Tanker Lease Is Dead
Congress has stopped the Air Force plan to lease aerial refueling
aircraft, shifting USAF to an all-procurement strategy. However,
the way ahead on new tankers was not made immediately clear.
The 2005 Defense Authorization Bill, which cleared the House-Senate
conference on Oct. 7, bars the Air Force from leasing any specially
modified aircraft for the aerial refueling mission and authorizes
the service to procure up to 100 new aircraft. The conferees provided
nearly $100 million to get the ball rolling.
Lawmakers were at odds over what the bill actually specifies.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chief Capitol Hill critic of the
tanker lease, said on the Senate floor that the bill forces the
Air Force to “start from the beginning” and requires USAF
to compete the tanker replacement program. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.),
chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, agreed with that
view.
However, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed
Services Committee, and other House members do not agree with the
McCain characterization of the bill. They maintain that Boeing would
build the airplanes. Hunter said on the House floor that “a
provision requiring bringing in outside competitors … was stricken”
from the bill.
The bill did specifically bar the Air Force from awarding Boeing
a sole-source $6 billion contract to support the aircraft, as the
service originally had planned to do. It also said that any further
moves on tanker replacement must await the completion of several
studies being conducted to determine the true condition of the Air
Force’s KC-135 fleet—specifically whether some elements
are too badly fatigued and corroded to economically repair and operate.
Air Force Grounds 29 KC-135Es
Gen. John W. Handy, commander of Air Mobility Command, pulled 29
older KC-135Es from the flying schedule, the service announced Sept.
16. The decision came after USAF’s Fleet Viability Board identified
engine strut problems.
Air Force Secretary James G. Roche in June instructed the board
to conduct an independent, in-depth analysis of the portion of the
KC-135 fleet that Air Force Materiel Command’s Oklahoma Air
Logistics Center tagged as having excessive corrosion in the struts—the
section holding the engine on the airplane. The ALC found 30 suspect
KC-135E tankers.
The board evaluated those 30 aircraft over a two-month period.
Handy was briefed on its draft recommendations on Sept. 13. He
grounded the problematic aircraft while the results are evaluated
further.
Up to $2 Billion for Guam ...
Defense officials say the Air Force may spend up to $2 billion
over the next decade to improve the military capabilities at Andersen
Air Force Base on the Pacific island of Guam.
Col. Steve Wolborsky, vice commander of the 36th Air Expeditionary
Wing at Andersen, said in a Sept. 20 news release that the Air Force
anticipates investing up to $2 billion in the base over the next
five to 10 years. Wolborsky said this reflects Andersen’s role
as “the most significant US Air Force base in the Pacific region
for this century.”
Top officials at Pacific Air Forces have been touting Guam’s
potential for years. The island is strategically located near potential
hotspots in the Pacific and is US territory—which eliminates
access concerns and possible flight restrictions that can arise
in foreign countries.
Col. P.K. White, 36th AEW commander, said that Andersen’s
7.5 million square feet of ramp space provide “a lot of room”
for airplanes. “There’s a ton of room here to put a lot
of new infrastructure,” he said.
... For an ISR-Strike Task Force?
Gen. Paul V. Hester, Pacific Air Forces commander, told attendees
at the Air Force Association’s Air & Space Conference in
September that the command wants to establish an ISR-Strike Task
Force on Guam.
PACAF officials have said the island is a logical host for long-range
systems that are unhindered by the vast distances that must be covered
in the Pacific Theater.
Bombers are now deploying to Guam in regular air and space expeditionary
force rotations, and many of USAF’s intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance
systems also offer long-range capability.
“We are looking for a potential ISR-Strike Task Force out
in Guam,” Hester said Sept. 14. “We look forward to trying
to develop some of those plans ... through the next four or five
years out in the Pacific.”
Hester told reporters after his presentation that the funding needed
to begin creating the ISR-Strike Task Force could appear as soon
as the service’s 2006 budget request. That budget will be sent
to lawmakers early next year.
F/A-22 Successfully Drops JDAM
An F/A-22 Raptor on Sept. 12 dropped a satellite-guided Joint Direct
Attack Munition, successfully striking its ground target. In the
test, the F/A-22 flew at 30,000 feet and dropped a 1,000-pound JDAM.
The developmental test at Edwards AFB, Calif., “marked the
first complete mission demonstration of the Raptor’s air-to-ground
attack capability,” the Air Force stated in a Sept. 14 news
release.
In September 2002, the F-22 was redesignated F/A-22, with the “A”
added to reflect the aircraft’s ground attack capabilities.
