Air Force Magazine
Here's a look at how the Defense Department is being impacted by and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Defense One
President Donald J. Trump’s deeply controversial nominee to become the top policy official at the Pentagon, rejected by the Senate over the summer, will assume the duties of the post following the resignation of former acting policy chief James Anderson earlier on Nov. 10.
War on the Rocks
“In a series of articles on combatant commands, the Washington Post came to a sobering conclusion about the outsized power wielded by these globe-spanning military bureaucracies: They had ‘evolved into the modern-day equivalent of the Roman Empire’s proconsuls—well-funded, semi-autonomous, unconventional centers of U.S. foreign policy.’ These powerful commanders are routinely ‘received by heads of state who offer gifts, share secrets, and seek advice.’ That was in 2000. The power, influence, and sway of combatant commanders has only grown since,” writes Mackenzie Eaglen, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, in an opinion piece.
National Defense Magazine
Lockheed Martin is working toward outfitting a directed energy system on fighter jets by the middle of the decade, according to a company official.
Las Vegas Review-Journal
He wasn’t an Air Force pilot. He was never stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. He hadn’t been in the military since his Navy days during the ’50s. But to a generation or two of U.S. Air Force pilots flying out of Nellis, Evan Thompson was a brother in arms as beloved as any with whom they served, even if most of them knew him only from a distance.
Associated Press via Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota and the Minneapolis St. Paul Air Reserve Base in Minnesota are among nine U.S. Air Force bases in the world that have been categorized as a "red" installation due to the rise of active COVID-19 cases in areas surrounding the bases.
DOD release
The 2020 election cycle is almost over. However, the rules that limit the political activities of federal government employees and service members still apply.
36th Wing release
Andersen Air Force Base personnel conducted an antiterrorism/force protection exercise dubbed Sling Stone 21-1 with its Joint Region Marianas partners to strengthen the base’s ability to respond to security threats Nov. 5.
Airforce Technology
Boeing has received three foreign military sales contracts worth $800 million to support the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF).
One More Thing
Air Force Magazine
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, offers visitors from near and far a chance to learn more about the Airmen who built the service and to honor their time in uniform. On Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, visitors can hear from Air Force veterans who will be on hand to share their stories and bring exhibits to life. Can’t get to the museum? You can still hear from Air Force veterans: A dozen new podcast interviews introduce listeners to the the service’s first female pilots, who provide a behind-the-scenes look at their lives and share the story behind “Women in the Air Force: From Yesterday into Tomorrow,” a new exhibit and series of installations spread throughout the museum that will fully open in 2021.
