April 2001 Vol. 84, No. 4
By Peter Grier
Amnesty for Anthrax "Refuseniks"?
Two groups that claim to represent service personnel disciplined
for refusing anthrax vaccine shots asked President George W. Bush
to grant the personnel amnesty.
The organizations-Citizen Soldier and No Abuse-support the
position that the shots can cause health problems and have pushed
many persons with unblemished records to leave the military.
"President Lincoln gave amnesty to soldiers who fled under
fire. It should be no problem for this Administration to grant
compassionate amnesty for people whose health is under fire,"
said retired Air Force Reserve Col. Redmond Handy, the president
of No Abuse, at a Feb. 12 news conference in Washington.
The Pentagon says that, while some people may experience minor
adverse effects during the multishot vaccination sequence, the
overall anthrax program remains a safe one.
A half-million military personnel have already received at
least one shot. Estimates of the number of shot "refuseniks"
are far from authoritative. DOD claims that as of August last
year only about 441 have actually refused, and that includes 129
for the Air Force. Others believe the number is much higher.
A General Accounting Office study last year that focused on
Guard and Reserve aircrew members found that 25 percent of 828
respondents said the anthrax shots were one of the main reasons
they quit or changed to nonflying jobs.
Russia Stages New Missile Tests
Russian military forces on Feb. 16 carried out two test launches
of ballistic missiles. Moscow later described the events as proof
that Russia would be able to penetrate and defeat any US missile
defense system.
An ICBM was fired from a facility in northwestern Russia, and
a sea-based missile was fired from a nuclear submarine underwater
in the Barents Sea.
Gen. Leonid G. Ivashov, chief of the Russian Defense Ministry's
international cooperation department, warned that if the US builds
a National Missile Defense, "we shall find an adequate reply."
Russia has long opposed Washington's plans for NMD, claiming
it would violate the 1972 ABM Treaty.
Ryan Worried About Recapitalization
With big budget increases now appearing less and less likely-at
least in the near term-the problem of finding funds for recapitalization
is looming ever larger for the Air Force, said Chief of Staff
Gen. Michael E. Ryan on Feb. 8.
Under current long-range defense acquisition plans, the service
is buying only about 100 aircraft per year. Of those, 50 are trainers
or not full-up operational, said Ryan at an Alexandria, Va., seminar.
Lack of money for new airplanes means that the average age
of the Air Force fleet will near 30 years. Older aircraft become
more difficult to maintain.
"The older they get, both from a technology standpoint
and from a rust standpoint, the cost of keeping that fleet is
going up," said Ryan. "Over the past five years, the
cost of operating the fleet at a fixed level of flying has gone
up 40 percent."
More difficult maintenance means lower readiness rates.
"Our readiness started falling in 1997, and it has fallen
by about 30 percent since that time," said Ryan. "We
have been able to flatten that out, and we are holding on at about
65 percent in the top two categories, where we want to get to
92 percent," said Ryan.
Lawmakers Urge Rumsfeld
To Proceed With F-22
A block of 59 members of Congress, saying they are worried
that "further delay will effectively kill the Air Force's
No. 1 modernization program," urged Defense Secretary Donald
H. Rumsfeld to move the F-22 into production as quickly as possible.
In a March 2 letter to Rumsfeld, the Congressmen noted that
bridge funding for the fighter-which kept the F-22 program going
while the new Administration decided how it wanted to proceed-was
set to expire March 31. If the program died from inaction, said
the lawmakers, "We may forfeit something that should never
be taken for granted and one of the greatest advantages our military
currently holds-control of the air."
Among those signing the letter were Reps. Floyd Spence (R-S.C.),
Dick Armey (R-Tex.), Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), Jim Saxton (R-N.J.),
Pete Sessions (R-Tex.), Randy Cunningham (R-Calif.), Mac Thornberry
(R-Tex.), and Sam Johnson (R-Tex.).
They reminded Rumsfeld that he himself and other former Pentagon
leaders had signed an April 1998 letter urging Defense Secretary
William Cohen to protect the F-22. The 1998 signatories argued
that the Raptor "must be funded" and said, "It
is essential that this program succeed."
Rumsfeld was urged not to defer the decision to move forward
with the low-rate production of the F-22.
"The F-22 is the only program that will ensure total
dominance of the skies for US combat forces well into the middle
of this century, and it is ready to move into Low-Rate Initial
Production," the Congressmen said.
The group noted that the F-15 "has served us well but
is rapidly aging" and will be outperformed by foreign fighters
now being developed. New surface-to-air missiles "proliferating
among potential foes of the United States" will also threaten
the F-15, they said.
The Joint Strike Fighter is "complementary" to the
F-22 but is no substitute for it, the Congressmen noted. Optimized
for ground attack, the JSF will "leverage technologies that
have been developed for the F-22." Without the F-22, however,
the JSF "will have to be redesigned and reconfigured to
meet the requirements that our military will face in the future,"
adding delay and cost to the program.
The group pointed out that the F-22 has been 15 years and
$18 billion in development, with "strong bipartisan Congressional
support." It also noted that, while the F-22 was "unpredictably
delayed" in achieving the stiff criteria set by Congress
for low-rate production, the criteria have been met.
"It is important to emphasize two important facts,"
the Congressmen said. First, they wrote, "no new fighter
development program in history will have conducted as much testing
prior to the LRIP decision," and second, "the F-22
program is sound and meeting or exceeding all technical requirements."
The F-22, the Congressmen said, "is a critical asset
for our ability to fight and win future wars."
