the second phase of the initiative, AFPC will select staff sergeants through master sergeants who meet specific criteria and move them to a different career field, said MSgt. April Little, 355th Force Support Squadron career advisor at Davis Monthan AFB, Ariz., in the release. "For example, security forces Air Force-wide has more than 100 technical sergeants that need to move into either the combat arms training instructor job or the canine handler job," said Little. She added, "NCOs who have been in the career field for a shorter period of time and have just put on staff, tech, or master will be the most vulnerable as long as they meet all other requirements."

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First KC-135 Arrives at Key Field

The Mississippi Air National Guard's 186th Air Refueling Wing received the first of eight KC-135s that the unit expects to have in place by the end of September, according to local press reports. The KC-135 touched down on June 10 at the wing's home at Key Field ANG Base in Meridian, reported the Meridian Star. This KC-135 is one of the six that the Ohio Air Guard's 121st ARW at Rickenbacker ANG Base is shedding to help constitute the Mississippi wing's full eight-aircraft complement, according to the Ohio wing's Facebook page. The Ohio unit will continue to operate a fleet of 12 KC-135s. The KC-135 mission is returning to Key Field. KC-135s used to operate there, but BRAC 2005 stripped the base of its tanker role. In mid-2011, Key Field gained the C-27J schoolhouse. However, with the Air Force's divestiture of the C-27J fleet, a void emerged once again that the return of the tankers will fill. KC-135 conversion training for Key Field pilots and maintainers has already begun, according to a base release.

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Welcome to the Hollow Force

The term "hollow force" now describes the Air Force, given that more than a dozen combat units are grounded, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said in an interview Tuesday. "I think we're there, now," Welsh said. "Anytime you've got airplanes sitting on a ramp" and not flying, the aircrews are "going to tell you, it's a hollow force." The question is, Welsh said, "are we going to remain there over time, or are we going to get out of this hole?" There clearly is "a requirement for the Department of Defense to be part of the solution for the budget deficit. We get that," he said. But USAF must have a "string of predictable topline numbers, so we can figure out what the solution will be over time." As for what happens if Congress doesn't reverse the sequester, Welsh said USAF is "in a position right now where we're having to assume the law will stay in place, which means worst case: the sequester for the next nine-and-a-half years. So, we can't afford not to plan to that assumption." What will that mean? "The Air Force will look different," Welsh said. "I think all the services will look different." If the gross effect is to "take 10 percent off everything," then that would translate to about 33,000 Active Duty airmen separated and "about 700" aircraft taken out of service, Welsh pointed out. "This thing is a big deal," he said, "which is why we've got to get about planning for the future."

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Building Air Coalitions in Jordan

Amman, Jordan—After taking a year off, Falcon Air Meet— the annual exercise hosted by the Royal Jordanian Air Force—resumed earlier this week at the country's Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, about 60 miles east of Amman. A delegation of officials from the Royal Jordanian Air Force, including veteran pilot and former RJAF chief of staff Prince Feisal bin Al Hussein, officiated opening ceremonies on June 9 along with officials from the Colorado Air National Guard's 120th Fighter Squadron—this year's US participants in the event. Marine F/A-18s from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 also are flying in the exercise. This is the seventh iteration of the event although it is the first year FAM has coincided with Exercise Eager Lion—the 19-nation multi lateral military exercise hosted by the RJAF. Since 2006, FAM has served as an opportunity for pilots from countries such as Turkey, Pakistan, and the US to learn from each other and talk about how they use their aircraft, Feisal said in comments following a meeting with senior US and Air Guard officials. "We learn from each other so we are better prepared as coalition partners," he noted, adding the US and Jordan have served side by side in combat recently with other nations during Operation Unified Protector in Libya. "It is important we learn how to work together at this phase, instead of when the bullets are flying

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Senate Rejects Plan to Restrain Military Legal Authority

The Senate Armed Services Committee voted on June 12 to strike a proposal that would remove the authority to oversee the prosecution of military sexual assaults from the chain of command. The committee voted 17 to 9 in favor of an amendment sponsored by SASC chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) over a proposal by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) In its place would be a provision that requires an independent review by the next higher level of the chain of command in cases where a commander decides not to prosecute a sexual assault allegation. However, Gillibrand found the provision "insufficient" as it will not adequately address victims' fear of retaliation. She said a distinguishing factor of her bill was that it requests a set of military lawyers, who do not report to the chain of command, to make decisions independently. She argued that commanders are not creating a climate where victims believe they can report without "being blamed, being retaliated against, being marginalized." Levin said the new provision addresses the problem of retaliation by making it a crime and establishing an expectation that commanders will be held accountable for creating that climate in which victims fear retaliation.