“The F/A-22 will be able to conduct both air-to-air and air-to-ground
attacks when it reaches initial operational capability, currently
planned for December 2005,” said Maj. Gen. Richard B.H. Lewis,
program executive officer for the Raptor program.
Airman Dies in Qatar
Capt. John J. Boria, a KC-135 pilot, died Sept. 6 while deployed
to Doha, Qatar. He died several days after crashing a rented recreational
vehicle on Aug. 31, while off duty. Because of his deployed status,
the Pentagon says Boria died while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Boria, from Broken Arrow, Okla., was permanently assigned to the
911th Air Refueling Squadron at Grand Forks AFB, N.D.
Jumper Says No Forced Cuts
Speaking to airmen at Ramstein AB, Germany, in late August, Gen.
John P. Jumper, Air Force Chief of Staff, emphasized that USAF leaders
plan to cut the force to its Congressionally mandated end strength
level without “any forced reductions.” The service must
drop 20,000 airmen from its books by the end of Fiscal 2005.
Jumper said that the previously announced reduction in enlisted
accessions—from 34,000 new recruits to 24,000—for Fiscal
2005 should get the service “back to the numbers” it is
authorized.
However, he added, “We’ve never tried this before.”
Jumper went on to say that recruiting and retention have “remained
superb” despite fears that airmen would leave once Stop-Loss
actions were lifted. “I don’t want anybody to be forced
to leave,” said the Chief, adding that reducing recruiting
is “the right thing to do.”
The Air Force also plans to restrict the career field options for
its new recruits. Currently, officials say “about half”
of the 2005 enlistments will be in one of 56 Air Force specialty
codes “identified as critical by manpower specialists.”
For 2006, service officials expect enlisted accessions to return
to normal levels, about 36,000.
US May Sell F-16s to Pakistan
Fourteen years ago, the US canceled a sale of F-16 fighters to
Pakistan in response to that country’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Now, the two nations are again discussing an F-16 purchase.
“This is not a rumor; it is a statement by the American government,”
said Air Chief Marshal Kaleem Saadat, Pakistan’s air force
chief, at a defense exhibition in Karachi.
Because of Pakistan’s cooperation in the US-led war on terror,
“there is a change in [Western countries’] attitude,”
Saadat told reporters. “They have indicated that they are ready
to give us F-16s,” he said, adding that negotiations had been
paused because of the US election in November.
Pakistani public opinion remains biased against the US because
Pakistanis “think the Americans want to keep them weak,”
Saadat said. He has urged the US to work to change this perception.
Pakistan purchased 40 Lockheed Martin F-16s in the 1980s, but
a follow-on order was canceled in 1990 after sanctions were imposed
on the country for its clandestine nuclear weapons program. By that
time, 28 fighters had already been paid for and built, and it took
a decade for Pakistan to get its money back. Those 28 Falcons were
later reconditioned and delivered to the US Air Force and Navy for
test and training purposes.
Luftwaffe To Cut Holloman Force
The German Air Force will scale back its training force at Holloman
AFB, N.M., the Luftwaffe’s Chief of Staff said during a visit
to the base.
“The Luftwaffe is getting smaller” and will reduce its
numbers of aircraft and fighter wings, said Lt. Gen. Klaus-Peter
Stieglitz, the Alamogordo Daily News reported. “So we will
see a decrease in terms of number of aircraft and numbers of personnel
here at Holloman.”
The reduction will be in the neighborhood of 20 to 25 percent,
meaning roughly 175 German airmen will be departing New Mexico.
The Luftwaffe currently maintains a force of approximately 750 German
airmen at the base, with an additional 1,500 family members accompanying
them.
Stieglitz added that Germany will “stay here at Holloman
because we will continue the training with the Tornados. That is
the mainstay here.”
The German Air Force moved its Tornado fighter training to Holloman
in 1996 to compensate for a shortage of airspace for training in
Europe.
Bush Nominates Harvey for Army
President Bush on Sept. 15 nominated industry executive Francis
J. Harvey to be the next Army Secretary. The Senate Armed Services
Committee on Oct. 11 sent the nomination to the full Senate. If
confirmed, Harvey would succeed Thomas E. White, who resigned in
April 2003 after repeated disagreements with Defense Secretary Donald
H. Rumsfeld.
Air Force Secretary James G. Roche was the Administration’s
previous pick for Army Secretary. Roche asked that his name be removed
from consideration earlier this year, after his nomination languished
in the Senate amid ongoing controversies about the Boeing tanker
lease and sexual assault complaints at the US Air Force Academy.
(See “Aerospace World: Roche Withdraws Name,” April, p.
13.)