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F-22 Fighter Held in Limbo
The F-22 Raptor has completed all Congressionally mandated
flight tests required for approval of low-rate production, but
it has been trapped in limbo by President Bush's desire to put
off all major Pentagon funding decisions until his national security
team can complete its top to bottom military review.
"If you're talking about making a decision on a major
acquisition program, ... you must complete your vision of where
[you're] going in the early 21st century before you make decisions
on the tools that [you] will buy to get you there," Pentagon
spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley told reporters Feb. 6.
The F-22 made the long-awaited jump over its final milestone
Feb. 5, when Raptor 4006 made a first flight from Lockheed Martin's
facility in Marietta, Ga. "I had every confidence today's
flight would be successful," Brig. Gen. Jay Jabour, F-22
system program director, said Feb. 5. "A carbon copy of Raptor
4004, it posed no technical challenges, but it is great to have
this achievement behind us."
New Raids Spotlight the Saddam
Problem
Ten years after the Gulf War, President George W. Bush must
deal with the foreign policy problem that most concerned his
father: Iraq.
Air strikes launched by US and British forces on Feb. 16 were
the first military action of the younger Bush's presidency and
a reminder that the "Saddam Hussein problem" has now
bedeviled a second Bush generation.
Military officials said the Feb. 16 air strikes were launched
in response to a sudden increase in the ability of Iraqi anti-aircraft
sites to "see" and target coalition aircraft patrolling
no-fly enforcement zones in the north and south of the country.
Post-raid reports that Chinese workers were helping install fiber-optic
cables linking Saddam's air defense sites provided a further
explanation for the need for coalition forces to act when they
did.
This latest round of raids is unlikely to be the last word
on the subject, Pentagon officials said Feb. 20. US forces will
remain engaged in the area as long as political leaders deem
it necessary.
Officials did not immediately provide detailed damage assessments
for the five command-and-control nodes that were targeted by
24 USAF, RAF, and US Navy warplanes.
"But from what we know so far, we feel we had an impact
in the overall goal of disrupting and degrading the Iraqi air
defense system in the south," said Pentagon spokesman Rear
Adm. Craig Quigley.
In the past, the Iraqis have always regenerated capabilities
after such strikes, and they are likely to do so again. More
confrontation is likely to follow.
"They have a very good internal capability to repair
a variety of military systems, and that would include radars,"
said Quigley. "We [didn't] expect our strikes [on Feb. 16]
to be the end of Iraqi air defense engaging coalition aircraft."
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F-16 CSAR Unit Trains With Italians
USAF's 510th Fighter Squadron is training with the Italian
air force's 83rd Combat Search and Rescue Squadron in Rimini,
Italy, to prepare for a pioneering role in rescue operations.
The 510th is one of three F-16 units that have recently had
CSAR added to their list of missions. The addition reflects the
fact that there are not enough A-10s, the primary CSAR aircraft,
to fill out all Aerospace Expeditionary Forces.
Other fighter squadrons adding the role are the 555th, also
at Aviano, and the 18th from Eielson AFB, Alaska. The 510th will
be the first to officially begin the CSAR mission when it deploys
to Operation Northern Watch in Turkey in June.
"It's a very important and dynamic mission, and we're
ready to step up to it," said Lt. Col. Steve Schrader, 510th
FS commander.
So far the US unit has conducted two exercises with the Italians.
In a four-day February maneuver, eight F-16 pilots and 20 Italian
aircrew members and pararescuemen flew day and night sorties to
locate survivors and coordinate pickup.
The complexity of the exercise represented a step up from the
510th's previous training.
"We [had] a lot more simulated threats on the ground and
a lot more sense of urgency to pick up the survivor, so that we're
working within some time constraints," said Maj. Mark Moore,
510th operations officer and exercise coordinator.
Americans Believe Gulf
War Was Worthwhile
The people of the United States, by and large, are pleased
that this nation conducted the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
That is the conclusion of a new Gallup poll conducted Feb.
19-21, 10 years after the conclusion of the conflict.
Americans today believe, by a 2-to-1 margin (63 percent to
31 percent), the Gulf War was worth it.
Moreover, a majority (52 percent to 42 percent) told the Gallup
pollsters they would favor sending US troops back to remove Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein from power.
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Bases Face California Power Crunch
The Air Force's California bases have not been hampered by
the state's electricity crisis-so far.
Power shortages have triggered rolling blackouts in many northern
California communities, but conservation measures and the presence
of backup generators have kept the lights on in the area's three
Air Force installations: Beale Air Force Base, near Marysville;
McClellan in Sacramento; and Travis in Fairfield.
"Some of the halls around here are a little dimmer because
we're turning off some of the lights, and we're trying to conserve
energy where possible," said SSgt. Katherine Garcia, a spokesperson
for Beale's 9th Reconnaissance Wing.
Beale reduced its electricity consumption by about 15 percent,
mostly through such traditional means as turning down thermostats,
turning off lights, and unplugging unneeded appliances. That 15
percent saving translates into roughly 2.6 megawatts, enough to
power 2,500 homes.
Beale's fellow bases show similar gains. Their biggest worry:
an extended blackout that would force heavy use of backup power
systems.
"You can only run the backup generators so many hours
per year and continue to rely on them as your fail-safe emergency
power source," said John Schopf, Travis's deputy civil engineer.
Natural gas supplies are also a concern. A sudden spike in
demand has sent prices soaring and could portend a coming shortage.
Bush DOD Budget Marks Time
The Bush Administration on Feb. 28 asked Congress for $310.5
billion in budget authority for the Defense Department in the
2002 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
That amount represents a $14.2 billion increase over the amount
in the Clinton Administration's 2001 budget but was the same
as Clinton's 2002 proposal, which he made as he left office.
