Outstanding Airmen of the Year: SrA. Ryan G. Hospelhorn  

Outstanding Airmen of the Year: SrA. Ryan G. Hospelhorn  

Aug. 23, 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 Senior Airman Ryan Hospelhorn, a flight security controller for the 841st Missile Security Forces Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. 

Hospelhorn transferred to Malmstrom in February after spending two years at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. Unhappy with his day-to-day job as a security forces member “just working traffic in and out” there, he started a master’s program in advanced systems. His initiative led to a more exciting opportunity filling an NCO position to launch Spangdahlem’s small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) program with the 52nd Security Forces Squadron. 

“With the situation in Russia and Ukraine, and seeing the amount of damage that small drones are able to do, both in recon in the battlefield as well as dropping ordnance, [it] became [a] pretty high priority for my commander to initiate a more robust counter UAS and blue UAS program out at Spangdahlem,” Hospelhorn said. “That included increasing our capabilities for detection and defeats of the small UAS as well as finding ways to integrate our own drones and training drone pilots to be able to use them for various things like security responses or surveys.” 

Over the course of seven months, Hospelhorn led a six-person team to test a hunter-seeker drone in conjunction with U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). As the sUAS program’s manager, Hospelhorn authored three instructions and served as the liaison between the wing and Germany as the host nation to bring the program to life. 

“We’re guests in Germany, and we’re subject to a lot of their rules and laws. They have quite a few rules and regulations regarding UAS, especially in proximity to airfields,” he said. “There’s a lot of paperwork for that, mainly just because of the tools that the drone was using to capture. It is using radar and required a whole bunch of spectrum approvals, frequency approvals.” 

Because it’s an F-16 base, Spangdahlem sees a lot of manned aircraft traffic—a difficult environment for testing drones. Hospelhorn devised a system to ensure there was fair, uninterrupted, and shared airspace between the F-16s and the drones. His initiative and innovation enabled some 12,000 sUAS sorties. 

“It’s a small base, so you’re never too far from the runway [and F-16s are flying] all day, every day,” he said. “If we had to wait for periods where they weren’t flying, we would never be flying. So we found a way to map out certain areas of the base where we activate in order to be flying our drones there and not having interference with the normal F-16 traffic.” 

In terms of a MAJCOM-wide certification process to train sUAS pilots, USAFE lacked some of the standard instructions that stateside major commands have. To provide a first-time capability to the wing, Hospelhorn cobbled together a robust two-month certification process and taught the course to integrate 10 sUAS pilots into the wing’s operations. 

“There wasn’t really anything to go off of [at Spangdahlem], and no real POCs at a higher level to reach out to for guidance,” he said. “I was able to develop training materials based off of some open-source stuff from the drones we were using, as well as from other bases stateside that I reached out to, to get an idea of how they’re running their program and develop our own, which eventually I got approved through AFSOC [Air Force Special Operations Command].” 

“We actually had a couple of SERE [Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape] members from Fairchild come out TDY to attend the course because they weren’t able to find that training anywhere stateside for a reasonable cost,” he added. 

Senior Airman Ryan Hospelhorn. Courtesy of LinkedIn/Ryan Hospelhorn

While heading the UAS initiative at Spangdahlem, Hospelhorn was simultaneously responsible for the innovation technology sector of security forces. He managed a $350,000 acquisition and upgrade of the Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK), which enabled real-time command and control of 47 patrols and non-kinetic emergency response capability for a 40km area of responsibility. 

“[ATAK] is basically handheld devices that allow the base defense operations center or the flight chief to see where all patrols are at any time,” Hospelhorn said. “So, we were able to establish cordons and direct patrols to where they needed to be by just putting a point on a map, as opposed to trying to tell them the intersection of this street and that street over the radio. It was all fast and seamless.” 

Hospelhorn also was selected for a prime fellowship with AFWERX, where he spent five months developing the groundwork for the Air Force’s efforts in detecting and defeating drone swarms. The details of his research are classified, but the opportunity is a testament to his merit as an Outstanding Airman of the Year. He credits the teams he’s been on and the leadership who took a chance on him while he was still an A1C, particularly his Section Chief and Superintendent. 

