Top Lawmaker Wants Report on Dogfight Missiles, Whether to Extend AMRAAM

May 21, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, wants to make sure the Air Force and Navy have enough air-to-air missiles for their crewed and uncrewed fighters through the end of the decade and is directing them to submit an annual assessment of the threat and need in his markup of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.

Specifically, Rogers wants to know if the services require more AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles than they’re planning to buy, and whether an extended-range version should be added to the acquisition plan. Such a weapon could be a “hedge” against failure or delay of other air-to-air missiles in development, he said, such as the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM).

A provision in the bill would require the Air Force and Navy to submit a report to Congress, coordinated with the regional commanders-in-chief, by April 2025 on “the sufficiency of established inventory requirements” for AMRAAM through fiscal 2029, followed by annual updates. The House Armed Services Committee will mark up the bill May 22, and it must then pass the full House and reconciled with the Senate version.

The services’ report would explain the numbers and types of air-to-air missiles the services are developing, how many they expect to put in service, as well as the planned inventories of each type, by year.

The Pentagon is known to be developing a number of new air-to-air missiles—and evaluating several developed independently by contractors—with the intent of obtaining longer-range weapons to shoot from a greater distance, while achieving a smaller missile size to increase the number of shots available to each individual flying platform.

Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief William LaPlante and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., have both said recently that munitions tend to be “the bill-payers” in budget crunches, and both noted a boost in the multiyear buy of AMRAAM in the fiscal 2025 budget request to address this tendency.

Through 2029—the apparent end of AMRAAM procurement—the Pentagon plans to buy:

457 missiles in 2024

462 in 2025

664 in 2026

118 in 2027

9 in 2028

Zero in 2029

Rogers wants the Air Force/Navy report coordinated with regional COCOMs, who would be directed to state the missile levels needed “to support the operational plans of the United States Central Command, the United States Indo-Pacific Command, the United States Northern Command, and the United States European Command, assessed separately for each command at low-, medium-, and high-risk levels.”

The annual report is also to look at “emerging requirements for surface-to-air defense and collaborative combat aircraft capabilities, and how such emerging requirements are expected to impact inventory requirements for air-to-air missiles.”

The AMRAAM is used in the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), which is being provided to Ukraine. The system launches the AMRAAM from the ground against air threats.

It is also presumed that AMRAAMs will be carried by Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs) the Air Force and Navy are planning to use for air-to-air combat.

The Air Force is working on the AIM-260 JATM, which is to improve on AMRAAM’s range by several times, to achieve parity or dominance over China’s advanced, long-range PL-15. However, the Air Force has said nothing recently about progress in fielding JATM, which was originally planned to be operational in 2022.

A problem with fielding the JATM might explain Rogers’ interest in pursuing an extended-range AMRAAM as a stopgap. The Air Force consistently declines to discuss the JATM or its progress.

The Navy is also working on a successor to the AIM-9X Sidewinder. The radar-guided AMRAAM is meant to defeat targets beyond visual range while the infrared-guided Sidewinder has traditionally been meant for targets within visual range. With the advent of stealth aircraft in competitor air forces, though, the Navy has been developing IR missiles with longer range, and the Air Force wants a radar missile that can find stealthy targets farther away.

The report Rogers wants would include “whether extending the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile program of record through 2029 would enhance available inventories of air-to-air missiles during such period” and if the acquisition plan should “include development and fielding of an AIM-120D Extended Range missile.” Rogers wants to know what number of AMRAAMs are needed to meet COCOM needs “at a medium-level of operational risk.”

The Air Force in particular is to report on whether AMRAAM could be extended by assessing “how new propellants, binding agents, and other enhancements may increase the capabilities of such a missile” and whether buying such a weapon “could hedge against current or future air-to-air missile inventory, capacity, capability or shortfall risks.”

Either way, Rogers wants the Air Force to “develop a budget profile and schedule that would support expedited fielding of such a missile.”

