Roadside Bomb Kills Airman
Air Force SSgt. John T. Self, a member of the 314th Security Forces Squadron at Little Rock AFB, Ark., was killed on May 14 as he patrolled near Baghdad.
Self died from the blast of an improvised explosive device, or roadside bomb.
Self, 29, had been in Iraq since September on a voluntary 365-day deployment, according to squadron officials.
While deployed to Al Udeid AB, Qatar, he volunteered for Iraq duty in order to gain more experience. Self was a native of Pontotoc, Miss.
Intel Agency Formed
Effective June 8, the Air Intelligence Agency got a new name and found a new home. AIA is now known as the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency, or AFISR. Once part of Air Combat Command, AFISR, at Lackland AFB, Tex., now reports directly to a deputy chief of staff on the Air Staff in Washington, D.C.
The shift is part of a broader realignment of ISR functions under the Air Force deputy chief of staff for ISR, a post held by Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula.
Deptula now also directs the 70th Intelligence Wing and the Air Force Cryptologic Office at Ft. Meade, Md.; the National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; and the Air Force Technical Applications Center at Patrick AFB, Fla.
Maj. Gen. John C. Koziol, AFISR commander, said he expects the organization to become “the focal point” for the service’s ISR development and modernization.
Cannon Eyed For Overseas Assets
Air Force Special Operations Command may move some Japan-based and Britain-based assets to Cannon AFB, N.M., its commander reported in May.
Lt. Gen. Michael W. Wooley, speaking with reporters in Washington, said AFSOC needed a second base on US soil, as its multiplying equipment and personnel have outgrown Hurlburt Field, Fla. That new base is Cannon.
AFSOC is adding 2,000 more people and 24 new transport aircraft over the next five years.
Wooley said Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates had tasked Army Gen. Bryan D. Brown, head of US Special Operations Command, to “flesh out” plans to bring to Cannon some assets now located at Kadena AB, Japan, and RAF Mildenhall, Britain.
Chandler Tapped for PACAF
Lt. Gen. Carrol H. Chandler, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for operations, plans, and requirements, was nominated by President Bush in April for promotion to general and to head Pacific Air Forces.
Chandler would relieve Gen. Paul V. Hester, who is retiring in January. Hester has held the top PACAF job since July 2004.
The Senate Armed Services Committee as of mid-June had not placed Chandler’s nomination on its schedule.
Chandler, a fighter pilot, served several tours in the Pacific, most recently as head of Alaskan Command. He also in the 1980s was an aide to Adm. William J. Crowe, then commander of US Pacific Command.
New Life for Jammer
The concept of turning B-52s into standoff jamming platforms is making a comeback.
An advisory group working for Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England said in May it will approve development of a Core Component Jammer—an electronic jammer that USAF would mount on the huge outer-wing pods on the B-52.
Last year, as costs exceeded $7 billion, the Air Force cancelled the program. The Chief of Staff, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, declared it unaffordable. (See “Where Next With Electronic Attack?” October 2006, p. 30.)
Under original plans, the B-52 jammer was to have been relatively cheap and simple. The project was later crippled by a huge load of extra requirements.
England’s group was unimpressed last fall by the Air Force pitch to reinstate the project, but continued cost and schedule improvements appear to have done the trick.
Col. Bob Schwarze, the Air Staff’s chief of electronic warfare, told Air Force Magazine that the project has been more tightly focused on standoff jamming. The CCJ concept has better-defined requirements and is more “reality based,” he said.
Over its projected service life, the jammer would cost $2.8 billion to $3.7 billion, a figure that includes 24 sets of 40-foot jamming pods, Schwarze estimated.
USAF says it could field eight sets of the CCJ by 2015.
Gunships Hit the Wall
The wing boxes on Air Force Special Operations Command AC-130U Spooky gunships—some of the “youngest” in the Hercules inventory—are becoming fatigued, requiring careful management of how and when they fly.
That is the word from Lt. Gen. Michael Wooley, the AFSOC commander, who in May told reporters that the culprit is the high operating tempo for the AC-130Us, which are flown at almost three times the rate as their older stablemates, the AC-130Hs.
The U models fly two or three times a night in Iraq, but the H models fly only about once a night in Afghanistan.
Besides carefully managing the loads the U models are bearing, AFSOC has decided to replace their wing boxes. This will extend the model’s service lives beyond 2018. The U models were bought as new H models and converted into gunships.
