OSI Civilian Agent Killed
Air Force Special Agent Rick A. Ulbright, 49, died Aug. 8 from
injuries sustained during a rocket attack on Kirkuk AB, Iraq.
Ulbright, who was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special
Investigation’s 33rd Field Investigation Squadron, Andrews
AFB, Md., deployed to Iraq in June to conduct polygraph examinations.
Ulbright had retired from active duty in July 1998, after 21
years in the Air Force. He first served as a helicopter maintenance
technician, then transferred to the OSI in 1986. He began to
work with the OSI as a civilian in August 1998.
F/A-22 Delayed Five Months
The Air Force is postponing by five months the delivery of the
first operational F/A-22 Raptors to Langley AFB, Va. The first
deliveries from Lockheed Martin’s production facility in
Marietta, Ga., were to have been made at the end of this year.
The first Raptors now will reach Langley in May 2005, according
to the Air Force in a July 21 response to query.
The delay will allow Lockheed Martin to use its own factory
to make any modifications that are identified during developmental
testing. Otherwise, the contractor would have to make such changes
in the field.
In previous deliveries to F/A-22 test and training units, modifications
were completed after the aircraft were delivered. The time it
took to modify these aircraft after delivery “significantly
impacted unit training and test,” said the Air Force.
For example, USAF said, aircraft had to be given their low
observable treatments twice—once before and once after modifications
were made.
By delaying deliveries up front, the Air Force said, the fighters “will
be ready for the warfighter” once they arrive at Langley.
B-2 Gets New Stealth Coating
The Air Force this summer received the first B-2 bomber modified
with an updated stealth coating. With B-2s being modified at
a rate of three aircraft per year, the entire B-2 inventory will
receive the upgrade by 2011.
Northrop Grumman applied its specially developed Alternate
High Frequency Material (AHFM) low observable coating to Spirit
of
Washington when the bomber went through programmed depot maintenance
at the company’s Palmdale, Calif., facility. The rest of
USAF’s 21-aircraft B-2 fleet will receive the AHFM coating
during regularly scheduled depot overhauls.
The new coating, which is applied via a robotic spray paint
system to areas where routine base-level maintenance is performed,
significantly
reduces the maintenance time needed to get the stealth bomber
ready for combat. Originally, the B-2 was designed to have specially
formulated tapes and caulks applied to the surfaces near maintenance
access panels. Each time routine maintenance was performed, the
ground crews had to remove the tapes and caulks, then reapply
them and let them cure before returning the aircraft to operational
status.
AHFM will replace about 3,000 feet of tape and reduce maintenance
time from several days to several hours, said Northrop Grumman.
Airman Dies in Accident
TSgt. Joseph Gardner III, of Eight Mile, Ala., died July 18
after being crushed under the spoiler on a C-17 wing while performing
a maintenance inspection at Charleston AFB, S.C. The Air Force
is investigating the accident.
Gardner, 37, was an integrated avionics technician with the
437th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Charleston. He had entered
the
Air Force in August 1988.
Luke Buys Land as Buffer
Luke Air Force Base in Arizona recently completed a $950,000
purchase of 143 acres adjacent to the base’s munitions storage
area. The purchase is the first step in a plan announced last
March to protect the base from encroachment and ensure access
to the Barry M. Goldwater Range.
The Air Force plan includes purchasing a total of 273 acres
and installing security fences around the munitions storage area.
The move will enable the Air Force to connect the storage area
with the base, thus providing a continuous security buffer zone.
The service also included purchase of easement rights for nearly
1,800 acres of land in the base flight departure corridors.
Arizona Sens. John McCain (R) and Jon Kyl (R) have supported
the plan. Kyl said in July that the “partnership” of
local and state officials, landowners, and USAF was “well
on its way toward executing the necessary strategy to prevent
encroachment and preserve operations at Luke Air Force Base for
years to come.”
Luke is USAF’s primary training facility for F-16 fighter
operations.
DOD Installs Missile Interceptor
The first ground-based interceptor for the new national missile
defense system was installed at Ft. Greely, Alaska, on July 22.
Plans call for Greely to have six missiles and Vandenberg AFB,
Calif., another four by the end of the year.
The missiles are part of the Missile Defense Agency’s
Ground-based Midcourse Defense System. They will give the United
States its
first realistic defense against enemy ballistic missiles.
The system is still immature, but Army Maj. Gen. John W. Holly,
who leads the program for MDA, noted that four of the last five
test shots have been successful. “While this system will
constitute an initial limited capability, it is a vast improvement
over our current defensive posture—which is nonexistent,” Holly
said.
