MC Rates at Six-Year High
Air Force aircraft in 2003 posted an aggregate mission capable
rate of 75.9 percent—USAF’s highest readiness rate
since 1997. This was the third consecutive year that the
MC rate had increased after declining throughout the 1990s.
Testifying before lawmakers in March, Gen. T. Michael Moseley,
USAF vice chief of staff, said that, in Fiscal 2003, MC rates
had improved for 14 of 20 major weapon systems. He noted that
the higher rates came “at a time when all of our systems
were flying more hours.”
MC rates, which measure the percentage of aircraft capable
of performing their missions at a given time, bottomed out
at 72.7 percent in Fiscal 2000. The 1997 rate was 76.6 percent.
Roche Cites AOC as Top Weapon
Air Force Secretary James G. Roche had a surprising answer
when asked to name which Air Force system has been most helpful
in post-9/11 operations. His choice was the air operations
center (AOC).
At a March 17 meeting with defense reporters, Roche said
that the AOC permits “fusion of information that has really
made a huge difference.” He said it was “most helpful” to
have the ability to acquire satellite information and merge
it with intelligence from Joint STARS aircraft, Predator unmanned
aerial vehicles, and Global Hawk UAVs and then “fuse it
and ... cue different parts.”
The Air Force currently has five “Falconer” AOCs,
which serve as USAF’s comprehensive air warfare command
centers. “It is that fusion—that integration—that
I think has been the most dramatic,” Roche said.
AEFs Not Fully Ready
It will take the Air Force a year longer than expected to
get its rotational Air and Space Expeditionary Force system
completely
back on track, Gen. T. Michael Moseley told Senators on March
9.
Last year, officials had predicted that USAF would return
to its normal 90-day AEF rotation cycle by March 2004. Now,
Moseley
said, the target date is March 2005.
After Gulf War II ended last year, officials established two
interim AEFs—composed primarily of personnel who had not
already deployed in 2003. These new AEFs—called AEF Blue
and AEF Silver—were to stand duty for two sequential periods
of 120 days while the rest of the force recovered from the
demands of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Then, regular
rotations were to resume.
Most career fields went back to the standard 90-day rotation
cycle in March. However, Moseley said, “The AEF continues
to be operating in higher than normal sustained pace ... in
some stressed career fields.”
The Air Force vice chief of staff added that “continued
surge operations ... are creating new challenges for reconstitution
efforts.”
USAF Cancels KC-10 Upgrade
The Air Force in March canceled the KC-10 Global Air Traffic
Management upgrade, although it had already spent $127 million
on the program.
In a written response to questions from Air Force Magazine,
USAF said that service leaders “concluded the current
program did not fulfill requirements nor did it provide an
adequate growth path to justify continuing the effort.” The
Air Force cited continued delays and cost growth in the Boeing
program plus a change in requirements as key factors in the
decision.
Initially, the KC-10 GATM’s development was expected
to cost $121 million and production, $347 million.
The Air Force issued a stop-work order and will not resume
the program. The service currently is reassessing KC-10 avionics
modernization plans.
If the KC-10 is to use preferred international air routes,
it must meet, by the end of the decade, new international standards
for avionics, navigation, and communication equipment. The
same holds true for other US mobility aircraft.
USAF Hires Civilians for Security
The Air Force plans to hire between July and October 495
new civilians for security force jobs. The influx of civilians
will allow the service to shift some uniformed personnel to
other duties to help reduce the strain on its security forces.
On April 5, a security forces staffing team at Randolph AFB,
Tex., began taking applications for the positions, which are
all at the squadron level.
The Air Force expects to fill many of the new positions with
military security forces personnel who are separating or retiring.
Survey Finds Stress Factors
The Defense Department on March 8 released the results of
its most recent health survey. It showed that, although health
habits were improving overall, there was an increase in smoking
and heavy drinking for the first time in 20 years. The Pentagon’s
top health official believes the results are “not entirely
surprising.”
The 2002 Survey of Health Related Behaviors Among Military
Personnel found a rise in the percentage of personnel saying
they had smoked in the previous month. The proportion climbed
from 29.9 percent in 1998 to 33.8 percent in 2002. For heavy
drinking—defined as five or more drinks per occasion at
least once a week—the level rose from 15.4 percent to
18.1 percent.