“Just taking that first step, starting continuing education, and getting connected with the right people was a huge, huge important factor [in my achievements],” he said. “A large portion [of] success is just showing up with the right attitude. Getting there on time, with the right uniform and the right attitude, that’ll take you pretty far.” 

Misawa F-16 Ground Mishap Under Investigation, No Injuries Reported

Misawa F-16 Ground Mishap Under Investigation, No Injuries Reported

Aug. 23, 2023 | By David Roza

The Air Force is investigating a ground emergency involving an F-16 fighter jet that took place at Misawa Air Base, Japan, on Aug. 17. No one was injured in the mishap, and there was no impact to flight operations or commercial flights at Misawa Airport, which shares facilities with the base, a base spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

“As we continue to achieve our deterrence mission here at the 35th Fighter Wing, we will prioritize safe flight operations,” said Capt. Josephine Rios, chief of public affairs for the wing. “We will ensure that defending Japan and U.S. interests in the Indo-Pacific region remains our focus as we continue to safely accomplish our mission at Misawa Air Base.”

Photos of the mishap appeared on the Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco on Aug. 20. The images show a two-seat F-16D resting precariously on a taxiway on what appears to be a belly-mounted external fuel tank. Rios confirmed the photos depict the emergency in question, though they are from an unofficial source.

The aircraft did not fly the day of the incident. When asked for a damage estimate and whether the F-16 can be returned to service, Rios said the details of the mishap are currently under investigation.

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An image posted to the Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco depicts a ground emergency involving an F-16 fighter jet that took place at Misawa Air Base, Japan on Aug. 17. No one was injured in the mishap Photo via Facebook/Air Force amn/nco/snco

The mishap occurs about three months after an Air Force pilot ejected from an F-16 near Osan Air Base, South Korea, during a routine training sortie. No injuries were reported, though local media outlets broadcasted dramatic videos of the fiery crash. That was the first F-16 incident since March 2022, when an Oklahoma Air National Guard F-16 crashed in western Louisiana. The pilot ejected safely.

The F-16 pilots of the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa specialize in the suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses, commonly known as ‘Wild Weasel’ missions. 

USAF, DOD Press Forward With Changes to Medical Services—But Questions Remain

USAF, DOD Press Forward With Changes to Medical Services—But Questions Remain

Aug. 22, 2023 | By David Roza

As the Department of Defense continues its massive reorganization of the military health system, a government watchdog says the Defense Health Agency needs to reevaluate its staffing systems and administrative plans, citing concerns that they will result in too few health care providers and too many administrators.

In a report released Aug. 21, the Government Accountability Office recapped the multiyear effort to reorganize the military health system under the Defense Health Agency, an effort which Congress kicked off in 2016 in an effort to create a more efficient oversight structure for military treatment facilities (MTF, the term for military hospitals, medical centers, and clinics), lower costs, and improve care.

GAO described the project as one of the largest reorganizations in the history of the Department of Defense, and one which the Surgeons General of the Army and Air Force called “extremely difficult,” and “a complicated merger of four cultures.” The result of the change is that DHA oversees day-to-day health care delivery at each MTF, which is staffed by a mix of civilian and military medical providers, while the military departments are responsible for assigning military providers to MTFs.

The ambitious transition of authorities was completed in 2022, but GAO found persistent challenges regarding medical staff levels and DHA’s estimates for administrative personnel. 

Medical Staff Shortfalls

GAO reported that medical staff shortfalls have been a problem in both the military and civilian sectors for years. In the military, the shortfalls are exacerbated by the fact that uniformed providers often must travel for training, deployments, or rotations to other duty assignments. Officials at Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Fla., told GAO that military provider shortfalls jeopardized their ability to provide 24/7 emergency room services in the summers of 2022 and 2023.

Contributing to the shortfalls could be the fact that the military departments retain authority and responsibility for assigning military providers to MTFs and deploying them elsewhere. The long hiring and contracting processes for civilians also leaves vacancies unfilled. 