Army Seeks Separating Airmen
As the Air Force moves to “balance its books” by cutting
a net of more than 20,000 airmen from its active duty rolls by
the end of next year, the Army is stepping in to recruit many
of these former airmen to fill its high-demand jobs. The effort
is dubbed “Operation Blue to Green.”
USAF announced in January that it must reduce its force level
by 16,000 airmen to meet its authorized end strength. That figure
had grown to 24,000 by May. (See “Force Shaping,” July
2004, p. 58.) The Navy also plans to trim its force—by about
8,000 sailors.
Meanwhile, the Army has been given the green light by DOD and
Congress to increase its end strength by as much as 30,000 personnel.
At issue, still, is whether it will be a permanent increase or
a temporary one that might last several years. To help speed
new troops to the field, the Army wants to recruit honorably
discharged airmen and sailors.
Officers and enlisted members are eligible. Applicants in grades
E-1 through E-4, if accepted, will retain their same grade; eligibility
for those in grade E-5 will be determined by the Army’s
Human Resources Command. Some enlisted applicants, depending
on their specialty, may receive bonuses.
The Army said that those potential soldiers whose current field
exists in the Army will only undergo a four-week warrior transition
course. Others must take a retraining course in addition to the
basic transition course.
USAF Names Top 12 Airmen
The Air Force on July 17 announced its 12 Outstanding Airmen
of the Year for 2004. They were selected from among 45 nominees “based
on their superior leadership, job performance, and personal achievements,” said
the service.
The airmen will be formally recognized at the Air Force Association’s
Air and Space Conference this month. They are:
- SMSgt. Michael David, 437th Communications Squadron, Charleston
AFB, S.C.
- SMSgt. Trace Edinborough, Defense Supply Center, Philadelphia.
- SMSgt. Valise Godley, 735th Communications Sq., Ramstein
AB, Germany.
- MSgt. John Knipe, 1st Air Support Operations Group, Ft.
Lewis, Wash.
- MSgt. Jonathan Rosa, Kentucky ANG 123rd Special Tactics
Sq., Louisville, Ky.
- TSgt. Stephanie Clark, 88th Aerial Port Sq., McGuire
AFB, N.J.
- TSgt. Miguel Ortega-Llarena, 96th Security Forces
Sq., Eglin AFB, Fla.
- SSgt. Aaron Davenport, 56th Civil Engineer Sq.,
Luke AFB, Ariz.
- SSgt. Teresa Mossoni, 90th Space Wing, F.E.
Warren AFB, Wyo.
- SSgt. Terri Palmer, 15th Air Support Operations
Sq., Pope AFB, N.C.
- SrA. Kurt Marunick, 347th Maintenance Sq.,
Moody AFB, Ga.
- SrA. William Moore, 31st Rescue Sq.,
Kadena AB, Japan.
Should F-35 Be Scaled Back? Pentagon officials say the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is so much
better than the aircraft it will replace that DOD could trim
requirements. That would help reduce the program’s current
weight and schedule problems. That, at least, was the view of
the Navy’s acquisition executive, John J. Young Jr., who
oversaw the F-35 until program responsibility switched back this
summer to the Air Force.
Young told Inside the Navy in late June that the Pentagon should
take a new look at the fighter’s requirements. The short
takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the airplane
is worth a special look, he noted, as it is currently the version
of the strike fighter with the worst weight problem.
Compared to legacy aircraft, the F-35 is “significantly
more capable ... in terms of range, signature, maintainability,” Young
noted. “If we lower that [requirements] bar a little bit,
we’re still putting an enormous warfighting capability in
the hands of the pilot,” he said.
DOD recently slowed the F-35 development program to give DOD
and contractors time to solve the weight issues.
Three variants of the fighter are being developed for the Air
Force, Navy, and Marine Corps; some of these variants will be
sold to international partners. The Air Force plans to purchase
both the conventional and STOVL variants as replacements for
its F-16 and A-10 fighters.
First Quad Dormitory Opens
The Air Force opened its first “quad” dormitory July
17 at Nellis AFB, Nev., giving 144 junior airmen an immediate
quality-of-life boost.
The quad dorm features apartments with four private bedrooms,
each with its own full-size bathroom, a common kitchen, and a
small social area with a table and balcony. Each apartment also
has a full-size washer and dryer.
