December 1999 Vol. 82, No. 12
By Peter Grier
New York ANG Unit Stages Polar Rescue
An aircraft and crew of the New York Air National Guard on
Oct. 16 dashed through brutal cold and into the depths of Antarctica
to rescue a doctor who had been diagnosed with breast cancer and
was stranded there for months.
In a 6.5-hour, 1,680-mile round-trip, the ANG's specially equipped
LC-130 aircraft flew from McMurdo Station on the Antarctic coast
to the South Pole and back again. The crew and aircraft were from
the New Yorkbased 109th Airlift Wing.
"The risk factor was eight or nine out of 10," Maj.
Robbie McAllister, the pilot, told the Associated Press. "It
was at the limits of the operational ability of the airplane."
The Air Guardsmen retrieved Jerri Nielsen, a physician assigned
to a 41-member National Science Foundation research team that
spent the winter at the domed AmundsenScott South Pole Station.
The crew brought in a replacement doctor.
Nielsen had discovered a lump in her breast some months ago
but had to wait for a break in the Antarctic weather before she
could leave. Before the crew could attempt the rescue, the temperature
had to "warm up" to at least 58 degrees below zero.
Otherwise, the airplane's fuel would not flow and hydraulic systems
would not function properly while the airplane waited on the ground.
Nielsen returned to the United States for treatment.
"People were just really pleased we were able to get in
and get her out," said Col. Graham Pritchard Jr., wing commander.
Crew members were McAllister, the pilot; Maj. David Koltermann,
copilot; Lt. Col. Bryan Fennessy, navigator; CMSgt. Michael Cristiano,
flight engineer; and SMSgt. Kurt Garrison and TSgt. David Vesper,
loadmasters. The medical team included Maj. Kimberly Terpening,
flight nurse, and CMSgt. Michael Casatelli and MSgt. Kelly McDowell,
medical technicians.
Anthrax Shots Go On ....
Some National Guard and Reserve members may quit over the issue,
but the military still needs to press ahead with its effort to
inoculate the Total Force against anthrax, Pentagon officials
told Congress at a Sept. 30 hearing.
The anthrax shots are a defensive necessity, like a flak jacket
or helmet, said military leaders.
On the battlefields of the future "if you don't get inoculated
you're going to die," Deputy Defense Secretary John J. Hamre
told the military personnel subcommittee of the House Armed Services
Committee.
The vaccine used by DoD is the same one authorized in 1970
by the US Food and Drug Administration and used ever since by
US livestock workers, said Hamre. It is intended to protect against
many different anthrax strains.
Internet misinformation and rumormongering have alarmed some
service members, Hamre said.
"I would admit we have not done a good enough job explaining
to all of the people at home," he said.
As of Sept. 30, the program has given shots to more than 340,000
personnel, including 27,000 Guardsmen and Reservists, said officials.
"When they're injected, there are often local side effects
that include tenderness, soreness, redness, a lump at the site,
fever, muscle aches, and pains," said Lt. Gen. Ronald R.
Blanck, surgeon general of the Army.
Some 72 cases of serious side effects have been reported. Of
these, government doctors attributed 55 cases to the anthrax vaccine.
All 55 of these service members have been returned to full duty.
... But Skepticism Continues
Not all members of Congress are convinced of the anthrax program's
claimed benefits.
Rep. Christopher Shays (RConn.) estimated that 30 percent
of pilots and technicians in some Air National Guard units have
quit over the issue, but officials are "unable, or unwilling,
to discern a trend," said Shays.
In Memphis, for instance, 22 of the Memphis Air Guard's 50
pilots were refusing to take the anthrax vaccination as of early
October. Thirty-eight other personnel were taking a similar position.
The 60 servicemen "have requested to be released from
the unit due to concerns over the anthrax vaccination program,"
said a Tennessee ANG press release.
Air Force Ends T-3 Flying Program
The Air Force is permanently grounding its T-3A Firefly training
airplanes, officials announced Oct. 9. The service's introductory
flight training will now be handled by commercial flight schools-a
move that will save $16 million a year in operating costs, according
to Air Force estimates.
The move increases the training time for incoming pilots from
40 to 50 hours, while requiring that they earn a private pilot's
license before entering the Air Force's undergraduate pilot programs.
The Firefly-a powerful and agile Britishmade propeller
airplane-had been used to screen pilot candidates for the rigors
of jet training. But the airplane has been dogged by problems
with engine stalling.
The Air Force Academy had suspended use of the Firefly in 1997
after three cadets and three instructors died in crashes over
a three-year period.
Congress Expands Arlington Cemetery
The government will expand Arlington National Cemetery by acquiring
45 acres of surrounding land under the terms of a provision contained
in this year's defense authorization bill, signed into law by
President Clinton in early October.
The national cemetery will acquire the entire 37-acre Navy
Annex, as well as eight acres from Ft. Myer, according to the
legislation's terms. The land could provide enough space for up
to 30,000 more grave sites. Currently about 60,000 sites remain
available.
"Now we can preserve for future generations the greatest
honor for our greatest heroes, burial at Arlington National Cemetery,"
said Rep. Bob Stump (RAriz.), chairman of the House Veterans'
Affairs Committee.
The Navy Annex is to be torn down within 15 years, under the
new law. Ten acres of the land may be reserved for a possible
National Military Museum.
