The Air Force expects to resume its standard 90-day Air and Space Expeditionary Force deployment cycles in March, but there will still be some airmen who serve on longer rotations. Officials predict that extended tours will affect less than 10 percent of the airmen in an AEF rotation cycle.

“Those folks who are on extended tours are in critical career fields,” said Brig. Gen. Anthony F. Przybyslawski, commander of the AEF Center at Langley AFB, Va. In that group, he said, are security forces, air traffic control specialists, and civil engineers.
Despite being over its authorized end strength by some 16,000 personnel, the Air Force has had a shortage of airmen in these and other critical career fields since the war on terrorism began in September 2001.

The Air Force must cut 16,600 airmen by the end of 2005, but service leaders have started what they term “force reshaping” efforts to address the shortages in critical career fields. (See “The New Drawdown,” p. 50.)

Anthrax Shots Halted, Restarted

The Defense Department temporarily halted its anthrax vaccination program on Dec. 23, 2003, but resumed the shots Jan. 7 when a federal judge in Washington, D.C., stayed his preliminary injunction against mandatory shots.

Judge Emmett Sullivan on Dec. 22 said that the Food and Drug Administration had approved the vaccine only for use against skin exposure, not airborne exposure to anthrax, thereby labeling it an “investigational drug.”

For years, the FDA has maintained that the anthrax vaccine was effective “regardless of the route of exposure.” On Dec. 30, the FDA formalized that finding by issuing a “final rule and order” that was published in the Federal Register Jan. 5.

The injunction originally had been granted in response to a lawsuit filed by six unidentified individuals opposed to the vaccination program. The lawsuit, which did not dispute the safety of the vaccine but said the use of an investigational drug required consent, is still pending.

Pentagon officials halted the program temporarily but maintained that the anthrax vaccine has been around for 40 years and is safe and effective, as noted by the FDA and independent experts. Since 1998, about one million service members have been given the six-shot anthrax vaccination series.

Handy Sets Record Straight

Contrary to what some may believe, there are significant differences between USAF’s two strategic airlifters, said Gen. John W. Handy. After reading an article in a national news magazine, Handy felt compelled to declare: “The C-5 and C-17 aircraft are not interchangeable.”

The report discussed the controversial tanker deal between USAF and Boeing, asserting that USAF proposed to sacrifice upgrades on the Lockheed Martin C-5 to pay for the Boeing tankers. The article concluded that such a move would doubly favor Boeing because the service would have to “bulk up its cargo fleet with some other aircraft. ... There’s only one choice: Boeing’s C-17.” The Air Force, according to the article, “clearly has a favorite”—the C-17 over the C-5.

Handy, the commander of US Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command, said the news report had “ignored the detailed airlift roadmap,” which includes a plan to modernize C-5 avionics and engines. He explained that the Air Force is “retiring the 14 worst-performing C-5s but only because they have been very difficult and costly to maintain.” What it gets down to, said Handy, is “operational trade-offs.”

DOD Releases BRAC Criteria

The Pentagon on Jan. 6 instructed base commanders in the US and its territories to begin collecting data on their installations to prepare for the 2005 round of base realignments and closures.

That was the formal call for information, but, ever since Congress approved a new round of closures in the Fiscal 2002 defense authorization bill, communities near military facilities have been girding for action.

The public had one month to respond to the draft selection criteria that DOD posted in the Federal Register on Dec. 23. The final criteria were to be published in February. Congress must approve or disapprove the criteria this month. Plans call for the Pentagon to submit its facility recommendations by May 2005.

In the selection criteria, prime consideration is given to “military value.” That includes: mission capabilities; availability of land and airspace; ability to accommodate future force structure; and cost of operations.

Secondary BRAC considerations may include “extent and timing of potential costs and savings” of closing a facility; economic impact on local communities; ability for communities to support future DOD requirements; and environmental impact.

C-17 Pilots Get Combat Training

The first class of pilots in USAF’s new C-17 weapons instructor course capped off their training by inaugurating C-17 participation in a two-week mission employment exercise at Nellis AFB, Nev. Next, they train other C-17 pilots in their newly gained tactical expertise.

The new C-17 course lasts 5.5 months and includes 300 hours of classroom study and 25 flights—covering advanced tactical maneuvering, direct delivery, joint operations, and mission employment.