DHA is attempting to mitigate the problem by moving civilian providers between facilities to fill vacancies; by allowing military departments to support each other with providers; by establishing a new oversight mechanism to analyze shortages; and creating a new human capital distribution framework. However, GAO urged DHA to develop a strategic total workforce plan to better tailor and monitor its long-term plans towards reducing provider gaps and mitigate the effect of deployments on MTF operations.

While the DOD agreed with GAO’s recommendations, it has yet to implement them, saying that the ongoing military health system reforms are still in flux. GAO pushed back, arguing that until the recommendations are implemented, “DHA may continue to face shortfalls in personnel that challenge MTF operations.”

defense health agency
U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Gragg, the Defense Health Agency senior enlisted leader, wears a DHA patch during a tour of the 673d Medical Group at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Nov. 30, 2021 U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Emily Farnsworth

More Administrators Than Necessary?

When DHA began managing and administering military treatment facilities, it also grouped more than 700 worldwide MTFs into two U.S. regions with two offices each as part of a 2018 plan. That plan was replaced in 2019, however, with a new arrangement of 36 markets in the U.S., two regions overseas, and 22 offices to manage them. 

GAO argued the Department of Defense needs to reevaluate its new plan, especially considering the DHA’s estimate for 1,400 personnel to staff its 22 offices is “higher than what is needed to support the offices’ workload, and the number exceeds expected budgetary and personnel resources,” the GAO wrote.

The Department of Defense has struggled to understand its DHA headquarters personnel requirement for years, GAO noted, but the department has yet to conduct a comprehensive review to nail down the right number. Staffing shortfalls also affect the offices, with a “coalition of the willing” from the MTFs stepping up to support office tasks, GAO wrote. Until such an evaluation takes place, DHA “may risk not accomplishing its vision for an integrated health system that efficiently uses resources and lowers costs,” GAO wrote.

defense health agency
A GAO chart shows how the DHA’s 2019 organizational plan differs from the 2018 version. Screenshot via GAO

More Changes

Besides the ongoing changes under DHA, the Air Force Medical Service (AFMS) on Aug. 11 announced its own sweeping reorganization. The service will establish two regional Air Force Medical Commands called AFMED Regions. The new structure will allow two medical Air Force general officers to elevate any concerns from the wing and medical group commander level to the Air Force Surgeon General or DHA leadership. The layout will encourage “streamlined strategic and operational engagement to maximize health support,” Col. Patrick Parsons, Military Health System Governance Liaison Officer for AFMS, said in a press release.

The Air Force hopes the regional commands, overseen by the Air Force Surgeon General, will better align service command and control authorities with DHA; enable senior Air Force medical leaders to better advocate for Air Force and Space Force MTFs; and better support Air Force and Space Force medical readiness priorities. 

“The aim with AFMED is to provide clear direction to local leaders at the installation on health care and readiness priorities to ensure they spend less time deconflicting policies and can focus on the mission and their people,” Stephen Mounts, Air Force Associate Deputy Surgeon General, said in the press release.

Officials said Air Force medical providers should not see an impact in their day-to-day work. The goal is to establish the two AFMEDs with initial operating capability by October 1. The Air Force Surgeon General’s Office could not immediately answer a question from Air & Space Forces Magazine about whether GAO’s concerns about DHA staffing and efficiency played a role in the AFMED plan, but it appears the Department of the Air Force is working to keep pace with the changes in military health over the past several years.

“Having navigated the challenges of the MHS transition since 2017, our Air Force leadership asked us to improve our ability to execute the mission, and AFMED is the answer,” Lt. Gen. Robert Miller, Air Force Surgeon General, said in the release.

USAFE Boss Says Counter-IADS is His Top Priority and Lesson from Ukraine

USAFE Boss Says Counter-IADS is His Top Priority and Lesson from Ukraine

Aug. 22, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

Ground-based air defenses in the Russia-Ukraine war have been so effective that neither side has been able to achieve air superiority over the last 17 months—and that lesson has turned into U.S. Air Forces in Europe commander Gen. James B. Hecker’s highest priority: the improvement of NATO’s capability against integrated air defense systems (IADS), he told reporters.

In a virtual meeting of the Defense Writers Group last week, Hecker, who also serves as head of NATO’s Allied Air Command said that “counter-anti-access/area denial mission is [his] number-one priority, throughout NATO on the air side.”

