Jumper Praises Air Precision
Gen. John P. Jumper, Chief of Staff, said the Air Force used precision
tactics—both old and new—to great effect during recent
operations against targets in Fallujah. The urban battle heralded
the return of strafing, among other effective and precise tactics,
Jumper told defense reporters in Washington, D.C., Dec. 14.
“We’re using a lot of strafe,” Jumper said, adding
that the situation “was a bit of a surprise to me, actually,
but in order to get, again, precision, that’s one of the things
that’s being called for.” He went on to say, “As
far as airpower in Fallujah goes, there was a lot.” (See “The
Fallujah Model,” p. 48.)
The Air Force “had a significant number of airplanes …
working against individual buildings,” sometimes with advanced
Global Positioning System-guided munitions, he said, adding, “There
are many accounts of our GPS-guided weapons plucking buildings out
of the middle of very populated areas.”
The Predator unmanned aerial vehicle also drew praise from the
Chief. USAF used “a lot of the Hellfire missile capability
off of our Predator UAVs to take out individual small targets, like
snipers and the like, that were found by the ground forces,”
he said.
“Glitch” Foils Missile Test
The Dec. 15 ground-based defensive system flight test failed because
of a “very minor software glitch,” said Lt. Gen. Henry
A. Obering III, Missile Defense Agency director.
Obering on Jan. 12 told reporters that the problem was “very
rare” and could be corrected by fixing “one line of code.”
He said it would not affect upcoming tests.
During the December test, an interceptor missile at the Kwajalein
Atoll in the Pacific failed to launch to intercept an incoming target
missile. It was the second consecutive flight-test failure for the
system, two years after the previous failed test. Four prior tests
were all successful.
Obering said a mid-February test would proceed.
USAF Moves Out of France
The last major USAF presence in France ceased operations Dec. 17.
More than a decade after the Air Force’s 774th Expeditionary
Air Base Group set up shop at Istres Air Base, on the French Riviera,
107 airmen headed back to their primary units.
The Air Force began operating out of Istres in 1994, to support
NATO military operations in the Balkans. With the European Union
taking over peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the
mission evaporated.
Thus ends “a proud chapter in the story of teamwork between
two NATO allies,” said Col. Joseph Abbott, commander of the
401st Air Expeditionary Wing. Istres housed KC-135 tankers since
February 1994 and hosted U-2 reconnaissance aircraft from 1996 to
1999. Despite recent disagreements over Iraq, the US and France
are “committed to each other and ... the fight against terrorism
around the world,” said Gen. Daniel Bastien, commander of France’s
southern air region.
Exchanges Face Shake Up
Military exchanges must get more efficient to offset a major reduction
in earnings steming primarily from projected overseas troop realignments,
said the head of DOD’s Unified Exchange Task Force.
Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. C.J. Wax told the American Forces Press
Service that the majority of exchange system profits come from overseas
stores. Out of nearly 500 main military exchanges, the 153 overseas
stores provide 53 percent of the profit.
The reason, said Wax, is that the overseas facilities have a “unique
market,” with military personnel and their families usually
living on or near bases and shopping where the items are familiar.
Stateside exchanges suffer, he said, because “at least 63
percent of our people will end up living closer to commercial retail
entities than they do their exchanges.”
The restructured global footprint not only will lead to closures
of profitable large overseas stores but also will necessitate creating
numerous small stores at rudimentary facilities in southern Europe
and Southwest Asia, which, Wax said, is “very expensive.”
Adding to the exchange turmoil is the upcoming round of Stateside
base closures, which Wax said “could be a two-edged sword.”
The base closure list could include facilities that have profitable
exchanges as well as those with underperforming stores.
The task force initially considered combining the separate service
exchange systems, but Wax said the group now favors simply consolidating
business practices, such as finance and accounting, human resources,
and information technology services. He said that private-sector
retailers have made similar arrangements to reduce expenses.
Three USAF Offices To Combine
The Air Force is consolidating three information technology directorates
at the Pentagon into a single entity. A Dec. 7 news release announced
that the warfighting integration (XI), chief information officer
(CIO), and communications operations offices will merge to form
the Networks and Warfighting Integration-CIO Directorate.