For the Ft. Myer land to connect to the cemetery, Arlington
must also obtain nearly 10 acres of intervening National Park
Service land that surrounds Arlington House, the former home of
Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
A Park Service report has recommended the transfer of this
parcel. However, environmental groups and local governing bodies
have expressed concern about the move, saying they fear a grove
of old-growth forest may be cut down to make way for grave sites.
Fine Print on the F-22 Deal
Under terms of a House-Senate-White House deal on the F-22
fighter, USAF gets to keep its most critical program going for
at least another year, but it will also face some new roadblocks.
The compromise defense appropriations bill signed by President
Clinton on Oct. 25 contains $2.5 billion for F-22 work, enough
to sustain the fighter through Fiscal 2000.
At the same time, the deal pins the F-22's fate to a series
of high-stakes tests. Lawmakers decided (and Clinton agreed)
that the F-22 would stay in development and not enter production.
This was done to permit more-robust testing of avionics, stealthiness,
and weapon delivery systems.
Officials said a decision to begin production of the fighter
will hinge on the following:
- Successful flight of an F-22 incorporating sophisticated
Block 3.0 avionics software.
- Pentagon certification that the F-22 program met relevant
Defense Acquisition Board program exit requirements.
- Submission to Congress by DoD's director of operational test
and evaluation of a report on the adequacy of testing.
F-22 critics are particularly insistent on the first point.
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Appropriations
Committee's defense subcommittee and leader of the charge against
the F-22, said success in this area is "essential"
for production.
F-22 backers have some concerns. Software integration can
be tricky and difficult. The F-22's integrated avionics, moreover,
are revolutionary in complexity and scope.
The fighter's avionics system will have 1.7 million lines
of software code, integrated in three blocks. Block 1 focuses
on radar capability. Block 2 begins the process of sensor fusion,
with some electronic warfare functions. Block 3 brings full sensor
fusion and electronic counter-countermeasures.
The Air Force plans to integrate the Block 3 software into
a test F-22 in spring 2000.
"Block 3.0 testing is especially significant," Lewis
warned in an Oct. 6 statement. "This stage involves very
complicated and technical evaluation of the avionics that are
basic to the F-22 attaining performance at levels beyond any
aircraft in the world."
Testing isn't the only challenge. The compromise deal also
cost the Air Force program a big chunk of money.
Congress took $560 million out of the original $3 billion
budget request. The Air Force now must cut spending elsewhere
to make up the difference over the next two years.
Maj. Gen. Claude M. Bolton Jr., the Air Force's top officer
for fighter and bomber programs, told Air Force Magazine that
USAF is at pains to find $412 million in 2001 and $148 million
in 2002.
"Other programs-and I don't know which, right now-will
be impacted," he said.
The cut and other aspects of the compromise mean that the
first six F-22s-which will be called "test" aircraft
rather than "production" aircraft, though they are
essentially identical-will be paid for through incremental funding
over three years.
"There should be no program impact," said Robert
S. Rearden Jr., Lockheed Martin's top F-22 manager, "as
long as the government authorizes and appropriates the required
funding."
The fighter program had been in turmoil since midsummer, when
a small band of House appropriators, led by Lewis, launched a
surprise attack on its production budget. The Senate, led by
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), eventually forced a compromise generally
favorable to the Air Force program.
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Recruiting Challenge Outlined
Air Force recruiters brought in 32,068 new airmen in Fiscal
1999-the highest annual number since 1992. However, the goal was
33,800, and the Air Force was left just short of its quota.
"There are a lot of opportunities in the civilian sector,
and there are a lot of opportunities to go to college," said
Lt. Gen. Donald L. Peterson, USAF deputy chief of staff for personnel,
during an Oct. 8 visit to Ramstein AB, Germany. "This makes
for tough competition."
One of the biggest problems underlying the recruiting challenge
is a lack of knowledge about the Air Force and what it has to
offer, said USAF's top uniformed personnel officer.
Compared to earlier times, the public has little understanding
of the military in general, as only 6 percent of Americans under
the age of 65 have worn their country's uniform. Meanwhile, the
Air Force has closed 25 percent of its Stateside bases and 65
percent of its overseas bases in recent years.
"There is less of a footprint where people are exposed
to the military, which makes for a challenging recruiting environment,"
said Peterson.
The Air Force plans to spend $37 million more on advertising
this year. Last year's total of four enlistment bonuses has been
greatly expanded. Currently the service offers enlistment bonuses
for more than 100 different specialty codes.
Greater retention of personnel would also ease some of the
pressure on recruiters. The 4.8 percent pay raise approved by
Congress will likely make continued service more attractive to
many, as could higher promotion rates.
The Air Force recently received authorization to increase its
middle and senior noncommissioned officer ranks, noted Peterson.
"The top five enlisted ranks will grow from 48.5 percent
of the enlisted force today to 56 percent of the force by 2003.
This will permit the Air Force to maintain needed experience while
maintaining reasonable promotion opportunity," said Peterson.
Airlift Crews Get Eye Protection
Air Force Research Laboratory contractors have been testing
Laser Eye Protection spectacles on aircrews flying the C-17 Globemaster
III out of Charleston AFB, S.C.
The tests are a response to the growing threat of offensive
and defensive laser weapons worldwide.
