Airmen and Guardians Test Launch ICBM, Plan Another in November

Sept. 6, 2023 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Airmen and Guardians joined forces to conduct an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile test launch at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., early Sept. 6.

Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen and 30th Space Launch Delta Guardians launched the Minuteman III, equipped with three test re-entry vehicles, at 1:26 a.m. Pacific Time. The ICBM’s reentry vehicle journeyed about 4,200 miles to reach the Kwajalein Atoll, located in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean.

“Test launches validate our deterrence capabilities to the American public and to our allies,” Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, head of AFGSC, said in a statement.

This is the third ICBM test launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base this year, following launches on Apr. 19. and Feb 9. A fourth is scheduled for November this year, a spokesperson of Air Force Global Strike Command told Air and Space Forces Magazine. That would double the number of tests the command held in 2022.

These tests, as part of routine and periodic activities, verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system, providing valuable data to ensure a continued safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent, according to the statement. Officials regularly stress that they are not in response to current world events.

Still, Col. Chris Cruise, 377th Test and Evaluation Group Commander, said this test launch sends a “visible message of deterrence on behalf of our joint forces and global partners.”

Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder said at a press briefing on Sep. 5 that the Russian government was notified in advance of the test launch. Under the Ballistic Missile Launch Notification Agreement signed in 1988, the U.S. and Russia agreed to give each other 24 hours’ notice before testing ICBMs.

In March, the Biden administration announced its decision to cease sharing biannual nuclear weapons data with Russia. The action followed Moscow’s suspension of participation in the New START treaty in February. The treaty, which came into effect in 2011, permitted inspections of weapons sites and the exchange of information concerning the placement and test launches of of intercontinental and submarine-based ballistic missiles.

Earlier this month, the head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency revealed the deployment of an advanced ICBM system, Samrat. The head of the agency, Yuri Borisov, also confirmed the missiles have been placed on “active combat duty.” These silo-based missiles, colloquially known as ‘Satan 2,’ possess the capacity to carry multiple nuclear warheads and are designed to replace the R-36 ICBMs, which were designated as SS-18 ‘Satan’ by NATO.

The Minuteman III has been in operation since 1970, and boasts extended range, rapid retargeting capabilities, and the capability to deliver up to three reentry vehicles to different targets with high accuracy. Notably, it is the sole remaining U.S. land-based ICBM as the Air Force works to replace it with the LGM-35 Sentinel.

Replicator Drone Effort Part of Pentagon ‘Culture Change,’ Not a New Program, Hicks Says

Sept. 6, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

Within the next two years, the Pentagon plans to field thousands of drones in the sea, in the air, and possibly on land to counter the large size of China’s military under its new Replicator Initiative. And the Department of Defense’s No. 2 official insists the DOD needs no new money to carry out that plan.

“Replicator is not a new program of record,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, who is heading up the effort, said Sept. 6. “We’re not creating a new bureaucracy and we will not be asking for new money in [fiscal 2024]. Not all problems need new money.”

The goals for Replicator are extremely ambitious: “multiple thousands” of drones in “multiple domains” within the next 18-24 months. However, the Pentagon does not have a budget passed for the 2024 fiscal year, which begins at the start of next month.

But Hicks said the initiative was less about creating any particular new system than shifting the mindset of the entire Department of Defense to focus more on “small, smart, cheap, and many” systems that are “attritable” with a shelf life of a few years to field what is “most efficient, effective, and relevant.”

“This is about driving culture change just as much as technology change, and about replicating best practices just as much as products so we can gain military advantage faster,” Hicks said at a conference hosted by Defense News. “This doesn’t require a joint program office or re-shuffling deck chairs in any other way.”

The systems Hicks is referring to already have a Pentagon acronym, ADA2—“all-domain attritable autonomy.” The goal is “systems that are harder to plan for, harder to hit, and harder to beat than those of potential competitors.”

The Pentagon has a variety of unmanned systems, with varying degrees of autonomy, that it has sent to Ukraine, which uses thousands of drones, both of military and commercial origin. Some estimates put the loss rate of those systems at some 10,000 per month. That is where “many” and “attritable” parts of Replicator come into the picture. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine conflict has influenced the Pentagon’s thinking about the need for more and cheaper platforms.

“We’ve seen in Ukraine what low-cost attritable systems can do, not to mention other commercial technologies,” Hicks said. “They can help a determined defender stop a larger aggressor from achieving its objectives, put fewer people in the line of fire, and be made, fielded, and upgraded at the speed warfighters need without long maintenance tails.”