“It’s almost like living off base,” commented
A1C Brian Clement, a crew chief with Nellis’ 57th Equipment
Maintenance Squadron.
Gary Faron, the base civil engineering facility projects team
chief, said the new dorm took 16 months to construct at a cost
of about $10 million.
The Air Force adopted the 4+1 style in 2002 as its new standard.
At the time, eight bases elected to construct new quad dorms.
The DOD standard is 1+1, in which only the bedrooms are separate,
but the department approved more floor space and private baths
if the building can be constructed at no greater cost.
Navy Tests Seven-Carrier Surge
The Navy in late July successfully completed a major test of
its ability to “surge” seven aircraft carrier battle
groups worldwide on short notice. During Summer Pulse 2004,
the Navy deployed the carriers to five theaters simultaneously—the
first test of the Navy’s new Fleet Response Plan operational
concept.
The plan calls for developing Navy capability to put six aircraft
carriers and their strike groups into action within just 30
days. They would be followed by two more strike groups within
three
months.
Historically, carrier battle groups have deployed according
to fairly rigid schedules that allowed three groups to deploy
at
a given time.
“Friendly Fire” Pilot Loses Appeal
Less than two weeks after Maj. Harry Schmidt was found guilty
of dereliction of duty, the Air National Guardsman lost his
appeal to set aside the punishment imposed. Schmidt faces
a letter of
reprimand and a fine of $5,672—the maximum allowed under
the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The saga began April 17, 2002, when Schmidt, an Illinois
Guardsman flying an F-16, mistakenly bombed Canadian troops
participating
in night exercises in the Tarnac Farms area of Afghanistan.
Four Canadians were killed and eight injured.
Gen. (sel.) Bruce Carlson, commander of 8th Air Force at
Barksdale AFB, La., was the presiding authority for Schmidt’s
nonjudicial hearing. (See “Aerospace World: ANG Pilot
Found Guilty of Dereliction,” August, p. 13.) Schmidt
immediately appealed to Carlson to set aside the punishment
meted out July 6, but
Carlson denied his request.
Under Article 15 of the UCMJ, the appeal was sent to the
next superior authority, which, in this case, was Gen. Hal
M. Hornburg,
commander of Air Combat Command. Hornburg, Schmidt’s
last recourse, denied the appeal on Aug. 3.
Obituary
Retired Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, who led the atomic
bomb mission over Nagasaki, Japan, near the end of World
War II,
died of a heart ailment July 16 in Boston. He was 84.
Sweeney, a 25-year-old Army Air Forces major and commander
of the 393rd Bombardment Squadron, piloted the observation/photographic
aircraft that accompanied the B-29 Enola Gay on its Aug.
6, 1945,
atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
When Japan failed to surrender,
Sweeney piloted the B-29 Bockscar on a second atomic bomb
mission against Japan. The Aug. 9, 1945, attack destroyed
60 percent
of Nagasaki. Japan surrendered shortly thereafter.
During the historic mission, Bockscar experienced weather
and mechanical problems, and the aircraft’s special
bomb-bay fuel tanks were unable to pump fuel to the engines.
According
to Sweeney’s official biography, “only his special
training on how to squeeze every possible mile from his initial
supply kept the plane aloft.” The mission originated
on Tinian in the Mariana islands.
In 1946, Sweeney left active duty as a lieutenant colonel,
and then served with the Massachusetts Air National Guard,
where
he rose to the rank of major general. In the 1960s, Sweeney
coordinated civil defense work in Boston. He was also co-owner
and operator
of a leather brokerage business. He retired from the Guard
in 1979.
USAF To Stand Up STRATAF for STRATCOM
The Air Force has said it plans to create Strategic Command
Air Forces (STRATAF) as the single focal point for global
strike capabilities for US Strategic Command. The new command
will provide bombers, intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance
systems, and information operations (IO) capabilities to
STRATCOM.
USAF recognized the need to create an organization similar
to CENTAF, Central Command Air Forces, the Air Force component
to US Central Command. CENTAF draws primarily on capabilities
provided by 9th Air Force, Shaw AFB, S.C. STRATAF will draw
primarily on the forces of 8th Air Force, Barksdale AFB,
La.
Eighth Air Force has responsibility for the nation’s
nuclear bombers and the intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance
systems needed to conduct global operations. When STRATCOM’s
mission was enlarged to include global strike and military
information operations, 8th Air Force was tasked to supply
these capabilities as well. However, STRATCOM did not have
a single point of contact.