Hecker added that USAFE has been “putting a lot of effort on improving our skills and using all the Allies to do that.” He didn’t go into details, but the Air Force is pursuing a number of new weapons for the Anti-IADS/Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) mission. These include the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW), as well as existing weapons like the stealthy AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER). Both weapons would target enemy radars and missile batteries.

The U.K. has provided Ukraine with the Storm Shadow missile, which has comparable performance to the basic version of JASSM, and has helped Ukraine push Russian command and control stations further back from the front lines.  

The U.S. has provided Ukraine with AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARMs) to attack Russian air defense radars, and those have been mounted on MiG-29 fighters.

The Air Force typically defines air superiority as achieving the ability to fly anywhere in the battlespace without significant risk; a condition achieved both by clearing the skies of enemy fighters and suppressing or destroying ground-based air defenses.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine have been able to do that, turning the war into what Hecker called a “World War I-like” artillery duel. In fact, Hecker said he was surprised that Russia didn’t achieve air superiority soon after the invasion began and was equally surprised when it didn’t keep trying.

“They … kind of gave up on that early on,” after losing about 75 frontline fighters, he said.

Moreover, because some of Russia’s air defense systems are operating from Russian soil, it’s more problematic for Ukraine to attack them.

As a consequence, Ukraine’s biggest need is replenishment of missiles for its air defense systems, which have been largely—but not completely—effective in knocking down Russian cruise missiles and the drones it has acquired from Iran, Hecker said.

In contrast, Hecker downplayed the importance of providing Ukraine with F-16s, saying the fighters would not be a “silver bullet” that will suddenly give Ukraine air superiority. In fact, he noted that F-16s won’t be operational in Ukraine until next year and Ukrainian pilots will not be “proficient” in the fighters for several years after that.

Instead, Hecker said his second priority is organizing NATO air forces to better counter uncrewed systems and cruise missiles. His third priority is information sharing with the allies, which he said is a “zero-cost” way to “make each other better.” He called it “a policy change, but an important one.”

After those priorities, Hecker said he’s working to implement and exercise the Agile Combat Employment model. Dating back to the end of the Cold War, allied countries used to have a well-practiced ability to service and even re-arm any NATO aircraft that landed at a NATO base, but that capability has “atrophied,” he said.

“We are working to get that back,” Hecker said. To do it, NATO will provision “20-25 bases … in strategic locations around Europe” with the means to support a wide variety of allied aircraft. He declined to specify which bases.

That won’t happen overnight, he said, but he’s aiming to have that accomplished as soon as possible.

Hecker also praised Ukraine for already applying a model like ACE and having success with it.

“We need to make sure we can do that as well,” he said. He also noted that Finland, a new NATO country, is building dual capable highways/runways, as Sweden has done for the last 60 years, to multiply the number of locations from which NATO aircraft can operate.

Trace Amounts of Hazardous Chemicals Found at 2nd Missile Base

Trace Amounts of Hazardous Chemicals Found at 2nd Missile Base

Aug. 22, 2023 | By Greg Hadley and Chris Gordon

Air Force experts found trace amounts of hazardous chemicals at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., but even though the hazards fell within an acceptable threshold set by the Environmental Protection Agency, Air Force Global Strike Command ordered a complete cleanup, the command announced Aug. 22.

Positive tests mark the second such finding at an Air Force intercontinental ballistic missile base since AFGSC launched its Missile Community Cancer Study. Earlier this month, the command disclosed it had found two samples with elevated amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont. 

The EPA calls PCBs a “probable human carcinogen,” noting such compounds “have been demonstrated to cause a variety of adverse health effects.” 

At F.E. Warren, researchers gathered 300 samples from launch control centers and launch control support buildings, including both air sampes and surface “swipes”, using gauze wetted with a solution to sample surface contaminants. Air samples produced no PCBs, but 17 of the swipe tests produced positive results of less than 4 micrograms (one-millionth of a gram) per 100 square centimeters. That’s far below the EPA-defined acceptable levels of 10 micrograms. 