The Secretaries of the Air Force and Navy are to submit the requirements report, while the Air Force Secretary is to submit the report on extending the AMRAAM. RTX’s Raytheon builds AMRAAM, and a company spokesperson said the company would not comment on the chairman’s mark.

B-52s Land in UK to Kick Off Another Bomber Task Force

May 21, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

B-52 Stratofortess bombers kicked off yet another Bomber Task Force deployment May 20, with the first aircraft touching down at RAF Fairford, U.K., the Pentagon said.

The bomber task force “will provide numerous training and operational opportunities alongside NATO allies and regional partners,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder told reporters May 21. “This deployment underscores the U.S. commitment to NATO’s collective deterrence in defense of the Euro-Atlantic region against hostile actors.”

The deployment from the 5th Bomb Wing from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., is the third bomber task force to deploy to Europe this year, following deployments of B-1s to Sweden in February and Spain in March.

U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) said in a news release that the first B-52s landed at RAF Fairford on May 20, and Ryder added the BTF is scheduled to include four bombers from Minot.

The bombers are part of the Department of Defense’s Large Scale Global Exercise series, which runs through June. In February, U.S. European Command said the exercise series with U.S. partners would include 11 separate training events in Europe. These include the recently concluded U.S-led Astral Knight integrated air and missile defense exercise, as well as two bomber task force missions. USAFE has not provided a detailed account of the plans for the latest B-52 deployment.

There has been heavy demand for bomber task forces in recent years as the U.S. has sought to reassure allies and deter potential adversaries.

“The appetite for bomber task force exceeds capacity,” the head of Air Force Global Strike Command Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere told Air & Space Forces Magazine last month. “There’s so much interest across the globe with all our geographic combatant commanders. I’m sure they would take as many as we could give them.”

His command, Bussiere notes, has to balance the demand for bomber task forces with the imperatives of maintaining the readiness of its aircraft and Airmen and carrying out its nuclear deterrence mission on behalf of U.S. Strategic Command.

The B-52 deployment marks the second bomber task force deployment this month for BUFFs following a B-52 deployment that operated out of Guam.

“Everybody loves a bomber task force,” Bussiere said. “The COCOM commanders love bomber task force. Our allies and partners love bomber task force. It’s a great opportunity for our Airmen to train. It’s a great opportunity for our allies to train with our Airmen and their bombers. And when you send a bomber from the United States of America to anywhere in the world it sends a very distinct, purposeful message to allies and any potential adversaries.”

A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress, assigned to the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron deploys its parachute on a runway at Royal Air Force base Fairford, England, May 20, 2024. BTF 24-3 enhances combat readiness amongst participating NATO Allies and partner nations, ensuring their ability to rapidly respond to emerging threats. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jared Brewer

Russia’s New Counterspace Weapon Is in the Same Orbit as a US Satellite

May 21, 2024 | By Greg Hadley and Chris Gordon

Russia launched a counterspace weapon into the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite on May 16, U.S. officials said, further increasing tensions between the two countries in space.

“On May 16, Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit that the United States assesses is likely a counterspace weapon presumably capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit,” said U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood in a May 20 speech at the United Nations. “Russia deployed this new counterspace weapon into the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite.”

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder said May 21 that “assessments further indicate characteristics resembling previously deployed counterspace payloads from 2019 and 2022.”

Ryder declined to discuss what U.S. intelligence agencies know about the satellite’s payload.

In late 2019, the Russians launched a satellite that then released a second satellite. Both satellites then followed a National Reconnaissance Office satellite. Then-Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond compared them to Russian “nesting dolls.” Several months later, U.S. officials said the sub-satellite had released another object, apparently firing a projectile at high speed.

U.S. officials have not previously publicly discussed the 2022 counterspace payload, but they have highlighted other Russian counterspace efforts. In 2021, Russia tested a direct ascent anti-satellite missile on one of its own spacecraft, destroying it and creating a massive debris field in its wake. And earlier this year, then-Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John F. Plumb confirmed concerns that Russia is developing an “indiscriminate” nuclear weapon to go in space.