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Think Fast, Chief Says

The Air Force is likely to make a push in hypersonics to keep ahead of potential adversaries closing the gap in both technology and numbers, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh told the Daily Report last week. "Speed really compresses kill chains and…real speed really compresses kill chains," Welsh said. Hypersonics will "make decision cycles tougher for the enemy," he said, and help make USAF's non-penetrating bombers, the B-52 and B-1B, more relevant in a future fight. However, while recent hypersonics testing has provided "a treasure trove" of scientific data, Welsh said "speed costs us." He added, "It's expensive." Nevertheless, "it's something we're setting up for the future, and while we pursue it, we also need to do the right kind of investment in propulsion technologies that allow us to save money." On the latter point, Welsh said, he was referring to the ADVENT technology program that will create variable-cycle engines able to sip fuel at loiter yet still deliver very high dash speeds. Welsh said he sees "no options" about investing in that kind of technology, which, if it works, would "save us huge amounts of money as an Air Force, over time."

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A-10, B-1 Vertical Cuts On the Table

The Air Force may have to eliminate an entire fleet of a particular kind of aircraft—possibly all A-10s or B-1Bs—in order to live within reduced budgets if sequestration persists into Fiscal 2014 and beyond, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said June 17. "It's cheaper to cut fleets than it is to cut a few from a fleet: a lot cheaper," Welsh said at an AFA-sponsored Air Force breakfast event in Arlington, Va. "So, it's a way to recapitalize and modernize," he added. Although Welsh cautioned that "we're looking at everything" and "there is no coming together on a final decision…yet," he told reporters that the logic underlying the last big round of aircraft divestitures still holds. The A-10, he said, is a "single mission airplane" and, pressed for cash, the Air Force must hold onto "multi-mission" aircraft—read F-16—as its first priority. Service officials have noted that retiring all A-10s would solve two financial problems. One is the expense and complexity of maintaining and operating two very different variants within the A-10 fleet: those with and without new wings, and with or without upgraded systems. The retirement also would allow avoidance of the cost of rewinging most A-10s. Welsh said the decisions on what to retire will be made "in partnership with Congress, the National Guard Bureau, with the Air Force Reserve….Right now, we are not limiting options at all." Last week he said USAF may have to retire as many as 700 more aircraft.

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The High Cost of Saving Money

The sequester that has grounded 33 Air Force fighter squadrons will cost a lot of money to undo, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said on June 17. Speaking at an AFA-sponsored Air Force breakfast in Arlington, Va., Welsh said the "big impact" of the sequester "will not be felt this year, it's next year and the year after that." Squadrons that aren't flying now will have to fly many extra hours to regain combat proficiency, he said. "You can't just accelerate training and catch up. It costs somewhere around two-and-a-half times as much money to retrain a squadron as it does to keep it trained," he explained. However, "we're probably not going to get that….So this is going to stretch out for a while," he added

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Rusty USAF Pilots Need Workup for Syria

The Syrian air defense threat is strenuous, and if the Air Force was tasked to establish a no-fly zone there, it would represent a risk to rusty pilots, USAF Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh told reporters on June 17. Syria has "better, more updated" air defense equipment—both aircraft and ground-based systems—than USAF faced in Libya or Iraq, Welsh said after an AFA-sponsored Air Force breakfast speech in Arlington, Va. "They actually operate it. They turn it on, they train with it" and USAF assumes the Syrians are consequently "better trained" in using their gear than its last three adversaries. Sequester, however, has grounded 33 squadrons and many pilots have lost or are losing their proficiency. "If we were ordered to go do" a no-fly zone, "we'd go do it," but the US would be "accepting the risk of those people not being as current. For me, that's a risk we don't want to be accepting," he said. USAF also would like to have some spinup time to get forces back in fighting trim, Welsh said. Asked if USAF is busy planning for such a tasking, he said no, explaining that planning is done by regional commanders-in-chief. Gen. Phillip Breedlove, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, told reporters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 4 that NATO hasn't been directed by the North Atlantic Council to undertake any planning for a Syrian no-fly zone.