Harvey is vice chairman of Maryland-based Duratek, Inc., and had
earlier served as head of defense and electronics systems for Westinghouse
Electric Corp.
New Command Covers Capital
The Defense Department on Sept. 22 formally activated its new joint
headquarters charged with coordinating homeland defense efforts
around the national capital. It is located at Ft. McNair in Washington,
D.C.
The Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region unifies all
DOD elements engaged in homeland defense efforts, plus the Coast
Guard. The new command is led by Army Maj. Gen. Galen B. Jackman,
who reports to USAF Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart, head of US Northern
Command.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ordered creation of the new joint
headquarters in June 2003. It was initially formed in October 2003
and began developing a joint operations center, which formally opened
in August. The JOC has more than 50 workstations with networked
links to federal agencies and area law enforcement and civilian
agencies. It is also integrated with NORTHCOM’s secure communications
system. In addition to the JOC, the JFH-NCR has a 41-foot-long mobile
command center and a smaller communications vehicle.
According to Jackman, the new command has been activated six times
during the past year for activities ranging from cleanup after Hurricane
Isabel to the February ricin incident on Capitol Hill.
The JFH-NCR’s primary role is to “work with all jurisdictions
to form plans in the event of attacks and will support national-level
ceremonies,” according to a DOD news release.
The command’s Air Force elements are the 11th Wing at Bolling
AFB, D.C., and the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews AFB, Md. Other components
are the Army Military District of Washington; the Naval District
of Washington; and the Marine Corps National Capital Region Command.
Airman Heads Prevention Effort
Air Force Brig. Gen. K.C. McClain in September was named commander
of the Defense Department’s Joint Task Force for Sexual Assault
Prevention and Response. McClain will be the “single point
of accountability for all sexual assault policy within the Department
of Defense,” stated a Sept. 9 news release.
McClain’s task force will report to David S.C. Chu, undersecretary
of defense for personnel and readiness. It will advise the Secretary
of Defense on all policy and program development, budget, and program
oversight matters relating to sexual assault prevention and response.
McClain previously served as deputy director of operations for
technical training at Air Education and Training Command, Randolph
AFB, Tex. In that capacity, she led AETC’s sexual assault awareness
review, surveying 13 AETC bases.
NATO Renames Air Headquarters
As part of the NATO military structure reorganization, the alliance
recently renamed two air headquarters: Gone are AIRNORTH and AIRSOUTH,
and in their place are Air Component Command Ramstein and Air Component
Command Izmir.
The air component headquarters remain at Ramstein AB, Germany,
and Izmir AS, Turkey. The name changes simply reflect the new NATO
reality that it no longer makes sense to arbitrarily divide Europe
into a North and South for control of air forces.
“It’s part of a wider command structure [and] NATO rearrangement,”
explained RAF Air Marshal Philip Sturley, chief of staff for CC-Air
Ramstein. “From the airman’s point of view, there are
no boundaries in the air, so for us to be North or South is meaningless.”
Each headquarters can “cover something happening anywhere
in the NATO area,” Sturley added, so the alliance discarded
the Cold War division in favor of “a more collective way to
approaching NATO problems.”
CC-Air Ramstein aligns with Joint Force Command in Brunssum, Netherlands,
one of the two new standing commands responsible for conducting
NATO operations. CC-Air Izmir falls under the Joint Force Command
at Naples, Italy.
New Deal for ICBM Maintenance
The Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB, Utah, and contractor
Northrop Grumman recently signed a partnership agreement for ICBM
maintenance work. Air Force and contractor personnel will work side
by side at each other’s facilities as a solution to a “facility
shortfall,” said Christina Hernandez of the Ogden ALC.
The $176 million arrangement is to help overhaul the Air Force’s
586 Minuteman III propulsion system rocket engines to keep them
operational through the year 2020, according to a Sept. 9 Air Force
news release.
Work will be performed both at the depot and at Northrop Grumman
facilities. Officials said an additional benefit of the agreement
is that it will combine the maintenance experience resident at Hill
with Northrop’s advanced technology, manufacturing processes,
and materials.
Academy Unveils New Slogan
The Air Force in late September installed a new slogan—“Integrity
First. Service Before Self. Excellence in All We Do.”—at
an Air Force Academy entranceway. It replaces the “Bring Me
Men” slogan that was removed 20 months ago.
The previous statement was pulled in March 2003, at the height
of the sexual assault scandal at the academy. It came down shortly
after the Air Force Secretary and Chief of Staff ordered sweeping
changes at the academy, in response to complaints of institutional
problems that made the academy’s atmosphere hostile to female
cadets.