In the past, such forces had been provided through a series
of task forces, noted Brig. Gen. Michael W. Peterson, who
is Strategic Command’s deputy commander for global strike
and the air component coordinator for STRATAF at Offutt AFB,
Neb. Rather than stick with individual task forces, the Air
Force decided to move toward “an integrated capabilities
approach,” said Peterson.
Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hal M. Hornburg said in
an interview that 8th Air Force is “in a perfect position
to be the [air and IO] component commander” for STRATCOM.
As commander of 8th Air Force, Gen. (sel.) Bruce Carlson
is the first STRATAF chief. The job reflects USAF’s
recent push to more closely align numbered Air Force (NAF)
commanders with their warfighting missions, so that they
are not overwhelmed with organize-train-equip responsibilities.
STRATAF will have both an air operations center and a
network operations and integration center at Barksdale.
Hornburg
said some personnel shifts will be made as “we identify
or ear-tag these people that are going to be 100 percent
dedicated to the warfighting mission.”
Earlier this year, the Air Force had considered including
all USAF capabilities provided to STRATCOM under the new
warfighting entity, STRATAF, which at one point was identified
as AFSTRAT for Air Forces Strategic Command. In addition
to global strike and IO, it was to include space forces
provided by 14th Air Force, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.,
and the ICBM forces
of 20th Air Force, F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. Instead, USAF
elected to continue to provide those forces through
their respective
NAFs. |
The Fiscal 2005 Budget at Midyear
House and Senate appropriators in July approved a $416.2
billion money bill for Fiscal 2005. The total is slightly
less than the President’s amended request of $417.8
billion, and billions more than was appropriated for 2004.
When President Bush, on Aug. 6, signed the defense spending
bill, he noted the 3.5 percent across-the-board pay raise
for military personnel, saying it brought the total pay raise
over the last four years to 21 percent. Bush said, “This
money is well earned, well deserved, and well spent.”
By major account, the appropriations bill includes $103.7
billion for military personnel; $121.1 billion for operations
and maintenance accounts; $77.7 billion for procurement;
and $69.9 billion for research, development, test, and evaluation.
The total also includes $25 billion in supplemental funding
to pay for the cost of ongoing combat operations in Iraq
and Afghanistan.
Yet to be completed before Congress took its summer recess
was the companion defense authorization bill.
Aircraft Procurement
The Air Force’s premier fighter program fared well
in the spending bill. The appropriators agreed to $3.6
billion
for procurement of 24 F/A-22 Raptors, the number the Air
Force sought. On the authorization side, the House met the
Air Force’s request, but the Senate would cut two Raptors.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter saw a slight reduction in
funding, with appropriators trimming the $4.6 billion
request to $4.4
billion. According to DOD, even a relatively small cut, at
this critical juncture in the program, could undermine the
Pentagon’s efforts to fix the fighter’s weight
problems. House and Senate authorizers met the budget request.
Appropriators raised the number of C-17 airlifters requested
by one for a total of 15, setting procurement funding at
$2.7 billion. The two authorization committees recommended
meeting the Administration’s request for 14 C-17s in
2005 and left procurement funding at $2.5 billion. The Senate
version of the authorization bill recommended that USAF exercise
an option on the current multi-year contract to extend production
from 180 C-17s to 222, the minimum number that US Transportation
Command believes the Air Force should purchase.
With the lease/buy arrangement for KC-767 tankers on
hold, the appropriators created a $100 million “Tanker
Replacement Transfer Fund” that could be used to begin
a tanker modernization program. On the authorization front,
the House
cited concerns about the age of the KC-135 tanker fleet and
added $98.5 million for KC-767s—$80 million for development
and $15 million for advance procurement. However, the House
stipulated USAF must enter into a new contract and DOD must
review the contract. The Senate included nothing for the
program.
Space Programs
A pair of major Air Force military space programs currently
under development saw their budgets dramatically cut by appropriators.
The Transformational Satellite Communications (TSAT) system
had its $774.8 million request reduced by $300 million, to
$474.8 million.
Lawmakers cited technical immaturity and the need for
risk reduction as reasons for the cut. House and Senate
authorizers
already passed identical $100 million cuts to the TSAT budget
request.
The Space Based Radar Program, meanwhile, was almost killed.