AFSOC will be taking delivery of four more AC-130Us in the near future, and these will prevent shortages of the type as the other, stressed aircraft go to depot to receive their wing box replacements.
In contrast to the AC-130Us, Wooley noted, older AC-130Hs are aging more “gracefully,” although their ultimate health is harder to assess. He called the H models the “wildcard” of his fleet, in terms of potential age-related maintenance issues.
Second JSF Engine Lives On
In the House, the on-again, off-again campaign to develop an alternate F-35 engine is on again.
The House Armed Services Committee, completing its 2008 defense bill, added $480 million to continue work on the General Electric-Rolls Royce F136 engine.
The F-35’s primary engine is the F135 power plant, built by Pratt & Whitney. Proponents of the second engine say financial and operational benefits will flow from having such a competition. That was the original plan, they note.
The Pentagon has twice tried to kill the second engine, saying that competition wouldn’t save enough money to justify its start-up cost. It also says the F135 is working well, so it does not need a backup.
DOD has spent about $1.6 billion on the alternate engine since 1996. Officials with GE said another $1.8 billion would be needed in order for the motor to be delivered on schedule by 2012. (See “Lightning II: So Far, So Good,” p. 30.)
Romania OKs US Bases
Romania in May approved a plan to allow US forces to use several bases.
The announcement came at the conclusion of Sniper Lance, a 10-day US-Romania exercise. It was the second such exercise held in Romania in nine months.
In 2005, the two nations set out guidelines on how Romania would host US forces. That agreement outlined the possible use of Mihail Kogalniceanu (MK) Air Base as well as a range and port facilities in the city of Constanta.
Bucharest has authorized the US to station on its soil as many as 3,000 US troops, but US Air Forces in Europe officials said there are no immediate plans to permanently station airmen there.
USAFE officials plan to establish in Romania this summer an office to help coordinate future exercises in the country.
Lt. Col. Stephen Ritter, chief of the MK integration branch, said US forces are getting the benefit of training opportunities in Romania, and USAF is working with local officials to coordinate access to training ranges by the Air Force and NATO partners.
Payton’s Perspective
Despite headlines that suggest the Air Force’s system of developing and buying new hardware is floundering, the service is doing a good job managing its programs, USAF acquisition chief Sue C. Payton said at a Washington, D.C., seminar in May.
While conceding that some top programs continue to run over budget, Payton insisted that, on the whole, the system is working well. Of the service’s 127 major programs of record, only about 10 percent are having serious problems, she said.
In those cases where programs are suffering from problems, the main cause tends to be a lack of realism and honesty about costs, she said. “One of the problems was … we estimated costs way too low,” she said, adding, “We need some intellectual integrity about what we’re telling the taxpayer we’re doing.”
Grand Forks Set for UAVs
Air Force civil engineering and communications airmen arrived at Grand Forks AFB, N.D., in early May to ready that base for new Predator and Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles.
A 10-member Langley AFB, Va., team set up camp at the base with the goal of coordinating the arrival of the UAVs with the departure of old KC-135 tankers, which will permanently vacate the premises.
Both moves stem from 2005 decisions of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
The Air Force plans to install eight Predators at the base, with the first arriving in early 2009. Global Hawks are to arrive at the rate of one or two per year, starting in 2010.
A similar team has studied Grand Forks as a possible base for the Air Force’s next tanker—the KC-X. (See “Aerospace World: Grand Forks Eyed as KC-X Base,” May, p. 22.)
New Space Office Opens
The Operationally Responsive Space Office opened on May 21 at Kirtland AFB, N.M.
Col. Kevin McLaughlin was named ORS Office director. He is also commander of Kirtland’s Space Development and Test Wing.
This joint force organization will coordinate various military and government agency efforts to develop fast-turnaround space capabilities. The targeted capabilities are technological and operational in nature.
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, in an April report to Congress, voiced the need for such an office. He said that the nation needs a way to develop, acquire, and field space systems in “shortened timeframes and more affordable ways.”
The office will manage responsive space efforts undertaken by the Air Force, Army, Navy, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, and Missile Defense Agency.
Alaska Shield Unfolds
The Air Force, between May 7 and May 18, teamed with numerous US civilian agencies to stage Alaska Shield, a homeland defense exercise focused on domestic threats.