In that amount is $2.6 billion for a Bush Administration Pentagon
research and development initiative "for missile defense
alternatives and new technologies to support the transformation
of US military capabilities," according to the White House.
The budget submission contained virtually no detailed programmatic
information. That won't come until the completion or near-completion
of the Bush Administration's major miliary review. The White
House said it will determine final 2002 and future years defense
funding levels only when the review is complete.
One of the few specifics was President Bush's vow to raise
military personnel pay an average of 4.6 percent.
The five-year budget barely keeps up with the Administration
estimates of future inflation. Bush's defenders say he will come
back to Congress with a heftier budget proposal once Congress
has dealt with the issue of a federal tax cut.
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Air Force Begins High-Tech Recruitment
The Air Force's new high-tech recruitment vehicle made its
debut at the Daytona 500 in Florida Feb. 17-18.
Nicknamed "ROVer," the recreational vehicle carries
a more portable version of the "The US Air Force Experience"
road show that now travels to high schools, special events, and
malls across the country.
Four ROVers will travel about the country this year in an effort
to boost service recruiting. Exterior video screens show visitors
highlights of job skills and Air Force technology.
Inside are three recruiters and a public affairs NCO to answer
questions, take down names, and hand out embossed metal "dog
tags" with the new Air Force logo to each visitor.
"We've found that one of the best ways to reconnect with
the American public and showcase career opportunities is by reaching
out and going to the public directly-especially in high traffic
areas like high schools and shopping malls," said Brig. Gen.
Duane W. Deal, Air Force Recruiting Service commander.
Ryan Says Coalition Partners
Must Speak English
Friendly forces need to be able to use English if they want
to fly and fight alongside the US Air Force, asserts the Chief
of Staff, Gen. Michael Ryan.
What is more, they must have a command-and-control system that
is compatible with US equipment, or they will wind up with some
kind of peripheral duty, said Ryan at a February Air Force conference
on unified aerospace power.
"That's simply the way it is," he said, adding that
the Air Force is not going to stop its progress to wait for others
to catch up.
The compatibility issue has become increasingly important as
NATO has expanded and new partners show up for such efforts as
Operation Allied Force.
House Veterans Chairman
Unveils
Veterans Benefits Package
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), the new chairman of the House Committee
on Veterans' Affairs, on Feb. 28 introduced a wide-ranging burial,
disability, and pension improvement bill.
The bill's provisions would increase the burial and funeral
allowance from $1,500 to $2,000 for veterans whose deaths are
service-connected and from $300 to $500 for vets with nonservice-connected
disabilities.
The burial plot allowance would rise from $150 to $300.
Severely disabled vets would find their assistance allowance
for automobile and adaptive equipment increasing from $8,000
to $9,000 and for specially adapted housing from $43,000 to $48,000.
The VA's means-tested pension program would no longer count
the value of real property used for agriculture when figuring
net worth, under the terms of Smith's legislation.
The bill would also extend the period for which transition
counseling is available to those ending their military careers
to as much as 18 months prior to departure, as opposed to the
present 90 days.
Smith and the ranking minority member of the committee, Rep.
Lane Evans (D) of Illinois, vowed they would put the measure
on their fast track and push for full House passage as soon as
possible.
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Bush Review To Include Nukes
The Bush Administration's comprehensive study of the US military
includes a review of the state of the US nuclear arsenal and seeks
to determine what kind of unilateral warhead reductions might
accompany a move toward reliance on missile defenses.
The review, carried out under the terms of White House policy
directives, is intended to produce a coherent nuclear strategy
that addresses defensive and offensive aspects of the issue in
parallel.
The defense establishment has not conducted such a sweeping
reassessment since the 1994 Nuclear Posture Review performed by
the Clinton Administration.
The current US strategic nuclear arsenal contains around 7,500
warheads. Unilateral cuts could drop that below the 2,500-warhead
level set in 1997 by Russia and the US as a goal for START III
talks.
Such cuts could make a missile defense deal more palatable
for Russia. Russian leaders have long sought deep nuclear reductions,
at least partly because their cash-strapped nation can no longer
afford to support its existing atomic infrastructure.
Court Says US Owes Vets
Health Care
A federal appeals court has ruled that the US government owes
two elderly retired veterans free health care for life.
The court declared Feb. 8 that this obligation stems from
the fact that recruiters promised the pair such a benefit when
they enrolled-and that such a promise was, in essence, a contract.
The decision directly affects only two retired Air Force lieutenant
colonels from Fort Walton Beach, Fla.: William O. Schism, who
served in the Navy and Air Force, retiring in 1979, and Robert
L. Reinlie, who served in the Army and Air Force and retired
in 1968. The ruling says the government owes each man as much
as $10,000, which is the maximum they can claim from the federal
government under breach of contract law.
However, their lawyer, Medal of Honor recipient Col. George
E. "Bud" Day, USAF (Ret.), said he was trying to have
the case declared a class action suit, potentially opening up
free government health care for retired military members-and
their spouses-who entered service prior to 1956. It was in 1956
that Congress passed a law that provided health care for military
retirees on a space-available basis only.
"The retirees entered active duty in the armed forces
and completed at least 20 years' service on the good-faith belief
that the government would fulfill its promises," wrote the
three-member appeals court panel. "The terms of the contract
were set when the retirees entered the service and fulfilled
their obligation. The government cannot unilaterally amend the
contract terms now."
The US government does not deny that it had long promised
free health care for life to those who would sign up. Its position
is that such recruiter promises are not official, contractual
promises and therefore do not obligate Uncle Sam.
The Justice Department was studying whether to appeal the
ruling.