Appropriators left just $75 million in place from an Air
Force request of more than $327 million. Claiming the program
was neither affordable nor likely to perform as claimed,
lawmakers instructed the Pentagon to take SBR out of demonstration
and validation and “return this effort back to the technology
development phase.” |
US Spirits Nuclear Materials Out Of Iraq
The United States secretly airlifted more than a ton of
potentially dangerous nuclear materials out of Iraq in
June, Spencer
Abraham, Secretary of Energy, announced July 9. The operation
was conducted jointly by DOE and DOD.
Twenty DOE nuclear experts “packaged 1.77 metric
tons of low-enriched uranium and roughly 1,000 highly radioactive
sources” from Iraq’s Tuwaitha nuclear complex just
outside Baghdad, according to a DOE release.
The Defense Department airlifted the radioactive materials
to the United States on June 23. DOD also “provided
security, coordination, planning, ground transportation,
and funding for the mission,” the release stated.
Abraham said the operation will “keep potentially
dangerous nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists.” He
added, “It also puts this material out of reach for
countries that may seek to develop their own nuclear weapons.”
The uranium would have been usable in a radiological dispersion
device, commonly known as a “dirty bomb,” or for
reprocessing in a more advanced nuclear weapons program. |
The Iraq Story Continues
Casualties
By July 26, a total of 908 Americans had died while officially
supporting Iraqi Freedom—906 troops and two Defense
Department contractors. Of those casualties, 673 were killed
by hostile action, while the other 235 died in noncombat
incidents, such as accidents.
President Bush declared major combat operations in Iraq
complete on May 1, 2003. Since that time, 768 troops
have died in
Iraq: 562 in combat and 206 in nonhostile incidents.
The two DOD civilians were killed in the line of duty
earlier this year.
Philippines Caves to Terrorists ...
The government of the Philippines withdrew its force
from Iraq ahead of schedule to meet the demands of terrorists
who had kidnapped a Filipino working in Iraq. The decision
was immediately condemned by Defense Secretary Donald H.
Rumsfeld and other international leaders.
“When a country negotiates with and acquiesces” to
terrorist demands, Rumsfeld said, “it encourages that
type of behavior on the part of terrorists, and that’s
unfortunate.” Speaking
on Fox News, Rumsfeld added that sovereign states will
make their own decisions, but other nations with captured
citizens
had refused to “make a separate peace” with the
terrorists.
The Philippines had planned to remove its contingent of
51 troops by Aug. 20. Truck driver Angelo de la Cruz was
captured
by militants who threatened to behead him if his country
did not remove its troops by July 20. The Philippines complied
on that date, and Cruz was released.
... More Hostages Promptly Taken
Following the withdrawal of the Philippine troops, terrorists
took six more civilians hostage the very next day.
A terror group on July 21 took three Indians, two Kenyans,
and an Egyptian hostage and threatened to behead one every
three days unless their private employer left Iraq. The
six were reported to be truck drivers. None of those nations
has military forces in Iraq.
By July 22, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was urging
governments to show restraint and resist dealing with terrorists.
In a meeting with the Bulgarian foreign minister, Powell
noted Bulgaria “stood fast” after one of its
citizens was kidnapped and murdered. Another Bulgarian
is still unaccounted
for, and Powell thanked the country for its “clear
understanding” that
terrorists cannot be negotiated with.
“This kind of activity cannot be found acceptable
and cannot be negotiated with,” Powell said. |
Panel Links al Qaeda to Khobar Towers Blast, Other Attacks
The national commission investigating the 9/11 terrorist
attacks on the United States found “strong but indirect
evidence” that al Qaeda played an “as-yet unknown
role” in the 1996 attack on the Khobar Towers complex
in Saudi Arabia.
The attack killed 19 airmen and injured 372 other Americans.
Many had blamed the bombing on the Hezbollah terrorist group.
In a staff report released at the end of June, however, commission
members noted that “ambiguous” evidence of involvement
by Osama bin Laden’s terrorist organization had been
present from the beginning. Evidently, bin Laden was not
considered a prime suspect at the time because of the “historical
animosity between Shia and Sunni Muslims.” Many had
concluded that al Qaeda would not align with Hezbollah.
“Later intelligence, however, showed far greater
potential for collaboration ... than many had previously
thought,” the
report stated.
The commission noted that the US had intelligence reports
prior to the Khobar Towers bombing that bin Laden “was
seeking to facilitate a shipment of explosives to Saudi
Arabia.” And,
on the day of the attack, bin Laden “was congratulated
by other members of the Islamic army,” a loose coalition
of terror organizations with al Qaeda at its core.
