Many Units Depart Persian Gulf
The Air Force moved scores of aircraft, thousands
of troops, and hundreds of tons of cargo out of Southwest Asia
and back to the United States.
The forces had deployed to the region last fall and winter in response to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's denial of access for United Nations weapons inspectors. Renewed Iraqi compliance with UN requests moved US officials to order units back to home base in the early weeks of June.
"We sent them over because Saddam wasn't complying with the inspection team," said Maj. Ben Beeson, AMC contingencies deputy division chief. "The problem has been fixed, and the politicians have decided we can bring our forces home."
The operation was planned as part of the effort to reduce the overall US troop levels in Southwest Asia from about 37,000 to between 17,000 and 20,000. More than 100 Air Combat Command aircraft are included in the force reduction.
AMC Swings Into Gulf Action
About 600 AMC personnel deployed overseas to help
carry out the Gulf redeployment operation. They ranged from crew
chiefs to loadmasters, personnel specialists, and chaplains.
Thirty tanker aircraft, including units from McConnell AFB, Kan., McGuire AFB, N.J., and Selfridge ANGB, Mich., supported the redeployment. Officials predicted the tankers would fly nearly 100 refueling missions before all the US bomber and fighter aircraft made their way home.
Tankers refueled six F-117 stealth fighters 27 times as they flew from the Kuwaiti region to the East Coast of the US, for instance. The tankers-both KC-135s and KC-10s-provided a continuous escort for the F-117s.
Among the dozens of airlifters involved in the redeployment were eight C-17s from the 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston AFB, S.C.
Lajes Field, Azores, was a crucial staging base for the C-17s. Efficient support staff at Lajes ensured that crews were quickly shuttled to beds for needed rest, while an experienced fuels distribution staff, almost all Portuguese nationals, cut layover times.
Fighter aircraft also moved through Lajes. In the period June 45, 36 F-15s and F-16s returned home through a base sometimes referred to as "The Crossroads of the Atlantic."
NATO Aircraft Stage Determined
Falcon
On June 15, 85 aircraft from 13 NATO
nations took to the skies in the Balkans to carry out Operation
Determined Falcon, a show of force meant to contain violence in
Kosovo.
"This is a very vivid demonstration of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's ability to rapidly project power in the region," said USAF Lt. Gen. Michael C. Short, commander of Allied Air Forces Southern Europe.
The operation involved NATO jets patrolling Yugoslavia's borders with Albania and Macedonia. Twenty-two fighters, including 12 US F-16s, two Portuguese F-16s, and eight Spanish EF-18s, kicked off the exercise by departing Aviano AB, Italy, at 8 a.m. local time and flying over the Adriatic Sea toward the southern Balkans.
This initial flight was joined by fighters from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Holland, Norway, Turkey, and the UK. Departure points were 15 bases in six European countries. The 5th Allied Tactical Air Force Combined Air Operations Center at Vicenza, Italy, was responsible for running the show.
"This is a new look at NATO," said Short. "Now you have an organization that is postured to respond out of the region and out of area."
According to NATO headquarters, the jets flew over the airspace of Macedonia and Albania, then edged to within 10 miles of the Yugoslav border.
Since late February, Yugoslavia's strongman president, Slobodan Milosevic, has been running a military assault in an effort to crush ethnic Albanian fighters who are seeking independence for Kosovo, a province of Serbia, Yugoslavia's dominant republic.
While NATO nations do not support Kosovo independence, they have been appalled by Milosevic's brutality. At least 250 people had been killed in the fighting through early June.
The Albanian capital of Tirana shook with the roar of fighters during the middle of the exercise. Many residents of the poverty-stricken nation expressed support for the airplanes, which they felt demonstrated world support for their embattled ethnic brothers. Others simply marveled at the overflights, as they had never seen jets before.
House OKs FEHBP Pilot Program
The House of Representatives has approved legislation
that would establish a test program allowing military retirees
to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
The proposal, a longtime priority of military organizations, was included as an amendment to the defense authorization bill. It was sponsored by Reps. Jim Moran (D-Va.), J.C. Watts (R-Okla.), and Mac Thornberry (R-Texas).
Under the bill, some 70,000 Medicare-eligible military retirees and their families would be able to enroll in an FEHBP pilot program at six to 10 sites around the country. The aim of the effort would be to gauge the feasibility of extending FEHBP coverage to retirees living in a number of different locations and situations. At least one of the test sites would be located near a Military Treatment Facility, under the amendment. Another would be near a facility currently engaged in the Medicare Subvention pilot project. A third would be located in an area far from any MTF.
A House-Senate conference will complete action on the defense bill later this summer.
USAF Outlines "Body Art"
Policy
Want to wear a silver stud in the side
of your nose or metal rings in the skin above your eyebrows? Then
you had better not be a member of the US Air Force.
A new Air Force policy on personal decoration released in early June prohibits most body piercing-a popular practice among today's young people in which rings, studs, straps, or other pieces of metal are inserted in holes punched through various body parts.