The U.S. has since cosponsored a resolution in the UN calling on all nations not to develop or deploy nuclear weapons in outer space. Russia vetoed that resolution, however, then introduced one of its own condemning all weapons in space.

Wood, representing the U.S. at the UN Security Council, decried Russia’s resolution as “diplomatic gaslighting and dissembling.” He revealed the new counterspace satellite in a speech before a vote on the measure failed in the U.N. Security Council. The vote was a 7-7 tie, with Switzerland abstaining. The U.S. voted against it.

U.S. Space Force and Space Command officials have said that both Russia and China are ramping up their counterspace efforts, developing and testing new weapons like lasers to dazzle satellites, the “nesting dolls,” and a “grappling” satellite that can grab and tow other satellites out of their orbit.

Current CSO Gen. B. Chance Saltzman has said the Space Force will support “responsible counterspace campaigning” to counter the threat while ensuring space can remain usable for all nations.

Space Futures Command, New Integrated Mission Deltas Launch This Summer

May 21, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

The Space Force will stand up its new Space Futures Command and two new Integrated Mission Deltas this summer, said Lt. Gen. Philip A. Garrant, head of Space Systems Command.

Garrant shared the new details during a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event on May 21.

Integrated Mission Deltas will combine operations and sustainment under one roof, with the goal of more delivering upgrades more rapidly than is possible today. Chief of Space Operations B. Chance Saltzman announced the first two Integrated Mission Deltas as a pilot program in September 2023, with one focused on electronic warfare (EW) and the other on position, navigation, and timing (PNT). By February 2024, the new units were already getting rave reviews.

“The ability to combine those units under a single umbrella, to be able to focus on unified mission readiness, has paid some tremendous benefits to this point,” said Col. Andrew Menschner, commander of the Position, Navigation, and Timing Delta (Provisional) in February at the AFA Warfare Symposium.

Now Garrant said it’s time for the next step. “We are expanding the concept this summer,” he said. “We’re doing the mission analysis to expand on the missile warning mission area as well as space domain awareness.”

Garrant and his counterpart at Space Operations Command, Lt. Gen. David N. Miller, are leading the analysis work together. The two will present Saltzman with a progress report in the next few weeks, Garrant said.

Most affected by the upcoming changes are Space Delta 2, which handles space domain awareness, and Space Delta 4, which covers missile warning. But USSF is looking to move aggressively on other mission areas, too.

“The long-term intent is, over the course of the next year and a half, to finish out the rest of the mission areas,” Garrant said. He singled out satellite communications and orbital warfare as possibly the next two.

But Garrant also cautioned that expanding the concept still requires careful planning.

“It is a pretty significant lift when they look at organizational change requests and some of the restructuring, and then making sure that we’re not hurting anyone’s career,” Garrant said. “When we stand up these [Deltas], we’re not making anyone lose their jobs. So it’s a very deliberate process.”

Space Futures Command

Moving up the command hierarchy, Garrant also signaled progress on the Space Force’s fourth Field Command, to be called Space Futures Command. First announced in February as part of the Department of the Air Force’s “re-optimization” for great power competition, Space Futures will focus on long-term questions about force structure, technologies, and capability development.

“The intent is to [make Space Futures Command] active, provisionally, by August,” Garrant said. “It will be another very geographically diverse command.”

Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton, the Space Force’s chief planning officer, said in February that a task force to lay the groundwork for standing up the command could be in place by “the beginning of summer,” and that the command could achieve initial operational capability by the end of 2024.

Space Futures Command will consist of a headquarters element and three centers:

Headquarters: Garrant said the headquarters will be commanded by a general officer, and draw manpower from the Futures and Integration element of the Space Staff, a group currently led by Col. Carl Bottolfson.

The Space Warfighting Analysis Center: The center is currently a direct reporting unit to the Space Staff and is based in Washington, D.C.