The new slogan was approved by Lt. Gen. John W. Rosa Jr., academy
superintendent. It was the winner from among more than 1,500 suggestions
sent to the academy’s Association of Graduates.
Obituaries
Retired Brig. Gen. Frank K. “Pete” Everest Jr., record-setting
USAF test pilot, died Oct. 1 in Tucson, Ariz., at the age of 84.
He was born in Fairmont, W.Va., and entered Army Air Forces pilot
training in November 1941. He flew a total of 161 combat missions
in the Mediterranean and China-Burma-India Theaters.
Following the war, Everest became a test pilot, flying the Bell
X-1, X-2, X-3, X-4, X-5, XF-92, and YB-52, as well as the 100-series
fighters. In 1953, he set a world speed record of 755.149 mph in
a YF-100. He also set an unofficial speed record of 1,957 mph in
the X-2 rocket plane. In his later career, he served in various
command positions, retiring as commander of Aerospace Rescue and
Recovery Service in 1973.
Retired Col. L. Gordon Cooper Jr., one of the original seven Mercury
astronauts, died Oct. 4 at his home in Ventura, Calif. He was 77.
Cooper was born in 1927 in Shawnee, Okla. His initial Air Force
assignment was flying F-84s and F-86s in Germany. In 1957, he became
an aeronautical engineer and test pilot at Edwards AFB, Calif.,
where he logged more than 7,000 hours of flying time. In 1959, he
was selected for the astronaut program. Over the years, he piloted
several spacecraft, logging 222 hours in space, and became the first
man to make a second orbital flight. He also set a space endurance
record with Charles Conrad Jr. on the eight-day, 120-revolution
Gemini 5 mission in 1965. Cooper retired from the Air Force and
NASA in 1970 and pursued a career in business.
| Last
Active Duty Starlifters Retire
The last two C-141 Starlifters in active duty use were retired
Sept. 16. They belonged to the 305th Air Mobility Wing at
McGuire AFB, N.J. Following a first flight on Dec. 17, 1963,
the C-141 served as an operational Air Force strategic airlifter
for nearly 40 years.
Air Mobility Command chief Gen. John W. Handy, in an official
news release, described the C-141 as the “backbone of
the mobility fleet for decades.”
Starlifters performed a number of noteworthy missions over
the years, including:
Flying the first direct aeromedical evacuation service
from Vietnam to the United States in July 1966.
Landing in Hanoi to pick up Vietnam War prisoners of
war for Operation Homecoming in February 1973.
Performing “the bulk of strategic airlift” for
Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991.
Flying more than 3,900 aeromedical evacuation sorties
supporting Opera tions Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
The C-141 was the first jet aircraft designed solely as a
troop and cargo carrier. Contractor Lockheed Martin said that
a total of 285 Starlifters were built between 1963 and 1968.
Beginning in 1977, nearly all were “stretched” to
the C-141B configuration to increase carrying capacity.
The 20 remaining C-141Cs, with upgraded avionics, are being
flown by Air Force Reserve Command units at March ARB, Calif.,
and Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. They will remain in AFRC use
through 2006. |
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Ivan Forces Major Evacuations
The threat from Hurricane Ivan in September caused the Air
Force to evacuate nearly 300 aircraft from nine military installations
near the Gulf of Mexico.
On Sept. 15, the service announced it had relocated the
aircraft normally based at Duke Field, Eglin Air Force Base,
Hurlburt Field, and Tyndall Air Force Base, all in Florida.
Evacuations were also made from Ft. Rucker and Maxwell Air
Force Base in Alabama, Keesler AFB, Miss., Moody AFB, Ga.,
and NAS JRB New Orleans.
The aircraft were sent to a variety of host bases out of
Ivan’s path. For example, more than 30 special operations
forces aircraft were pulled from Hurlburt for safekeeping
at Ft. Campbell, Ky. They returned on Sept. 19, officials
said.
In the immediate aftermath of Ivan, Duke Field became a focal
point for the disaster recovery effort. The Federal Emergency
Management Agency used Duke Field as a logistical staging
area, a storage point for food, ice, water, and other commodities
before they were shipped to various distribution points in
the area, a Sept. 22 announcement read.
The field’s flight line housed “hundreds of tractor-trailers
filled with supplies ranging from baby food to bug spray,”
the release stated.
Recovery required a cleanup effort. It was up to the 203rd
RED HORSE Squadron, a Virginia Air National Guard unit, to
return the Pensacola Regional Airport to usable condition.
(The squadron had deployed from Virginia Beach to help with
Hurricane Frances recovery efforts and stayed in Florida when
Ivan approached.)