The People’s Republic of China, defined as the Pentagon’s “pacing challenge” by the National Defense Strategy, is bigger than Russia’s military, making the need more acute to “help us overcome the PRC’s advantage of mass—more ships, more missiles, more forces.”

But without new money or a new program of record, how the Pentagon will field the thousands of systems Hicks talks about remains somewhat nebulous. She said the effort looks to bring together much of what the Department of Defense is already doing under one roof, led by her, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Christopher Grady, and the director of the Defense Innovation Unit Doug Beck.

Hicks said what both the services and combatant commands are already doing informed the effort. The Space Force, led by the Space Development Agency, is shifting to smaller, profiled satellite architectures. In the Middle East, U.S. Central Command has several task forces focused on drones, led by the Navy’s Task Force 59, which uses commercial-origin vessels to patrol the waters of the region to assist the limited number of manned vessels at its disposal.

‘We’re now approaching a future where the web of satellites we can draw upon is so great that attacking or disrupting them would be futile—a wasted effort and a highly escalatory one at that,” Hicks said. “That’s what small, smart, cheap, and many can do, and Replicator will help us accelerate the scaling of ADA2 to systems in even more domains.”

While Hicks declined to talk about specifics systems, she did offer a preview of how future platforms might operate.

“Imagine flocks of ADA2 flying at all sorts of altitudes doing a range of missions,” Hicks said. “They could be deployed by larger aircraft, launched by troops on land or sea, or take off themselves. Bigger picture, ADA2 systems let us think and act differently.”

Whether the Pentagon can achieve what Replicator sets out to do remains to be seen.

“We are worried about proving … that the department can actually lead itself through this, not getting mired in red tape,” Hicks said.

The Replicator effort is seemingly separate from the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program to build unmanned wingmen for manned platforms—service officials have said CCAs will not be attritable, and budget documents suggest CCAs will be introduced operationally around 2030. The notional plan is to acquire at least 1,000 of those aircraft.

Outstanding Airmen of the Year: Master Sgt. Michael Galindo

Sept. 6, 2023 | By Patrick Reardon

The Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2023 will be formally recognized at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference from Sept. 11-13 in National Harbor, Md. Air & Space Forces Magazine is highlighting one each weekday from now until the conference begins. Today, we honor Master Sgt. Michael Galindo, Chief of Weapons and Tactics with the 502nd Security Forces Group at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas.

Previously the operations superintendent for the 324th Training Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base, Galindo led the successful graduation of 328 Air Force and Guardian flights. He had the opportunity to serve as the squadron’s senior enlisted leader to coach, mentor, and train NCOs and senior NCOs as Military Training Instructors (MTI).

“[We] developed their fundamental skills: leadership, time management, instructor proficiency, academics, all within a challenging, high-paced environment,” Galindo said.

In another interim SEL role in 2022, Galindo oversaw the safety and security of 660,000 visitors during five base events at Randolph, Lackland, and Fort Sam Houston, including one which was the largest air show in Texas history. He coordinated the events’ safety and security forces with Defenders at all three installations.

Galindo also oversaw two flights of DAF civilians, Airmen, and Soldiers through 338 criminal responses at Fort Sam Houston, Brooke Army Medical Center, and Camp Bullis. The effort was the largest law enforcement mission in the Air Force.

“We also provide bailiff duties for some of the cases that are involved and that are going on there,” Galindo said. “[And] we did a new integration with the local school on base for active shooters. So, we built a pretty good partnership with them and started kicking off some training for not only our Defenders, but also the staff that works there as well.”

When he thinks about his time filling in as a senior enlisted leader, Galindo said the strong faith in his peers is what made the responsibility an easy one.

“We all worked well together. It wasn’t too complex,” he said. “I probably got lucky with some great teams and some good personalities within the teams, and some great attitudes who were willing to continue to get the mission [done]. We all take care of one another.”

Galindo recently established the first law enforcement-focused Weapons and Tactics Section for the 502nd Security Forces Group. The section conducts criminal intelligence analysis, integrates external stakeholders with the squadron, and creates development opportunities for around 900 Defenders—and with more than a decade of experience in security forces, an MTI certification, and his wealth of experience as a leader, Galindo embodies the perfect Airmen for the job as section chief.