The Space Wargaming Center: This new center will be led by Space Delta 10, which is responsible for doctrine and wargaming in Space Training and Readiness Command. It is currently led by Col. Jack D. Fulmer II.

The Concepts and Technologies Center: This center will also be entirely new. Garrant said it will be led by Col. Peter Mastro, the senior materiel leader for the Tactical Command, Control, and Communication Delta in SSC.

“The idea is they will build that future force that then goes into the programmed force which ultimately we hope becomes a fielded force,” Garrant said. “Gen. Saltzman likes to talk about risk of mission being the difference between those three forces: the force design that we want, the force design that’s budgeted, and the force design that we have.”

Each of the three existing field commands—SSC, Space Operations Command, and Space Training and Readiness Command—will contribute to the formation of Space Futures Command, Garrant added

“Whether it’s the wargaming or it’s the mission area teams from SpOC or in our case, the S&T and some of the initial engineering and architecture work that our integration office does, they will all be working with or for Space Futures Command,” said Garrant. Those decisions haven’t been made yet, but we might actually move people from SSC into Futures. They’ll still stay in Los Angeles so they’re connected to our organization.”

5,500 Airmen Selected For Master Sergeant as Promotion Rate Ticks Up

May 21, 2024 | By David Roza

Of the 29,497 technical sergeants eligible for promotion to master sergeant in the 2024 cycle, 5,500 were selected for promotion, the Air Force Personnel Center announced May 20. The selection rate of 18.65 percent is up slightly from last year’s 17.34 percent, but it marks the fourth year in a row that the rate has remained below 20 percent.

AFPC said it will publish the master sergeant promotion list on its website on May 23 at 8 a.m. Central time.

The total number of new master sergeants is the most in a single year since 2018, but the number of those eligible was the most since 2013, keeping the selection rate below one in every five Airmen. Still, the percentage is up nearly four points from 2022’s 14.8 percent rate, the lowest mark in years.

At that time, officials cited retention and a restructuring of the enlisted force among the reasons for its historically low promotion rate. The economic uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic drove a surge in retention, creating more competition, and the service said the force was becoming unbalanced with too many mid-tier noncommissioned officers not having enough experience, leading to a cut in open spots.

Retention rates have since returned to pre-pandemic levels. Lt. Gen. Caroline Miller, the Air Force deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services, told lawmakers earlier this month that the Air Force had bumped up its Active Duty recruiting goal from 26,000 recruits to 27,200 in response to “observed declines in current year retention averages and to help offset potential future retention trend declines.”

In the meantime, the Air Force is also implementing an enlisted grade structure revision that won’t be done until fiscal 2025. By slowing down promotion rates, the restructuring is supposed to address concerns that some newly promoted Airmen lack sufficient experience to lead their peers.

Year	Eligible	Promoted	Percent Rate
2024	29,497	5,500	18.65
2023	28,831	4,998	17.34
2022	27,296	4,040	14.80
2021	24,721	4,676	18.92
2020	22,286	4,649	20.86
2019	19,422	4,733	24.37
2018	20,866	6,176	29.60
2017	20,169	5,166	25.61
2016	21,504	5,019	23.34
2015	23,619	5,301	22.44
2014	22,678	4,073	17.96
2013	37,608	5,654	15.03
2012	19,809	5,464	27.58
2011	19,538	6,618	33.87
2010	21,829	5,424	24.85

Bud Anderson, WWII Triple Ace and Air Force Test Pilot, Dies at 102

May 20, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

Brig. Gen. Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson, the last surviving triple ace from World War II, a noted Air Force test pilot, and a 30-year veteran of the service who also flew combat missions during the Vietnam War, died May 17 at the age of 102.

Anderson shot down 16 German aircraft in WWII (and shared 1/4 credit on a 17th aircraft) in a variety of P-51 Mustangs he called “Old Crow,” after a preferred brand of whiskey. He logged more than 480 hours of combat time during the war, across 116 missions, all from March to December 1944, and all with the 363rd Fighter Squadron. The bulk of his kills were Focke-Wolfe 190s. He credited his especially keen eyesight as the key to his success, allowing him to spot enemy aircraft before they spotted him.