"Our goal is to protect the aircrew from unseen hazards-primarily
infrared lasers," said Alex M. Archibald Jr., operational
requirements specialist for LittonThe Analytic Sciences Corp.
Possible protection comes in a normal-looking pair of glasses.
There have been tests of two types-reflective and dye-based. Reflective
spectacles reflect lasers away, as sunglasses protect against
the sun's rays. Dye spectacles absorb the light, like a sponge.
Both types have been tested on pilots during ground and taxi
operations and while wearing night vision goggles. The point was
to iron out any problems before airborne testing.
Testing during flight has already occurred for C-21, C-130,
F-15E, and F-117 aircrews.
"If all the results are favorable, the [Air Force Materiel
Command] Life Support [System Program Office] will determine how
the lenses can be adapted into visors and glasses to be worn in
all USAF aircraft," said Bill R. Ercoline, a retired USAF
pilot and lead human factors scientist for the LittonTASC
LEP group.
Senate Delivers Crushing
Blow to Clinton's CTB Pact
On Oct. 13, the Senate voted 5148 to reject a treaty
that would ban all underground nuclear tests. It will likely
enter the history books as one of the Clinton Administration's
most notable policy defeats.
To supporters of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Senate's
action was a diplomatic faux pas. France, Germany, Britain, Japan,
and other allies had urged the Senate to ratify the CTBT as a
signal to nations with emerging nuclear programs that more testing-and
hence the accumulation of more modern warheads-is unacceptable.
President Clinton, for his part, said the vote illuminated
a Senate Republican return to isolationism.
Treaty opponents replied that a permanent test ban would have
frozen the US nuclear arsenal at its current level of development
while rivals continued to work on new warheads via clandestine
tests. Rogues such as North Korea aren't even CTBT signatories,
opponents pointed out.
"[The CTBT] won't make any difference to countries who
are determined to be part of the nuclear club," said Sen.
Richard G. Lugar (R) of Indiana, a staunch internationalist who
nevertheless voted against the treaty.
The future safety of the US stockpile was also a big issue
in the vote.
CTBT backers said that new computer models ensure that subcritical
explosions are all that is needed to determine if warheads are
dangerously deteriorating.
Opponents said that tests will always be necessary to properly
judge the stability of the nation's nuclear weapons.
The vote does not mean that a test program is set to resume.
The US has observed a test moratorium since 1992, and that will
continue for the foreseeable future, said Administration officials.
From 1945 until 1992 the US conducted 1,030 nuclear explosions,
according to a nuclear weapons expert. Most were aimed at perfecting
new warhead designs.
In recent decades, the US has withdrawn 11 warheads a year
from active status for purposes of reliability review. Ten of
these were simply examined visually. One was torn apart and its
nuclear pit examined for problems.
An environment rich in radiation, plus the natural aging process,
can affect everything from the chemical explosives to the glues
and plastics used in nuclear weapons, say experts.
Problems have cropped up in the past. Former Secretary of
Defense James R. Schlesinger, arguing against the treaty in a
Senate hearing, noted that the Polaris warheads of the 1960s
suffered from corrosion and had to be refitted.
Minuteman ICBM warheads had high-explosives problems.
Schlesinger said that until a few years ago, the US nuclear
laboratories opposed a flat test ban and wanted any test pact
to allow explosions of a few kilotons for reliability check purposes.
US intelligence can't accurately verify whether China or Russia
carries out such low-yield explosions, added treaty opponents.
Administration officials rejoined that that's not true-and that
anyway, it doesn't matter.
"Would that be militarily significant in terms of undercutting
our strategic capability? Our judgment is no," said Secretary
of Defense William S. Cohen.
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ABL Team Completes Laser Testing
The Air Forceindustry team developing the Airborne Laser
missile defense system has successfully completed testing of a
laser module that will serve as the technical foundation for flight
laser modules.
The TRWbuilt Flight-weighted Laser Module-3 (FLM-3) exceeded
the power and beam quality requirements of the operational ABL
system during a four-month test program at TRW's Capistrano Test
Site in southern California.
"The FLM-3 test results provide the latest evidence from
our extensive ABL test program that the system design is solid
and that we're on course to put this revolutionary weapon system
in the air in 2003," said Col. Michael W. Booen, director
of the ABL program.
The success stemmed from changes TRW made in the components
that regulate the flow of chemical reactants in the laser module,
said officials. That allowed FLM-3 to operate under a full range
of operating conditions, from a first shot with a fresh chemical
magazine to a last shot from a spent magazine.
Team ABL will now finalize the design for the flight laser
modules and begin manufacturing the first of six such components
needed for the first 747-based ABL system. Testing is set to begin
late next year.
Boeing to Build Eyes in Sky
On Sept. 3, the National Reconnaissance Office announced that
Boeing won government approval to proceed with a multiyear, multibillion
dollar spy satellite contract.
The move broke Lockheed's 40-year grip on building the nation's
"eye-in-the-sky" satellites. "It's a major coup
for us," Boeing President Harry C. Stonecipher said.
Lockheed Martin had challenged the award, but the Pentagon
rejected the company's claim, clearing the way for Boeing to proceed
with the work, which could be worth as much as $15 billion, according
to industry analysts.
Satellite development begins in the middle of the next decade,
said NRO officials.