For the exercise, the C-17 pilots faced “enemy” aircraft and sophisticated air defense systems as they flew troop insertions, cargo airdrops, and aeromedical evacuations. The C-17 pilots had to use newly learned defensive tactics and coordinate with friendly combat aircraft to avoid being shot down. Some of the scenarios were based on real-world C-17 operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Carrying out “full envelope maneuvers” at 500 feet above the ground is not normal for most C-17 aircrews, said Capt. Brian Wald, who has flown the C-17 for six years.

The need to be able to operate in that type of environment spurred Air Mobility Command to push for rapid development of the C-17 WIC. It would normally take almost two years to set up such a program; in this case, AMC had it operating in less than a year.

Wald credited the course with providing him with “tons and tons of detailed information” about C-17 tactical operations that he can pass on to other C-17 pilots in his unit.

Memorial Honors Controller

Air Force Secretary James G. Roche in January unveiled a memorial to TSgt. John A. Chapman, a combat controller who was killed March 4, 2002, while trying to rescue a Navy SEAL during Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan. The memorial was unveiled at Arlington National Cemetery.

Chapman posthumously received the Air Force Cross for voluntarily putting himself in harm’s way to rescue the separated commando. (See “Aerospace World: Combat Controller Receives Posthumous Honor,” February 2003, p. 11.)

At the Jan. 8 ceremony, Roche said Chapman’s “personal bravery in the face of the enemy was emblematic of the warrior ethos. … He died fighting terrorism, and we continue to live free today because of his sacrifice.”

The memorial, a life-size model of a controller in full combat gear with photos of Chapman in Afghanistan, will remain at the Arlington visitor’s center until March 15. Then it will be on display for two weeks at Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla., after which it will be moved to its permanent location at the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Museum, Maxwell AFB, Ala.

USAF Wins Range Dispute

A group of Southwestern ranchers have been rebuffed in an attempt to reverse an Air Force expansion of low-level training flights out of Holloman AFB, N.M. Military aircraft from the base fly over southern New Mexico and western Texas.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld a lower court’s decision that the expanded low-level flying was not “arbitrary, capricious, [or] without reasonable foundation.”

The ranchers initially filed their lawsuit in 1998, saying the training flights would threaten their livelihoods and property values. After losing the case, they appealed, claiming the Air Force failed to consider reasonable alternatives to the area selected.

USAF argued that no other base was reasonable. The 10th Circuit Court agreed.
Another group of ranchers has attempted to halt an expansion of low-level bomber training flights out of Dyess AFB, Tex. The Air Force also won that court case, but the ranchers have appealed.

B-2 Program Adds Navy Pilot

In a first, a Navy pilot has become an Air Force B-2 stealth bomber pilot. Navy Lt. Michael Orr, an EA-6B Prowler pilot, took his first flight as a certified B-2 pilot in January, according to a spokeswoman at Whiteman AFB, Mo., the home of USAF’s B-2 operations.

After completing his B-2 pilot training, Orr became the electronic warfare officer for the 509th Operational Support Squadron at Whiteman. The Air Force is not losing any of its small cadre of B-2 pilots through this arrangement, said the spokeswoman, Capt. Kat Ohlmeyer.

USAF first brought EA-6B crews to Whiteman in 2000 to familiarize them with the B-2’s mission. The Prowlers provide jamming support for the B-2 and all other Defense Department aircraft.

On one of the subsequent familiarization tours, Orr inquired about how to become a B-2 pilot. The Air Force, to his surprise, took him up on his request, and the Navy deferred his assignment to become a Prowler instructor.

Ohlmeyer said Orr will serve a standard tour of duty at Whiteman before returning to Navy assignments.

ACC Reconstitution Slow in Spots

Gen. Hal M. Hornburg, the commander of Air Combat Command, said ACC’s post-Iraq war reconstitution plans have largely gone according to schedule. However, he said, ACC did not vacate as many of the worldwide contingency bases as fast as it wanted, complicating some efforts.

“In the main, reconstitution has gone the way we thought,” said the ACC commander, but “we had to leave some folks over there in larger numbers” than expected. That led to some equipment strains.

He said ACC was “right up against the ropes” in being able to provide enough tents for operations at contingency bases. And, while most aircraft recovery efforts went well, the A-10 community remained a notable exception. The Warthog was still deployed “in larger numbers than we anticipated,” Hornburg said in December.

Most weapons were reconstituted effectively, but, he said, inventories of Joint Direct Attack Munitions and GBU-12 Paveway laser guided bombs remained below desired levels.