After the war, Anderson flew as a test pilot, logging time in more than 130 different types of aircraft, especially the “Century Series” of supersonic fighters, and he amassed more than 7,500 hours of flight time. After his retirement as a colonel, he worked for the McDonnell Aircraft Co. as its chief of flight test.

Anderson grew up near Sacramento, Calif., and earned his pilot’s license while still a teenager. He joined the Army as an aviation cadet shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and earned his wings before the end of 1942. He trained in the P-39 Airacobra, which he flew at several stateside bases, but switched to the P-51 soon after arriving in Europe in late 1943.

By early 1944, as part of the 357th Flying Group—self-nicknamed “The Yoxford Boys”—Anderson was flying escort for bombers over Europe. Only a month after starting escort missions, he downed his first German aircraft, a Messerschmitt BF-109. By the end of May, he had become an ace, meaning he had shot down five enemy aircraft. In June, he shot down three FW-190s in a single day, and by the end of that month had become a double ace.

After taking stateside leave, he returned to flying duty and in November and December 1944 shot down three FW-190s and forced down one more, his final aerial victories, making him the 357th’s third-leading ace, with 16.25 kills. None of the planes Anderson flew were hit by enemy fire and he never aborted a mission.

Back in the states, the Air Force deployed the high-scoring ace as a goodwill ambassador and recruiter, but by 1948 he returned to regular flying as a test pilot at Wright Field, Ohio, where he served until 1953, working on a variety of experimental projects. Among the concepts he tested was the F-84 as a parasite fighter operating off a B-36 bomber.

After Air Command and Staff College, he was assigned as director of operations at the 58th Fighter-Bomber Wing at Osan Air Base, Korea, from August 1955 to February 1956, when he took command of the 69th Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Osan until August 1956.

From there he went to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., where he became Chief of Test Flight Operations until 1962, flying or supervising test on a wide variety of jet aircraft, including the first double-sonic jets.

He completed the Army War College and several operational assignments after that, until he was assigned to command the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing at Kadena Air Base, Japan until late 1967.

After a Pentagon tour, Anderson commanded the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing from June to December 1970, flying 25 combat missions against the Ho Chi Minh Trail from Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base. He was in charge of closing the base when it deactivated.

Anderson retired in 1972, having been decorated with two awards of the Legion of Merit, five awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, and 16 Air Medals, as well as the French Legion of Honor and Croix de Guerre. After retirement, he managed McDonnell’s flight test operations at Edwards until 1998, where he supervised test projects such as the F-15 Eagle, F/A-18 Hornet, and C-17 Globemaster III.

In 1990, Anderson cowrote “To Fly and Fight – Memoirs of a Triple Ace,” which was updated and re-published in 2019. In the book, Anderson’s lifelong friend and fellow ace and test pilot Chuck Yeager described him as “the best fighter pilot I’ve ever seen.”

Also in 2019, the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum unveiled a special display of Anderson’s flight jacket and flying gear as a highlight of the World War II display at its Udvar-Hazy Center. The same day, he recorded recollections of some of his service history with Air & Space Forces Magazine.

He was given an honorary promotion to brigadier general in December 2022, in a ceremony at the Aerospace Museum of California, near his boyhood home, presided over by then-Chief of Staff (now Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman) Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.

Anderson was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008 and the International Air & Space Hall of Fame in 2013. In 2015, along with other American Fighter Aces, he received the Congressional Gold Medal, and in 2017, received the Air Force Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

A life-size bronze statue of Anderson stands at the Auburn Municipal Airport in California, near his hometown of New Castle. He was a life member of the American Fighter Aces Association and was a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

Decommissioned Missile Sites Likely Had Hazardous Chemicals, AFGSC Says

May 20, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

Certain harmful chemicals were likely present at intercontinental ballistic missile bases that have since been decommissioned, Air Force Global Strike Command said in a memorandum published May 20.