Ryan's Concerns About
USAF Posture
Gen. Michael E. Ryan, Air Force Chief of Staff, testified
Oct. 21 before the House Armed Services Committee, relaying concerns
about declining readiness, operations tempo, and the Air Force
capability to meet the national strategy's two-war requirement.
Excerpts:
Erosion of Force Readiness: "Underfunding and loss of
skilled personnel and high operations tempo over the past years
have contributed to a slow but steady decline in Air Force readiness.
... Readiness is down an additional 5 percent since my last appearance
before this committee [in the spring]. ...
"I'm truly concerned about this continued downturn in
readiness yet hopeful that we'll see a readiness stabilization
as the Fiscal Year 1999 and 2000 budget initiatives and the supplementals
... take effect."
Falling Short of Two-War Needs: "The Air Force, again,
is not a twoMTW force, either. Our lift force, many of our
special assets, bombers, are not-and tankers and health assets
are not-twoMajor Theater War capable. They must swing from
one to the other.
"But 99 percent of the force is required to go to one
or the other in the first 30 days. And that's why our readiness
issue has been on the front burner for us for so long. ... I
would be very uncomfortable in backing up that strategy."
Few Assets, in High Demand: "In [Allied Force], we used
about 40 percent of our ISR [Intelligence, Surveillance, and
Reconnaissance] assets. That's about what we planned on using
for a Major Theater War. We had the other half, or 60 percent,
of them available for worldwide tasking. Every one of our assets,
however, because of the worldwide requirement and a Major Theater
War, were tasked at surge rate."
Stresses of Allied Force: "Before Allied Force, we were
operating from five fixed and four expeditionary bases in Europe.
At the end of the buildup, we had moved into 21 more bases, erecting
tent cities for thousands, and deploying over 500 aircraft throughout
Europe. We flew 11,000 sorties on the airlift side, moving millions
of [pounds] of cargo.
"In 78 days of high-intensity combat, we flew over 50
percent of the 38,000 [combat] sorties and dropped almost 90
percent of the 23,000 munitions expended with not a single combat
loss. ...
"Allied Force, together with our global commitments,
meant that, by percentage of force, we in the Air Force were
more heavily tasked [overseas] than at any other time in the
last four decades, including Desert Storm."
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Reserve to Benefit from Raise
in Flying Training Age
The Air Force Reserve undergraduate flying training program
will benefit from the recent raising of the age limit for pilot
and navigator applicants from 27.5 years to 30 years, say Air
Force Reserve Command officials.
"In the past, we've had a number of enlisted aircrew members
who worked extremely hard to get their degree and get private
flying time while involved in a very high operations tempo for
the Reserve," said MSgt. Cynthia Crocker, chief of undergraduate
pilot and navigator training at AFRC headquarters. "When
they finally met all the requirements for undergraduate flying
training, we had to tell them they were too old."
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael E. Ryan raised the age
limit on July 1 to broaden the pool of qualified applicants for
both Reserve and active flying training programs. For the Reserve,
the change was effective with the recent Fiscal 2000 flying training
board.
The age limit applies to when training actually begins, not
when the selection board meets, noted Crocker.
U-2 a "Mainstay"
of Allied Force
It may be old, but the U-2 was the backbone of US reconnaissance
efforts during Operation Allied Force, according to a high-ranking
Air Force official.
"We never dropped a bomb on a target without having a
U-2 take a look at it," said Maj. Gen. William T. Hobbins,
director of operations for US Air Forces in Europe, in a letter
to the aircraft's builder, Lockheed Martin.
The U-2 was USAFE's only around-the-clock, all-weather, multi-intelligence
capability, according to Hobbins. It flew 189 combat missions
and provided 1,300 hours of collection time. Its mission capable
rate was 90 percent, said Hobbins.
U-2s collected more than 80 percent of the imagery for Kosovo
airstrikes, said the letter.
DoD Chalks Up First Successful
NMD Test
The Pentagon is getting better at hitting bullets with bullets.
In an Oct. 2 test, the Raytheonbuilt Exoatmospheric Kill
Vehicle anti-missile weapon-a prototype National Missile Defense
interceptor-hit a simulated re-entry vehicle launched on a Minuteman
II ICBM.
The successful test followed a string of hits by the theater
high altitude area defense and Patriot-3 anti-missile systems.
It marked the first demonstration of hit-to-kill technology at
the speed and range of an ICBM.
The Minuteman was fired from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The EKV
was fired from the Kwajalein missile range in the Pacific, some
4,300 miles away, about 20 minutes later.
The EKV intercepted the target after flying about 230 miles,
at an altitude of 140 miles. Its onboard sensors successfully
picked out the simulated warhead from a decoy balloon and the
Minuteman's third stage.
Then the EKV slammed into its target at a closing speed of
16,000 miles per hour, hitting within 10 percent of the best
spot to obliterate the warhead, according to program officials.
Russia reacted negatively to the test, which it said violated
the terms of the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty of 1972.
"Such actions ... effectively lead to the undermining
of key provisions in the treaty with all the negative consequences
which that entails," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Vladimir Rakhmanin at a news briefing.
US officials have been attempting to begin a discussion with
Russia about how the ABM pact might be amended to allow limited
defenses capable of handling an attack by North Korea and other
rogue states.