US, EU Set for NavSat Deal

The end probably is near for a three-year disagreement between the US and the European Union over competing navigation satellite systems. After positive negotiations in January, officials expected a deal to emerge quickly.

In January, a senior State Department official said the United States is willing to share space technology with Europe in exchange for a guarantee that the European Galileo navigation system would not interfere with Global Positioning System satellite signals. Galileo is slated to enter service in 2008.

Officials had determined that the proposed frequency for Galileo would impact the frequency DOD planned to use for the military-only M-code portion of GPS. To alleviate that problem, the US proposed an international standard for the US and European navigation systems.

Preserving the M-code capability is vital to US and allied security,” said Charles Ries, deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe, at a January press briefing.

At the briefing, USAF’s deputy director of space acquisition, Richard McKinney, said the US would be willing to provide help to harden the EU’s Galileo satellites and to resolve atomic clock problems, as well as to provide information on ground control operations and software updates. McKinney said that was based on Europe’s willingness to work with the US on the signal structure of the two systems.

Ries said the US would continue the negotiations until reaching a deal.

An EU statement issued Feb. 6 indicated that the common approach was received “positively,” but it said no agreement had been reached on the specific modulation.

AFRL Assists Mars Rovers

Radiation-hardened computers developed by the Air Force Research Laboratories helped guide NASA’s Mars rovers to safe landings on the Red Planet in January.

Creigh Gordon, AFRL engineer, said that BAE Systems/Air Force Rad6000 32-bit microprocessors controlled the Mars vehicles on their flight from Earth. The processors also directed the two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, as they went about their exploration of Mars. The first rover touched down on Mars Jan. 4, the second on Jan. 25.

“NASA chose AFRL microprocessors because they are proven reliable, rugged, and fully compatible” with NASA systems, said Gordon.

More Navs May Go to Pensacola

The Air Force may send more of its navigator trainees to NAS Pensacola, Fla., if an effort to combine the services’ navigator training programs is approved. The Pensacola News Journal reported in January that the idea has been well received so far.

The air station currently trains about 350 navigators each year. Last year, 78 of those were from the Air Force.

Most USAF navigator trainees (349 in 2003) go through the service’s primary navigator school at Randolph AFB, Tex.

If approved, the consolidation plan could, in 10 years, double the number of navigators trained at Pensacola, said Navy Capt. Chaunce Mitchell, commodore of Training Air Wing 6. Mitchell added that such a consolidation should make navigator training more efficient and, ultimately, reduce the Air Force costs.

Obituary

Retired Col. Travis Hoover, one of the Doolittle Raider pilots of World War II, died Jan. 17 in Webb City, Mo. He was 86.

Hoover was one of the pilots who dropped bombs on Japan in the first US strike after Japan’s Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Hawaii. The Doolittle Raiders—named after their leader, then-Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle—attacked Japan on April 18, 1942, inflicting modest damage but showing Japan that it was vulnerable to US bombers. Hoover flew the second B-25, just behind Doolittle.

Born in 1917, he joined the National Guard in 1938, transferring to the Army as a flying cadet the next year. After completing pilot training, he flew B-24s, B-25s, and P-38s in England, Italy, and North Africa. He retired from the Air Force in 1969 as commander of Keesler AFB, Miss.