The 2002 numbers are lower than the percentages recorded in
a 1980 survey, when the smoking percentage hit 51 percent and
heavy drinking hit 20.8 percent.
William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense
for health affairs, said the overall results of the new survey
were “encouraging.” However, he conceded that officials
are “concerned” about the increases in smoking and
alcohol use.
He said that these findings, along with other mental health
factors from the survey, are “indicators of stress” arising
from the “military’s role in worldwide events throughout
the past two years.”
A-10 Pilot Dies in Crash
Capt. Jonathan Scheer, 31, died Feb. 25 when his A-10 aircraft
crashed at 8:30 p.m. shortly after takeoff from Eielson AFB,
Alaska. He was on a routine night training mission as lead
pilot in a four-ship formation.
Scheer was a member of the 354th Operations Support Squadron
at Eielson. He was a 1995 graduate of the Air Force Academy.
The cause of the crash was not immediately announced, but
the Air Force said a board of officers would investigate the
mishap.
ANG Crosses Lines for UAV Unit
The Air Force announced March 3 that it would integrate, for
the first time, Air National Guard personnel from two different
states within a single unit. California and Nevada Guardsmen
will be working with the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle squadrons
located at Indian Springs AFAF, Nev.
The ANG personnel will join their active duty and Air Force
Reserve Command counterparts in the 11th and 15th Reconnaissance
Squadrons.
This organizational transformation, said Maj. Gen. Ronald
J. Bath, USAF director of strategic planning, will “increase
combat capability.”
USAF has expanded the Predator mission envelope from surveillance
only to surveillance and strike. The Air National Guard expects
to be able to use the UAV in its reconnaissance role for homeland
defense, disaster relief, and forest fires.
RIF Would Be Last Resort
Air Force success in retaining personnel during the war on
terror may have the unintended effect of forcing the service
to resort to involuntary reductions in force. Air Force Secretary
James G. Roche said that is something service leaders “fear,” but
it might be needed if USAF is to meet its authorized end strength.
Roche told defense reporters in March that the Air Force
does not want to resort to a RIF and has taken several steps
to
avoid one. However, the service currently exceeds its authorized
end strength by 16,000 airmen. (See “The New Drawdown,” March,
p. 50.)
USAF expected a certain number of troops to leave the service
when it lifted Stop-Loss restrictions imposed before Operation
Iraqi Freedom. That didn’t happen.
Roche said the Air Force goal is to reach its authorized
end strength by the end of 2005. If the service doesn’t
make that goal, but the number is close, he said, USAF will
try
to get an extension.
Cunningham Honored at Bagram
The Air Force on March 4 renamed the Air Force village at
Bagram AB, Afghanistan, in honor of pararescueman SrA. Jason
D. Cunningham,
who was killed in action in Afghanistan.
The pararescue jumper, or PJ, was assigned to the 38th Rescue
Squadron, Moody AFB, Ga. He was killed March 4, 2002, during
Operation Anaconda. He was credited with saving the lives of
10 US troops before succumbing to enemy fire.
Cunningham was awarded the Air Force Cross for his actions
during Anaconda. (See “Aerospace World: Air Force Posthumously
Honors Pararescueman,” October 2002, p. 11.)
Five Die in Nevada Crash
An Air Force civilian pilot and four USAF contractors died
March 16 when their Beechcraft KA 1900 crashed about 125 miles
northwest of Nellis AFB, Nev.
Killed were pilot David D. Palay and JT3 Corp. technicians
Derrick L. Butler, Michael A. Izold, Daniel M. Smalley, and
Roy A. Van Voorhis. Butler, Palay, Smalley, and Voorhis were
Air Force veterans.
The contractors worked on test-range equipment throughout
the Nevada Test and Training Range, said the Air Force. The
aircraft
was on its way to the Tonopah Test Range when it went down
about 5 a.m.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
DOD Wants Civilian Experts
The Defense Department on March 1 unveiled a new policy for
a competitive-hire compensation package. DOD can hire as many
as 2,500 civilian employees for five years under a provision
approved by Congress in the Fiscal 2004 defense budget.