But the Kremlin has been adamant about spurning the overtures,
saying that the ABM Treaty remains a cornerstone of the world's
arms control framework. It has even rejected a US offer to help
complete a Russian missile-tracking radar near Irkutsk, Siberia.
"We aren't negotiating any kind of amendments to the
ABM," Rakhmanin said.
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Air Force Changes Rules for
Prospective Pros
Air Force officers with dreams of making it big in professional
sports ranks will have to meet new criteria before they can embark
on that career.
Previously, prospective pros in the service were allowed to
join the Individual Ready Reserve. Officers in the IRR are not
required to actively participate with a unit unless recalled by
the President.
Effective Oct. 5, officers requesting a separation from active
duty to pursue a sports career will be required to serve three
years in the active reserves for every one year remaining on an
existing active duty commitment.
Before even being considered, they must serve two years of
active duty commissioned service and have a binding contract on
the regular-season active team roster. The Secretary of the Air
Force must approve these waivers.
Only five Air Force officers have been allowed to try for the
pro ranks in the past 10 years. The policy came under review because
the majority of these individuals did not make a regular-season
professional roster.
The best-known Air Force professional sports success story
is Chad Hennings, a former A-10 pilot in Desert Storm. Hennings,
who was a star on the Air Force Academy football team, is a starting
defensive tackle for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. He was not one
of the five officers who requested a waiver.
UCP Changes, Space
Command to Guard
the Networks
On Oct. 7, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen announced
changes to the Unified Command Plan, bringing the demise of US
Atlantic Command, a new emphasis on defending the US homeland
against 21st century threats, and the enlargement of US European
Command's zone of authority.
US Joint Forces Command has now arisen in the place of Atlantic
Command. In making the name change, Pentagon authorities are
attempting to hurry along the long-touted transition to a seamless
warfighting structure for the US military, with the Army, Navy,
and Air Force working jointly as never before.
The new USJFCOM will have a mandate to "accelerate"
joint training opportunities, implement joint warfighting lessons
learned, and recommend changes to joint doctrine, according to
Pentagon officials.
In another change, US Space Command will become the lead military
agency for computer network defense. It will assume responsibility
for the Arlington, Va.based Joint Task ForceComputer
Network Defense. Operational since 1998, the JTFCND is the
main line of defense for all military information networks. It
monitors and attempts to stop cyber intrusions and works closely
with other federal agencies.
"Space Command has some built-in potential in that regard,
in terms of the types of experts they have, both in computers/communications
and space assets. And so it was almost a logical fit for them
to take on that additional responsibility," said Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Henry H. Shelton.
Space Command also will eventually be in charge of highly
classified offensive computer network attack capabilities.
Finally, the Unified Command Plan changes transfer responsibility
for the waters off the east coast of Africa from Pacific Command
to European Command. Likewise, charge for the coastal waters
off western Europe and Africa's west coast will move from the
former Atlantic Command to European Command.
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Boeing Hires Air Force for
C-17 Work
Here's something different: Boeing has hired the Air Force
to work on its own airplanes.
On Sept. 27, Boeing and the service signed a contract that
for the first time will allow a private firm to subcontract work
on military aircraft to a government depot.
The publicprivate partnership is part of the Air Force's
Flexible Sustainment strategy for maintaining the C-17 Globemaster
while it is still in production.
Boeing has overall responsibility for supporting the aircraft,
but the company can take advantage of government-owned resources
where it sees fit.
Under terms of the new contract, Boeing will steer some upkeep
work to Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins AFB, Ga. Beginning
next April, Warner Robins ALC will perform C-17 Analytical Condition
Inspections, which look for hidden aircraft wear and tear.
"What we're doing is a business test case," said
Col. Larry Eriksen, leader of the Support Systems Integrated Product
Team at the C-17 System Program Office. "We want to see how
we can most wisely use the resources and best practices of the
commercial world, combined with those of DoD. In order to do that,
we need to join forces somewhat and take advantage of what works
best from both environments."
The ACIs will take about 45 days apiece. Boeing currently performs
such inspection work at its commercial depot site in San Antonio.
Next year may see a second such contract, this time between
Boeing and the Ogden ALC, Hill AFB, Utah. That agreement would
cover landing gear, brakes, and wheels.
It would "involve much more support equipment and training
than the inspections and [would] actually involve some repair
work," said Eriksen.
The Defense Budget Bills
at Year's End
President Clinton on Oct. 25 signed Fiscal 2000 defense appropriations
legislation into law. The spending bill allocates $267.7 billion
in funds for Defense Department pay, purchases, and operations
in Fiscal 2000. That amount exceeds President Clinton's original
request for these particular accounts by $4.5 billion and the
Fiscal 1999 bill by $17.3 billion. Members of Congress termed
it the first significant increase in defense appropriations in
14 years
A companion military construction appropriation bill, passed
earlier, provides billions more to the armed services.
The Fiscal 2000 legislation fully funds a 4.8 percent pay
raise for military personnel, up from the 4.4 percent requested
by the Administration. It adds $399.2 million over the budget
request for recruiting and retention efforts-including a $110
million pot for aviation continuation pay to alleviate Air Force
and Navy pilot shortages.