Senior USAF leaders believe the consolidation will enable the service
to more easily integrate current and emerging technologies with
warfighting operations. The move reflects the Defense Department’s
growing dependence “on information generated and shared across
worldwide networks,” stated the release.
The director of networks and warfighting integration will be a
lieutenant general, with a senior executive service civilian serving
as deputy. The director also will serve as the service CIO. The
new directorate will report to the Air Force Secretary.
Currently, Lt. Gen. William T. Hobbins is deputy chief of staff
for warfighting integration, while John M. Gilligan serves as Air
Force CIO.
The Air Force Pentagon Communications Agency, which was subordinate
to the Communications Operations Directorate, now will fall under
the Air Force administrative assistant.
Bush Signs Intel Reform Bill
When President Bush on Dec. 17 signed into law the Intelligence
Community reform act, he set the stage for a “more unified,
coordinated, and effective” intelligence enterprise, he said.
The legislation, which carries out many of the recommendations of
the 9/11 Commission, cuts across 15 intelligence agencies, but is
designed to ensure military officials keep their quick access to
tactical intel.
“A key lesson of Sept. 11 is that America’s intelligence
agencies must work together as a single, unified enterprise,”
said Bush.
The legislation creates the position of director of national intelligence
(DNI), to whom the director of central intelligence will report.
“It will be the DNI’s responsibility to determine the
annual budgets of all national intelligence agencies and offices
and to direct how [those] funds are spent,” the President said.
In addition to the all-important budget authority, the DNI is authorized
to order the collection of new intelligence.
Bush said the changes are made with “a single goal: to ensure
that the people in government responsible for defending America
have the best possible information” for their decisions.
(More detailed coverage of the intelligence reform issue will
appear in the March issue.)
Vandy Gets Missile Interceptor
The first missile defense interceptor at Vandenberg AFB, Calif.,
was installed Dec. 10. It joined six interceptors already in the
ground at Ft. Greeley, Alaska, as the initial units in the Missile
Defense Agency’s ground-based system for protection against
ballistic missile attack.
When operational, interceptors at the two sites are expected to
provide protection to all 50 states. The last time Vandenberg added
an active weapons system was in 1959, when the Atlas-D ICBM came
on line.
In the event of an enemy missile attack against the United States,
defensive missiles from Vandenberg or Greeley are intended to intercept
the incoming warheads. Plans call for a total of 40 interceptors
at the two sites.
Board Faults ANG Pilot
An Air Force accident investigation board determined in December
that pilot error and a poorly designed component led to November’s
incident where 20 mm shells from an Air National Guard F-16 rained
down on a New Jersey school.
Part of the problem was a “poorly designed pilot-vehicle interface,”
according to a news release. The D.C. Guard F-16, flying out of
Andrews AFB, Md., was on a nighttime training mission. At the Warren
Grove Weapons Range in New Jersey, Maj. Roberto Balzano’s gun
accidentally discharged.
The pilot’s F-16 used the same trigger for both the laser
target marker and the gun. While lining up for a strafing run, Balzano
“pulled the trigger to laser mark his intended target,”
the report explained.
This was deemed pilot error, because Balzano had been warned not
to use the laser marker during his preflight briefing. He “lost
awareness that the aircraft’s gun was selected and armed,”
the investigation determined.
Eight rounds hit a school four miles away. Five penetrated the
roof. No students were in the school at the time, and no one was
injured. (See “Aerospace World: F-16 Shells Hit School,”
January, p. 18.)
The investigation also found that “using the same trigger
for both laser marking and firing the aircraft’s gun significantly
increases the risk of human error.”
In response, aircraft software will be modified to prevent repeats,
and the Air Force is changing the tactics used at the Warren Grove
range.
“Aircraft at the range will be restricted as to when they
can arm weapons, and flight plans will be altered to point weapons
toward unpopulated areas,” the release stated.
Peacekeeper LCC Closes
The Air Force on Dec. 7 deactivated the first of five Peacekeeper
ICBM launch control centers (LCCs). The “Sierra” LCC is
the first control center to be closed since Air Force Space Command
began shutting down the Peacekeeper system in October 2002.
Each LCC controls 10 ICBMs. USAF plans to deactivate all 50 Peacekeepers
by the fall. As each 10 warhead-capable missile is pulled from its
launch silo, it goes through a 17-day disassembly and storage process.