Lt. Col. Paul Julian said of the need to clear the runway
and repair damage, “This is what we do in a wartime scenario.”
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Rand Proposes Test of “Up or Out”
Alternatives
Citing criticism that the Pentagon’s “up or out”
promotion policy fails to make the best use of its officers,
the federally funded think tank Rand recently proposed a study
of alternatives. Rand analysts believe a “perform or
out” policy might better serve DOD.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld “has expressed
concern that current promotion policies risk driving experienced
people to leave the military too early,” Rand reported
in the study, “New Paths to Success: Determining Career
Alternatives for Field-Grade Officers.” The report was
prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
In studying the Air Force, Rand found that there are several
career fields (pilot, developmental engineer, manpower, scientist,
and public affairs) that are significantly below their ideal
staffing levels for majors and lieutenant colonels.
Following the policy set in 1947, field grade officers who
are passed over for promotion twice are discharged or permitted
to retire, as the situation warrants. If the system were changed
to a perform or out approach, the Rand analysts believe, those
highly experienced individuals who continue to perform but
are passed over for promotion could stay to serve full careers,
helping alleviate manpower shortfalls.
Since its inception, critics of the current system have called
it “wasteful and illogical for the technical services,”
stated the Rand report. The 2001 US Commission on National
Security/21st Century said the system did “not fit contemporary
realities.”
Rand proposes a controlled field experiment for the Air
Force to allow a “small number” of majors and lieutenant
colonels to remain in service. This could help meet pilot
community requirements, where the “effective manning”
rate for lieutenant colonels is as low as 35 percent.
Essentially, there would be two alternative career paths.
One would move individuals toward command, with its requirement
for increasing rank and a broader experience base. The other
would develop “deep functional expertise,” stated
the report.
This approach could benefit pilots in both staff assignments
and flying billets. There are desk-job assignments that require
rated officers. “If the Air Force could lengthen the
amount of time a rated officer cycled through one of those
billets, it would free flying time for other officers,”
said the report.
The report noted that Gen. John P. Jumper, Air Force Chief
of Staff, has said USAF “will make sure that qualified
people who do not pursue the command path will not be denied
advanced professional development and a rewarding career to
retirement.”
|
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Martin
Withdraws Nomination for US Pacific Command Post
Air Force Gen. Gregory S. Martin formally withdrew his name
from nomination to be the commander of US Pacific Command
following an acrimonious Oct. 6 Senate Armed Services Committee
confirmation hearing. Martin, the commander of Air Force Materiel
Command, will remain at that post.
During the hearing, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) promised to
delay Martin’s confirmation indefinitely, pending more
investigations and hearings about the Air Force’s controversial
plan to lease Boeing KC-767 aerial refueling aircraft. McCain
was also angry that some internal Air Force e-mails which
he had long demanded, regarding the lease deal, had not yet
been provided.
“I will strongly object to your nomination leaving this
committee until we get all the e-mails and all the answers,”
McCain said after a heated exchange with Martin over whether
some KC-135E tankers are actually so badly corroded that they
require replacement.
Martin said the next day that he believed it to be “in
the best interests of the Pacific Command and Air Force Materiel
Command for me to withdraw my nomination, even though I have
not been involved with the KC-767 tanker program.” He
said he expected further investigation would take months,
leaving both PACOM and AFMC in limbo as to their leadership.
McCain became especially upset during the questioning when
Martin insisted he had not witnessed any wrongdoing on the
part of Darleen A. Druyun, the disgraced former USAF acquisition
official. (See “Washington Watch: Druyun’s Downfall,”
p. 10.) Martin worked with Druyun as a three-star general
in acquisition at the Pentagon in 1998-99.
Five days before the hearing, Druyun, formerly the No. 2
civilian acquisition official in the Air Force, received a
nine-month federal prison term after she confessed to showing
favoritism to Boeing in multibillion-dollar contracts, including
the tanker lease.
Martin said he couldn’t vouch for the veracity of Druyun’s
remarks in her plea statement, to which McCain replied, “I’m
questioning your qualifications for command.”
Martin himself has not been implicated in any wrongdoing
pertaining to the tanker lease or other contracts affected
by Druyun’s actions.
Air Force Secretary James G. Roche and Chief of Staff Gen.
John P. Jumper, in a joint statement, said they were “saddened
by General Martin’s decision to withdraw his name from
the nomination process but fully understand his reasons.”
The statement continued, “We have full faith and trust
in his ability to continue in his command of our outstanding
men and women in the Air Force Materiel Command, where his
command performance has been superb.”