The bill provides $53 billion for weapons procurement. Some
$3 billion of this would go for 15 C-17 airlifters and $2.5 billion
for further development of the F-22 fighter. (See box on p. 11.)
Congress granted $36 million for advanced procurement of more
E-8 Joint STARS radar airplanes and $113 million for 29 Joint
Primary Aircraft Training System aircraft. It adds $275 million
so that the Air Force can buy five new F-15 Eagles next year.
Research and development funding, at $37.6 billion, comes
in $3.2 billion above the White House request. There is $309
million for the Airborne Laser program and $109 million for upgrades
to the bomber fleet, including $95.9 million for B-2 data link
and weapons upgrades, $5 million for the B-1 for conventional
bomb modules, and $8 million for B-52 upgrades.
At $92.2 billion, operations and maintenance spending came
in $1 billion over the Clinton budget outline. Of this, an extra
$289 million was added to spare parts and war reserve materiel
accounts and $222 million for depot maintenance.
In their conference report, appropriators also included language
calling for the Pentagon to produce a detailed report on how
it will expand and maintain its fleet of low-density, high-demand
aircraft, such as the U-2, E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System,
and Joint STARS.
The companion defense authorization bill for next year received
President Clinton's signature Oct. 5. This bill, which essentially
sets policy and spending guidelines, also gave assent to the
4.8 percent raise next year-the largest such increase in military
compensation in nearly two decades, officials said.
"We have to recruit and retain the best people and provide
them with a sound quality of life if we're going to remain a
dominant force for good for the future," said Secretary
of Defense William S. Cohen at the bill's Pentagon signing ceremony.
The legislation also makes significant changes in the military
retirement program. Under the authorization bill, those who joined
the military after September 1986 have a choice:
n Accept a one-time bonus of $30,000 after 15 years of service
and remain in the current retirement system, which will pay 40
percent of base pay (and approximately one-fourth of total pay
and allowances) upon separation at 20 years.
n Transfer into the more generous pre-1986 system, which will
provide them 50 percent of base pay (and approximately one-third
of total pay and allowances) after 20 years of service.
Under the authorization legislation, Air Force end strength
will shrink again from 1999's 370,882 to 360,877.
The military's Tricare health system will see some change,
with lawmakers directing the Pentagon to implement General Accounting
Officerecommended improvements to Tricare's claims processing
system.
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F119 Engine Certified as F-22
Power Plant
Pratt & Whitney's F119-PW-100 engine has been certified
to power the F-22 Raptor through its full flight envelope. Meeting
Full Flight Release criteria means that the F119 is well on its
way to completion of Engineering and Manufacturing Development.
Meeting FFR affirms that the power plant has demonstrated a
durability of at least half its expected hot section life of 1,000
engine flight hours and 2,150 total accumulated cycles. As of
Sept. 30, P&W F119s had logged more than 384 flight test hours
and a total engine run time in excess of 10,000 hours.
"As the second of four EMD milestones, achieving FFR is
an essential step toward our ultimate goal of having the engine
released for production," said Tom Farmer, P&W's F119/F-22
program manager.
Final Countdown for Old Launch
Towers
Final countdown for two huge launch towers at Space Launch
Complex 41, Cape Canaveral AS, Fla., came on Oct. 14. After a
crowd of hundreds joined in yelling the words "Blasting into
the future," explosives leveled the 5-million-pound Mobile
Service Tower and the 2-million-pound Umbilical Tower.
The job was done in about 20 seconds.
Lockheed Martin Astronautics razed the towers-site of 27 Titan
III and IV launches-to make way for construction of a new Atlas
V launch complex.
Lockheed Martin Astronautics is developing the Atlas V family
of more efficient, lower cost rockets in cooperation with the
US Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program.
In October 1998, the Air Force awarded the company contracts
valued at $1.15 billion to complete development of the Atlas V
and provide launch services for nine missions.
Army Probes Alleged Korean
War Massacre
The Army has begun an investigation into allegations that US
soldiers gunned down hundreds of civilian refugees under a South
Korean bridge nearly 50 years ago.
The probe was spurred primarily by recent press reports on
the alleged incident at No Gun Ri (or Nokuen-Ri) in South Korea.
Subsequently, there have been reports of similar events in other
locations.
The Pentagon's primary responsibility right now will be the
No Gun Ri investigation, stated Defense Department spokesman Kenneth
Bacon on Nov. 2. "Then we will look at the evidence of others
and weigh that."
Persistent questions about possible liability and compensation
have been answered with: "It's premature to talk about all
these other issues." Bacon did say, however, that compensation
would be one of the steps to be considered once the facts are
determined.
The opening phase of the Korean War was chaotic, Pentagon officials
noted. Ill-trained and ill-equipped US troops faced a determined
push south by North Korean soldiers.
At the time, US commanders feared North Korean infiltrators
who dressed as civilians and hid in groups of refugees, only to
turn and fire on defenders once they had passed.
US officials reiterated that a document search showed no trace
of the action. The new inquiry into the incident will likely take
at least a year, said Army Secretary Louis Caldera.
A Department of Defense steering group, led by Undersecretary
for Personnel and Readiness Rudy de Leon, will oversee the Army's
effort. On Nov. 2, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen also announced
appointment of "seven distinguished Americans, with relevant
expertise outside the Department of Defense, to provide their
professional advice on the conduct of the [No Gun Ri] review and
on the Army's report."