The warheads are being put away for safekeeping, and portions of
the missile bodies and propulsion systems are being reused.
According to an Air Force news release, “several of the crew
members pulling the last alerts for Sierra will also be [among]
the first members to retrain into the Minuteman III ICBM system.”
The retraining began in January.
The Peacekeepers are being retired as part of the Administration’s
Nuclear Posture Review plans. The NPR calls for major reductions
in the numbers of deployed nuclear warheads. The Air Force’s
Minuteman III ICBMs will remain in service and are being modernized
and upgraded.
668 Airmen Must Retrain
The Air Force announced in December that it would retrain involuntarily
668 active duty airmen to help boost understaffed career fields.
The service had notified some 3,000 airmen in overstaffed fields
that they were vulnerable under the Fiscal 2005 noncommissioned
officer retraining program.
Most of those 3,000 either volunteered to retrain or opted to separate.
The 668 airmen will be put into a new specialty “chosen for
them by the Air Force Personnel Center,” stated a Dec. 7 news
release.
The retraining is necessary “to help meet the needs of the
Air Force by putting airmen where they are needed most,” said
TSgt. Catina Johnson-Roscoe, NCO in charge of enlisted retraining.
DOD Reinforces Ethics Rules
The Defense Department recently announced that it has tightened
its ethics regulations to ensure that DOD personnel understand and
abide by “revolving door” statutes when they leave federal
service for the private sector.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz ordered three ethics
policy changes, according to a Dec. 20 news release.
First, senior military and civilian officials must annually certify
that they understand the revolving door statutes and that they have
not violated them.
Second, information about post-government employment restrictions
is to be included in DOD’s annual ethics training program for
all personnel.
Finally, Wolfowitz established a requirement that all DOD personnel
leaving federal service for private sector work “receive guidance
on the restrictions that will affect them during and after their
transition.”
The importance of the regulations was highlighted by the recent
conviction of former Air Force procurement official Darleen A. Druyun.
She pleaded guilty last year to illegally favoring Boeing for contract
awards, while she was negotiating for a job with Boeing and still
employed by the Air Force.
Edwards To Test Hypersonics?
A draft environmental assessment (EA) has identified two flight
corridors that end at Edwards AFB, Calif., as the ideal locations
for future hypersonic air vehicle testing. One 460-mile corridor
would extend north from Edwards to central Nevada; the other would
extend northeast, passing north of Las Vegas into southwest Utah.
The Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards, in conjunction with
NASA’s co-located Dryden Flight Research Center, needs “to
identify suitable hypersonic corridors for air-launched, hypersonic
vehicles,” the draft EA stated.
Edwards’ long runways, remote location, and testing infrastructure
have made it the ideal site for these types of test operations.
“Facilities at Edwards Air Force Base provide the support
facilities and flight-test capabilities necessary to most effectively
meet the projected test requirements for landing of an air-launched
hypersonic vehicle,” the draft assessment determined.
USAF Demotes Top Lawyer
In early January, Air Force leaders decided to reduce the rank
of the service’s former judge advocate general from major general
to colonel upon his retirement Feb. 1.
Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Fiscus on Dec. 21 had been given a reprimand
and ordered to forfeit pay for conduct unbecoming an officer, fraternization,
obstruction of justice, and violating a general regulation.
Over the past decade, according to an Air Force inspector general
investigation, Fiscus, who is married, had improper, though apparently
consensual, relationships with 13 women, some of them subordinates.
The IG report substantiated several allegations against Fiscus,
including unprofessional relationships with officer and enlisted
female subordinates, inappropriate sexual advances toward female
subordinates, and improper relationships with female civilians.
The presiding officer for the nonjudicial Article 15 hearing, Gen.
Donald G. Cook, levied the maximum monetary forfeiture—a full
month’s pay, in this case $10,600—allowable under an Article
15. In addition to these punishments, Cook recommended that Fiscus
be retired at a lower grade and face “appropriate action”
from the officials overseeing judge advocate professional rules
of conduct and USAF lawyer certification.
Then-Air Force Secretary James G. Roche reviewed the IG report
and considered not only Cook’s recommendations but those of
Gen. John P. Jumper, Chief of Staff, and a panel of three lieutenant
generals before making his decision.