“Things are constantly evolving, and we have to continue to adapt,” Galindo said. “So one of the things that my commander has charged the Weapon and Tactics Section, my section, with is still trying to still finding those innovative solutions … to solve these complex problems—[technology] helps improve the efficiency of the organization for us to focus on our duties elsewhere.”

The Outstanding Airman of the Year award recognizes Galindo as a model for Air Force leadership, a trait Galindo credits to the chiefs who have guided him through his career. He named Chief Master Sgt. Nicole Hicks as an especially inspirational leader who helped him grow from an NCO tactician into an NCO manager.

“They say you can see farther by standing on the shoulders of giants,” Galindo said. “[I’ve had] a lot of great people in my corners and just been given a lot of opportunities to work with great teams and great energies and just great leadership … a lot of my success is because of the relationships I’ve had with senior leaders, my peers, my Airmen, and NCOs.”

Meet the other Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2023 below:

Tech. Sgt. Jennel L. Edwards

Tech. Sgt. Michelle Fernandez

Tech. Sgt. Micaela R. Mahan

Tech. Sgt. Kimberly R. Mastrocola

Tech. Sgt. Theodore Sebsibe

Staff Sgt. Dhruva S. Poluru

SrA. Ryan G. Hospelhorn

SrA. Kostiantyn Khymchenko

SrA. Jacob J. Tawasha

New Vice Chief: Slife Nominated for USAF’s No. 2 Job

Sept. 6, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

President Joe Biden has nominated Lt. Gen. James C. Slife for promotion to general and appointment as Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the service’s No. 2 job, the Pentagon announced Sept. 6.

At a Defense News conference earlier in the day, Slife, who currently serves as deputy chief of staff for operations, was asked to comment on reports he would receive the nomination to succeed Gen. David W. Allvin as Vice Chief.

“I’ve got full-time work where I am right now,” Slife said. “So I guess I’ll give that some more thought once we get further down the process.”

Allvin was nominated July 26 to become Chief of Staff, set to succeed Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who is nominated to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In turn, Maj. Gen. Adrian L. Spain has been tapped to pin on a third star and succeed Slife as deputy chief of staff of operations, the DOD announced.

Slife’s three previous assignments before his current job were all in special operations:

Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command

Vice commander of U.S. Special Operations Command

Chief of Staff at Headquarters, U.S. Special Operations Command

He has had 14 other assignments in special operations, having been a UH-1 and MH-53J Pave Low helicopter pilot, and he has commanded special ops units at the squadron, group and wing levels.

If confirmed, Slife will be the first AFSOC commander to become Vice Chief or Chief of Staff since the major command was founded in 1990. Between him and Allvin, the Air Force would have no fighter or bomber pilot in either of its top two jobs, an exceedingly rare occurrence.

The two would take over the Air Force at a key transition moment—Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has called for a sweeping review of the service’s readiness for potential conflict with China, leaders have pushed to retire old aircraft and invest in new platforms, and the branch has increasingly centered its operations around the Agile Combat Employment concept, in which teams of Airmen disperse to operate from remote or austere locations.

Slife’s other Air Force assignments include a tour with Air Force legislative liaison as an intern, a Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow, and a stint as the director of the Air Force’s Emerging Capabilities Division from 2007-2009. He received a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Auburn University, Ala.; a master’s degree in aerospace science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ., Fla., and a master’s in administration science from George Washington University, D.C.

In addition to Slife and Spain, the Pentagon announced four other Air Force general officer nominations Sept. 6:

Maj. Gen. Sean M. Farrell, to become a lieutenant general and deputy commander of U.S. Special Operations Command

Col. Matthew S. Allen, to become a one-star and stay in his current job as director of legislative affairs for SOCOM

Col. Trent C. Davis, to become a one-star and stay in his current job as command chaplain for Air Combat Command

Col. Lawrence T. Sullivan, to become a one-star and stay in his current job as the principal military assistant to the secretary of defense

DOD also announced Biden has nominated Space Force Maj. Gen. David N. Miller Jr. to pin on a third star and become the next head of Space Operations Command. Miller is currently special assistant to the vice chief of space operations, but before that, he was director of operations for U.S. Space Command.

If confirmed, Miller would succeed Lt. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting, SpOC’s first ever commander, who has been nominated to lead U.S. Space Command.

All these nominations, however, face an uncertain timeline. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) has had a legislative hold on all general and flag officer nominations since March 8, preventing the Senate from approving them all at once by voice vote. Tuberville placed his hold to protest a Pentagon policy to provide paid leave and travel funds for troops requiring reproductive services, including abortions, who are based in states where those services are not available.