South Korea is participating in the probe, as well.
Perry
Calls for "Urgent Focus" on North Korean
Weapon Program
A high-level review team led by former Secretary of Defense
William J. Perry has concluded that the US needs an "urgent
focus" on ending North Korea's nuclear and long-range missile
programs.
A 1994 pact, the Agreed Framework, has already succeeded in
stopping plutonium production at North Korea's Yongbyon facility.
But the review team still has serious concerns about the possibility
of continued weapons work, according to its report.
Japan has been jolted by a North Korean long-range missile
test. China-one of North Korea's few friends-has gained a greater
understanding of US concerns about the stability of the Korean
peninsula. South Korea has a new government and a new approach
to relations with its prickly northern cousin.
"All these factors combine to create a profoundly different
landscape than existed in 1994," concludes the North Korea
policy review study.
Three facts constrain any US approach to the hermit kingdom
of Asia, according to Perry's group.
The first is that the North Korean government shows no sign
of either collapsing or opening further to the outside world,
despite long-standing Western predictions that its policy of
radical self-reliance is ultimately doomed.
The second is that the US must treat North Korea with caution.
The risk of a destructive war involving untold casualties remains
too great for anything but prudent and patient moves.
The third is that the US must attempt to supplement the 1994
Agreed Framework, not replace it. "Unfreezing Yongbyon remains
the North's quickest and surest path to nuclear weapons,"
points out the newly released study.
A two-track strategy may thus now be the best approach to
dealing with North Korea, according to Perry's group.
Under the preferable scenario, the US, its allies, and the
North Koreans would work out complete and verifiable assurances
that Pyongyang has no nuclear weapons program at any facility
and that it will cease development, testing, or sales of threatening
missiles. In return, North Korea would receive step-by-step relaxation
of sanctions and an eventual normalization of relations.
If North Korea rejects this first track, the US and its allies
may need to adopt a second approach and try to contain Pyongyang,
according to the Perry report, while keeping the Agreed Framework
intact.
Negotiators would "have to take firm but measured steps
to persuade [North Korea] that it should return to the first
path and avoid destabilizing the security situation in the region,"
concludes the Perry report.
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Curtain
Down on "Valor"
|
|
In February 1983, Air Force Magazine began a series of one-page
stories about Air Force heroes. We called the new series "Valor."
It ran monthly and was enormously popular from the start.
By the time the fourth "Valor" story was published
in May 1983, we had recruited Col. John L. Frisbee, USAF (Ret.),
a former editor of Air Force Magazine, to take over as the regular
author. He has written all of the episodes that have appeared
since then. At the request of the editors, he also rewrote the
first three stories to produce a complete "Valor" set
under his authorship.
The last original "Valor" story was published in
September 1998. We have been running reprints since then. The
series makes its 197th and final appearance in Air Force Magazine
this month, coinciding with John Frisbee's 83rd birthday.
All of the "Valor" stories-the 176 Frisbee originals,
the three nonFrisbee episodes, and the reprints, some of
which contain slight modifications or corrections-are a permanent
part of the Air Force Magazine section of the Air Force Association
Web site (www.afa.org).
This is the most extensive body of work anywhere in the world
on heroism in the US Air Force and its predecessor organizations.
Nothing else comes close, and it's doubtful that anything else
ever will.
|
Army Makes Effort
to Lighten Up
The US Army will attempt to reshape itself into a lighter,
more mobile force that is still capable of outgunning any potential
adversary, according to a long-awaited vision statement outlined
by new Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki on Oct. 12 at
the annual convention of the Association of the United States
Army.
The Army's plan for the next few decades seemed more oriented
toward maintaining its heavy-force status quo. But the experience
of Operation Allied Force-in which an Army Apache attack helicopter
unit proved so ponderous as to not be useful during actual hostilities-has
apparently helped push the service toward greater reforms in
its traditional structure.
The next-generation Army will give up its behemoth tanks and
drive light but lethal wheeled vehicles, said Shinseki. Highly
computerized communications and surveillance gear will increase
the units' lethality.
"In the changing world in which we live today, we've
got to be able to get to the fight faster," added Secretary
of the Army Louis Caldera.
In the most immediate evidence of change, the Army will create
two new mobile brigades able to move to the fight anywhere in
the world within 96 hours. The new units will be medium forces
in the Army's scheme of things-lighter than today's 70-ton M-1
tankequipped units but laden with more armored vehicles
than airborne troops.
The technology to fully equip these brigades may not be available
for a decade or more. Wheel and armor technology will have to
make major advances to provide the combination of movement and
protection that Army leaders want.
"The 70-ton tank is going to be something else,"
said Lt. Gen. Paul J. Kern, director of the Army Acquisition
Corps. What it is going to be, though, "is a bit murky right
now."
Plans call for a combat vehicle of about 20 tons that can
be carried on a C-130. It should carry an infantry squad while
serving as their main gun and be capable of being adapted for
use in air defense, field artillery, communications, and other
functions.
Use of such a common platform could greatly reduce support
requirements. The new vehicle is also supposed to be much more
fuel efficient, requiring 95 gallons per day, as opposed to the
M-1's 494.