In an interview with Air Force Magazine, Martin said he
understood McCain’s desire to hold the nomination up,
pending further scrutiny of the e-mails in question. They
had only reached McCain shortly before the hearing. Withdrawing
from the nomination was the only reasonable thing to do, Martin
said, because no matter how fast the documents were provided,
“it was pretty clear the process was going to be bogged
down for quite some time.”
McCain previously had delayed for a year Roche’s nomination
to be Secretary of the Army over the tanker issue and a brewing
sexual assault scandal at the Air Force Academy. Roche, too,
withdrew his nomination when it became clear it would not
be resolved on a predictable timetable.
Martin said that he had no indication that his nomination
was headed for a holding pattern until just a few minutes
before the hearing. He had met with members of McCain’s
staff in early September to discuss some e-mails about which
they had questions, and Martin came away feeling that the
Senate staffers were “satisfied” with his answers.
He said he tried to contact, but had been unable to reach,
McCain’s staff in the weeks after that initial meeting
to answer subsequent questions.
For the official Senate hearing transcript, Martin inserted
a revision to his remarks, explaining that he did not question
Druyun’s guilt, but that he could not understand how
she could have duped the Pentagon’s acquisition community.
He acknowledged that his initial response was not clear.
Martin maintained that Druyun’s actions need to be considered
within the “full context” of the acquisition-review
process as it exists today. It had not yet been fully explained,
he said, whether Druyun falsified source selection documents,
or gave Boeing inside information that allowed the company
to make a better bid, or rigged the contract awards in some
other way.
“The admissions that were made were unexplainable to
me,” he told Air Force Magazine.
Martin said that he worked with Druyun for 18 months and
he would have noticed if she had done something wrong.
Martin noted, though, that Druyun had held her position through
a period of prolonged and pronounced change in the acquisition
process.
“She became the corporate knowledge,” he said in
the interview. “She became the person that everyone depended
on and trusted,” not only within the Air Force but within
other services as well.
As a result, Martin said, the system became “responsive
to that individual’s direction.” He added: “If
that individual happens to be a criminal, then we’re
going to have some problems. And apparently, that’s what
happened here.”
Martin said the Air Force must now be as “aggressive
and positive” as it can be in providing information that
Congress has requested on the tanker issue. The goal should
be to get the review completed “as fast as possible.”
Air Force leaders, he said, must be “as supportive and
as helpful to Senator McCain’s review as we can be.”
While Martin will continue to serve as AFMC commander, Adm.
Thomas B. Fargo, the current PACOM chief, will continue in
that post until another nominee can be selected and confirmed.
Gen. Bruce A. Carlson, now head of 8th Air Force, had been
confirmed by the Senate to succeed Martin at AFMC. At press
time, it had not been decided where he will now be assigned.
Maj. Gen. Kevin P. Chilton had been nominated, but not yet
confirmed, for promotion to lieutenant general and to be 8th
Air Force commander.
—John A. Tirpak
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C-130
Designer Hawkins Dies
The lead designer for the C-130 Hercules airlifter, Willis
M. Hawkins, died at his home in Woodland Hills, Calif., on
Sept. 28. He was 90.
Hawkins, who was born in Kansas City, Mo., worked as an aerospace
engineer and designer with Lockheed Martin’s legacy companies
for nearly 50 years. During that time, he worked in various
capacities on numerous aircraft, including the P-38 Lightning,
P-80 Shooting Star, and F-104 Starfighter.
He began work at Lockheed Aircraft Corp. in 1937. His first
projects as a structural component designer were the P-38,
Hudson bomber, and Lodestar transport. He then headed the
design teams for the P-80, XF-90 experimental fighter, XFV
vertical takeoff and landing prototype, F-104, and Constellation
transport-airliner. In 1947, he led the X-7 ramjet test vehicle
development team. Later, he directed the X-17 re-entry test
vehicle program, pioneered analytical antisubmarine warfare
studies, led development of the Polaris—the Navy’s
first sea-launched ballistic missile—and headed the Corona
reconnaissance satellite program.
Hawkins started the Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., serving
as its president. In 1963, he left Lockheed briefly to serve
as assistant secretary of the Army, where he started development
of what would become the Abrams M1 battle tank.
He retired from Lockheed in the early 1980s but was often
recalled to work as a consultant, including work on the latest
in the Hercules line, the C-130J.
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Officials
Break Ground for Soaring Air Force Memorial
Active duty and retired USAF officials, key lawmakers, and
Air Force Association leaders gathered in the rain in Arlington,
Va., on Sept. 15 for the groundbreaking and site dedication
of the Air Force Memorial. The Air Force is currently the
only branch of the armed forces without a memorial in the
national capital area.