The exercise, held annually, was a key part of US Northern Command’s Ardent Sentry-Northern Edge 2007. The event allowed participants to practice coordination of Department of Defense and federal, state, and local agencies in disaster scenarios and terrorist incidents.
In a scenario this year, USAF’s F-15C fighters based at Elmendorf Air Force Base intercepted a flight by an airborne narcotics trafficker from the Pacific Northwest. Canadian Air Force aircraft initially responded while the would-be intruder passed over Canadian airspace—and was then handed off to the pair of Eagles.
Joint Task Force-Alaska is the military component of Alaska’s integrated response in such situations. The task force provides military support to civilian agencies and defends Alaska’s airspace.
Two Vietnam MIA Identified
DOD announced on April 24 that remains of two Air Force members, both missing in action from the Vietnam War, had been identified. The two were Col. Norman D. Eaton of Weatherford, Okla., and Lt. Col. Paul E. Getchell of Portland, Maine.
Plans in both cases called for burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
The two airmen were lost on Jan. 13, 1969, during a night mission in a B-57B bomber over Laos.
In 1995, a joint US-Laotian team investigated the incident and interviewed a citizen who recalled the crash. Another team surveyed the site later, discovering wreckage and materials. In 2003, a team uncovered Eaton’s identification tag. Subsequent team visits led to positive identifications.
Turkey Buys More F-16s
Turkey will buy 30 more F-16s under a deal signed with the US government in May. Its existing fleet of about 212 F-16s are also being modernized; both the new aircraft and the upgraded ones will be of a common configuration similar to US Air Force Block 50-52 models.
The buy is considered a “bridge” purchase to keep the Turkish Air Force up to speed as it awaits delivery of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in the next decade. Turkey is one of nine partner nations on the JSF program.
The new sale is worth $1.8 billion and provides for the 30 new aircraft and associated equipment. Of that, Lockheed Martin and its subcontractors will receive about $1.1 billion. The company received a $635.1 million contract in December 2006 to upgrade Turkey’s existing F-16s.
The new aircraft will undergo final assembly near Ankara at the Tusas Aerospace Industries plant, which will also perform modifications to earlier aircraft. Tusas has assembled about 200 of the nation’s F-16s to date. When completed, the F-16 fleet modernization will have provided all Turkish F-16s with new radars, modular mission computers, helmet-mounted cuing systems, Link 16, capability for night vision goggles, upgraded navigation systems, color cockpit displays, and other gear.
India Buys US C-130s
India will buy six new US-built C-130J transports in a $1.1 billion deal, according to a May announcement.
For decades, India acquired most of its military equipment from the Soviet Union. Then, when the USSR collapsed, Russia took up the slack.
The C-130 sale is the first major US deal with India, which has until recently kept its distance from the US as a result of Washington’s close ties to Pakistan, an Indian rival.
The new transports will go to India’s special operations forces. They will be equipped with missile warning systems, countermeasure dispensers, and secure voice communications gear, among other systems.
India has also expressed interest in buying F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters.
Japan Extends Iraq Support
Japan’s parliament, the Diet, voted in May to extend for another two years that country’s air support to the US-led effort in Iraq. Passage came only after spirited debate and expression of strong opposition.
Since 2004, about 200 Japan Air Self-Defense Force troops have been flying cargo and passenger flights into Iraq for the US and its allies. The Japanese support frees up US airlift for other missions.
While it continues to support US airlift activities, Japan has withdrawn 600 ground troops from a noncombat reconstruction mission in southern Iraq.
LRS Aircraft Taking Shape
The Air Force’s next long-range strike system, planned to arrive in 2018, will be neither supersonic nor unmanned, but it will be much stealthier than any existing aircraft. Moreover, it must have very long range and loiter time.
Those were conclusions of a panel of experts speaking May 1 at an AFA-sponsored forum, “The Future of Long-Range Strike,” held in Washington, D.C.
Maj. Gen. Mark T. Matthews, Air Combat Command’s director of plans and programs, said recent analysis shows that the manned-subsonic combination offers the “best value” in meeting missions expected for the next bomber. It will have to carry 14,000 to 28,000 pounds of ordnance and have an unrefueled combat radius of at least 2,000 miles.
Technologies supporting unmanned operation and supersonic speed are not yet mature enough for a 2018 bomber, he said.