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Total Force, In Perpetuity

*The Total Force Task Force—comprised of two-star generals from the Active, Guard, and Reserve—will continue indefinitely, said Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, who is retiring today. He and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh "think we're on a good track now" with the task force, which is charged with finding the optimum Active and reserve component mix. "We've asked (task force members) to start working these issues full time….there's no endpoint to it," Donley told Air Force Magazine in a final interview. What's clear already is that putting 100 percent of any mission into the Active or ARC "will not work," he said. The ratio of Active-to-ARC is being examined by mission area and individual specialty, he said, and the mix may vary considerably from mission to mission. He thinks the answer will be greater use of associations, and the task force will determine how best to "refine and fine-tune them going forward." Some missions already are "finely balanced" and won't need more tinkering. However, it's "too soon to tell" what the future ARC will look like. "Part of it's driven by the strategy—what the Air Force will be asked to do in the future—(and) what our overseas posture will look like," he explained.

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Back to the Beginning

After Afghanistan, the Air Force will go back to a rotational deployment schedule much like the pre-9/11 Air and Space Expeditionary Force construct, Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said in an interview with the Daily Report last week. "Our intent now, as we get back to, hopefully, a more stable rotational pattern and demand signal," is to "go back to some of the precepts of that initial AEF construct: deploy larger groups of people from the same units, instead of rainbowing multiple organizations into a single organization at a deployed location," Welsh said. Airmen will know when "they're vulnerable to be deployed, when they can expect to go, when they can be training to prepare to go." It makes "eminent sense to go back to that," Welsh said, especially since he sees no letup in the demand for Air Force deployments. "There will be some lingering support in Afghanistan for…some amount of time—and that level is still to be determined—but there are lots of other combatant commands that want the things that we offer (which) haven't gotten them for a while." The demand, he said, "is not going to go away, it's just going to shift." He also noted that no AEF construct will add more people. "So, the career fields that are still" in very high demand will continue to deploy more frequently, "until the demand signal starts to slow down. And that's after 2014, maybe 2015," Welsh said.

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Donley Bids Airmen Farewell


Air Force Secretary Michael Donley bid farewell to airmen during a departure ceremony at JB Andrews, Md., on June 21. Donley was confirmed as the 22nd USAF Secretary on Oct. 2, 2008—a contentious point in the Air Forces history. He had served as the acting Secretary since June of that year, as well as for seven months in 1993, making him the longest serving Secretary in the history of the Air Force. During the ceremony, he was praised by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter, and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh for "reinvigorating the nuclear enterprise," overseeing a successful contract award for the KC-46A tanker replacement, and establishing Air Force Global Strike Command and 24th Air Force, among other accomplishments. "Brick by brick, Donley…has re-established the reputation and morale of our Air Force," said Carter. Welsh said, "America is stronger because Mike Donley chose to serve." Donley used the occasion to make one final appeal to Congress to repeal sequestration and he thanked airmen and their families for serving. "It's been an honor to serve with you in the world's finest Air Force," said Donley. Air Force Undersecretary Eric Fanning will serve as acting Secretary until the Senate confirms a replacement.

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F-15s to Replace F-16s in Fresno

The first of 21 F-15s slated to replace the 144th Fighter Wing's F-16s touched down at the Fresno Yosemite Airport in California on June 18, states a base release. The 144th Fighter Wing has been flying F-16s out of Fresno as part of a homeland defense mission since 1989. The wing will transition from F-16s to F-15s as part of the Air Force's Fiscal 2013 force structure changes. As more F-15s continue to arrive from Montana, the F-16s will leave for Arizona to be used in training operations. "We're going to miss the F-16. There's not a fighter that we've had nearly as long," said Lt. Col. Dave Johnston, 144th FW antiterrorism officer. "But the arrival of the F-15 means we have the right aircraft for the mission. From a capabilities standpoint, it's much better suited for the role. It's big. It's got a lot of power. Its radar is exponentially better. It can do things the F-16 can't." When the F-15 arrived at Fresno ANGB on June 18, it was greeted by a cheering crowd. "It's a beautiful day," said Maj. Jon Burd, the pilot who flew the F-15. "It couldn't have been more perfect,"

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Haney Nominated to Lead STRATCOM

*President Obama has nominated Adm. Cecil D. Haney to succeed Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler as commander of US Strategic Command. Kehler has led STRATCOM—one of the Defense Department's nine unified commands—since January 2011. Haney, a 1978 Naval Academy graduate, served as STRATCOM's deputy commander before assuming his current position as commander of US Pacific Fleet. The President also has nominated Vice Adm. Harry Harris Jr. for his fourth star and to succeed Haney as US Pacific Fleet commander. Harris currently serves as the assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