AFGSC Commander Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere ordered all surfaces cleaned. “We want to ensure our Airmen always have a safe and clean work environment,” Bussiere said in a statement. 

Although use of PCBs in wiring and other materials was banned in 1979, the Air Force didn’t start phasing out use of the chemical at ICBM facilities until the 1980s.  

Former missileers and other personnel have long been concerned about the risk of cancer stemming from their duties at the base. Those worries were reinforced when a presentation detailing cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer, at Malmstrom appeared online earlier this year.  

Bussiere ordered a review of the issue, which led to the Missile Community Cancer Study overseen by U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. The study has two parts: environmental sampling and an epidemiological study, which will take 12-14 months to complete, to assess cancer rates. 

Members of the study team carried out initial visits in February and March at the ICBM bases to understand what they should look for and where. The Air Force’s three ICBM bases are Malmstrom, F.E. Warren, and Minot Air Force Base, N.D. The ICBM silos themselves are spread out over vast fields that reach into five states. 

Test results from Minot Air Force Base, as well as water and soil sampling done at all three bases to test for radon, organic phosphates, and other hazards, are still to come.

“We are still early in our comprehensive study of any potential health impacts to our Airmen and Guardians as a result of duty in the missile community, and we deeply appreciate the survey team’s efforts and hard work,” Bussiere said in a statement. “Many other tests are still being performed by our medical and bioenvironmental professionals, and as we get those results, we will provide updates to our Airmen and families in a rapid and transparent manner.” 

Air Force Announces ARRW Test—But Offers Few Details on the Results  

Air Force Announces ARRW Test—But Offers Few Details on the Results  

Aug. 21, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

Editor’s Note: This story was updated Aug. 23 to include a statement from Lockheed Martin.

The Air Force announced it conducted another test of the AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) hypersonic missile on Aug. 19. But while the service said the event provided useful data, it declined to say whether the vehicle hit its planned target and did not characterize the test as “a success,” as it has done on some previous flights.

The shot, off a B-52H bomber, was a “full prototype operational hypersonic missile” and the test focused on the ARRW’s “end-to-end performance,” the Air Force said—a term that encompasses the captive carry of the missile, firing its ATACMS booster, release of the hypersonic glide vehicle, and receiving telemetry from it. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for ARRW.

“The Air Force gained valuable new insights into the capabilities of this new, cutting-edge technology,” the service said, but a spokeswoman for the 96th Test Wing declined to say whether the missile struck its intended target. The service would also not say what was expected from the test and could not immediately say if the test marked the last for the ARRW, which has had a patchy record.

“While we won’t discuss specific test objectives, this test acquired valuable, unique data and was intended to further a range of programs such as ARRW and HACM,” the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile now in development, the spokesperson said.

“We also validated and improved our test and evaluation capabilities for continued development of advanced hypersonic systems,” she said.

On Aug. 23, Lockheed Martin released a statement approved by the Air Force saying it has “full confidence in the maturity and production readiness of the system.”

“We continue to partner with the U.S. Air Force on ARRW hypersonic-strike capabilities by conducting operational end-to-end testing, further validating the design and production of the system,” the statement added

The Air Force has been under pressure from Congress in recent years to improve its capacity to test hypersonic vehicles both in wind tunnels and in live-fire shots. Lawmakers have complained the capacity is too limited to permit the pace of testing needed to rapidly develop hypersonic capabilities. The Air Force has responded by expanding some test ranges and using airborne platforms to collect telemetry previously collected only by ground-based control centers. Wind tunnel upgrades and new construction are underway.

The Air Force decided to “close out” the ARRW program in this fiscal year, service leaders said in presenting their 2024 budget request to Congress. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the service has shifted its focus to HACM, which is a smaller, air-breathing hypersonic missile, in contrast to ARRW, which is a boost-glide hypersonic vehicle. HACM is being developed by Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, which is developing its scramjet engine and recently opened a facility in Maryland to produce hypersonic system elements.

Unlike the large ARRW, which requires a bomber to carry it, HACM is expected to be carried by fighter-sized aircraft. However, the 96th Test Wing said it cannot yet divulge what the “threshold platform”—the first aircraft—will be to employ the HACM. Service officials have suggested it will be the F-15EX.