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Reservists Run Flight-Test Mission
The 339th Flight Test Squadron at Robins AFB, Ga., has become
one of the first Reserve units to take over aircraft test support
and functional check flight duties for Air Force Materiel Command.
In late 1999 the Air Force said it would establish seven Air
Force Reserve Command units to conduct AFMC flight-test support
and functional check flights, once purely an active force responsibility.
The switch means that the 339th now gets to have a major impact
on Air Force fighting forces. The 339th's work involves C-5, C-130,
and C-141 airlifters and F-15 fighters that come to Warner Robins
Air Logistics Center for programmed depot maintenance or other
repair work.
The mission: Make sure an airplane is truly airworthy when
it is ready to leave.
Preflight inspection by 339th engineers can take five hours.
During test flights, crews run through a "test card"
that lists items which must work before airplanes can be certified
safe.
Pilots and crew must be well-qualified before joining the 339th
"Rogues," and once in, they face three to five months
of additional training before they are fully up to speed.
The other six AFRC flight-test units are expected to be set
up before the end of Fiscal 2002 at Edwards AFB, Calif.; Hill
AFB, Utah; Kelly AFB, Tex.; Randolph AFB, Tex.; Tinker AFB, Okla.;
and a contractor site at Mesa, Ariz.
Space Based Laser Nets "Solid
Success"
Team SBL-IFX on Jan. 25 announced they had successfully tested
the Alpha high-energy laser with the beam director telescope and
beam alignment and correction system intended for use on the anti-missile
Space Based Laser.
The point: Can the beam director project and hold the focus
of the laser across space to enable the laser to hit its target-a
ballistic missile in boost phase?
"The test was a solid success," said Col. Neil McCasland,
director of the Air Force's SBL-IFX program office.
Team SBL-IFX, for Space Based Laser Integrated Flight Experiment,
is a joint venture by Lockheed Martin, TRW, and Boeing to develop
the technologies that will lead to development of the SBL-IFX
satellite that is currently set for launch in 2012.
The January experiment was carried out in TRW's California
vacuum chamber that simulates the space environment.
Plans call for USAF to test the satellite's defensive capability
against a live, boosting target in 2013.
For an American Submarine,
Disaster at Sea
USS Greeneville's accidental crushing of the Japanese fishing
boat Ehime Maru on Feb. 9 has strained relations between the
US and Japan and raised questions about basic nuclear sub operations.
The key question the Navy must address: Why didn't the sub's
highly trained crew spot a 190-foot fishing boat in its immediate
area? The accident occurred while Greeneville was practicing
a rapid emergency ascent. The maneuver, called an emergency main
ballast tank blow, sends the submerged boat to the surface at
high speed.
"The seriousness in which I view this tragic accident
is reflected in the level of the investigation," said Pacific
Fleet Commander Adm. Thomas B. Fargo on Feb. 17, announcing the
convening of a rare Naval Court of Inquiry. Investigations into
the accident "will provide a full and open accounting to
both the American and the Japanese people," said Fargo.
Ehime Maru carried students from Uwajima Fisheries High School.
Four teenagers, three crew members, and two instructors were
missing and presumed dead after the collision.
The case caused a sensation in Japan, where many suspected
the Navy of downplaying the role of 16 civilian observers on
Greeneville at the time of the incident. Some of the civilians
on board the sub were contributors to the USS Missouri Memorial
Association, a nonprofit group that supports the maintenance
of the battleship.
The outcry in Japan was such that Fuji Television was forced
to cancel a scheduled broadcast of the movie "Titanic."
Adm. William J. Fallon, the Navy's second-ranking officer, delivered
a letter of apology from President Bush to the Japanese Prime
Minister.
In the letter, President Bush said he "sympathizes with
[victim's] families' desire" to raise the sunken Ehime Maru.
Navy officials discount any physical role on the part of the
civilian observers, saying the sub's crew would have had their
hands on crucial controls at all times. But it is possible the
presence of so many observers in the sub's cramped quarters distracted
crew members, causing them to miss sonar returns or other hints
that a ship was in their operational area.
Other possible explanations: Greeneville did not rise high
enough out of the water to provide its periscope a clear field
of view during a pre-ascent examination of the area; the white
fishing boat was coming straight at the sub and presented a narrow
profile that blended easily with the background; or the emergency
blow took longer than the standard 15 minutes to complete.
Ehime Maru now lies in about 2,000 feet of water, nine miles
off Oahu's landmark Diamond Head. Navy officials said they are
considering how to attempt the difficult task of raising the
500-ton boat from its deep-water resting place.
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Americans Support Idea
of Missile Shield
A recent Gallup poll declares that Americans support the concept
of building a national missile defense system to ward off ballistic
missile attacks.
The poll, results of which were released Feb. 15, found that
44 percent of Americans express support for developing a defense
system against nuclear missiles while 20 percent are opposed,
and more than a third (36 percent) say they are unsure.
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Special-Needs Families Get Web
Help
DOD's Special Needs Network, a Web site for military families
with handicapped members or others with special medical or educational
needs, went online Jan. 24.
The site (mfrc.calib.com/snn) is intended to link families
to care coordinators, educational professionals, and other special-needs
resources located near military installations. Menu options include
assignment coordination and federal and state aid programs. DOD
itself has no formal special needs program, but the military takes
such needs into account in its regular personnel process, said
the Web site's founder, Rebecca Posante, program analyst at DOD's
Office of Educational Opportunity.
"For example, if a service member going overseas has a
wife who's in a wheelchair, we would try to find a place where
facilities are wheelchair-accessible," she said.
Air Force Aids India Earthquake
Victims
After a devastating earthquake hit western India on Jan. 26,
US officials moved quickly to dispatch USAF aircraft carrying
aid equipment and supplies.