Defense leaders hope the policy will enable them to attract
civilians with the “expertise and corporate knowledge
to fill critical positions,” stated a Pentagon news release.
There are several restrictions on this new provision. For
instance, the new employees cannot fill continuing functions
or fill-in
during staff shortages. And DOD cannot use the provision to
try to bypass established pay ceilings.
Although the department did not release any specifics on pay
or work for potential employees, it did say they must be individuals “possessing
uncommon, special knowledges or skills in a particular occupational
field beyond the usual range of expertise.” An individual
must also be regarded by others “as an authority or practitioner
of unusual competence and skill.”
USAF Tests Network Defenses
The Air Force in March ran a major cyber-defense exercise
to test network security capabilities and procedures. Exercise
Black Demon was the largest-ever event of its kind and the
first of this type in two years. Participating were more than
500 personnel from every USAF major command.
Many details of the exercise are classified. Col. Larry Thompson,
commander of the Air Force Information Warfare Center at Lackland,
AFB, Tex., said the emphasis was on making sure that network
operators had the capability to work through disruptions.
“You can’t just throw the big red switch to off” every
time a possible attack takes place, he explained. For example,
USAF personnel try to keep e-mail and Web servers available
during such network “events,” he said.
During Black Demon, operators were tested on their ability
to evaluate possible attacks on Air Force networks and analyze
their possible impact, Thompson said. Other objectives included
improving network operator responses to multiple threats
and determining how best to employ network defenses.
According to an AFIWC statement, a 2002 exercise “led
directly to positive changes in daily operational procedures
at all echelons of Air Force network defense.”
The exercise was run by the 23rd Information Operations Squadron
at Lackland. By mid-April, many of the lessons from the 2004
Black Demon were still under evaluation.
Massive Exercise Held in Pacific
US and South Korean forces launched their largest annual
exercise on March 21. Some 5,500 US troops deployed to South
Korea to
join 3,000 US troops permanently stationed there who were
participating in the Foal Eagle and Reception, Staging, Onward
Movement,
and Integration exercise.
The two-week exercise allows the combined forces defending
South Korea to realistically train to defend against a possible
invasion from Communist North Korea. Foal Eagle and RSOI
were conducted separately until 2002.
Earthquake Relief Via Hercules
USAF active duty and Air National Guard forces on March 28
provided aid to Morocco in the aftermath of a major earthquake.
A C-130 Hercules assigned to the 86th Airlift Wing’s
37th Airlift Squadron, Ramstein AB, Germany, delivered four
pallets
of emergency relief supplies and a US European Command humanitarian
response team. Within hours, a Utah ANG KC-135 from Salt
Lake City arrived with another load of supplies, including
first-aid
and hygiene kits and blankets.
The 6.4-magnitude earthquake reportedly killed nearly 600
Moroccans. The deliveries were part of an international relief
effort.
The Utah National Guard is partnered with Morocco through
a program called the State Partnership for Peace, a Guard
endeavor
to foster cultural exchanges.
Airmen Deliver Aid to Chad
On March 13, 86th Airlift Wing units, from Ramstein, delivered
urgently needed blankets, food, and medical supplies to the
African nation of Chad. The assistance was requested by Chad’s
government, which was engaged in a battle with terrorists.
According to Capt. Jeff Menasco, mission commander, 19 tons
of supplies were airborne by C-130 less than an hour after
the unit was notified of the mission. This type mission usually
takes two days to plan, he said.
Accompanying the C-130 crew were troops from the 86th Contingency
Response Group to provide security and four flying crew chiefs
from the 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron in case the aircraft
encountered maintenance problems.
New Deal for Retired Civilians
DOD on March 22 announced that civil service retirees needed
for critical positions could return to work in the department
without suffering an offset to their retired pay.
The new program is retroactive to Nov. 24, 2003. It is only
open to retirees who have unique skills for hard-to-fill
jobs. Additionally, before a retiree can be hired, the position
must
be opened to qualified employees who were cut under personnel
reductions.
Obituary
Retired Navy Capt. Arthur R. Hawkins, a World War II fighter
ace with 14 aerial victory credits, died March 21 following
a stroke. He was 81.
Hawkins was awarded three Navy Crosses among other medals.