After the ARRW program concludes, it is supposed to generate some “leave behind” usable assets, but the Air Force has not explained how many rounds this will entail, or whether they would be used for further test or in actual combat.

Edwards Dodges Major Damage from Tropical Storm, But Lakebed Runways Will Be Assessed

Edwards Dodges Major Damage from Tropical Storm, But Lakebed Runways Will Be Assessed

Aug. 21, 2023 | By John A. Tirpak

Despite up to six inches of rain in some areas, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., suffered minimal damage from Tropical Storm Hilary, which swept up from the west coast of Mexico bringing high winds and heavy rain to Southern California this weekend. Flight operations at Edwards were only temporarily halted, but the storm’s long-term effect on the base’s unique natural lakebed runways is still to be determined.  

“There were no injuries reported on base during the tropical storm, and civil engineering crews are working diligently to remove any debris at locations with isolated flooding,” a base spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

“Base infrastructure remains ready for use,” he added. “To protect all personnel who execute or support the mission, based on conditions in the surrounding area on Sunday evening, base flight operations were cancelled on Monday,” he said.

Additionally, base schools were closed and all those workers who could telework were directed to do so, to prevent commuters from being exposed to potential flash floods in the area.  

Although assessments are still underway, “presently, there are no foreseeable long-term, deleterious effects from the storm,” the spokesman said.

Hilary was the first hurricane—downgraded to a tropical storm once it came inland—to hit the Los Angeles area in 84 years. The unusual storm was attributed to prolonged heat that has energized ocean waters in recent months, multiplied by the effects of an El Niño, an ocean temperature imbalance which pushes trade winds closer and with greater force toward the U.S. west coast.

Edwards’ unique dry lakebed runways have suffered in the last decade due to chronic droughts that have emptied water tables under the lakebeds and caused collapse of the concrete-like surface in some locations. That problem “has persisted” in recent years, the spokesperson said, and precipitation “can certainly ameliorate the issue and is expected to help. … To what extent the tropical storm helped remains to be determined.”

Edwards base runway managers have previously reported that steady rain over time, which gradually refill the aquifers under the lakebed, can reinforce the surface. But sudden, violent storms have the potential to cause surface collapses.

In the aftermath of the storm, the lakebed is covered with mud and standing water, the spokesperson said, and the “airfield management team has not yet assessed” its condition. After the standing water dissipates, a longer-term appraisal of the effects—good or bad—on Rogers Dry Lake and nearby natural runways will be made, he said.

The Edwards dry lakebeds have played a critical role in flight test operations for more than 80 years, playing host to various aircraft test programs like the X-1 and X-15, and serving as the main landing site for Space Shuttle missions, given the speed of those platforms and the lakebeds’ large expanse of hard, level surfaces. In recent years, surface collapses have led some areas to be put off limits, while some collapses have been repaired by injecting lakebed-like material into the holes.

Accompanied, 2-Year Tours Could Make a Comeback at Incirlik, Turkey

Accompanied, 2-Year Tours Could Make a Comeback at Incirlik, Turkey

Aug. 21, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

The Air Force is considering restoring two-year accompanied tours as its standard assignments at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. 

Seven years after ending accompanied tours there, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa said a task force visited the base last week to assess the feasibility of returning to standard OCONUS (outside the continental U.S.) tours at Incirlik, according to a news release. 

Airmen at Incirlik have been on 12-month unaccompanied tours since the fall of 2016, when the Pentagon ordered military dependents out of the country due to rising tensions in the area. That summer, an attempted military coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government forced a brief pause in air operations at the base, and was followed by public protests outside the base over unfounded suspicions that the U.S. had been involved in the coup attempt. In the aftermath, some Turkish officials, including Erdogan even questioned whether U.S. and NATO aircraft should be allowed to use Incirlik.

Since then relations between the U.S. and Turkey have not been smooth. Despite warnings over its plan to buy Russian air defense systems, Turkey went through with a deal to buy the Russian S-400, prompting the U.S. and its allies to kick Turkey out of the F-35 program. Then, when Sweden and Finland said they wanted to join NATO in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkey was the lone opposition, before ultimately acquiescing to both. Now that Turkey has set aside its opposition, the situation has seemingly stabilized.