A six-person communications, logistics, and medical support
team from US Pacific Command flew in first to assess needs and
potential areas of DOD support. It was followed Jan. 31 and Feb.
1 by two C-5 transports loaded with a two-and-a-half-ton truck,
two forklifts, two 400-gallon water trailers, 10,000 blankets,
1,500 sleeping bags, and 92 large tents.
The C-5s landed in Guam and off-loaded their cargo to smaller
airlifters that continued on to Ahmadabad in the heart of the
disaster zone.
DOD Announces Web Site for
Troops Leaving Service
Leaving the service? The Pentagon has a Web site just for you.
On Jan. 26, officials announced the launch of the DOD Transportal,
located at http://www.dodtransportal.org.
Inside one finds a wealth of job assistance advice and other
information intended to ease the transition to civilian life.
Features include an overview of the DOD Transition Assistance
Program, locations and phone numbers of transition assistance
offices worldwide, and minicourses on such things as creating
a resume and how to find corporate recruiting sites.
AUSA Leader Cites
Limits and Failures of Airpower
In a signed column in the Washington Times March 3, Gordon
Sullivan, president of the Association of the US Army, declared
that the Army "provides the decisive element" in the
nation's capability "to respond across the spectrum of conflict-from
deterring the use of weapons of mass destruction to waging effective
and sustained operations to enforce the peace."
Sullivan, a retired four-star general, is a former Army Chief
of Staff.
His case for the Army, however, was leveraged considerably
on what he described as the limitations and failures of airpower,
particularly in the Gulf War of 1991 and in Operation Allied
Force in Serbia in 1999.
"Although the Persian Gulf War successfully demonstrated
the ability of high-tech 'smart' weapons to destroy enemy equipment
and facilities from long distances, some forget that despite
massive air strikes the bulk of Saddam's armed forces remained
intact and entrenched in Kuwait," Sullivan said.
"Although a good jab is important for a boxer to set
up his opponent for a knockout blow, jabs alone do not win fights-and
airpower alone does not win wars. Ground forces achieved in 100
hours what airpower could not achieve in six weeks of around-the-clock
bombings."
Sullivan said that the experience of airpower has not lived
up to theories about it. "Indeed, our experience bombing
the Germans in Dresden, the Vietnamese in Hanoi, and the Serbs
in Belgrade provides ample evidence that air campaigns do not
generate effective pressure on target regimes. Instead, they
often fortify enemy resolve, as the Germans also discovered in
1944-45 with their V2 rocket campaign against the British ."
He added that "while the failure of overwhelming air
superiority to force Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait during
the Gulf War demonstrated the limited ability of airpower to
coerce an opponent, more recent history demonstrates its limited
ability to deter an enemy. Former Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic knew that efforts to ethnically cleanse Kosovo would
result in NATO air strikes, but he used his troops to force hundreds
of thousands from their homes. For weeks, the Serbs withstood
extensive damage to their military and economic infrastructure.
Mr. Milosevic only capitulated when he recognized that the United
States was preparing to send ground troops into Kosovo."
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C-130 Pilot Gets Nonjudicial
Punishment
The pilot who crashed a C-130 at Ahmed Al Jaber AB, Kuwait,
in December 1999, killing three persons, was offered nonjudicial
punishment proceedings by 21st Air Force commander Maj. Gen. George
N. Williams on Feb. 16.
Under such Article 15 proceedings, the pilot, Capt. Darron
A. Haughn, is entitled to present his side of the story to Williams.
Punishments could include a reprimand, forfeiture of half-pay
for up to two months, 30 days' arrest in quarters, 60 days' restriction,
or a combination of any of these options.
The decision was made after a review by Williams of the recommendations
of Brig. Gen. Paul J. Fletcher, the 314th Airlift Wing commander
at Little Rock AFB, Ark., as well as the recommendations of a
military judge who conducted a pretrial investigative hearing
and the accident investigation board report, said Air Mobility
Command spokesman Capt. Jeff Glenn.
AIA Goes to 8th Air Force
On Feb. 1, Air Intelligence Agency became part of Air Combat
Command.
AIA, which is headquartered at Kelly AFB, Tex., ceased to be
a field operating agency of the Air Force and became a primary
subordinate unit at ACC. AIA's two wings, the 67th Information
Operations Wing at Kelly and the 70th Intelligence Wing, Ft. Meade,
Md., were realigned under ACC's 8th Air Force. AIA's 690th Information
Operations Group also joined the "Mighty Eighth."
"This is a natural evolution," said Gen. John P.
Jumper, ACC commander. "It's an idea whose time has come.
This integrates our information warfare skills and talents into
the normal tactical and operational level of war just as we do
fighters, bombers, and others."
JFK Considered Bombing
China's Nuke Sites
A study of newly declassified documents contends that the
Administrations of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson
held extensive internal debates about ways in which they might
prevent Communist China from testing its first nuclear weapon.
Among the possibilities were direct attacks on Chinese nuclear
plants.
While historians have long known that Kennedy, in particular,
mulled such a pre-emptive strike, the extent of US efforts to
keep the atomic bomb out of the hands of Mao Zedong had never
before been revealed, write William Burr and Jeffrey T. Richelson,
senior analysts at George Washington University's National Security
Archive.
Their article was published in the journal International Security.
William Foster, Kennedy's Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
director, said JFK occasionally would say something like this:
"You know, it wouldn't be too hard if we could somehow get
kind of an anonymous airplane to go over there, take out the
Chinese facilities-they've only got a couple-and maybe we could
do it, or maybe the Soviets could do it."