One of his postwar assignments was with the Navy’s Blue
Angels aerial demonstration team. After retiring from the
Navy in 1973, he worked with the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation
for more than 20 years. An F-6 Hellcat showing his combat
victories
is on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at
NAS Pensacola, Fla.
F-35 Program Delayed
One Year
The Pentagon, in March, delayed the F-35 Joint
Strike Fighter development schedule by roughly one year to
buy time to drive
down the weight of the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL)
version.
The delay affects the timing of two planned
events—first flight and critical
design review.
Officials said in March that the Air Force’s
conventional takeoff variant
and the Navy’s carrier variant were both about 1,400 pounds over their target
weights but were able to meet key performance parameters.
However, the STOVL variant developed primarily
for the Marine Corps exceeds its target weight by more than
3,000 pounds.
As recently as January, STOVL excess
weight was projected to be 2,200 pounds. The Air Force in February announced
it planned to purchase some STOVL aircraft.
“STOVL cannot be bought at its current
weight, and we have to take the time” to
fix the problem, Navy acquisition executive John Young told a Senate panel
March 24.
The triservice F-35 production program already
had been reconfigured to accommodate the additional design
work needed to solve
the weight problems. (See “The
F-35 Gets Real,” March, p. 44.)
More than $5 billion had been shifted from
production to development accounts, but the plan in February
was to
hold to the existing development schedule,
with a critical design review in April 2004 and first flight in late 2005.
Both dates
have now been pushed forward, and new schedules will be set later. |
USAF Names
$2.4 Billion in Unfunded Priorities
The Air Force identified 27 programs in an
unfunded priority list put together in response to a Congressional
request made
earlier this year. The programs would require $2.4 billion
over and above the Administration’s 2005 budget request.
In his cover letter, Air Force Secretary James
G. Roche said that the 2005 request reflects the “most
compelling needs.”
Last year’s list contained 66 items totaling
$4 billion.
The Air Force’s top five unfunded 2005
priorities are:
1. Precision Air-to-Ground and Radar Modernization.
A total of $57.3 million would fund research and development
efforts
needed for an F-15C/D air-to-ground capability and two “significant” radar
upgrades.
2. Advanced Targeting Pod. The Air Force wants
$65 million to purchase 46 Sniper advanced targeting pods
from Lockheed
Martin using an existing contract. The pods would update some
older USAF aircraft.
3. Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures.
The LAIRCM program could be accelerated, with $137 million
giving 59 additional
C-17s a LAIRCM “Lite” capability three years sooner
than now scheduled. Lite provides less protection than the
full system but offers “significantly improved performance” over
current flare defenses.
4. C-5 Missile Warning. Some $7.7 million
would be used to upgrade 51 C-5 airlifters with missile warning
system defenses.
Without the upgrades, “failing sensors combined with obsolete
parts result in decreased capability and limited asset protection.”
5. Completing EC-130H Upgrade. The final two
(of 14) EC-130H Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft
require $60 million
for upgrades to a common Block 35 configuration. The EC-130H
is DOD’s only airborne combat platform that jams specific
communications targets. |
Roche: Tanker Lease Advantage
Is Perishable
Delay in the leasing of new KC-767 refueling
tankers diminishes the value of such an arrangement, Secretary
of the Air Force
James G. Roche said on March 17.
USAF had long planned to begin a traditional
tanker procurement program in Fiscal 2006. The service’s
leasing arrangement, first proposed in 2002, was meant to
deliver new aircraft sooner
because the need had become more urgent. The current tanker
fleet experienced much higher usage rates as a result of the
war on terrorism.
“Each year, ... the advantage of the
lease is less than it was the year before,” said Roche.
Roche noted the Air Force has always acknowledged
that leasing tankers would be more expensive, overall, than
an outright
purchase, but he said the proposal was justified because
of the increased need.
The latest Air Force plan to lease 20 and
buy 80 KC-767s was put on hold while the Defense Department
investigates
whether
there were contracting violations related to Boeing’s
hiring of former Air Force procurement official Darleen A.
Druyun. (See “Tanker Twilight Zone,” February,
p. 46.)
Roche maintained that the need for new tankers
has not changed. The Air Force’s KC-135Es are 43 years
old, and a third of the fleet is in depot for maintenance
at any given time.