Hundreds of nominees have piled up over the last several months. The Senate could hold roll-call votes on individual nominees, but the Democrats in the majority have declined to do so, saying it would take months of floor time to vote on all of them and would encourage further blockades by other lawmakers unhappy over policy matters.

Hill F-35 Pilots Ready For the Return of Historic ‘William Tell’ Fighter Meet

Sept. 6, 2023 | By David Roza

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series previewing the return of the William Tell Air-to-Air Weapons Meet next week. The second part will run Sept. 7.

After nearly two decades away, William Tell is nearly back.

The Air Force’s premier fighter competition, the William Tell Air-to-Air Weapons Meet is slated to run Sept. 11-15 at the Air Dominance Center in, Savannah, Ga. Last held in 2004, the meet will feature some of the best air crews from across the service testing their offensive and defensive skills against simulated enemy aircraft, while ground crews will compete in loading weapons, aircraft maintenance, and intelligence operations.

While the return to competition is historic, the preparation for it is essentially business as usual at the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, which is sending one of the first F-35A Lightning II teams to participate in the meet. The 388th is an Active-Duty operational fighter wing, so the pace is always high, said one of the team members, Capt. Spencer ‘MOTOR’ Thompson.

“Just by the nature of going through our training cycles and our day-to-day flying, we’re already prepared for all these events,” he told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The events include one-on-one basic fighter maneuvers; two-on-two air combat maneuvering; and ‘fighter integration’ where the various jets flown by different teams (F-35s, F-22 Raptors, F-15C/D Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, and command and control aircraft) will “work together to kill a lot of bad guys at once,” explained Lt. Col. Jeffrey ‘BANGER’ Harding, a reservist with the 419th Fighter Wing who will also compete on the Hill team.

The simulated bad guys, also known as Red Air, will consist of six jets each from the 64th Aggressor Squadron from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and the 7th Fighter Training Squadron from Langley Air Force Base, Va., Air Combat Command told Air & Space Forces Magazine. Visiting Blue Air aircraft may also fill in as Red Air as needs arise.

Each 4-pilot team consists of an instructor pilot, a flight lead, a wingman, and another pilot of any qualification level, which ensures a good mix of experience levels. Individual skill level will be even more pronounced during the BFM events, where pilots will face off against the same aircraft from another unit.

“That really gets down to the purest sense of who’s the best,” Harding explained, “because it’s not about the airplane.”

The lieutenant colonel expects the F-35’s unparalleled ability to fuse sensor data will shine during the fighter integration event.

“Everyone brings different capabilities, so that we can ultimately win and effectively, from my perspective, kill the adversary with an extremely high kill ratio,” he said. “I would like to lose zero Blue fighters and I would like to kill all the bad guys, and I think the F-35 will demonstrate that with the [situational awareness] that we bring to the fight.”

f-35 europe — The 388th Fighter Wing’s F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighter cruises in Eastern European airspace, Feb. 28, 2022, in support of NATO’s collective defense. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Edgar Grimaldo.

There will be multiple rounds of the fighter integration contest, and the teams that perform best will receive the Maj. Richard I. Bong Fighter Integration Award, named after the top American flying ace in World War II. There will also be awards for the top wings in each fighter category, as well as functional awards for command and control, maintenance, weapons loading, intelligence tradecraft, and “superior individual performers.”

Perhaps William Tell’s biggest win be its impact on Air Force fighter culture. From 1954 to 1996, William Tell was a biennial competition, but budget cuts in the wake of the Cold War ended the practice in the 1990s. With the exception of a 2004 revival to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first contest, William Tell was finished—until now. USAF’s renewed focus on China as a peer adversary fighting in highly contested airspace is the inspiration for bringing the competition back to life.

Due to its 19-year hiatus, William Tell probably did not have the same cultural currency it once had for many present-day pilots when its return was first announced in April, Thompson said. But “as the months have gone on and we’ve gone through the planning process and found out all the history, how this spanned for 30-plus years … I think the hype has gotten to the point where it was in the past.”

That hype will no doubt continue at the competition itself, where Harding looks forward to meeting past William Tell participants.

“I’m excited to see that history and that culture of where the American fighter pilot came from, because culture is a big thing for us,” he said. “It’s been slowly degraded and reduced over the years and I think this is a step in the right direction to bring it back.”

It won’t just be bringing it back, though—it will be updating it for a new era.