US concern about the possible acquisition of nuclear arms
by China predated Kennedy's election, but it was only in the
early 1960s, Burr and Richelson write, that U-2 flights and new
spy satellite imagery combined to produce hard evidence of Chinese
facilities involved in nuclear production.
Kennedy officials worried that a nuclear China could become
dangerously assertive in East Asia, increasing its power and
prestige at the expense of the United States while adding to
the problem of nuclear proliferation.
By early 1963, U-2 flights carried out by Nationalist Chinese
pilots had revealed a nuclear complex at Baotou and a fissile
materials plant at Lanzhou, among other facilities. But US officials
had little information about the pace of the Chinese program.
One track of US policy was to try to enlist the Soviets in
some sort of joint action against the Chinese. The USSR had recently
broken with Beijing, but Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev rebuffed
the US overtures.
In a September 1964 meeting with McGeorge Bundy, Soviet ambassador
Anatoly Dobrynin blamed the Sino-Soviet split on Mao's "personal
megalomania," according to US documents, but then went on
to argue that a Chinese nuclear capability had "no importance
against the Soviet Union or against the US."
The second track-unilateral action-entailed the study of an
array of options. A study produced by Air Force Gen. Curtis E.
LeMay, the acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, weighed
infiltration, sabotage, or invasion by Chinese Nationalists,
as well as maritime blockades, conventional air attacks, and
use of US tactical nuclear weapons on a selected Chinese target.
But the dangers of such action were many and obvious. The
Nationalist Chinese themselves did not have the men or equipment
to carry out an attack. US air attacks would require many sorties
to ensure target destruction. To the world, the US would appear
the aggressor. Even if successful, a sabotage operation would
only delay, not prevent, China's acquisition of nuclear arms.
Authors Richelson and Burr point out that LeMay himself, in
a memo, concluded that it was "unrealistic to use overt
military force" in this situation.
Johnson was less alarmist about China. Facing a general election
against hawkish Republican Barry Goldwater, he wished to appear
the candidate of peace. He also worried that such a move could
cause a dangerous escalation of the Vietnam War.
In the end, the US settled for simply trying to steal some
of China's thunder. On Sept. 29, State Department spokesman Robert
McCloskey announced that a Chinese nuclear test might occur in
the near future. He was more right than he or any other US official
knew at the time-the test took place on Oct. 16.
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More Problems for V-22
Crucial flight tests that might have shed light on rapid descent
problems were cut from the V-22 development program to save money,
according to two critical reports made public in February.
Such rapid descent "vortex ring state" phenomena
are thought to have been a major factor in the April 8, 2000,
V-22 crash in which 19 Marines were killed. This disclosure of
the curtailed test regime is yet another blow to a weapons system
that is already troubled by reports of falsified maintenance
records and hydraulic failure.
Only a third of the planned vortex ring-related tests were
actually flown, according to a Defense Science Board report.
In fact, the DSB said some extremely critical test points were
not flown at all.
Vortex ring state can occur if a helicopter drops very quickly
while moving forward slowly, causing a loss of lift of the propeller
rotors. Other terms for the effect are rotor blade stall and
power settling.
A single-rotor helicopter can ride out some vortex ring events
with a hard landing or controlled crash. But with the dual-rotor
V-22 it is possible for one rotor to lose lift, and not the other,
resulting in a very dangerous situation.
Thus the V-22 "appears to be less forgiving than conventional
helicopters," according to a General Accounting Office report.
The consequence of a too-rapid descent for Osprey "appears
to be excessively grave," continued the GAO.
A Marine investigation of last April's crash found that the
pilot did indeed violate flight manual descent procedures, likely
plunging the aircraft into a vortex ring state.
The DOD Inspector General's office officially took over the
investigation of allegations that the V-22 squadron commander
falsified maintenance records in an effort to conceal the amount
of upkeep the aircraft requires.
Marine leaders remain adamant in their support of the V-22
as being important to the Corps' future ability to deploy rapidly
in a high-threat environment.
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Double Agent Ransacks
US Secrets for Russia
By all accounts, FBI Special Agent Robert P. Hanssen--who
was arrested Feb. 18 and charged with espionage--had no sympathy
for Communism as an ideology. He professed disinterest in money,
although he did allegedly accept payments of up to $1.4 million
for passing along secrets gleaned through his own counterintelligence
work for 15 years.
The only aspect of his spying that really stood out was Hanssen's
reveling in the execution of tradecraft and his ability to carry
out espionage without attracting attention. He was so deft that
he continually refused to adopt the Soviet, or Russian, way of
doing things, insisting on his own. His own handlers did not
learn his name until the day his arrest was announced.
He was "a very, very experienced intelligence officer,"
said FBI Director Louis J. Freeh.
The 100-page FBI affidavit filed in court on Hanssen's activities
and made public upon his arrest is a virtual bible of spy trade
secrets. When arranging exchanges, Hanssen always encoded places
and dates. His computer diskettes were likewise encrypted. Signals
for "dead drop" exchanges were kept simple-one vertical
strip of white tape meant he was ready to pass along some documents.
If there was any flaw in his approach it was perhaps only that
he worked too hard, arranging more exchanges of small numbers
of documents than the Russians thought wise.
"My security concerns may seem excessive," he wrote
in a letter to his handlers. "I believe experience has shown
them to be necessary."
Court documents allege that Hanssen provided Moscow with the
identities of three Russians who had been recruited to spy for
the US. Two were subsequently tried and executed.
If true, the allegations against Hanssen would establish him
as one of the most damaging, and certainly one of the longest-surviving,
moles to ever betray the US government. He may have escaped detection
for many years by working in the "slipstream" of Aldrich
H. Ames, the CIA agent caught in 1994 who apparently spied mainly
for the money.