The fact that so many are in depot, said Roche, artificially
inflates the tanker readiness rate.
The depot KC-135s are “off line,” he
said. “When
you see mission capability rates [for them], it has to do
with the remaining two-thirds—not the whole fleet.” |
The Battle Over Medals
The House Armed Services Committee approved
and sent to the floor a bill to authorize separate
campaign medals
for Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring
Freedom in Afghanistan. The Bush Administration had opted
for one to cover both.
The Administration argued that any US armed
forces participant in Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom should
receive the Global
War on Terrorism (GWOT) Expeditionary Medal.
Opponents of the single-award concept said
it doesn’t
sufficiently recognize those members ordered to serve in both
theaters.
Under the House bill, troops deployed to Afghanistan
or to Iraq would receive both the GWOT and a campaign medal
for the
specific theater. Service members who have been assigned both
to Iraq and to Afghanistan would qualify for all three medals.
The Senate, last year, had supported the Administration’s
call for a single award—by one vote.
Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.), who introduced the
bill (H.R. 3104), said, “As a Vietnam veteran and former
Marine, one of the first things I look for on a soldier’s
uniform is the campaign ribbon that notes where the soldier
served. There
is just a camaraderie that comes about by recognizing that
campaign ribbon on a uniform.”
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Armed Services
Committee chairman, said the bill has wide support.
— Tom Philpott |
USAF Outlines F/A-22 Block
Upgrade Plan
The Air Force has a multiyear plan to upgrade
its new F/A-22 fighter through a series of block improvements,
and the service
still plans to attain initial operational capability (IOC)
at the end of 2005, according to a USAF briefing document.
The first major upgrade will come in late 2006
when Block 20 capability takes the F/A-22 to a “Global
Strike Basic” configuration.
This will improve air-to-ground capability and deployability,
add an improved envelope for Joint Direct Attack Munitions,
and enhance electronic protection. Block 20 aircraft also will
incorporate the “final” avionics processor, according
to USAF modernization plans.
Next will come Block 30 Raptors with capabilities
added through 2009. Spiral 3A of Block 30 will add an air-to-ground
radar,
enhanced attack capabilities against integrated air defense
systems, Link 16 data link, and “basic” Small Diameter
Bomb capabilities.
Block 30’s Spiral 3B will add updated
air traffic identification systems and the ability to record
high fidelity signals from
aircraft sensors. This will permit intelligence assets to use
the Raptor’s sensor suite as an extension of other dedicated
intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance assets.
These upgrades take the F/A-22 to the “Global
Strike Enhanced” configuration.
The work up to this point is included in the Air Force’s
out-year budget at a cost of $3.5 billion.
Also under consideration, officials said in
March, are additional upgrades that would further improve
attack, networking, and
ISR capabilities. Air Force acquisition chief Marvin R. Sambur
said that, if all the upgrades under consideration were funded,
the cost could total $11.7 billion. He said there are “a
lot of wish-list types of items, ... everything under the sun.”
These out-year efforts are not currently funded,
and the Air Force is “not thinking of going anywhere
near that,” Sambur
told a Senate panel March 24. |
USAF Initiates Servicewide
Review of Rapes
A recent Pacific Air Forces review found at
least 92 rape accusations by personnel in PACAF between 2001
and 2003.
Those findings,
coupled with the problems identified last year at the Air Force
Academy, prompted Air Force leaders to initiate a wider review
across the entire service. (For more on the USAFA situation,
see “Upheaval at the Academy,” January, p. 56.)
In the PACAF cases, a total of 106 airmen were
accused of rape. Seven were convicted and sentenced to an
average
of eight years
in prison, while many more received lesser administrative penalties,
such as demotions.
Air Force Secretary James G. Roche told a
March 17 Defense Writers Group session that some victims
assistance programs
were run so that aid to alleged victims stopped if charges
were not brought against the alleged rapists. “That’s
just dumb,” he said. He added that there were other such “systemic
problems.”
Roche said that, during a visit to PACAF bases
late last year, he talked with Gen. William J. Begert, PACAF
commander,
about
the academy situation and the question of “how good is
the Air Force” as a whole on this issue. Begert launched
a review “quietly,” said Roche.