“As all these details have emerged, all the pilots are pretty excited for it, at least within our own wing, to bring that camaraderie and bring our fifth-gen capability and kind of showcase that to the rest of the Air Force,” Thompson said.

About 800 Airmen are expected to participate, Air Combat Command told Air & Space Forces Magazine, representing nine squadrons from the Active, Guard, and Reserve components. Among them will be:

Air Combat Command

F-15E Strike Eagles from the 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., and 366th Fighter Wing, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho

F-22 Raptors from the 1st Fighter Wing, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.

F-35 Lightning IIs from the 388th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah

Command and Control from the 552 Air Control Wing, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.

Pacific Air Forces

F-22 Raptors from the 3rd Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and the 154th Fighter Wing, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii

Command and Control from the 3rd Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and the 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan

Air National Guard

F-15 C/D Eagles from the 104th Fighter Wing, Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass.

F-35 Lightning IIs from the 158th Fighter Wing, Burlington Air National Guard Base, Vt.

FSI Defense Prepares Charlotte C-17 Learning Center

Sept. 6, 2023

The United States Air Force (USAF) relies on the C-17 Globemaster III and it’s extraordinary transport capabilities to quickly and safely conduct missions worldwide – and has for decades.

In August 2021, the C-17 and its aircrew expanded those powers, performing unprecedented actions during the evacuation of Kabul, Afghanistan. In one record flight, a C-17 aircrew evacuated more than 800 civilians to safety, including adults and children, with many sitting on their parents’ laps.

Multiple C-17s delivered troops and equipment, along with more flights airlifting Americans and Afghan allies out of Kabul during Operation Allied Refuge (OAR).

While he wasn’t flying active missions during those weeks in 2021, Jeremy Reich, then-Senior Wing Weapons Officer and former Director of Operations at the 145th Airlift Wing, Charlotte, North Carolina Air National Guard Base, knows the crews had a massive advantage on their side: simulator training.

“From scenario training to terrain modeling, OAR aircrew were prepared to execute the mission,” Reich said. “They kept all those airplanes, all those movements safe. They safely put the aircraft where needed and escorted the passengers to safety. Everyone executed their job – that is the greatest accomplishment.”

While the circumstances of OAR may never happen again, future aircrew face new missions ranging from the routine to the extraordinary. To meet those challenges, airmen will soon have a new facility to prepare for C-17 operations.

FlightSafety Defense Corporation (FSI Defense) is a wholly owned subsidiary of FlightSafety International Inc. and provides mission-critical training programs, simulation manufacturing and related services to military and government flight crews worldwide. In the near future, the company will open a C-17 Learning Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, taking its place as the newest learning center and simulator facility in its global network of training locations. Reich, a FSI Defense Instructor at Joint Base Charleston and retired USAF pilot, will become the Charlotte Learning Center site lead and tasked with preparing USAF aircrew for expected – and unexpected missions.

*These Air Force planes are part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and are being used to transport military personnel from air bases in Europe to the Middle East.*

Simulation Training for the Mission

Traditionally, Charlotte-based Air National Guard (ANG) aircrews traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, for simulator training. Once the FSI Defense Charlotte Learning Center opens, ANG personnel will spend less time traveling and more time training at nearby facilities allowing for uncompressed schedules.

Simulator training offers many benefits for new C-17 aircrew, as well as those who are retraining from other aircraft. Instead of special duty trips, aircrew will have direct access to the advanced-technology C-17 flight simulator, allowing aircrew to integrate scenario-based instruction into daily and weekly routines. As demonstrated during OAR, the repetition and volume of simulator training is critical to mission success.

Simulator training is cost-effective and more efficient than airborne training. Simulator instructors introduce weather, terrain and emergency conditions that allow the participating aircrew to practice teamwork while applying corrective actions. Furthermore, the simulator instructor can offer personal experience and lessons learned while resetting the scenario for the aircrew to try again. Resets are virtually instant and offer a safe and effective way to save time and fuel as well as eliminate wear and tear on the physical aircraft.

“You’re not burning actual fuel and there’s a significant decrease in aircraft maintenance,” Reich said. “There’s also no risk of a bird strike or other mishap that often result in a multi-million-dollar maintenance issue.”

“We make the training environment specific to customer requirements. We can change the visibility or make the winds as strong as necessary. We prepare aircrews for the worst possible scenario and train to levels not replicable consistently and safely on an aircraft.”

This scenario-based training also applies to KC-46 air refueling tankers, boom operators, and loadmasters.