Incirlik played a key role in the flow of humanitarian aid to Turkey after catastrophic earthquakes in February.

A full assessment of restoring standard OCONUS tours to Incirlik will be completed this fall, with a report expected this winter, according to the Air Force release. But that may just be a formality.  

“While the task force from USAFE considers feasibility of unconditional return of dependents, security conditions … support a return of standard OCONUS tours today,” the release stated. 

Col. Kevin Lord, 39th Air Base Wing commander, said in a statement: “The reinstatement of standard tours and rescinding of DOD policy will give our team the flexibility to designate key positions on base for continuity.”

Lord said the move would improve operational effectiveness at the base. “Our surety mission is something we take seriously,” he said. “Our team is advocating for return to standard OCONUS tours as a means to improve proficiency and continuity. Once policy allows, our team at the 39th ABW plans to support standard length tours for key personnel, accompanied or not, as soon as possible.” 

Air Force officials are in no rush, however, and Lt Col. Charles Setzer, 39th Mission Support Group Deputy commander, said any change will take time to put in place.  

“We are not considering a full-scale, unconditional return of dependents immediately,” Setzer said. “It will take a phased approach based on the [courses of action] we are presented.” 

B-2 Flies Through the Arctic Circle Going From Iceland to Alaska and Back

B-2 Flies Through the Arctic Circle Going From Iceland to Alaska and Back

Aug. 21, 2023 | By David Roza

An Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber flew deep into the Arctic Circle on Aug. 15 on its way from Iceland to Alaska to participate in the training exercise Red Flag-Alaska 23-3.

The stealth jet is one of three B-2s deployed as part of a Bomber Task Force rotation in Keflavik, Iceland. An open-source flight tracker reported a B-2 check in over radio at the 83rd parallel north on Aug. 15, putting it above Canada’s northernmost island. A spokesperson for the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., which operates America’s 20 B-2 bombers, confirmed the report to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

“While the B-2’s home station and routine training areas don’t normally bring the aircraft to the Arctic, this training mission provided a welcome opportunity to practice navigating and operating in the challenging high north environment,” said 2nd Lt. Lindsey Weichel.

The B-2 integrated with U.S. and allied aircraft for a training mission over the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, then turned back to Iceland. Though the bomber could have made it from Iceland to Alaska without refueling, KC-46 refueling tankers from the New Hampshire Air National Guard’s 133rd Aerial Refueling Squadron helped the stealth jet get there and back without landing, Weichel said. The entire sortie lasted over 16 hours.

This is not the first time a B-2 has flown north of the Arctic Circle. In 2020, multiple Spirits journeyed from Missouri to train with Norwegian F-35 fighter jets somewhere over the European side of the Arctic, then flew all the way back thanks to gas from KC-135 tankers from the 100th Air Refueling Wing based in RAF Mildenhall.

A B-2 Spirit assigned to the 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Miss, flies alongside a KC-46A Pegasus assigned to the 133rd Aerial Refueling Squadron, Pease Air Force Base, NH, during RED FLAG-Alaska 23-3 over the Joint Pacific-Alaska Range Complex, Alaska Aug. 15, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Andrew Britten

The U.S. bomber fleet has ranged across the globe this year, visiting Indonesia, the Baltics, Guam, the Middle East and other places in between. 

“It seems as though everyone likes to have a bomber in their region,” Air Force Gen. Anthony J. Cotton told reporters on Aug. 16 at U.S. Strategic Command’s annual deterrence symposium. “It shows our resolve in showing that extended deterrence is alive and well when it comes to the United States.”

It also demonstrates “the strategic reach” of the bomber fleet, Cotton said, though that reach takes effort. The 509th Bomb Wing highlighted the work that intelligence, weather, communications, and maintenance Airmen do behind the scenes to make it happen.

“On the surface it might look easy to fly jets and operate out of a new environment, but behind the scenes it takes a team working tirelessly hand-in-hand to hack the mission,” Capt. Andrew Dang, a B-2 pilot with the 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, said in a press release.