Roche and Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force Chief
of Staff, reviewed the PACAF findings. They took the issue
up at
the February
Corona, a meeting of USAF’s senior military and civilian
leaders, and decided to direct a servicewide review. Within
days of the Corona meeting, news reports began to surface about
alleged sexual assault problems at Sheppard AFB, Tex., a major
technical training facility.
In early March, Air Force sexual assault assessment
teams began fanning out to Air Force installations worldwide
to collect
data on the scale of the problem.
Recent allegations of sexual assaults and mishandling
of victims assistance has touched each of the military branches.
News
reports over the past few months have highlighted problems
being encountered by US female military personnel serving
in Southwest Asia.
These reports prompted the Pentagon to establish
a Task Force on Care for Victims of Sexual Assaults. Heading
the group
is Ellen P. Embrey, deputy assistant secretary of defense
for
force health protection and readiness.
The DOD task force was formally created Feb.
13 and was to report its findings by April 30.
The Air Force planned to discuss the findings
of its own review at its Corona meeting this month. |
Air Armament
Summit IDs Key Weapons Trends
The Air Force’s most recent air armament
summit, held in March at Eglin AFB, Fla., identified several
key focus
areas. They include networked weapons, plug-and-play integration
capabilities, improved combat support, modernized test
and training ranges, and integrated capability evaluations.
The top-secret summit feeds into USAF’
Col. Pamela Arias, director of the Air Armament
Center Enterprise Program Office, told Air Force Magazine
that
networking weapons—via two-way data links—is
essential because this capability will give planners real-time
intelligence on threat areas and information on whether
a target was actually killed in an attack. Currently, only
the AGM-130 is equipped with a two-way data link, but the
Air Force would like to add this capability to as many
weapons as possible.
As for plug-and-play capability, Arias noted
that it is excessively difficult to add new weapons to existing
platforms.
Simplifying integration would save time and money, she
said, while increasing the number of attack options available.
Currently, it can take up to three years to integrate new
weapons, but there are proposed systems that could shave
that time by two-thirds.
Becoming more agile is critical for an expeditionary
Air Force, Arias said. Because of its central role supporting
munitions, Eglin deploys more personnel than any other
Air Force Materiel Command base.
Discussion at the summit also raised concerns
about the Pentagon’s test and training ranges. Continuing
problems with urban encroachment are threatening a new generation
of long-range weapons that need large amounts of airspace
for proper testing.
William Dyess, Arias’s deputy at Eglin,
noted that there are virtually no land-based ranges outside
of Australia
with enough space to accommodate today’s long-range
weapons. He added that operating over water is not necessarily
the right solution because of the need to position proper
instrumentation along flight paths. |
Latest GPS Launch Honors
Getting
The March 20 launch of a Global Positioning
System navigational satellite from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla.,
honored the late Ivan
A. Getting, who is considered the father of GPS. Getting died
Oct. 11, 2003, at his home in California.
To honor his life and work, the 50th GPS satellite
launched carried an inscription noting his name, birth and
death dates,
and words he had used to describe the navigation satellite: “Lighthouses
in the sky, serving all mankind.”
Getting was born in New York City in 1912 and
earned a degree in physics in 1933 from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
Two years later, as a graduate Rhodes scholar, he received
a doctorate in astrophysics at Oxford University in Britain.
He devoted his career to US defense efforts
and was recognized as a leading military scientist. His career
began at Harvard
University, where he did research on cosmic rays and nuclear
physics. In 1940, he moved to MIT, where a group he led developed
the first automatic microwave tracking fire-control radar.
The radar was credited with helping London survive the Nazi
V-1 “buzz bombs” during World War II.
During the Korean War, Getting served as the
Air Force’s
assistant for development and planning. From 1951 to 1960,
he was vice president of research and engineering at Raytheon.
In 1960, when the Aerospace Corp. was created, at Air Force
instigation, Getting was elected its first president.
Many consider his work on GPS to be his most
important and lasting contribution not only to US defense
but to
the world. |
The Iraq Story Continues
One Year in Iraq
The US government marked the one-year anniversary
of Operation Iraqi Freedom March 19 by highlighting what
the campaign has
accomplished in Iraq.