According to the report, bin Laden had in fact sent al
Qaeda operatives to visit Hezbollah camps in the years
before the
Khobar Towers attack. The commissioners said that bin Laden “reportedly
showed particular interest in Hezbollah’s truck bombing
tactics in Lebanon.” In 1983, such an attack killed
241 US servicemen, primarily Marines. The attack on the
Khobar Towers high-rise residence was conducted using an
explosive-laden
truck.
The report cited several other plots against Americans
in the 1990s, plots in which bin Laden may also have had
a previously
unknown role. First, the December 1992 explosions outside
two Yemen hotels frequented by US troops headed to Somalia
were linked to a Yemeni terrorist organization whose leader
was “close to” bin Laden, the report noted.
In October 1993, stated the report, bin Laden probably
contributed to the attacks on US forces operating in Mogadishu,
Somalia.
Eighteen soldiers died after two Black Hawk helicopters
were shot down over the city by rocket-propelled grenades
(RPGs).
According to the report, al Qaeda, prior to the attack,
sent experts in the use of RPGs to the city with instructions
to “kill US troops.”
Next was a November 1995 car bombing in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia, that killed seven, including five Americans. Three
of the
four perpetrators who were arrested and executed by the
Saudi government said they had been influenced by bin Laden.
Finally, the commission refused to rule out an al Qaeda
factor in two other deadly attacks: the 1993 World Trade
Center
bombing and the 1995 plot to blow up a dozen US airliners
over the Pacific Ocean. Bin Laden’s role in both “remains
a matter of substantial uncertainty,” the commission
reported. |
News Notes
By Tamar A. Mehuron, Associate Editor
USAF Lt. Gen. (sel.) Henry A. Obering III became the new director
of the Missile Defense Agency July 2. He succeeded Lt. Gen. Ronald
T. Kadish, who retired Sept. 1.
Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth, Tex., plant began assembling
the fuselage of the first test F-35 in early July. The fuselage
and wings are slated to be joined in May 2005. First flight
is scheduled for early 2006.
Air Force Secretary James G. Roche approved the use of the “V” device
(for valor) for any Distinguished Flying Cross awarded for
heroism. Any active duty, Guard, or Reserve airman who received
a DFC
for heroism on or after Sept. 18, 1947, is eligible to wear
the device.
A new three-year test program puts noncommissioned officers
in Air Force ROTC classrooms as instructors in 10 universities.
USAF hopes the move will foster an earlier understanding
of the relationship between enlisted members and officers.
If the program
is effective, it will be expanded to all 144 USAF ROTC detachments.
USAF officials concluded that standing water on the runway
caused a B-1B accident Feb. 27 in Southwest Asia. The accident
report,
released June 16, noted that the aircraft hydroplaned off
the runway. It noted, too, that the accident might have been
avoided
if the aircrew had been told of the landing conditions, but,
the co-pilot’s premature release of aircraft controls
used to counter crosswinds also contributed to the accident.
Damage
was estimated at $7.6 million.
Spatial disorientation and the inability of the pilot, Capt.
Jonathan P. Scheer, to recover caused the fatal nighttime crash
Feb. 25 of an A-10 north of Eielson AFB, Alaska, concluded
an accident report released June 23. (See “Aerospace World:
A-10 Pilot Dies in Crash,” May 2004, p. 18.) According
to other pilots, weather conditions created a situation where
there
was little or no horizon visible. Lacking an external reference,
Scheer had to depend on cockpit instruments. The investigation
board president noted that Scheer may also have had to contend
with an onboard instrument problem.
All military personnel assigned to US Central Command’s
theater of operations and to Korea, under US Pacific Command,
will soon be receiving anthrax and smallpox vaccinations,
DOD announced in late June. Previously, only those serving
in Iraq
and Afghanistan received the shots, but greater availability
of the vaccines led DOD officials to conclude additional
troops could be protected.
A Delta II rocket boosted a replacement Global Positioning
System satellite, GPS IIR-12, into orbit June 23 from Cape
Canaveral
AFS, Fla.
Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field, Nev., is the new
home for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battlelab, formerly
located at
Eglin AFB, Fla. USAF currently bases its three Predator UAV
squadrons at Indian Springs.
Boeing engineers began assembling the at fuselage of the
Navy’s
newest electronic warfare aircraft, the EA-18G, in early
July. A variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet, the aircraft is
slated
for first flight in 2006 and will begin replacing the EA-6B
Prowler in 2009.
Copyright Air Force Association. All rights reserved.
|