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B-1 Pilots Losing Currency

In the wake of spending cuts that chopped its budget nearly in half, the 77th Weapons School at Dyess AFB, Tex., will seek to maximize efficiency until it receives more funding, according to a release. The unit, which is responsible for producing B-1 Lancer weapons officers, fears the sequestration-imposed budget cuts will keep it from meeting its yearly proficiency requirements, preventing its members from being able to fly as instructors, aircraft commanders, and mission leads. "Based on the last time each of our instructors flew, their currencies will last them through the middle of July," said Lt. Col. Jonathan Creer, 77th WPS commander. "Bottom line is we won't be able to fly." Thanks to a significantly slashed budget, the squadron decided upon a handful of objectives it would attempt to meet in an effort to maximize efficiency, such as revising its syllabus and upgrading its tactics, techniques, and procedures manuals. For Creer, the budget cuts are an opportunity to move forward. "I tell my guys all the time, this is not a throttle back," he said. "We challenge them to do better, exceed their expectations, think critically, receive and give criticism, communicate more effectively, and become problem solvers."

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AETC Stand Down Focuses on Mitigating Sexual Misconduct

Air Education and Training Command implemented a "command-wide" stand down day during the month of June to focus on mitigating "an ongoing trend of sexual misconduct" across the Defense Department, states a base release. In May, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered a "purposeful and direct engagement by commanders" to ensure all personnel foster an environment that does not tolerate any "sexist behaviors, sexual harassment, and sexual assault," according to the June 25 release. "AETC's stand-down day will be used to ensure … that each of us takes ownership of the problem and takes steps to be proactive and address it in whatever capacity we can," said Christine Burnett, an AETC sexual assault and response coordinator. "All airmen, from senior leaders down to lowest level, will know this is everyone's problem to solve." All bases and services have until July 1 to hold their stand-down. Each base has the autonomy to choose when and how to complete the directive. "If we achieve the desired results, workplaces and work behaviors that are bound by respect and dignity for all, (it will) only make AETC and our Air Force better and stronger," she said.

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Pilots Uninjured After F-16 Crashes Outside Luke

An F-16 assigned to the 309th Fighter Squadron at Luke AFB, Ariz., crashed in field just west of the base around 7 p.m. on June 26. Both pilots safely ejected; neither was injured, according to a base release. The pilots were conducting a routine training mission at the time of the incident. Brig. Gen. Michael Rothstein, 56th Fighter Wing commander, praised the members of Luke's police and fire departments which responded to the crash. "An incident like this highlights the close cooperation between our fire and emergency services and their counterparts in the surrounding community," said Rothstein in the release. The Air Force has not released a cause of the accident, which remains under investigation, but Fox News has reported a bird strike may be to blame.

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The Air Force would have to call up the Guard and Reserve in any armed conflict beyond those its already fighting because of sequestration, Air Combat Command boss Gen. Mike Hostage said in a July 27 interview. Hostage said he's got just enough ready Active Duty forces available to meet existing and near-term combat needs in "named operations" such as Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and the nuclear mission, but no more. "Where I've taken a risk is a contingency," he said. "If Syria…Iran…or North Korea blows up, I don't have a bunch of excess forces I can immediately shift to that conflict. I'm going to have to pull them from other places." He explained that the Air Force is "looking at using mobilization authority to have greater access to Guard and Reserve forces. The problem is, that's very expensive, and if sustained over a long period of time, we'll likely have some political and economic ramifications that may make it hard to continue that." However, "we're going to give it a try because I fundamentally don't have enough Active Duty operational forces to meet the requirement, given the sequester

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The Air Force would have to call up the Guard and Reserve in any armed conflict beyond those its already fighting because of sequestration, Air Combat Command boss Gen. Mike Hostage said in a July 27 interview. Hostage said he's got just enough ready Active Duty forces available to meet existing and near-term combat needs in "named operations" such as Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and the nuclear mission, but no more. "Where I've taken a risk is a contingency," he said. "If Syria…Iran…or North Korea blows up, I don't have a bunch of excess forces I can immediately shift to that conflict. I'm going to have to pull them from other places." He explained that the Air Force is "looking at using mobilization authority to have greater access to Guard and Reserve forces. The problem is, that's very expensive, and if sustained over a long period of time, we'll likely have some political and economic ramifications that may make it hard to continue that." However, "we're going to give it a try because I fundamentally don't have enough Active Duty operational forces to meet the requirement, given the sequester