Hanssen largely kept to himself in his Vienna, Va., neighborhood
in the Washington suburbs. He did not live lavishly-he drove
a Ford, whereas Ames drove a Jaguar. The only trait he had that
bothered some neighbors was his tendency to let his dog run off
a leash after dark.
Former FBI Director William Webster will head an official
inquiry into how Hanssen evaded detection for 15 years and how
future Hanssens can be prevented.
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Growing Problems
With Nuclear Stockpile
A report issued Feb. 1 by a Congressionally mandated panel
warned of growing deficiencies in the nation's nuclear weapons
production complex, including morale problems, maintenance problems,
and continued delays of needed weapons refurbishment.
"It is the panel's view that major steps are needed to
put the [nuclear] weapon program on a path that represents our
best efforts toward sustaining confidence in the safety and reliability
of the stockpile over the coming decades," wrote panel chairman
John S. Foster Jr., a former senior Department of Defense official.
The study of the Panel to Assess the Reliability, Safety,
and Security of the US Nuclear Stockpile made recommendations
in a number of areas. Among them:
n Missing nuclear-related production capabilities should be
restored and the production complex refurbished.
- Slippage in stockpile life-extension programs and production
readiness campaigns should be ended.
- Surveillance capabilities intended to find defects in the
stockpile should be increased.
- National labs need to respond to deep-seated morale problems,
as well as redefine their missions and address long-standing
management concerns.
- The Defense Department needs to become a "more informed
customer" of the National Nuclear Security Administration,
which was formed in the wake of alleged Chinese pilfering of
nuclear know-how from Los Alamos National Laboratory.
- The NNSA should determine the cost and feasibility of shortening
the nuclear test response time to below the current Congressionally
directed one year.
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The Iron Lady Would
Like Another Whack
A full decade has passed since Britain joined the United States
and other coalition nations to expel the Iraqi forces from Kuwait
in the 1991 Gulf War.
Even so, time has not cooled the debate about whether the
victors should have dispatched Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein
when they had the chance. The wartime British Prime Minister,
Margaret Thatcher, certainly has no doubt.
"I wish I could have stayed on [in power] so that we
could have finished the job," said Thatcher, who was quoted
in the London Times. "Perhaps we would not be where we are
today if we had acted then. Saddam is a cruel and terrible man.
He should not be allowed to remain in power."
Thatcher spoke at the British embassy in Kuwait during a Feb.
25 commemoration of the liberation of that nation.
Thatcher was in office in the months immediately after Baghdad's
Aug. 2, 1990, invasion, but she soon lost the leadership of the
Tories to John Major, who replaced her as Prime Minister before
the conclusion of the war.
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Four New Names for the
Aviation Hall of Fame
The National Aviation Hall of Fame on July 21 will enshrine
four new air and space pioneers at its Dayton, Ohio, facility,
adjacent to the USAF Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
This year's inductees are:
Marion E. Carl
He was the first Marine ace of World War II, who also became
the Corps' first helicopter pilot. Oregon native Carl earned
Navy wings in 1939. Carl made reconnaissance flights over China
and some of the first takeoffs and landings of jet aircraft on
carriers. The retired major general was killed in 1998 by an
intruder in his home.
Joe H. Engle
He was an X-15 pilot and the nation's youngest astronaut.
Born in Abilene, Kan., Engle received Air Force wings in 1958,
attended test pilot school at Edwards AFB, Calif., and served
as a backup in the Apollo space program. He commanded two space
shuttle flights, in 1981 and 1985. He retired as a major general.
Robin Olds
Olds was a World War II ace and flew P-80s in the first jet-equipped
USAF squadron, serving as wing man on the first aerobatic jet
team. Olds was an All-American football star at West Point and
later an Army Air Corps ace, fighter wing commander in Vietnam,
and commandant at the US Air Force Academy. He retired as a brigadier
general.
Albert Lee Ueltschi
He was the founder of FlightSafety International and Project
Orbis. Ueltschi's FlightSafety firm is one of the world's top
flight training organizations with 42 facilities worldwide. Project
Orbis, a flying hospital and teaching facility, provides the
capability for eye surgery in underdeveloped nations.
|
Rumsfeld Comments Irk
Russian
Gen. Leonid G. Ivashov, the head of international cooperation
in Russia's Defense Ministry, suggested that Moscow had a bone
to pick with Donald H. Rumsfeld.
In his Feb. 16 press remarks, the general complained that
President Bush's new Defense Secretary struck a belligerent tone
toward his country.
Ivashov said that Russia had been watching a concerted information
war on Russia's prestige and its international position. He said
the tone of the comments "smacks of Cold War rhetoric."
Russia took particular exception to Rumsfeld's claims that
the Kremlin continues to operate as an active supplier of ballistic
missile technology to rogue states.
"They are selling and assisting countries like Iran and
North Korea and India and other countries with these technologies,
which are threatening other people, including the United States
and Western Europe and countries in the Middle East," Rumsfeld
said.
Rumsfeld noted in public remarks that it makes no sense for
Moscow to export missile technology and then complain about US
efforts to protect itself from that same technology.
|
News Notes
- Former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen has opened a
new strategic consulting firm in Washington, The Cohen Group.
The firm will advise US companies on international growth and
general strategy, said Cohen.
- The Air Force announced Jan. 23 that it plans to assign 13
of its new C-17 Globemasters to McGuire AFB, N.J., beginning
in July 2004, pending a favorable environmental impact analysis.
Alternative bases would be Charleston AFB, S.C., which already
has C-17s, or Dover AFB, Del.
