Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne’s latest letter to airmen says the errant shipment of non-nuclear ballistic missile nose cones to Taiwan highlights important lessons that touch on USAF’s core values of integrity, service, and excellence. In addition to having the moral and intellectual courage to do the right thing, integrity also encompasses “going the extra mile to ensure our work is absolutely accurate,” the secretary writes in his April 7 missive. “As we automate more and more, any data errors become part of a larger error set” that could have impact across the joint military community and for the entire nation. Service in this sense means an airman cross checking any part of a process with which he or she is involved. “I need you to be the one to notice when something is not right even if it is not within your immediate purview,” he writes. And the commitment to excellence requires airmen to get the right level of training and take “personal accountability for being ready, willing, and able to execute the mission” correctly and efficiently,” he writes.
The Space Force awarded three contracts for rocket launches worth up to a combined $13.68 billion on April 4—and the usual players SpaceX and United Launch Alliance have got some competition in the form of newcomer Blue Origin.