Air Force officials said the reduction in grade carried a “substantial
financial penalty” but left Fiscus some benefits for his otherwise
distinguished career of more than 32 years. They estimated his pay
loss to be close to $900,000 over his lifetime.
Fiscus had been relieved of his position on Sept. 22, 2004, at
his own request, pending the IG investigation. He had served as
the service’s top lawyer since Feb. 25, 2002.
Bush Moves To Protect GPS
President Bush directed DOD officials to prepare emergency plans
to prevent a potential terrorist attack on the US network of global
positioning system satellites and to prevent their use by terrorists,
reported the Associated Press on Dec. 16.
An unnamed Administration official told reporters that the GPS
system could be shut down inside the US, but it would be done “under
only the most remarkable circumstances.” DOD would limit disruption
to the system, which is vital not only to the military but to civil
and commercial aviation and shipping, by disabling parts of the
GPS network.
The official said there is no plan to reinstate what is termed
“selective availability,” a practice abandoned under the
Clinton Administration.
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Law Schools Win Round vs. Military Recruiters
A US appeals court late last year ruled that universities
can ban military recruiters from their campuses without putting
federal funding at risk.
The US Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled by a 2-1 vote
that schools have a First Amendment right to ban recruiters
as a way of protesting the military’s “don’t
ask, don’t tell” policy on homosexuals.
Armed with the court ruling, Harvard Law School promptly
prohibited recruiters from coming to campus. Other schools
were expected to follow suit. Several schools, including the
Harvard and Yale law schools, had prohibited military recruiting
until 2002.
At that time, the Pentagon informed the schools that they
were violating the so-called Solomon Amendment and risked
losing their federal funds. (See “The Recruiters and
the Schools,” October 2001, p. 62; “Aerospace World:
Yale Opens Doors to Military Recruiters, Vowing To Challenge
Pentagon,” November 2002, p. 27.)
The judges wrote in the majority decision that the Solomon
Amendment compels colleges and universities to “express
a message that is incompatible” with the educational
objectives of the schools.
E. Joshua Rosenkranz, head counsel for the group of law schools
and professors that challenged the Solomon Amendment, was
reported widely to have said, “Enlightened institutions
have a First Amendment right to exclude bigots.”
The irony of upholding the First Amendment by stifling the
free speech of recruiters was not lost on observers.
“The schools offer a free-speech defense, but in reality
they are suppressing free speech themselves by silencing others
and preventing freedom of association,” commentator John
Leo observed in US News & World Report. “Law schools
that respected students would allow military recruiters to
speak. They would encourage those who disagree with armed
forces policy to picket, boycott,” and argue for new
policies.
The dissenting appeals court judge said that the military’s
policy against homosexual activity has been deemed constitutional
by a number of federal courts, and nothing in the Solomon
Amendment banned criticism of the military’s policies. |
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The Iraq Story Continues
Casualties
By Jan. 5, 2005, a total of 1,339 Americans had died in Operation
Iraqi Freedom. The fatalities included 1,336 troops and three
Defense Department civilian employees.
Of those casualties, 1,053 Americans were killed in action
by enemy attack, including the three DOD civilians. There
have been 286 troops killed in noncombat incidents, such as
accidents.
The number of wounded climbed above 10,000. There have been
4,856 troops wounded in action that returned to duty and 5,396
wounded who were not returned to duty.
OIF Costs Pass $100 Billion
Defense Department figures show that the cumulative cost
of Operation Iraqi Freedom reached $99.1 billion by August
2004, the last month for which figures were available. With
war appropriations averaging roughly $5 billion a month, the
total war cost is now well beyond $100 billion.
R.I. Guard First To Deploy With C-130J
Airmen with the Rhode Island Air National Guard’s 143rd
Airlift Squadron in December became the first to deploy with
the C-130J airlifter on a wartime mission. The unit deployed
to an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia.
An Air Force news release noted that the J-model Hercules
can “climb faster and higher, fly farther at a higher
cruise speed, and take off and land in shorter distances”
than older C-130s. That should make the J model even more
effective in a combat environment.
The squadron began receiving the newest Hercules transports
in 2001 and now has four of the eight it expects to operate
by the end of 2006.