Visual Systems and Global Training

Aircrew benefit from computer-generated visual system technology utilizing advanced modeling that allows personnel to train using a large database of real-world locations that show highly detailed terrain and airfield layouts. That knowledge, developed in a simulated environment, enabled C-17 aircrew to execute their mission in Kabul.

Another benefit is connecting Charlotte-based C-17 aircrew with participating aircrew at various locations.

“We can conduct airdrop training and place aircraft formations together – irrespective of their location,” Reich said. “For instance, a C-17 in Hawaii, one in North Carolina, another in Oklahoma, and other geographically separated aircrew can join together for an integrated event using distributed mission operations – it’s fantastic training.”

Continuity of Training

The Charlotte Learning Center extends FSI Defense’s decade-long support of on-site USAF C-17 training and providing NATO aircrew training and partner nation contract logistics support.

Like most FSI Defense instructors, Reich comes to the training mission as a former servicemember.

“I work in an environment where everybody raised their hand to serve our nation; we understand the mission,” he said. “It’s an enriching work environment and critical to our instruction. Aircrew learn from those with former experience. They’re learning from instructors who have been pilots for decades and honed their skills on the C-17 Globemaster. Our instructors have the training and expertise from hours of flight time and are passionate about sharing that knowledge to the next generation of aircrew.”

DAF Personnel Chief on Why Diversity Should ‘Scare the Hell Out of Our Adversaries’

Sept. 5, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

From making it easier for pregnant women to continue flying to updating its pilot candidate scoring mechanism, the Department of the Air Force has made changes big and small in the last few years with an eye toward diversity and inclusion, part of a broader push by the Pentagon to make the U.S. military more diverse.

The DAF’s top civilian on those matters, assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs Alex Wagner, is a political appointee of President Joe Biden but has spent most of his career at the Pentagon like his boss, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall.

“I look at this institution that in some cases is more diverse than the American population,” Wagner told Air & Space Forces Magazine in an interview. “We’ve got an increasingly diverse country; we’ve got the demographic trends creating even more diversity. We have to be, in order to succeed, a mirror of the country that we claim to and do defend.”

Such change takes time, and Wagner praised the work of his predecessors on the effort.

“A lot of good work started on these topics when I was last in the Pentagon during the Obama administration, and a steady drumbeat continued during the previous administration,” said Wagner, who served as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Army from 2015-2017. “The table was really very well set for when I came back to the building, not only building on a number of the efforts that began in the Obama administration, but were resourced—fully resourced—and allowed to grow and thrive during the Trump administration.”

But there have also been reminders of how far the service still has to go. Before Wagner came into his role, Air Force Inspector General reviews in 2020 and 2021 found racial and gender disparities throughout the force, leading top officials like Kendall to call for more reflection and work on the effort

“There are a lot of disparities within the Air Force,” Kendall acknowledged in September 2021.

Some two years later, the service has made much progress, service officials say. And Wagner presented a business case for why that progress was important. Before rejoining the Pentagon in June 2022 in his current role, Wagner helped lead up talent and workforce efforts at the Aerospace Industries Association.

“CEOs whose principal job is return of shareholder value have made very conscious decisions that diverse teams can get them more money,” Wagner said. “My focus is building and manning a force that scares the hell out of our adversaries, that deters our near-peer competitors. And how do I do that? Well, diversity is an important part of that. And it’s one of our actual advantages, and I want to leverage that advantage to the maximum extent possible.”

Increasingly, efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in the military have become hot-button cultural issues, with critics arguing the Pentagon is attempting to be “politically correct” at the expense of readiness. Perhaps the most high-profile current example is that of Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who has placed a legislative hold on all flag and general officer nominations in protest of the Pentagon’s policy to provide paid leave and travel funds for troops requiring reproductive services, including abortions, who are based in states where those services are not available.

But Wagner said there were misperceptions on both sides of the aisle that were unhelpful—a point Kendall has argued as well—about military service.

“If you look at surveys of the most trusted institutions in public life, the military is either at the top or a close second,” Wagner said.

In 2023, around two-thirds of Americans have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of trust in the military, according to Gallup polling, while just one-tenth have “very little.” Trust in the military has decreased in recent years, though that trend matches a pattern across public institutions in general.

Americans’ support for the military means perceptions of politicization carry great risk, Wagner said.

“I think the military has always been something that’s been a juicy target for politicization,” he said. “I hope that it’s not a self-fulfilling prophecy, because right now, I do not think the military is political.”