The analysis further shows that, despite advances in unmanned aerial vehicle autonomy, “having a man in the loop” will be necessary to adapt to “a dynamic battle environment” in which enemies will do everything possible to avoid detection, move, and spoof attacking aircraft. Adversaries know, Matthews said, that if the Air Force can see them, it can destroy them.
The approach of using cruise missiles traveling at high speeds to perform the long-range strike mission was discarded due to high cost per target and the challenges of constantly updating target information.
The new bomber will have “advanced” stealth qualities, new weapons, and new sensors, Matthews reported.
Storm Hunters Start Early
Air Force Reserve Command’s 403rd Wing flew its first storm-hunting mission of the 2007 season on May 9, when the “Hurricane Hunters” tracked Subtropical Storm Andrea off the coast of Georgia.
The Atlantic Ocean hurricane season officially started June 1. Data collected by the Hurricane Hunters resulted in the National Hurricane Center declaring Andrea the first named storm of the season.
This year, the unit is adding stepped-frequency microwave radiometers to its WC-130Js. The devices measure surface winds directly below the aircraft. They can also determine rainfall rates within a storm system, providing significant structural detail about storms.
Two Hurricane Hunter aircraft are equipped with the radiometers, and another will be fitted each month until all 10 of the wing’s aircraft are outfitted with the pod.
| USAF Helps Iraqi Air Force Expand
The Iraqi Air Force is growing and adding personnel, aircraft, and operating locations and expanding its repertoire of missions, according to Lt. Gen. Gary L. North, commander of US Central Command Air Forces and 9th Air Force. North, who is the top USAF airman in Southwest Asia, briefed Air Force Magazine during a May tour of CENTCOM’s Combined Air and Space Operations Center in the Persian Gulf. The Iraqi Air Force currently has seven squadrons—one of which flies three C-130s that operate on the daily air tasking order put out by CENTAF. Pilots and crews have been trained in the US and work side by side with airmen, moving the Iraqi Army and senior national leadership around the country. “To create a basic airman takes quite a bit longer because you have to teach flying skills in addition to combat skills,” North said. The Iraqi Air Force currently has two bases. Their main location is Al Muthana, situated next to Baghdad Airport, where C-130s and former Warsaw Pact helicopters fly alongside US-built helicopters that are part of their fleet. The second base is at Kirkuk, where small intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance aircraft, such as specially equipped Cessna Caravans, operate in support of counterinsurgency efforts. “They have an ISR capacity where they can perform real-time data link” and electro-optical and infrared functions, North reported. American and coalition trainers are working with these pilots toward a goal of using the Iraqi aircraft to monitor electrical and oil lines as well as areas of high interest in the greater Kirkuk region. The effort is slated to continue through 2012. About 400 airmen and coalition personnel are dedicated to the training program. —Marc V. Schanz in the Persian Gulf region |
| The War on Terrorism | |
| Operation Iraqi Freedom—Iraq
Casualties By June 14, a total of 3,508 Americans had died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The total includes 3,501 troops and seven Department of Defense civilians. Of these deaths, 2,881 were killed in action with the enemy while 627 died in noncombat incidents. There have been 25,950 troops wounded in action during OIF. This number includes 14,283 who returned to duty within 72 hours and 11,667 who were unable to return to duty quickly. Sadr City Air Strike US and coalition forces operating in Baghdad killed three terrorists and detained four suspects May 10 during a raid in the city’s Sadr City district—calling in close air support after a sustained firefight. The targeted individuals were suspected members of a cell transporting weapons and special penetrating explosives from Iran to Iraq, according to Multinational Force-Iraq officials. When ground forces arrived, they received small-arms fire from two separate buildings. Despite efforts to subdue the armed terrorists, forces continued to receive fire—then called for close air support from Air Force F-16s which were covering the operation. The F-16s killed three of the men. Intelligence reports indicated the cell had ties to a kidnapping network that conducted attacks within Iraq. Operation Enduring Freedom—Afghanistan Casualties By June 9, a total of 397 Americans had died in Operation Enduring Freedom. The total includes 396 troops and one Department of Defense civilian. Of these deaths, 217 were killed in action with the enemy while 180 died in noncombat incidents. There have been 1,319 troops wounded in action during OEF. This number includes 524 who were wounded and returned to duty within 72 hours and 795 who were unable to return to duty quickly. Air Strikes Kill Taliban, Civilians An estimated 11—and possibly many more—Taliban fighters were killed by