- Northrop Grumman has begun production of 55 replacement wings
for Air Force T-38 Talon supersonic trainers. Replacement wings
will ensure that the 40-year-old T-38s remain in the air while
Northrop is designing a completely new wing, scheduled to enter
production in 2006. The replacement and new wing are expected
to extend the T-38's service life another four decades.
- On Jan. 30, a Boeing Delta II rocket successfully placed
a Global Positioning System satellite into space.
- An accident report released Feb. 2 said the Sept. 14 crash
of an RQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle near Indian Springs
Air Force Auxiliary Field, Nev., was caused by pilot error. The
pilot inadvertently cleared the aircraft's primary control module's
random access memory, severing its data link connections with
ground control.
- Two Air National Guard F-16 pilots survived a midair collision
Jan. 30 and landed safely with minor injuries. The pilots were
on a night vision goggles upgrade mission and were flying side
by side when the accident occurred.
- Investigators have determined that a circuit breaker panel
was the most likely origin of a fire that destroyed a Minot AFB,
N.D., missile alert facility Nov. 30. The fire gutted the 8,000-square-foot
above-ground facility.
- On Feb. 5 Boeing announced completion of the flight-test
program for the X-32A Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstrator.
Since first flight Sept. 18, the X-32A has completed 50.4 flight
hours under the control of six different pilots. All test objectives
were met, said Boeing officials.
- On Jan. 25, Lockheed Martin completed assembly of the first
"stretched" C-130J-30 airlifter for the Air Force.
Five extended fuselage C-130s are currently on USAF order.
- The Defense Commissary Agency will close six Stateside stores
this year in an ongoing effort to streamline operations. Marked
for closure are stores at Pope AFB, N.C.; Kelly AFB, Tex.; Defense
Supply Center in Richmond, Va.; Sierra Army Depot, Herlong, Calif.;
Cutler Naval Computer Telecommunications Station, Machias, Maine.;
and Brooks AFB, Tex.
- The Air Force Academy is now accepting nominations for a
new award jointly established by the academy and its Association
of Graduates. The award is intended to honor academy grads who
have made exceptional contributions to the nation and their communities,
via either military or civilian accomplishments.
- The Air Force has removed the Red Cross emblem from the service's
fleet of C-9 aircraft. Under international law, aircraft bearing
such a symbol can fly only medical missions. Removal thus allows
expanded use of the fleet. The emblem can be re-applied as needed.
- DOD's first Reserve Component Family Readiness Award has
gone to the family readiness office at Homestead ARS, Fla. The
office won the award primarily due to its efforts to ease the
difficulties of separation during deployments.
- The US Air Forces in Europe Construction and Training Squadron
at Ramstein AB, Germany, has become the third educational institution
in the world to receive international accreditation for a fire
academies rescue technician course. The accreditation will allow
the group to take its course on the road and serve as a mobile
training organization for rescue certifications at US bases throughout
Europe.
- Pentagon officials are planning to send investigators to
two crash sites in the Himalayas-sites that may hold remains
of US airmen lost during World War II. One of the sites has been
linked to the disappearance of a C-46 transport March 27, 1944,
on a flight from Kunming, China, to far northeastern India.
- There is no hiring freeze at the Pentagon, but DOD officials
are reviewing their civilian workforce requirements and hiring
procedures, per a memo from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
to that effect issued on Feb. 9.
- Recent publicity detailing evidence that the first US pilot
shot down during the Gulf War may have survived the crash resulted
in many new leads in the case, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), a member
of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told the Los Angeles Times
in February. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Scott Speicher was declared
dead after the war, but discovery of his F/A-18's wreckage and
other clues and pressure from Roberts and other lawmakers has
led the Pentagon to reclassify him as missing in action.
- Four sets of remains of unidentified World War II and Korean
War casualties were disinterred from Hawaii's National Memorial
Cemetery of the Pacific on Jan. 30. Officials intend to use DNA
tests to attempt to establish identities.
- President Bush will call for a new round of military base
closings, perhaps as early as next year, Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.)
told the San Antonio Express-News on Jan. 26. "I know they're
going to ask for it at some point," said Gramm.
- The Bush Administration's strategic review is a good thing-but
it is incomplete, according to Sen. Carl Levin (D) of Michigan,
ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Missile
defense ought to be included in this review-it seems to be left
out," he told reporters.
- The Defense Science Board says all of the services place
low priority on training. It should be made an equal partner
in the acquisition and testing process, said a DSB report.
- A new phased-array radar went into operation at Clear AFS,
Alaska, on Feb. 1. The new equipment replaces an old mechanical
radar and will help the 13th Space Warning Squadron carry out
its mission of space surveillance and missile launch early warning.
- Navy Reserve personnel helped Air Force counterparts make
improvements to the north auxiliary airfield at Charleston AFB,
S.C., Feb. 2 to 4. Naval Mobility Construction Battalion 14,
from NAS Jacksonville, Fla., saw the effort as a way to extend
a hand to another service while gaining realistic unit practice
in rapid response for contingency construction.
- McChord AFB, Wash., suffered minimal damage in the strong
earthquake that rocked the Pacific Northwest on Feb. 28. There
were no injuries and no aircraft were damaged in the temblor,
said base officials.
Obituary
Maj. Gen. Richard W. Davis, the national security space architect,
died suddenly Feb. 27 on his way to a meeting at the Pentagon.
The official cause of death for the 53-year-old was cardiac arrest.
Davis, who entered the Air Force in 1970, commanded USAF's
Wright and Phillips laboratories. He also was a founding member
of the Strategic Defense Initiaitve.
Copyright by Air Force Association.
All rights reserved