The Air Force has found evidence of polychlorinated bipheny ls (PCBs)—which are possible carcinogens—at active Minuteman III ICBM bases as part of its ongoing Missile Community Cancer Study, which is looking into the health of personnel who worked around the nation’s land-based nuclear missiles. In particular, samples from the Missile Alert Facilities (MAFs) at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., and Minot Air Force Base, N.D., produced PCB samples at levels above federal standards, requiring cleanups of those parts of those facilities.

PCBs were commonly used in electronics until they were banned in the U.S. in the late 1970s. As a result, older, decommissioned sites likely had PCBs present that the Air Force will not be able to document directly, meaning service members who served around Titan and Peacekeeper missiles, as well as Minutemen, may have been exposed.

The new memo from the commander of AFGSC Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, “acknowledges that PCBs are likely present in decommissioned Titan and Peacekeeper missile facilities that the Air Force no longer has the ability to conduct sampling in,” the command said in a news release.

“The memorandum is intended for service members who served in the missile fields and need to document their potential exposure to PCBs for discussions with healthcare providers or Veterans Affairs,” the release added.

Environmental sampling from the study, which Bussiere ordered early last year, has only covered the three current ICBM bases—Malmstrom, Minot, and F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.—and Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., which hosts ICBM test launches. Officials have not studied decommissioned facilities that, for the most part, no longer exist. But AFGSC says the preponderance of evidence indicated PCBs were likely present in disused facilities.

“This environmental sampling effort identified the continued presence of PCBs in the Minuteman MAFs, despite a comprehensive removal effort in the 1990s,” Bussiere wrote in the memo. “While unable to sample decommissioned sites for the Peacekeeper and Titan weapon systems, a review of technical data showed that PCB-contained components were likely used in those alert and control families, given their construction timeframe.”

The first Titan missiles were deployed in the 1960s, with the Titan II remaining in service until 1987. Peacekeeper missiles were operational from 1986 to 2005.

“One of the consistent concerns we’ve heard throughout the Missile Community Cancer Study is that service members, retirees, and veterans have trouble explaining their concerns over potential exposure to toxic chemicals with their healthcare providers, especially civilian providers who don’t have access to military medical databases,” Col. Gregory Coleman, AFGSC’s surgeon general, said the release. “While this memorandum from Global Strike Command cannot capture the specifics of any individual Airman or Guardian’s service in the missile fields, it can serve as a starting point for discussions and documentation of potential exposure.”

The memorandum notes Missile Alert Facilities that have been used at some point since 1970—and therefore may have had PCBs present—including all Active ICBMs, as well as deactivated sites at:

McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.

Little Rock Air Force Base Base, Ark.

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo.

Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.

Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D.

Disused locations at F.E. Warren and Malmstrom

“I understand the frustration and difficulty that former service members can experience while trying to get care for conditions related to their military service,” Bussiere said in a statement. “Documenting potential exposures is a small step we can take to hopefully make that process easier for our Air Force and Space Force veterans.”

‘We Love You’: Hundreds of Airmen Pay Tribute To SrA Roger Fortson at Hurlburt

May 20, 2024 | By David Roza

To become an aerial gunner on the AC-130 gunship, Airmen have to pass through a grueling series of flights where more experienced gunners pepper them with questions about the weapons systems they will have to operate under the stress of combat. So evaluators were surprised a few years ago when, after finishing his preflight duties, a student took a fire extinguisher off the aircraft wall and handed it to one of them.

“You’re going to need this,” the student said. “Because I’m going to be on fire answering these questions today.”

The student was Senior Airman Roger Fortson, a special missions aviator with the 73rd and 4th Special Operations Squadrons at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

Fortson was killed May 3 by a sheriff’s deputy, who fired at him while responding to a reported disturbance call at an apartment complex at Fort Walton Beach, Fla. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s deputy shot the 23-year-old Fortson six times as the Airman opened his apartment door while holding his legally-owned handgun at his side, pointing downwards. At a May 16 press conference, a lawyer for Fortson’s family, Ben Crump, said the deputy had been called to the wrong apartment.