Access to reproductive healthcare in the military and support for LGBTQ+ service members and their families have become national issues—whether the Pentagon likes it or not—especially over the last year. But Wagner argues quality of life concerns are readiness issues.

“Every day I come to work, we are not talking or thinking about things that people say are political,” Wagner said. “I am laser-focused, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Chief of Space Operations, the Secretary of the Air Force, is laser-focused on taking care of our people. I don’t consider health care political. I don’t consider child care political. I don’t consider spouse employment political. I don’t consider housing political. I want people to feel safe. I want people to feel included and people focused on their mission because the challenges out there are rising. And we’ve got to be ready to meet them.”

Kendall Pledges ‘Major’ Review of DAF’s Readiness to Meet China Challenge

Sept. 5, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

A week after saying the Department of the Air Force was not as prepared as it could be for war against an adversary like China, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall pledged a sweeping review of Air Force and Space Force organization, training, supply, and readiness in an open letter to Airmen and Guardians released Sept. 5.

“We will conduct a major initiative over the next several months to identify and implement the changes needed to meet our pacing challenge,” which the National Defense Strategy has identified as China, Kendall said, with the ultimate goal of deterring Beijing from starting a war with the U.S.

“This initiative will involve a comprehensive look at all aspects of how we organize, train, and equip the Air Force and Space Force,” Kendall wrote. “A centralized planning effort will be led from the combined Department of the Air Force Headquarters with support and extensive input from our Major Commands and Field Commands,” he said, adding that the review will be completed in January 2024.

Under that timetable, the review would conclude after the Department of the Air Force finishes building its fiscal year 2025 budget request, but before it is sent to Capitol Hill.

An Air Force spokesperson could not immediately say if it is Kendall’s intention that the review informs or provides the basis for the fiscal 2025 budget, and whether the major changes it identifies will have to wait until the 2026 submission.

Kendall’s letter likely foreshadows his remarks at next week’s Air, Space and Cyber conference hosted by AFA in National Harbor, Md. Senior USAF officials have also suggested he will make a major announcement about the Air Force’s plan for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, and how they will tie in with the Pentagon’s larger “Replicator” effort to produce unmanned, “attritable” fighting vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft.

“It has been clear to me for over a decade that China is intent on fielding a force that can conduct aggression in the Western Pacific and prevail, even if the United States intervenes,” Kendall wrote. “While China has focused on creating the regional conventional forces it believes it needs, China is also dramatically expanding its nuclear force and military space capabilities. We cannot sustain deterrence by standing still,” he said.

Kendall said this self-assessment will “not be easy,” as the “habits and structures” of the Air Force and Space Force are well established.

Upon completion, the review will be followed by “an implementation phase,” the length of which Kendall did not specify.

Kendall noted that he, acting Undersecretary Kristyn Jones, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Joanne Bass, and Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force Roger Towberman, have all voiced variations on the same theme with their various mottos and mantras: “We must be ready for a fight unlike anything all of us serving today have ever seen, and that requires both unity of effort and change.”

In an Aug. 30 “Coffee Talk” with Bass streamed on Facebook, Kendall said his concern is that the China threat “is here already” and the Department of the Air Force is not fully ready and organized to deal with it.

“Are we organized to deal with that threat? Are we training to deal with that threat? Are we prepared in terms of how we structure a lot of different functions within the Department of the Air Force, for both the Air Force and Space Force, so that we could deal with that threat? If we were asked tomorrow to go to war against a great power, either Russia or China, would we be really ready to do that?” Kendall asked. “And I think the answer is not as much as we could be, by a significant margin. And we’ve got to start spending a lot of time thinking about that and figuring out what we’re going to do about it.”

In his Sept. 5 letter, Kendall said the DAF has focused for the last two years “on establishing the modernization programs we need to maintain our conventional superiority,” under the organizing structure of his seven Operational Imperatives. That work has “produced the new investments and programs included in the FY’24 Defense Budget,” he said, calling this work unfinished but “well begun.”

“The movement to reoptimize for Great Power Competition has already started; I see evidence of that everywhere I go,” Kendall wrote. “But we must move faster and more comprehensively. “We must identify all the changes we need to make and accelerate them.”

At the same time, Kendall offered no criticism of Airmen, Guardians, or their leadership, saying he is in awe of them, DAF civilians “and the families that love and nourish them.”

“We are second to none,” Kendall wrote, “but we cannot afford complacency.”