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The Case for “Near Space”
Recent technological advances have made “near space”
an area of enticing military possibilities, Air Force officials
say. The “no man’s land” between 65,000 feet
(the operational “ceiling” for air-breathing craft)
and 325,000 feet (low Earth orbit) has long been ignored,
said Gen. John P. Jumper, Chief of Staff. The realm simply
wasn’t considered “cool” by either the air
or the space communities, he said.
Jumper told the Defense Writers Group in December that the
war in Iraq highlights the need for persistent intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance
capabilities. Near space, which could be inhabited by stealthy,
lighter than air vehicles capable of staying airborne for
weeks or months, promises persistence. One Air Force Space
Command official noted that warfighters don’t care where
a capability comes from—what matters is the effect.
Jumper has given responsibility for the region to Air Force
Space Command, where the Space Battlelab has ideas on how
to make the most of the territory. The battlelab and the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency are already trying to prove
the battlespace awareness potential of the realm.
According to the Space Battlelab’s Lt. Col. Ed Tomme,
near space is attractive for ISR capabilities because it is
a low-threat, high-payoff environment. The platforms themselves,
he said in an interview, could be acquired for as little as
a million dollars apiece—a far cry from a new satellite.
Near space vehicles would be able to operate as inexpensive
“trucks,” he noted, with the cost driven primarily
by the sensors. The Air Force is considering both maneuverable
vehicles and less expensive “free floaters.”
Near space is the realm where weather balloons operate,
but Tomme stressed that these are not blimps or aerostats.
Military vehicles would be above the weather, have “inherently
low [infrared] and radar cross sections,” and operate
beyond the range of almost all conceivable threats. But they
would still be 20 times closer to the ground than LEO satellites,
offering large coverage areas, Tomme said.
One battlelab initiative is a “Near Space Maneuvering
Vehicle,” which could notionally launch, fly 200 miles
at an altitude of 120,000 feet, loiter on station for 120
hours, and return to its launch point. The Air Force plans
to demonstrate the “military utility” of the concept
this year.
Tomme acknowledged that some near space capabilities have
been “oversold” and that current efforts are trying
to validate concepts and reduce risk.
Maneuverable vehicles could be available soon, with a development
investment of roughly $10 million. By comparison, it cost
more than $16 million simply to weaponize the Predator UAV,
he said. |
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Air Force Aids Urgent Tsunami Relief Effort
The massive earthquake and resulting tsunamis that devastated
portions of South Asia late last year required an unprecedented
relief effort. The need to cross thousands of miles to bring
relief into areas where little infrastructure remained gave
the Air Force a key role aiding victims of the catastrophe.
The aid mission is “expected to be one of the largest
humanitarian relief operations since the Berlin Airlift,”
an Air Force news release stated.
The Dec. 26 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia created
devastating tsunami waves that came ashore as far away as
Africa. “The carnage is of a scale that defies comprehension,”
said President Bush.
By early January, it was feared that more than 150,000 died
in the hardest-hit nations of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka,
and India. Eight other nations were also affected.
One of the humanitarian concerns was getting relief supplies
to remote areas where roads were wiped out. Air Force C-5s
and C-17s flew equipment, supplies, and personnel to major
airports in the region.
In one example, four C-17s delivered 40 airmen, six HH-60
rescue helicopters, and 111 tons of supplies from Kadena AB,
Japan, to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Defense Department helicopters
proved especially valuable in bringing relief to remote areas.
From the hub locations, supplies and equipment were offloaded
to helicopters and C-130 airlifters for transport to “small,
damaged airfields with minimum to no support facilities,”
explained a Pacific Air Forces news release. A single C-130
Hercules can deliver more than five tons of drinking water.
One of the Defense Department’s immediate missions
was to assess the damage and determine how to get aid where
it was needed. To that end, Joint Task Force 536, led by Marine
Corps Lt. Gen. Robert R. Blackman, deployed to coordinate
and plan the distribution of food, drinking water, medical
supplies, and other critical materiel. “The amount of
devastation is like none anyone has ever seen,” said
Col. Douglas E. Kreulen, vice commander of the 374th Airlift
Wing at Yokota AB, Japan.