The shooting has sparked grief and outrage among many Air Force members and led to discussions about race, policing, and gun rights. Airmen around the world worked together on social media to organize remembrances and tributes to Fortson, who many praised as a solid Airman and a great friend.

Respect and grief were on equal display May 20, when hundreds of Airmen gathered with Fortson’s extended family at Hurlburt for a memorial service in a packed hangar, as another 600 people watched the event live-streamed on Facebook. One Airman audibly held back tears while singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the start of the ceremony, which came three days after hundreds of Airmen joined their fallen wingman’s friends and family for a church near Atlanta, Ga., Fortson’s hometown.

At the church service, Airmen lined up to pay respects at Fortson’s coffin, and the head of Air Force Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind, knelt and presented a folded American flag to Fortson’s mother, Chantemekki.

At a May 20 press conference, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the military’s highest-ranking Airman and service member, expressed his “sincere condolences” to Fortson’s family. While the case is under investigation, Brown said he “would hope and expect” that service members and their families would all be safe in their homes and the various communities they live in around the country.

roger fortson — U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, presents an American flag to Chantemekki Fortson during the celebration of life for Senior Airman Roger Fortson on May 17, 2024, at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Conroy)

At Hurlburt, Airmen described Fortson as a man overflowing with confidence, competence, and kindness. Senior Airman Collin Courtney, who shared the fire extinguisher story at the service, is a fellow special missions aviator who trained and deployed with Fortson.

“It could be 125 degrees pre-flighting a plane in the sun, or maybe a really hard loss to Roger in a game of cards,” Courtney said. “Rod [Roger’s nickname] would always look at you and hit you with his famous one-liner: ‘Hey, that’s showbiz, baby.’ And you couldn’t help but crack a smile and laugh.”

AC-130 pilot Capt. Malcom Lee recalled an experienced tech sergeant telling him that Fortson “was confident, almost cocky, but he was beyond his commensurate performance level.”

At one point, Fortson told an evaluator gunner “‘Sir, there is no question you can ask me that I don’t know the answer to,’” Lee recalled from one temporary duty travel (TDY).

“Now, if you know the gunship community, that’s an extremely bold statement coming from a student gunner,” Lee said. “But Roger was prepared and knowledgeable. … Roger showed up and crushed that TDY.”

Outside of work, Fortson’s comrades described the 23-year-old as someone who got along with anyone from any walk of life.

“While out on the town, he kept us laughing nonstop,” Lee said. “Funny thing: He wasn’t trying to be funny. He was just being himself. Roger had charisma, or, as he would say, ‘the riz.’

“Loving Airman Fortson was an easy thing to do,” Lee added, holding back tears, “because he loved first.”

Fortson was also fiercely loyal to his family; wingmen recalled him ordering DoorDash food deliveries for his family back in Georgia while he was deployed to the Middle East, FaceTiming his younger siblings, and flying back from Kuwait to take care of his mother even though he was still recovering from emergency surgery himself.

“Roger came to us as a great man,” Lt. Col. Joshua Stoley, chaplain for the 1st Special Operations Wing, told Fortson’s mother, echoing comments made earlier by the wing commander, Col. Patrick Dierig. “This is not something the Air Force did, we can’t take credit for that,” he said. “He came to us as a great man because you raised him to be a great man.”

‘Restraint’

Airmen at the service also directly addressed the events that led to Fortson’s death.

“When I received the call about Roger’s incident, I immediately responded with ‘I trust Roger,’” Lee said. “I trusted that this had to be a misunderstanding, because I knew Roger’s character. The Roger I knew was level-headed, respectable, and trustworthy. He was one of our best.”

Lt. Col. Kaelin Thistlewood, head of the 4th Special Operations Squadron, added that “we must acknowledge the complexity of the circumstances surrounding his passing,” and that Fortson was “a Black man … tragically lost in gunfire involving law enforcement.