An Air Force news release stated that more
than 230,000 Iraqis have been trained to provide security
for their country’s
25 million citizens, and the international community has pledged
more than $32 billion to help restore the nation’s infrastructure.
The State Department noted that Iraq’s
interim constitution guarantees freedom of religion and expression,
the right to
assemble and protest, and the right to vote.
And while 46 of the 55 most wanted Iraqis had
been killed or captured by the anniversary date, defense
officials
said that
operations needed to continue in the country.
Air Force statistics showed that US forces
have been carrying out more than 1,600 patrols daily and
conducting an average
of 180 military raids a week.
In a March 17 speech, Gen. Richard B. Myers,
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the nature
of the
threat to
US and coalition forces in Iraq continues to morph. Most recent
attacks have come not from Iraqis loyal to the former regime
but from foreign “Jihadists,” Myers said. He gave
a rough estimate that there may be 1,000 Jihadists in Iraq
but cautioned that exact numbers are difficult to determine
because these terrorists “don’t show up for the census.”
Because of the lingering security concerns,
Myers noted that Iraq won’t be able to assume all required
security functions by June 30, when sovereignty over the
nation is transferred
from the US governing authority to the new Iraqi government.
Casualties
By March 19, a total of 570 US troops had died
supporting OIF. Of these casualties, 387 were killed by hostile
action,
while
another 183 died in noncombat incidents.
President Bush declared an end to major combat
operations in Iraq on May 1, 2003. Since that time, 432 troops
have
died
in Iraq: 272 in combat and 160 in nonhostile
incidents.
F-16s Deploy to Kirkuk
A detachment of 10 F-16s and 200 personnel
from Selfridge ANGB, Mich., deployed to Kirkuk air base in
northern Iraq
on March 1. The ANG personnel, providing
the only operational squadron of F-16s in Iraq, are on a standard 90-day deployment.
They relieved A-10s of the 354th Expeditionary
Fighter Squadron from Davis-Monthan
AFB, Ariz. Falcons from Selfridge’s 107th Fighter Squadron were also deployed
in support of Iraqi Freedom last year, when they were sent to Kuwait.
“Iron Promise” Counters
Attacks on Civilians
US Central Command on March 17 launched a major
campaign against insurgents in Baghdad after a series of
attacks
on civilians. Dubbed “Iron Promise,” the
operation went after suspected terrorists and their weapons and hideouts.
The operation came after two attacks earlier
that week killed two European and four American civilians
working
on separate water projects.
Officials were looking specifically for people
moving weapons and improvised explosive devices. |
News Notes
By Tamar A. Mehuron, Associate Editor
USAF activated the 505th Command and Control Wing March 12
at Hurlburt Field, Fla. The wing will manage the operational
air and
space command and control center and develop air and space
C2 capabilities for US and coalition warfighters.
The sole Predator unit in Iraq moved to Balad Air Base from
Tallil Air Base in early March, according to Air Force officials.
USAF
Predators have flown in support of Operations Allied Force
in Kosovo, Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and Iraqi Freedom
in Iraq.
Air Force Special Operations Command combat controllers will
have lighter targeting gear by year’s end, according to the Air
Force Research Lab’s Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland
AFB, N.M. The 10-pound piece of equipment features a day and
night laser targeting ability and a geolocation system. The new
gear replaces eight different systems weighing a total of 60 pounds.
The Air Force Personnel Center received 2,418 applications
for early separation or retirement by its March 12 closeout date
for phase 1 of USAF’s effort to reduce its end strength by some
16,000 airmen. (See “RIF Would Be Last Resort,” p.
19.) As of April 16, the Air Force had approved applications
from 156 officers and 2,071 enlisted members.
Malfunctions and rough terrain caused the Nov. 23, 2003, crash
of an MH-53 helicopter east of Bagram AB, Afghanistan, concluded
an accident report released March 10. The crash killed four of
six crew members and one Army passenger. (See “Aerospace World:
Helo Crash Claims Five,” January, p. 12.) Combined stresses
of high altitude and high gross weight triggered the failure
of an engine. Auxiliary fuel tanks also failed to release. Flying
in support of Operation Mountain Resolve when the crash occurred,
the Pave Low helicopter was assigned to the 20th Special Operations
Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
Boeing in late February received a $460 million contract for
C-17 sustainment work for USAF and British C-17s. The British
portion is about three percent of the total, according to DOD.