The memorial will feature three stainless steel spires, the
tallest of which is to stand 270 feet high. Expected to be
completed in 2006, the 27-story monument will instantly become
a prominent part of the Washington area skyline. It will be
visible from the National Mall.
The groundbreaking came 13 years after Sen. Ted Stevens
(R-Alaska) wrote the legislation that began the process of
building the memorial. Early plans called for a different
memorial design to be located near the Marine Corps’
Iwo Jima memorial. Those opposed to that location felt the
Air Force’s proposed site infringed upon the Marine Corps
memorial.
After a protracted dispute, Congress offered the Air Force
Memorial Foundation the option of placing the memorial on
the grounds of the to-be-demolished Navy Annex, adjacent to
Arlington National Cemetery and overlooking the Pentagon.
That option had been considered initially but discarded because
its availability was uncertain since the federal office buildings
located there were still in use by DOD.
Stevens said, “It’s been a long process, but we
never doubted we’d achieve this goal.”
Also speaking at the event, Air Force Secretary James G.
Roche said, “Human beings need symbols,” and “the
beauty of this structure will be like that of all good art:
It will mean different things to different people.”
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The
Iraq Story Continues
Casualties
By Sept. 29, a total of 1,053 Americans had died during Operation
Iraqi Freedom. The fatalities included 1,050 troops and three
Defense Department civilians.
Of those casualties, 800 Americans were killed by enemy
action, including the three DOD civilians. The other 253 troops
died in noncombat incidents, such as accidents.
Fallujah Brigade Disbanded
With officials calling the Iraqi-led Fallujah Brigade a “fiasco,”
the force that was supposed to bring order to the violent
city in the Sunni Triangle was disbanded in September.
“The Fallujah Brigade is done. Over,” said Marine
Col. Jerry L. Durrant.
The brigade was created in April, three days after US marines
began an assault on the city to put down an Iraqi insurgency
that seemed to originate there. It was hoped the Fallujah
Brigade would quell the insurgency and forestall a bloody
US-led assault on the city. Unfortunately, the brigade proved,
at best, ineffective and, at worst, a supporter of the terrorists.
Fallujah became a magnet for insurgents and a safe haven
for terrorists amid reports that US-equipped brigade members
were actively supporting the attacks on Iraqi and coalition
government forces.
“We’re trying to go in and recover the stuff we
gave them, but I’m not sure it’s worth it,”
Durrant said.
Air Strikes: Effective in Fallujah
With US marines stationed outside Fallujah’s city limits
and the city’s Iraqi-led brigade ineffective, the US
increasingly turned to air strikes to target insurgents holed
up in the rebellious city.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Erwin F. Lessel III said continued air
strikes in Fallujah prevented terrorist attacks elsewhere
in Iraq. “We’re confident that, through these air
strikes, we have been able to thwart many large-scale attacks
and suicide bombings that were in the planning process,”
said Lessel, deputy director of operations in Iraq, at a press
briefing.
The strikes have specifically targeted insurgents loyal to
Iraqi strongman Musab al-Zarqawi. “We’ve gotten
some of [Zarqawi’s] associates and emerging leadership
in his organization,” Lessel said.
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News Notes
By Tamar A. Mehuron, Associate Editor
- USAF is bringing back the William Tell air-to-air competition
after an eight-year absence, said an Oct. 8 news release. It is
to be held Nov. 8-19 at Tyndall AFB, Fla. USAF shut down the competition
because of the service’s high operations tempo, but the service
now believes it will help foster an exchange of tactics that will
aid the F-15 force in combat operations.
- The Air Force plans to relocate the famous World War II B-17
Memphis Belle to the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. The
move, said an Oct. 4 news release, should take place before the
end of the year. Belle resided in Memphis, Tenn., since 1946,
originally on loan from USAF to volunteers and aviation enthusiasts.
In the 1980s, the Memphis Belle Memorial Association became the
leaseholder. The USAF museum plans further restoration and will
make Belle the centerpiece of its World War II aircraft collection.
“We will give it a level of care and public visibility befitting
its legacy,” said Charles D. Metcalf, director of the USAF
museum.
- The Senate voted 77-17 on Sept. 22 to confirm Rep. Porter J.
Goss (R-Fla.) to be the new director of the Central Intelligence
Agency. He replaces George J. Tenet, who resigned this summer.
- Concerns about a return of the military draft continue to swirl,
despite claims to the contrary, according to two recent polls.
President Bush and Congress have forcefully denied it, but the
National Annenberg Election Survey showed that 51 percent of adults
age 18 to 29 believe Bush wants to reinstate the draft. A survey
by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion revealed that
more than a third of Americans believe a new draft is possible.