News Notes
By Tamar A. Mehuron

• A new GPS satellite launched into orbit aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in December became operational in mid-January. USAF expects the GPS IIR-10 to provide greater positioning and timing accuracy during its 10-year lifetime than the older satellite it replaced. The older GPS had been running low on power.
• The Missile Defense Agency launched a Lockheed Martin three-stage booster for a verification test Jan. 9 at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., as part of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System. The booster is one of two to be used for the program. MDA tested the Orbital Sciences booster in August at Vandenberg.
• In January, MDA awarded an eight-year, $768 million contract to Lockheed Martin to develop and demonstrate a miniature kill vehicle system. Early work will concentrate on the design and demonstration of the kill vehicle. The MKV system is to deploy multiple small kill vehicles from a single carrier vehicle. Attached to existing and planned interceptor boosters, the system would be able to engage several midcourse targets from a single launcher.
• Two private contractors are supplying eight personnel for one year to replace stressed Air Force airfield radar maintainers at Baghdad Airport in Iraq, a USAF news release said in December. The service also contracted with SYTEX, Inc., and ITT Industries to provide radar maintenance at Tallil and Kirkuk Air Bases in Iraq.
• To offset a shortage of 1,100 noncommissioned officers, the Air Force conducted a voluntary sign up period in January and February for staff, technical, and master sergeants in surplus career fields to retrain into undermanned specialties. If necessary, said officials, USAF will conduct an involuntary selection process during March and April.
• USAF in January awarded Lockheed Martin a $48.7 million contract to install avionics modernization kits on 112 C-5Bs. The upgrades will replace old analog instruments with digital cockpit displays and equipment. New communications and navigation avionics will meet the standards of the Global Air Traffic Management system. Contract work will begin in June 2004 and conclude in 2007.
• Air Force investigators found that pilot lack of situational awareness caused an F-16 to crash Sept. 9 into the Yellow Sea. While on a two-ship training mission, neither Capt. Kevin Dydyk, the flight lead, nor Capt. Todd Houchins, instructor pilot, realized early enough that their altitude was too low for the planned training maneuvers. Dydyk called to terminate the training and attempted to recover, but he was forced to eject from his aircraft. He was rescued 90 minutes later. Investigators said Houchins failed to recognize the low altitude but managed to recover his F-16 about 450 feet above the sea. Both pilots are assigned to Kunsan AB, South Korea.
• USAF recognized four airmen in 2003 with the Lance P. Sijan Air Force Leadership Award. They are: Lt. Col. Robert E. Moriarty, 314th Civil Engineer Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark.; Capt. Christopher P. Larkin, 321st Special Tactics Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, UK; MSgt. Michael V. Lamonica, 24th Special Tactics Squadron, Pope AFB, N.C.; and MSgt. Christopher R. May, 305th Civil Engineer Squadron, McGuire AFB, N.J. The award is named for the first Air Force Academy graduate to receive the Medal of Honor.
• DOD plans to establish 11 more civil support teams trained to help local authorities deal with weapons of mass destruction attacks. Congress approved $88 million to fund the increase. There are 32 teams, comprised of 22 Army and Air National Guard members. Eventually DOD will have 55 teams.
• An F-16C turbine engine blade failed due to fatigue during a training flight and caused the aircraft to crash Sept. 22 in woods near Rosepine, La., according to an Air Combat Command accident report released in January. The pilot ejected, suffering minor cuts. Both pilot and aircraft were assigned to the Air National Guard’s 147th Fighter Wing, Ellington Field, Tex. Loss of the aircraft is estimated at $23.3 million. There were no other injuries or property damage.
• The remains of two B-52 crew members formerly missing in action from the Vietnam War have been identified and sent to their families for burial. Maj. Richard W. Cooper Jr., of Salisbury, Md., and CMSgt. Charlie S. Poole of Gibsland, La., were returning from a bombing mission Dec. 19, 1972, for Operation Linebacker II when their B-52D was hit by an enemy surface-to-air missile. The aircraft crashed southwest of Hanoi. Four crew members who survived the crash were among POWs released in 1973.
• Iran’s defense minister announced plans to launch an Iranian-made satellite within 18 months, reported the official Islamic Republic News Agency. That would mark the debut of an Islamic nation in space.
• USAF’s 2003 Athletes of the Year are race walker Capt. Kevin Eastler, F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., and rugby player 1st Lt. Laura McDonald, Randolph AFB, Tex. Eastler is the first American to be accepted for the Olympic “A” standard time. McDonald was chosen for the US Women’s National Sevens Rugby Team and the USA Eagle Women’s National Team.
• USAF awarded a sole-source contract to Lockheed Martin International Launch Services in December for an Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle to carry a National Reconnaissance Office payload into orbit in 2006.
• Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force vice chief of staff, was honored with the United Arab Emirates Military Order First Class during the Dubai Air Show in December. Moseley served as combined force air component commander for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operations Iraqi Freedom and, earlier, Southern Watch over Iraq.
• The Airborne Laser Test Force team at Edwards AFB, Calif., took delivery Dec. 4 of thousands of gallons of the chemical needed to create the laser beam. The hydrogen peroxide was to be mixed this winter with sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and lithium hydroxide to make the laser fuel. When mixed with chlorine gas, the energy from the combination creates the laser beam.
• Afghanistan’s provincial reconstruction team at Konduz on Jan. 6 became the first to come under NATO control in a transfer of authority from the coalition. Coalition forces run six other teams in Afghanistan. The teams are a key part of the strategy to speed development and reconstruction and thus bolster prospects for permanent stability in Afghanistan.