The Air Force was a key cog in a joint service, multi-agency,
international relief effort. Air Force aircraft also used
U Tapao, Thailand, as an airlift hub, and units from across
the Pacific sent forces. “We’ve sent out every cargo
aircraft we have to support humanitarian relief operations,”
said Col. Mark O. Schissler, commander of Yokota’s 374th
AW. |
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Leadership, Confidentiality Issues Fueled Problem
Defense Department and Air Force investigations into the
sexual assault problem at the Air Force Academy found a wide
range of factors that allowed the situation to go unchecked
for years. Separate investigations by the DOD and Air Force
inspectors general found leadership failures to be the “root
cause” of the problems.
The DOD IG determined that “successive chains of command
over the last 10 years” failed to understand and acknowledge
the scale of the sexual assault problem at the academy. It
blamed eight officers for leadership failure. Their names
were not released in the public version of the report.
This finding stands in stark contrast to an earlier investigation
by the Air Force general counsel. That report exonerated military
leaders at both the academy and Pentagon. (For additional
background on this issue, see “Aerospace World: IG Faults
Academy Leaders,” January, p. 12; and “Upheaval
at the Academy,” January 2004, p. 56.)
The DOD and Air Force IG findings were released at a Dec.
7 press conference.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, DOD
IG Joseph E. Schmitz said he and Air Force Secretary James
G. Roche share “concerns” about reporting procedures.
The Air Force IG investigation found confidentiality to be
a problem. The confidentiality program at the academy was
put in place in 1993, to encourage assault victims to come
forward without fear of retribution from their fellow cadets.
But the program differs from sexual assault requirements for
the rest of DOD, which requires assaults be reported. The
confidential program may have hindered prosecutions and prevented
a full appreciation for the scope of the problem, according
to the USAF IG.
“Deficiencies in mandatory sexual assault reporting
resulted in [higher ranking] commanders being left unaware
of the numbers and kinds of sexual assaults,” the Air
Force IG determined. Victims could report details at their
discretion, but “fear of reporting” limited the
Air Force Office of Special Investigations’ ability to
gather evidence.
Further, reports often came in too late for OSI to gather
“perishable” evidence. One official explained that
an OSI representative now meets with academy assault victims
immediately, to inform them of their rights and of the importance
of prosecuting the alleged assailants.
Schmitz wrote that he and Roche have “concerns about
ensuring that the policies and command climate encourage reporting,
confidentiality, victim protection, and effective law enforcement.”
DOD does not favor changes in confidentiality procedures “without
simultaneously ensuring timely and effective involvement by
law enforcement.”
David S.C. Chu, DOD personnel chief, stated at the press
conference that although the IG targeted the confidentiality
policy at the academy, DOD would have a “strong confidentiality
policy.” He said that confidentiality will increase the
probability a victim will report a sexual assault. “We
want to sustain good order and discipline by holding those
who assault their fellow service members accountable for their
actions, but first and foremost we want victims to come forward
for help,” said Chu.
Gen. T. Michael Moseley, USAF vice chief of staff, speaking
at the news conference, noted that USAF had not waited for
the IG reports before instituting changes at the academy.
The service replaced top leadership at the academy and, through
its “agenda for change” issued in May 2003, began
pushing cultural changes among the cadets and providing sexual
assault prevention training for cadets, faculty, and staff.
Moseley said that the Air Force accepted 13 of the 14 recommendations
made by the IG. The one not accepted dealt with the confidentiality
rule. The Air Force, said Moseley, had been “working
with Dr. Chu to address” that issue.
The Pentagon on Jan. 4 announced that officials had delivered
to Congress, as directed, its new sexual assault prevention
policy; however it did not include specifics about the issue
of confidentiality.
At a special press briefing, Chu re-emphasized the Pentagon’s
commitment to confidential reporting, saying that “final
details” were being put together. He noted, however,
that “there is a legal issue yet to be resolved as to
whether one of the things we wish to do may contravene current
statutes, and if so, we’ll seek the necessary statutory
change from the Congress.”
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USAF-Supported “Fighter Pilot” Film Opens
at NASM
“Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag,” a new large-format
Imax film produced with the Air Force’s assistance, opened
in December.
A visual spectacle that captures the essence of Red Flag
training, “Fighter Pilot” is expected to become
the flagship film at the Smithsonian’s National Air and
Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, in Chantilly, Va.