An Annenberg analyst noted that older respondents were more likely
than younger ones to know that neither Bush nor Democratic candidate
Sen. John Kerry favors reinstating the draft.
- The last Atlas IIAS rocket launched a National Reconnaissance
Office satellite into orbit Aug. 31 from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla.,
according to Florida Today. The launch concluded a perfect record
for Lockheed’s Atlas II rockets, which completed 63 launches
since 1991.
- Air Force Reserve Command will transfer Operation Deep Freeze
airlift missions to Antarctica to the active duty 62nd Airlift
Wing at McChord AFB, Wash. The last AFRC C-141C mission to Antarctica
will be in February 2005. AFRC adopted the mission in 2000 when
McChord began replacing its C-141s with C-17s. McChord C-17s will
handle the mission for the new airlift season, beginning in August
2005.
- According to Textron, a B-1B during a mid-September test at
Hill AFB, Utah, successfully dropped CBU-105 sensor fuzed weapons
(SFWs), striking a moving tank target “multiple times.”
It was the final test point for a weapons upgrade for the B-1B,
said Maj. Chris Abramson, a weapons officer at Hill. The SFW did
not carry a seeker; instead it was directed to the target by the
bomber’s ground moving target tracking radar.
- AFRC recruiters bested their recruiting goal for the fourth
straight year. They signed up 9,636 recruits by Aug. 31, a month
ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline. The command’s goal was 9,600
recruits.
- Electronic Systems Command officials at Hanscom AFB, Mass.,
are testing Internet capability aboard a Joint STARS aircraft
in an effort to provide an interim airborne networking capability
until the arrival of the joint tactical radio system wideband
network. The Internet capability was slated for demonstration
in an October Red Flag exercise at Nellis AFB, Nev.
- An Air Force accident investigation, released Aug. 31, concluded
that loss of situational awareness by pilot Maj. Thomas R. Sims
led to the May 17 collision of two Air National Guard F-16s in
midair over Indiana. Maj. William E. Burchett was killed; Sims
ejected safely. (See “Aerospace World: Pilot Killed in Midair
Collision,” August, p. 12.) Sims was making a 180-degree
left turn after performing a weapons check. During the check,
he did not notice that Burchett, in the lead F-16, had changed
airspeed and altitude. Both pilots were assigned to Indiana ANG’s
113th Fighter Squadron in Terre Haute.
- USAF awarded a $9 billion, five-year contract to NCI Information
Systems, Inc., Reston, Va., for a Network-Centric Solution Program.
The contract calls for a huge array of engineering, technical,
and network services for USAF, DOD, and other federal customers.
- Northrop Grumman received a $1 billion contract from the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency, to build and flight-test three
demonstration unmanned combat aircraft, one for the Air Force
and two for the Navy, officials announced Aug. 19. The X-47B vehicles
are slated for demonstration flights beginning in 2007.
- DARPA took over the X-37 program in September from NASA after
the space agency decided not to pursue reusable launch technology.
The X-37 is a reusable launch vehicle technology demonstrator.
- The United States, Russia, and Germany are the top leaders in
the global arms market, according to the annual Congressional
Research Service report “Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing
Nations,” released in August. The US led with agreements
valued at more than $14.5 billion in 2003, or 56.7 percent of
all arms deals, principally to developing nations.
- Boeing received an $892 million contract in August for C-17
sustainment. Work is to be completed by September 2005.
- An F-15 Eagle crashed on St. George Island, Fla., May 21 because
the pilot accidentally ejected, Air Force investigators concluded
in an accident report released in September. The pilot, Lt. Col.
Patrick Marshall, 1st Fighter Squadron, Tyndall AFB, Fla., ejected
safely. He was on an air combat training flight when an air-regulating
valve separated from his torso harness and got stuck in the ejection
seat handle. As he turned his head to check his position and pulled
the control stick toward him, the movement created enough tension
on the detached valve to raise the ejection seat handle, causing
him to eject. The aircraft loss was valued at $36.5 million.
- BAE Systems received a $174 million contract to upgrade electrical
components of F-16s. Work is scheduled to be completed by August
2009.
- The Missile Defense Agency on Sept. 25 placed its fifth interceptor
missile in an underground silo at Ft. Greely, Alaska. One more
was scheduled to be installed at Ft. Greely by mid-October, and
two interceptors are scheduled for emplacement at Vandenberg AFB,
Calif., late this year. All interceptors are part of an integrated
system to detect, track, and destroy an incoming missile warhead
before it reaches a target in the United States. Despite naysayers,
officials still predict the system will be operational by year’s
end.
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