"We're not just looking at the tonnage. We're looking
at the entire capability of that system," said Kern.
|
Gen. Bruce Holloway,
Flying Tiger
Gen. Bruce K. Holloway, USAF (Ret.), a veteran of the Flying
Tigers of World War II and one of the Air Force's premier postwar
leaders, died on Sept. 30 at his Florida home. He was 87.
Holloway graduated from West Point in 1937 and flew for two
years with the Army Air Corps. However, his first combat experience
came with the American Volunteer Group in China-Claire L. Chennault's
Flying Tigers. After the group was activated as the AAF's 23rd
Fighter Group, Holloway became one of its mainstays, rising from
major to colonel and eventually to group commander.
During his tour in China, he shot down 13 Japanese airplanes,
earning status as a fighter ace.
After the war, Holloway became commander of the new Air Force's
first jet fighter group. Continuing a steady rise through the
ranks, he was named head of US Air Forces in Europe in 1965 and
USAF vice chief of staff in 1966. In 1968, he became commander
in chief of Strategic Air Command, the post from which he retired
in 1972.
|
News Notes
- Gen. John P. Jumper, head of US Air Forces in Europe, was
confirmed by the Senate on Nov. 8 as commander of Air Combat
Command, replacing Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart.
- On Oct. 29, the Senate confirmed Eberhart, head of Air Combat
Command, to be commander in chief of US Space Command.
- Gen. Richard B. Myers, head of US Space Command, was confirmed
Oct. 29 for the post of vice chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Myers replaces Air Force Gen. Joseph W. Ralston.
- Meanwhile, Ralston was confirmed by the Senate on Oct. 29
to succeed Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark as Supreme Allied Commander
Europe. On Nov. 3, NATO officially appointed Ralston to the post,
effective May 2000. Currently vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs,
Ralston has also served as head of Air Combat Command.
- Anti-nerve agent pills given to troops during the Gulf War
cannot be ruled out as a possible cause for some of the illnesses
veterans of the war have reported, according to a new study by
Rand. Pyridostigmine bromide was administered to an estimated
250,000 troops because it's the only medication known to be effective
against the nerve gas soman.
- Air Force Recruiting Service finished Fiscal 1999 some 5
percent short of its active duty recruiting goal. It marks only
the ninth time in 44 years of record keeping that the Air Force
has not met its recruiting needs.
- US Air Force airlifters began ferrying an elite Thai peacekeeping
force into troubled East Timor on Oct. 4. The troops were flown
out of Don Muang RTAB, Thailand, on a variety of aircraft, including
a C-141 from McGuire AFB, N.J., and a C-5 from Travis AFB, Calif.
- A catastrophic failure in the high-pressure turbine assembly
caused the crash of an F-16 from the 523rd Fighter Squadron,
Cannon AFB, N.M., on July 12, according to a just-released accident
board report. The assembly failed when two blades separated due
to material fatigue.
- On Oct. 6, contractors imploded the first of 150 Minuteman
III silos in eastern North Dakota to be destroyed under the terms
of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty I. Some 100 spectators
watched 750 pounds of an ammonium nitratefuel oil mixture
turn a Cold Warera icon into a pile of rubble.
- The Air Force took delivery of its first WC-130J on Oct.
12. The aircraft, a special weather reconnaissance version of
the Lockheed Martin C-130J, is assigned to AFRC's 53rd Weather
Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler AFB, Miss. Six more are scheduled
to be delivered this year, with an additional three coming in
2000.
- The life stories of veterans now living at the Armed Forces
Retirement Home are profiled at a new "Home for Heroes"
Web site maintained by the American Forces Information Service.
The home is actually two facilities-the US Soldiers' and Airmen's
Home in Washington and the US Naval Home in Gulfport, Miss. The
site address is http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/heroes/.
- On Oct. 4, the Kelly Field Heritage Foundation unveiled a
statue at Kelly AFB, Texas, honoring the many women whose dedicated
efforts made the facility a bastion of the war effort during
World War II. Some 10,000 of these "Kelly Katies" filled
the jobs of aircraft repairmen who went to war, said base officials.
- Forty-three Air Force bases and more than 400 people competed
in the Air Force Supply and Fuels Readiness Competition at DavisMonthan
AFB, Ariz., Oct. 68. Altus AFB, Okla., was the Supply and
Fuels Competition Champion Team at the "Roadeo."
- Raytheon has delivered the first operational Global Positioning
Systemguided EGBU-15 glide bomb to the Air Force. The F-15Ecarried
weapon can be steered to its target via GPS satellite signals
or by the aircraft's aircrew.
- The Air Force introduced an improved recruiting Web site
Oct. 18 that is intended to allow viewers to get a glimpse of
the service's past, present, and future. It includes everything
from a "boneyard" with view of Air Force aircraft past
to links to "microsites" that describe specific career
and educational opportunities. The site address is http://www.airforce.com/.
- Planners say they expect a record crowd of over 3,000 for
the year 2000 Bataan Memorial Death March at White Sands Missile
Range, N.M., on April 16. The 26.2-mile march is a grueling desert
exercise which is meant to recognize the sacrifices made by thousands
of US and Filipino service members overwhelmed by the Japanese
in the Philippine Islands during World War II. "It is a
unique tribute to a group of soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice,"
said Army Capt. Paul Zeps, Bataan Memorial Death March project
officer.
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