The only exceptions to the policy are that women may wear small, conservative earrings, and all Air Force personnel may wear piercing items that do not show while in uniform.
The policy is in force at all times while personnel are in uniform or when they are wearing civilian clothing on a base or any location under military control.
"We've recognized the increasing popularity of body art and have adjusted personal appearance policy to set appropriate guidelines for such practices," said Lt. Col. Whit Taylor, chief of the Air Force Quality of Life Office.
At the same time, the Air Force issued its first formal rules on tattooing and "branding," in which designs are literally burned into skin.
Tattoos and brands which express racist, sexist, or obscene sentiments are banned. No such mark can cover more than one-fourth of an exposed body limb or be visible over the collarbone in an open-neck uniform, according to the new policy.
USAF Pushes Gun for JSF
The US Air Force still wants a gun mounted on the
Joint Strike Fighter, despite the demurs of other services that
will also buy the aircraft.
"The Air Force position now is we support a gun in the aircraft," said Harry C. Disbrow Jr., USAF's deputy director of operational requirements, at an American Helicopter Society convention in Washington on May 21.
Air Force officials have yet to decide exactly what kind of gun they want. The F-15's 20 mm weapon probably would not be powerful enough to meet all mission requirements, they said. The A-10's 30 mm gun would likely be too heavy. A compromise caseless 25 mm version is possible.
The Navy, for its part, considers the gun an option. Rear Adm. Dennis V. McGinn, director of Navy air warfare, noted at the same forum that the cost of individual items on service wish lists, such as the gun, needs to be thoroughly explored before proceeding.
The Marine Corps believes a gun would be useful for some JSF missions but not others. Marine officials are particularly concerned about adding unnecessary weight to their short takeoff/vertical landing JSF variant, said Lt. Gen. Terrence R. Dake, head of Marine Corps aviation.
JSF Engine Completes First Test
On June 11, the first model of Pratt & Whitney's
F119-derived engine for Lockheed Martin's version of the Joint
Strike Fighter successfully completed an initial test run at Pratt
& Whitney's facilities in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The test marked a major step forward for the JSF Concept Demonstration Program, which began in November 1996.
"This engine run is another positive milestone in our program to demonstrate Joint Strike Fighter technologies with the X-35 demonstrator aircraft," said Frank Cappuccio, Lockheed Martin's vice president and program director for the JSF.
The JSF 119-PW-611 engine is a derivative of the F119 power plant for the F-22 Raptor. Among the modifications made to the basic model for Lockheed Martin JSF purposes are a larger fan and an axisymmetric exhaust nozzle.
Different JSF variants will, in turn, have their own engine model. The power plant will be coupled with a shaft-driven lift fan system to augment vertical thrust for the short takeoff/vertical landing JSF configuration that Lockheed Martin is developing for the Marine Corps and the UK's Royal Navy, for instance.
Some 200 hours of risk reduction testing undertaken by Lockheed Martin in 1995 and 1996 have already successfully demonstrated the shaft-driven lift fan concept, said contractor officials.
USAF Pushes Airborne Laser
The Air Force moved quickly to try to convince senators
that the Senate Armed Services Committee made a mistake when it
cut $97 million from the budget of the Airborne Laser theater
missile defense system.
In a May letter to Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), Gen. Michael E. Ryan, Air Force Chief of Staff, stated that the move would derail the Administration's plans for a crucial mission: theater missile defense. The Air Force's Space Based Laser program is not a replacement for ABL, said Ryan, as some lawmakers appear to believe. SBL will address strategic National Missile Defense needs and will not reach operational maturity until 15 years after possible ABL deployment.
USAF Tests Anti-Missile Laser
On June 3, a team of contractors working on a laser
intended to shoot down ballistic missiles in flight successfully
completed a "first light" test of an important laser
module in USAF's Airborne Laser program.
Team ABL-Boeing, TRW, and Lockheed Martin-conducted the test of the Flight-weighted Laser Module at TRW's Capistrano Test Site near San Clemente, Calif. The experiment was conducted under the auspices of a $1.1 billion program definition and risk reduction contract awarded in November 1996 by USAF's ABL System Program Office, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
The FLM, a chemical oxygen iodine laser with multihundred-kilowatt power, is a foundation technology for the ABL system. It was run successfully at increasing levels of power several times through the first week of June, said Air Force officials.
Based on this test and tests last year that showed the ABL system could track a missile in flight, USAF officials gave a "green light" June 26 to begin finalizing the system's design.
If all goes as planned, the first test firing of the actual ABL, designated Attack Laser aircraft, will take place in 2002.
Last ICBM Leaves Grand Forks
The last of 150 Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
assigned to the 321st Missile Group was removed from North Dakota
soil June 3. With the departure of its last Minuteman III, the
321st moved one step closer to a July 2 inactivation ceremony
after standing guard in the high northern plains of America for
more than three decades.