“This reality highlights broader societal challenges,” Thistlewood said. “I note this fact only to acknowledge that this aspect of his passing weighs heavily on the hearts and minds of many.”

The lieutenant colonel also noted that while gunship aviation is “a profession inherently characterized by its violence,” it is also one where control matters.

“We understand the gravity of dynamic situations. … It is this understanding that gives us a unique perspective,” he said. “We recognize that true valor is not solely measured by the ability to take a life, but rather by the restraint exercised, until absolutely necessary.”

Their rigorous training and adherence to “the highest standards of professional discernment,” allows gunship Airmen to “set the standard for excellence not only in our technical prowess, but also in our moral compass, which guides everything we do.”

Others at Fortson’s funeral last week spoke more bluntly.

“In America, before people see you as a veteran—as an Airman in the United States Air Force—they’ll see you as a Black man,” said Rev. Jamal Bryant, according to the Associated Press. “We’ve got to call it as it is—Roger died of murder. He died of stone cold murder. And somebody has got to be held accountable.”

Fortson’s death is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Footage from the deputy’s body camera released by the sheriff’s office shows the deputy at first knocking on the door and identifying himself while standing to the side. He then knocked again, and when Fortson opened the door, the deputy told Fortson to step back before shooting him six times.

As the investigation continues, Airmen at Hurlburt are adjusting to life without their comrade. Courtney recalled Lee saying “’we often don’t know why things happen, but God wanted his son home, and Roger’s at peace in paradise now.’”

“So to Rod,” Courtney said, “until we can someday have a beer over a game of cornhole in paradise, just know your gunship family is down here missing you, and we love you.”

Distinguished Flying Crosses Awarded for 2 in 2010 Fatal Crash

May 20, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

Two air commandos who helped save more than a dozen lives in an CV-22 Osprey crash in Afghanistan 14 years ago were posthumously awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses last week, Air Force Special Operations Command announced.

The widows of Maj. Randell Voas and Senior Master Sgt. JB Lackey accepted the decorations from AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind at Hurlburt Field, Fla., where the two Airmen served as members of the 8th Special Operations Squadron.

Voas and Lackley were flying a combat mission in southern Afghanistan in April 2010, when they made an emergency “roll-on” landing. The landing gear collapsed and the aircraft nose hit a drainage ditch, causing the aircraft to flip—snapping off the left wing and severing the right wing and tail from the fuselage.

An accident investigation board later determined an unknown mechanical failure, unexpectedly challenging weather, and a variety of human factors contributed to the crash, which also killed a Soldier and a civilian on board. But while Voas and Lackley knew they were descending too fast and tried to correct their descent rate, they encountered “abnormal engine response” before Voas executed a “nearly perfect” roll-on landing that investigators termed “remarkable by any measure.”

That maneuver saved the lives of two aircrew and 14 passengers. The report noted that Voas and Lackley were admired by their colleagues, describing Voas as “one of the most experienced and highly qualified CV-22 pilots in the Air Force,” and Lackley as “one of the most experienced and highly qualified flight engineers in the CV-22 community.”

“Randy and JB did not have the option to sit back and let the situation unfold around them,” Bauernfeind said during the award ceremony. “They recognized the danger and through their expertise and their professionalism took action to lessen the impact of a compounding situation.”

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall authorized Bauernfeind to approve the award nominations earlier this year, AFSOC announced in March.

The Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight; it is the military’s fourth-highest award for heroism.

Lackey was previously awarded a DFC in 2002 for his actions during Operation Enduring Freedom, and Voas won the 2003 Cheney Award given for “an act of valor, extreme fortitude, or self-sacrifice during a humanitarian engagement.” Voas and Lackley each also had been previously awarded the Air Medal and Meritorious Service Medal.

Their 2010 crash was the first fatal Air Force CV-22 accident, and the only one until November 2023, when an Osprey went down off the coast of Japan, killing all eight Airmen on board.