US air strikes on May 15 when their compounds were struck in coordinated attacks, the Afghan Defense Ministry reported. The insurgents were killed in the Zhari district of Kandahar Province. The police chief of the province claimed that more than 60 died, including three regional commanders—Mullah Abdul Hakim, Mullah Abdul Manan, and Mullah Zarif. The enemy fighters and commanders were killed in a raid during a joint NATO-Afghan operation, according to the Defense Ministry. According to the US Central Command Air Forces daily airpower summary, Air Force F-15Es dropped 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions on insurgent positions and covered troops who came under small-arms fire. An Air Force B-1 also dropped 2,000-pound JDAMs on a building occupied by insurgent fighters in Gereshk on the same day. The Taliban’s top military commander, Mullah Dadullah, was killed in the Sangin area of Helmand Province earlier in May. |
| Raptor Makes Unexpected Entry on Public Stage
The F-22A Raptor, the Air Force’s new air superiority fighter, made its air show flying debut at Andrews AFB, Md., on May 18—nearly a year ahead of the schedule put forward by Air Combat Command. Maj. Paul Moga, the sole F-22 demonstration pilot, told reporters in Washington, D.C., that ACC wanted to get the program out as soon as possible so that the public could get acquainted with the special capabilities of the fighter. The 2007 season originally called for a simple series of flybys as Moga developed the final routine, but ACC decided to allow a “version 1.0” performance. The initial routine involves extremely tight turns, maximum performance climbs, and a series of slow flight and high angle-of-attack maneuvers—including pitch flips and “tail slides”—demonstrating the F-22’s ability to remain under control under virtually any conditions. The routine highlights the fact that a pilot can point the F-22’s nose in any direction, regardless of airspeed or attitude. Moga noted that all the maneuvers are part of the normal F-22 pilot training syllabus and are “nothing crazy,” even though the aircraft at times seems to defy gravity, momentum, and aerodynamics. The tail slide—in which the aircraft stops ascending and begins to fall backward under total control—is something rookie F-22 pilots do on their third training sortie, Moga said. As the season progresses, Moga said ACC will likely clear more maneuvers for the demo routine. —John A. Tirpak |
| Inside the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing
Six years ago, the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing was an empty shell—800 airmen without any aircraft, acting as a placeholder for potential future action in US Central Command’s area of responsibility. Today, the unit boasts 105 aircraft deployed to a Persian Gulf airfield along with 8,000 personnel among 47 units. Col. Jeff Fraser, the unit’s vice commander, said the 379th is the largest and most diverse organization in CENTCOM’s AOR. “One of the unique things about the base is that not all of the aircraft belong to the wing or the Air Force,” Fraser told Air Force Magazine at his host base. Coalition personnel and assets from Australia, Britain, Singapore, and other nations are on the flight line next to US airmen, soldiers, marines, and naval aviators. Airframes on the ramp include the KC-135R, C-130H and J models, E-8C Joint STARS, and B-1B bombers, which have operated out of the Persian Gulf since June 2006. (See “Aerospace World: Closer to the Bone,” June, p. 20.) The site hosts 21 tankers that support any and all air missions in the AOR. The wing has doubled the fuel storage capacity at its base. It is now capable of storing about 14 million gallons of fuel, up from nearly six million a year ago. The fleet of Joint STARS and RC-135 Rivet Joints operate under the authority of the 379th alone, Fraser said, and are being used in new ways to connect forces in the field. Example: With the broad area coverage of a Rivet Joint, a fighter with a targeting pod can close in on a specific target of interest and get a concentrated look at it. The increase in capacity has made the wing’s combat, airlift, and surveillance aircraft more flexible and adaptable to missions over Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Horn of Africa. From January to mid-April this year, more than 2,000 intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance aircraft hours had been flown. Additionally, the wing had answered about 1,500 requests for air support and moved 93 million pounds of cargo. Despite the large and diverse operation, Col. Mike Arnold, commander of the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Group, says maintainers are keeping a close eye on the logistics footprint around the wing, setting up the appropriately sized parts depots for frequently used items such as gears and brakes for C-130s and KC-135s. “We’re trying to keep our maintenance footprint as small as possible,” he said. —Marc V. Schanz in the Persian Gulf region
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| News Notes |
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| Senior Staff Changes |
| RETIREMENTS:Lt. Gen. Donald J. Wetekam, Maj. Gen. Stanley Gorenc.