Work is
to be completed by September 2004.
Singapore’s ministry of defense on March 16 said the country
had signed on for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program as
a security cooperation participant. As a participant, Singapore
can request
early purchase of the JSF for delivery after 2012. Eight countries
had signed on as partners at varying levels. They are: Australia,
Britain, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, and Turkey.
The Dec. 11, 2003, crash of a remotely piloted Predator UAV
in Southwest Asia was due to operator error, concluded an Air
Combat
Command accident report released March 17. The pilot overcorrected
when the UAV “abruptly pitched upward because of a software
program anomaly,” said the report. The pilot and UAV, which
was destroyed in the crash, were assigned to the 15th Reconnaissance
Squadron at Indian Springs AFAF, Nev.
ACC’s 116th Air Control Wing, Robins AFB, Ga., took delivery
of USAF’s 16th Joint STARS aircraft in late February from
Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, Mass.
The 12 additional Civil Support Teams Congress funded in the
Fiscal 2004 defense bill will stand up this year, according
to a March
9 DOD news release. The teams, each composed of 22 Army and
Air National Guard members, will be located in Connecticut,
Indiana,
Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North
Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Congress has
directed DOD
to establish 11 more new teams. DOD has certified 32 teams
so far.
US and European officials agreed in February on terms regarding
the development and use of the European navigation satellite
system, Galileo, that avoid interfering with the Pentagon’s GPS system.
(See “Aerospace World: US, EU Set for NavSat Deal,” March,
p. 15.) The agreement settled a four-year dispute.
The Air Force in early March said it had made it easier for
its military and civilian personnel to access personnel information
via the Web by creating the Air Force Portal—a one-stop
entryway that provides access to several online services with
just one user
ID and password. Click on www.my.af.mil to access the site.
NASA officials earlier this year selected MacDill AFB, Fla.,
as an alternate landing site for the space shuttle. Landing the
shuttle
at MacDill rather than the other alternate—Edwards AFB, Calif.—would
save processing time for the next mission and the expense of
returning the shuttle to its Cape Canaveral, Fla., home station.
After nearly 60 years, Kenneth Kinsinger, a World War II Army
Air Corps B-24 bomber pilot, was honored in February with formal
presentation
of the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism during a
July 1944 bombing mission—one of six he made over the Ploesti
oil fields in Romania. Flying through a wall of intense flak,
Kinsinger,
as lead pilot, kept his group of 100 bombers on track and on
target. Kinsinger also received the Air Medal for finishing 50
missions
with the 449th Bomb Group in Italy from April to August 1944.
Another Army Air Corps veteran, Lynn Tipton, was awarded a
Purple Heart in March at Edwards AFB, Calif., for combat wounds
he received
on Sept. 12, 1944, on a B-24 mission over Magdenburg, Germany.
When his bomber came under attack from German fighters, he
was hit by ammunition rounds. The crew had to bail out and were
interned
in a POW camp for about 10 months.
Two Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) contracts, on March
1, went to Boeing. The total value of the contracts is $857 million.
Under one contract, Boeing is to produce 32,000 JDAMs to replenish
Air Force and Navy stocks after the wars in Afghanistan and
Iraq.
The second calls for future integration of JDAM on foreign
military sales aircraft.
USAF awarded Raytheon a $52.6 million contract for Advanced
Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile and AIM-120 work for foreign
military sales
to Greece and Sweden. Work will be completed by August 2005.
Rockwell Collins received a $36.8 million USAF contract for
full rate production work on the Global Air Traffic Management
Program
for KC-135s. Work is to be finished by February 2005.
Israel Aircraft Industries officials signed a $1.1 billion
contract with Indian defense ministry officials in March for
IAI to deliver
three airborne early warning aircraft for the Indian Air Force.
Two airmen assigned to the US Air Force Academy took weight-class
honors at the 2004 Armed Forces Wrestling Championships in
March in New Orleans. SSgt. Steven Woods won the 163-pound weight
class
for Greco-Roman wrestling, and 2nd Lt. Kevin Hoy won the 264.5-pound
weight class in freestyle wrestling. Both are with USAFA’s
10th Services Squadron.
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