Kendall directed every member of the DAF to immediately size up their organizations and answer the question: “if asked to go to war today against a peer competitor, are we as ready as we could be? What can we change in each of our units and organizations to be more ready?”

These questions, he said, aren’t academic or theoretical but are vital to deterrence.

“This is why we all serve,” he wrote, “To be ready at any time to undertake the most stressing mission we may be given.”

While the goal is deterrence, “deterrence rests firmly on our readiness and ability to win. No one wants a Great Power conflict, and no one can predict when one might occur, but come it may, and we must be as ready as we can be—now, tomorrow, and every day.”

Outstanding Airmen of the Year: Tech. Sgt. Theodore Sebsibe

Sept. 5, 2023 | By Patrick Reardon

The Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2023 will be formally recognized at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference from Sept. 11-13 in National Harbor, Md. Air & Space Forces Magazine is highlighting one each weekday from now until the conference begins. Today, we honor Tech. Sgt. Theodore Sebsibe, the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of the Electrical Systems with the 316th Civil Engineer Squadron at Joint Base Andrews, Md.

Sebsibe leads a team of 35 military and civilian engineers and is charged with maintaining and installing all electrical distribution systems in the squadron and “America’s Airfield” at Andrews. His team supports 512 facilities ($5.6 billion in assets) and 26,000 personnel. His leadership for such a broad area of responsibilities was recognized when he was invited to the Pentagon for an NCO development workshop. There, Sebsibe was coined by representatives of Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman Ramón Colón-López.

“It was a very cool experience,” Sebsibe said. “I definitely was awake on that day for sure.”

Sebsibe also served as his unit’s administrator of the Commander’s Inspection Program, and is responsible for managing 12 Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSCs), 456 engineers, and 955 items. The program was woefully outdated when he took over as admin, but by standardizing his squadron’s management internal control toolkit (MICT) checklists and by opening new lines of communication between the 316th and the office of the wing’s inspector general, Sebsibe paved the way for his unit to score a 97 percent compliance rate in their inspection.

“Since I’ve relinquished my title with [the inspection program], [the new checklists] ensured that the [next] member have SOP standard procedures of how to execute it,” he said.

The 316th’s near-perfect compliance rate won Sebsibe another coin, this one from his Wing Commander. He was also recognized as a Superior Performer by the Inspector General during the 2022 Unit Effectiveness Inspection. For both achievements, Sebsibe gave a shoutout to his squadron.

Tech. Sgt. Theodore Sebsibe, *the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of the Electrical Systems with the 316th Civil Engineer Squadron at Joint Base Andrews, Md*. **USAF photo.**

“This was not a solo effort,” he said. “This was a team effort, 100 percent.”

Throughout all his merits from the year that led to his recognition as an Outstanding Airmen of the Year, Sebsibe said the highlight of the year—in fact, his entire Air Force career—was the 60 days he spent filling in as the Civil Engineer Squadron First Sergeant. He supported a 504-person squadron by executing 5 PME seminars, advising the squadron commander through 24 administrative actions, and resolving 26 family advocacy cases.

“It taught me a lot,” Sebsibe said. “I was able to not only sympathize, but empathize with each individual that came into that first sergeant office. Because at that point [in my career as] an NCOIC of managing the Airmen, the engineers—this was more [of] actually being there for them.”

He said that handling family advocacy cases while in the seat of first sergeant were especially eye-opening, that they gave him a deeper understanding of the importance of taking care of the whole military family—not just those in uniform.

“Even if you’re not in our squadron, we’re all family,” Sebsibe said. “I always [assure] them that we’re going to get through it together, no matter what the outcome may be, and they’re not going to be alone.”

Indeed, Sebsibe said it’s his own family who has helped him get through the hard times and go on to achieve great things with his squadron. When he accepts his ribbon as Outstanding Airman of the Year on the stage at the 2023 Air, Space & Cyber Conference on Sept. 11, his wife, Jasmery, will be right there beside him—he said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I have to give it up for my wife,” Sebsibe said. “I could not think of any other person [who] allowed me to be here today, and it was because of her support and her love and just the sacrifices she made. And without her none of this would have been possible.”

He also thanked his parents, who immigrated to the U.S. from Ethopia and taught him the value of working hard, overcoming obstacles, and constantly moving forward.

“They came to this country a long time ago with nothing on their backs,” he said. “I’m indebted to them my entire life, and that’s why I want to make sure I take care of them and I don’t let them down, [so] they know that [their] sacrifices didn’t go in vain. I want to make sure that everything I do is dedicated to them and my wife.”