"For 34 years, we have had ICBMs out here in the fields of eastern North Dakota," said Col. Edward Rausch, group commander, during the June ceremony. "They stood as a deterrent to any adversary in the world that might consider challenging the peace and freedom that we enjoy. These missiles did their job."
Some 120 of the 321st's ICBMs have been transferred from Grand Forks AFB, N.D., to Malmstrom AFB, Mont. Thirty have been shipped to a depot in Utah for use in test launches.
The transfer was mandated as part of the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
Guard, Reserve Get Green Cards
On June 20, the Pentagon began honoring a pledge made
by Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen last year that ID cards
for all active duty, Guard, and Reserve US military service members
will be one color-green.
The move away from red cards for reservists is meant to eliminate barriers, both structural and cultural, between the components of the Total Force, according to defense officials.
Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs Charles L. Cragin handed out the first green cards at a joint reserve promotion and reenlistment ceremony at Ft. Dix, N.J., on June 20. The changeover is to be fully implemented over five years.
Though ID card color is changing, there will be no associated changes to current service benefits, privileges, or entitlements, unless a change in status occurs, noted officials. Some 1.5 million members of the Selected Reserve, the Individual Ready Reserve, and the active Standby Reserve will eventually receive new cards.
Air Guard Faces Aging Issues
The first of the Air National Guard's older F-16s
face grounding next year due to age, and ANG leaders have to decide
what, if anything, they are going to do about it.
Choices range from a miniService Life Extension Program, through a mid-life update, to purchase of new aircraft. The SLEP, while the cheapest option, would simply keep the current force up and running, without adding capability, ANG officials note. The update would cost more money-and purchase of all new aircraft would cost the most money of all.
The last of ANG's F-16As are now scheduled for removal from service by 2005.
Tricare Dental Fees Rise
The monthly premium for the Tricare Active Duty Family
Member Dental Plan will go up slightly Aug. 1, 1998. The premium
increase will be reflected in July 1998 leave and earnings statements.
Cost of a single enrollment, currently $7.64 a month, will increase to $8.09. Cost of a family enrollment, now $19.09, will reach $20. This amount, which is deducted from active duty members' paychecks, represents 40 percent of the total cost of the dental plan. The other 60 percent is paid for directly by the government.
Dental program contractor United Concordia Companies, Inc., proposed the premium increases to cover expected increases in costs. Government contracting officials subsequently accepted the hikes.
Reapers Named Best Air Superiority
Unit
The "Grim Reapers," officially
known as the 493d Fighter Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, UK, received
the Hughes Trophy June 12 for winning the title of best air defense/air
superiority fighter squadron in the US Air Force for 1997.
The F-15C Eagle squadron picked up its award at a ceremony in Cambridge, UK. It marks the first time in 10 years that a US Air Forces in Europe unit has won the coveted title.
"This award reflects a lot of hard work and dedication from the entire 493d Fighter Squadron team," said Lt. Col. Mark Barrett, 493d FS commander.
All Air Force air defense/air superiority squadrons, from the National Guard to Air Combat Command, compete for the Hughes Trophy annually. Units are graded on operational performance, organizational readiness inspection results, training exercise participation, unit achievements and awards, individual achievements and awards, and unit incentive programs.
Among the reasons for the 493d's winning effort was its 288 combat sorties flown over northern Iraq in support of Operation Northern Watch. The squadron also completed eight deployments to contingencies and exercises around the world, from Canada's Maple Flag to African Eagle in Morocco.
The Hughes Trophy is sponsored by Raytheon Systems Corp.
New Chocks Save Money, Maybe
Engines
The 93d Air Control Wing at Robins
AFB, Ga., is the first unit in the Air Force to receive a set
of large aircraft composite wheel chocks for a six-month test.
The YF-22 Raptor at Edwards AFB, Calif., is testing a similar type of chock but in a smaller version, said Lee R. Sink, logistics program manager at Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Va.
The new chocks should last five to 10 times longer than their traditional wooden counterparts, according to Sink. Wooden chocks become sodden from rain and snow and deteriorate in only nine to 18 months. They have to be painted often to keep them from falling apart even faster.
The composite chocks, made from recycled plastic, are about 20 pounds lighter than wood. They are also unlikely to become a potential source of Foreign Object Damage.
Trading Eagles
Over
the next six months, the 33d Fighter Wing, Eglin AFB, Fla., will
swap 42 F-15Cs with the 3d Wing, Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.
The reason for the trade is to simplify logistics by standardizing the engine type at each base. The 33d FW will be giving up airplanes powered by F100-PW-220 engines and receiving aircraft outfitted with F100-PW-100 power plants in return.
"The -220 is the newer engine and has more sophisticated electrical components than the -100s we will receive," said SMSgt. Randy Duty, the 33d FW propulsion flight production superintendent. "But having only one type of engine will greatly simplify the maintenance process."
Deployment will also become easier and cheaper. The transfer is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 24.