NOMINATIONS: To be Lieutenant General: Kevin J. Sullivan, Donald C. Wurster. To be Major General: Garbeth S. Graham. To be Brigadier General: Mark W. Tillman. To be ANG Major General: Michael D. Dubie. CHANGES: Brig. Gen. (sel.) Brian T. Bishop, from Dep. Dir., AF Concept of Ops., DCS, Air, Space, & Info. Ops., P&R, USAF, Pentagon, to Dep. Dir., LL, OSAF, Pentagon … Maj. Gen. Kurt A. Cichowski, from DCS, Strat., Plans, & Assessment, MNF-Iraq, CENTCOM, Baghdad, to Vice Cmdr., AFSOC, Hurlburt Field, Fla. … Brig. Gen. John W. Hesterman III, from Dep. Dir., LL, OSAF, Pentagon, to Cmdr., 48th FW, USAFE, RAF Lakenheath, Britain … Brig. Gen. (sel.) James M. Holmes, from Div. Chief, Checkmate, DCS, Air, Space, & Info. Ops., P&R, USAF, Pentagon, to Dir., Strat. Plans, Prgms., & Intl. Affairs, PACAF, Hickam AFB, Hawaii … Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Kennedy, from Cmdr., AF Global Cyberspace Integration Center, Office of the Chief of Warfighting Integration & CIO, OSAF, Langley AFB, Va., to Dir., Air Component Coordinating Element, ACC, Bagram AB, Afghanistan … Brig. Gen. (sel.) Robert P. Otto, from Asst. Dep. Dir., Global Ops., Jt. Staff, Pentagon, to Dep. Dir., Intel. & Air, Space, & Info. Ops. for Flying Tng., AETC, Randolph AFB, Tex. … Brig. Gen. Robin Rand, from Cmdr., 332nd AEW, ACC, Balad AB, Iraq, to Principal Dir. to DASD for Middle East Policy, Office of the USD for Policy, Pentagon … Maj. Gen. Eric J. Rosborg, from Asst. Dep. Undersecy. of the AF for Intl. Affairs, Office of the Undersecy. of the AF, Pentagon, to Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation, Turkey, EUCOM, Ankara, Turkey … Brig. Gen. Robert P. Steel, from Cmdr., 48th FW, USAFE, RAF Lakenheath, Britain, to Commandant, Natl. War College, NDU, Ft. Lesley J. McNair, D.C. … Brig. Gen. Lawrence A. Stutzriem, from Dir., Weather, DCS, Air, Space, & Info. Ops., P&R, USAF, Pentagon, to Dir., C/S of the AF Strat. Studies Group, USAF, Pentagon … Lt. Gen. (sel.) Kevin J. Sullivan, from Cmdr., Ogden ALC, AFMC, Hill AFB, Utah, to DCS, Instl., Log., & Mission Spt., USAF, Pentagon … Brig. Gen. (sel.) Stephen W. Wilson, from Dep. Dir., Intel. & Air, Space, & Info. Ops. for Flying Tng., AETC, Randolph AFB, Tex., to Dep. Cmdr., Canadian NORAD Region, NORAD, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada … Lt. Gen. (sel.) Donald C. Wurster, from Vice Cmdr., AFSOC, Hurlburt Field, Fla., to Cmdr., AFSOC, Hurlburt Field, Fla. SES CHANGES: William H. Budden, to Exec. Dir., BRAC Implementation, DLA, Ft. Belvoir, Va. … Steven F. Butler, to Exec. Dir., Warner Robins ALC, AFMC, Robins AFB, Ga. … Fred P. Lewis, to Dir., Weather, DCS, Air, Space, & Info. Ops., P&R, USAF, Pentagon … Brian A. Maher, to President, Jt. Special Ops. University, SOCOM, Hurlburt Field, Fla. … Kenneth I. Percell, to Dir., Engineering & AF Smart Ops. 21 Advisor, Warner Robins ALC, AFMC, Robins AFB, Ga. … Mary Christine Puckett, to Assoc. Dep. Asst. Secy. for Acq. Integration, Office of the Asst. Secy. of the AF for Acq., Pentagon. |