The 45-minute film portrays a stylized version of Red Flag,
focusing on two real F-15 pilots. Capt. John C. Stratton is
the lead character in the film, and Maj. Robert G. Novotny
portrays the air boss aboard an E-3 AWACS.
Although director Stephen Low and cinematographer Clay Lacy
used artistic license to create a stimulating film (such as
by filming formations of tightly bunched aircraft racing through
valleys), realism was also a goal.
Maj. Sam P. Morgan, an A-10 pilot, was on hand as the Air
Force’s technical advisor for the film. His job was to
ensure the film did not stray too far into the territory of
the movie “Top Gun.” In “Fighter Pilot,”
nobody goes into combat with their oxygen mask dangling from
their helmet.
The purpose of Red Flag is to give airmen realistic combat
training. Experience showed that pilots were much more likely
to survive if they could make it through their first few combat
missions—Red Flag simulates those missions.
The film gives due time to all the airmen who make a Red
Flag possible. Crew chiefs, firemen, rescue forces, and weapons
loaders all receive time on camera.
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NASA’s B-52B Mother Ship Retires
NASA in December retired its venerable B-52B mother ship
after nearly 50 years in service. A “new” B-52H,
on permanent loan from the Air Force, is now ready to take
over as NASA’s carriage aircraft.
At the time of the B-52B’s retirement on Dec. 17, the
replacement BUFF had been run through depot, prepped, and
given its new paint job, a NASA spokeswoman said. The B-52H
had not yet flown any NASA missions, however.
Tentative plans call for the retired mother ship to be displayed
at Edwards AFB, Calif., where NASA’s Dryden Flight Research
Center is also located.
“At retirement, the air-launch and research aircraft
holds the distinction of being NASA’s oldest aircraft
[and] the oldest B-52 still flyable,” a NASA press release
noted. The B-52B mother ship first flew in June 1955 and bears
NASA tail No. 008.
Ironically, the ancient B-52B also had the fewest flying
hours of any B-52 in service. Before retirement, it was officially
transferred from NASA back to the Air Force for final disposition.
The mother ship began life as an Air Force test vehicle and
was transferred to the space administration in 1959.
The B-52B’s final mission launched NASA’s X-43A
hypersonic test vehicle on its record-breaking flight Nov.
16. ( See “Aerospace World: X-43 Scramjet Nears Mach
10,” January, p. 15.) |
News Notes
By Tamar A. Mehuron, Associate Editor
- Eight USAF bases will participate in the first phase of the
conversion process to the new flexible National Security Personnel
System, DOD officials said Dec. 15. The bases are: Eglin AFB,
Fla., Ellsworth AFB, S.D., Lackland AFB, Tex., March ARB, Calif.,
McConnell AFB, Kan., Moody AFB, Ga., Patrick AFB, Fla., and Tinker
AFB, Okla. The Pentagon plans to implement the National Security
Personnel System in phases, or spirals, the first of which is
slated to start in July and last 18 months. (See “New Day
for Defense Civilians,” p. 74.)
- The Air Force on Nov. 18 at a ceremony at Laughlin AFB, Tex.,
fully retired the pilot training base’s T-37 fleet. Laughlin
is the first USAF base to completely transition to the new T-6A
Texan II trainer. The base had trained more than 12,000 student
pilots since it first began using the T-37 in 1961.
- In an effort to improve computer network security and save money,
USAF recently consolidated its software and support service contracts
into one umbrella contract with Microsoft and Dell Computer Corp.
The move affects more than half a million computers. USAF estimates
a savings of $100 million for the life of the contract and also
expects to save on manpower no longer needed for manual installations
of computer updates.
- Near real-time intelligence from U-2 reconnaissance flights
is now available to analysts at Langley AFB, Va., and Beale AFB,
Calif., thanks to a new satellite communications system, the Transportable
Medium Earth Terminal II. The system, which became operational
Nov. 30, features four times greater bandwidth than its predecessor.
Analysts use its information for targeting, battle damage assessment,
and force protection.
- With the retirement of C-9 medevac aircraft and C-141 airlifters,
the Air Force has spread the workload to various other airframes,
including the KC-135 tankers of the 351st Air Refueling Squadron,
RAF Mildenhall, UK. Officials there said the KC-135 can fly patients
nonstop for in-theater flights, contributing to patient stability,
in contrast to the C-9, which needed refueling stops en route
to European destinations. An average day, they said, will feature
one airlift mission, either cargo or medevac, and six or seven
traditional refueling sorties.
- Boeing received a USAF contract Dec. 15 worth $209 million for
Joint Direct Attack Munition work. The work is scheduled to be
completed by December 2009.
- USAF awarded Business Technologies and Solutions, Beavercreek,
Ohio, and COLSA Corp., Huntsville, Ala., a $190 million contract
for engineering, technical, and acquisition support services to
the Air Armament Center, Eglin AFB, Fla. The work is scheduled
to be completed by April 2010.
- Textron Systems Corp., Wilmington, Mass., received a $115 million
contract for 341 Sensor Fuzed Weapons. Work is scheduled to be
completed by March 2007.
- USAF awarded Lockheed Martin in December a contract worth more
than $112 million to produce another 288 Joint Air-to-Surface
Standoff Missiles.
- Air Force accident investigation officials Dec. 7 released their
findings concerning the May 19 F-16 crash in Arizona in which
Singaporean Air Force 2nd Lt. Kwang Han Loo was killed. The report
determined that either a G-induced loss of consciousness or spatial
disorientation or both caused the pilot to crash. The pilot, who
was assigned to the 425th Fighter Squadron, a foreign military
training squadron, at Luke AFB, Ariz., did not attempt to eject.
The aircraft hit the ground in a nearly vertical dive.
- Students who complete the survival, evasion, resistance, and
escape specialist technical school for instructors, conducted
at Fairchild AFB, Wash., now are authorized to wear the new SERE
pewter-green beret with the specialist device.
- C-17 aircrews flying in combat zones now have the benefit of
an improved missile warning system that recently became operational,
the result of intensified test efforts by engineers at Edwards
AFB, Calif. The engineers cut a normal three-month test period
for the warning system down to barely three weeks. The improvement
helps pilots better recognize potential missile threat warnings.
- US Central Command Air Forces began using a computer-based system
to handle post-deployment health assessments theaterwide. The
change means that an airman can complete an assessment on the
computer, which then sends the information immediately to the
central database at Brooks City Base, Tex. Previously, the process
was done on paper, slowing the reintegration of an individual
at his home station.
- Airmen who opted for a switch to the reserves through Palace
Chase or the Army through “Blue to Green” after Dec.
1, 2004, will not have to repay education costs or unearned portions
of enlistment bonuses. The Air Force announced this financial
boon Dec. 8. “Our airmen who choose to transition from the
active Air Force ... should be given every opportunity to do so
without incurring financial obligations,” said Lt. Gen. Roger
A. Brady, deputy chief of staff for personnel. More information
is available at: http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/retsep/shape2.htm.
- “Homes For Our Troops,” a nonprofit organization focused
on adapting houses for severely disabled troops returning home,
broke ground for its first custom-adapted home in Middleboro,
Mass., for National Guardsman Sgt. Peter Damon and his family.
Damon lost his right arm above the elbow and his left hand and
wrist. The organization can build new homes, or modify existing
homes, with ramps, wider doorways, and lower sinks and counters.
- To mark the 75th anniversary of Adm. Richard E. Byrd’s
flight to the South Pole, the crew of LC-130 Skier 94 retraced
the explorer’s route on Nov. 29. Starting from McMurdo Station,
Antarctica, the members of New York Air National Guard’s
109th Airlift Wing used manual controls, followed his path using
his coordinates, and navigated with a sextant, as Byrd did, to
deliver supplies and fuel to the US Antarctic Program station.
- The last remaining horse stable used to house World War II troops,
including the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment—the famous
Band of Brothers—was dismantled and transported Dec. 10 from
England to Camp Toccoa, Ga., by an Air National Guard C-17 crew
from the 172nd Airlift Wing, Allen C. Thompson Field, Miss. Horse
stables on British farms were used as last-resort housing for
some of the 1.5 million American troops that gathered in south
England for the 1944 Normandy invasion. Camp Toccoa was the training
site for the 506th. The stable will be reassembled and preserved
there as part of a historical exhibit by the Stephens County Historical
Society in Toccoa.
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