US and Partners Now Moving Toward Interchangeable—Not Just Interoperable—Weapons

Sept. 30, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

Fresh off a meeting of the national armaments directors of NATO and the European Union, Pentagon acquisition and logistics chief William A. LaPlante said the allies and partners are moving toward not simply interoperable munitions, but “interchangeable” as well, with production in numerous locations to meet the needs of a new security environment.

The 45 directors met to discuss how they will provide military aid to Ukraine and also how to structure their defense industrial bases for a new normal driven by Russia’s invasion and other factors, LaPlante told reporters on a Zoom call Sept. 30.

“Besides comparing notes about how you’re helping Ukraine,” LaPlante said of the meeting, the group discussed “what is the right NATO force in the future that will continue to deter, in this case, Russia.”

The conversation rapidly turned to setting standards so that, for example, 155mm rounds manufactured in one partner country will work with the tubes of any other.

“That’s where we need to go” in terms of being “interchangeable,” LaPlante said.

There was also discussion of how to continue to evolve Ukraine’s weapons portfolio toward “NATO standard,” LaPlante said.

To get to affordable scale and interchangeability, LaPlante forecast “multi-country procurements” of weapons produced in a number of locations, both for deterrence but also to rapidly increase production in situations like the present one in Ukraine, where munitions are being consumed rapidly and threaten to empty alliance stocks. This will be done “not for everything, but where it makes sense,” he said.

There may need to be some “socialization” with Congress and other interests, but LaPlante said the need is clear for joint procurements and “even development” of new weapons, with multiple production lines.

These moves will help address “some of the supply chain issues” that NATO and the EU are coping with.

The 45 participants agreed to break up into smaller working groups to address specific areas of concern. The industrial base today does not offer enough suppliers and capacity in the fields of microprocessors, ball bearings, and solid rocket motors, LaPlante said.

Regarding assistance to Ukraine, Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Sasha Baker said that “what you’re seeing is a recognition amongst the partners and allies that we’ve made a commitment, now, for the long haul” and to sustain Ukraine’s military capabilities “over the long term.”

“We have to start that now because we know that some of the contracting timelines and the production timelines … for some of the equipment that the Ukrainians will need, it’s going to take six to 12 to 18 months.” LaPlante agreed that the long lead times for some components demand longer-term planning.

The Russian invasion has focused the group, and the conversation will “drive actionable progress,” he noted.

LaPlante also said the group hopes to give industry members the “demand signal” it says it is always looking for to decide if whether it should invest in munitions-building capabilities at scale.

“We discussed exactly what … that really means,” he said.

“The industry, both in our country and around the world, want to know is there a sustainable longer-range plan for … production, so that they can invest [in] … production lines that will be enduring, and not the typical “feast or famine” of nations buying in “panic mode,” returning to “minimal production when the crisis is over,” LaPlante said.

NATO and the EU plan to move toward “more stable” buying arrangements, he said, “looking at the world ahead.”

Baker said the Biden administration “at every level” is committed to helping Ukraine in its “fight for sovereignty and in their fight to regain their territorial integrity. So I’m really delighted that our meetings were able to advance the ball in strengthening the position of this collective group of allies and partners who’ve all made the same commitments.”

Florida Bases Begin Recovery, Reopening From Hurricane Ian

Sept. 30, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

MacDill Air Force Base, Patrick Space Force Base, and other installations across Florida had begun recovering and reopening after Hurricane Ian swept through the state while Joint Base Charleston and other installations farther up the East Coast dealt with heavy rain and winds Sept. 30.

While aircraft from half a dozen bases evacuated in advance of the storm and MacDill ordered all non-mission-essential personnel to evacuate as well, it appeared no bases in Florida suffered major damage from the Category 4 storm. Much of the hurricane’s damage was focused in southwest Florida, leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

In separate Facebook posts, MacDill and Patrick leaders said they anticipated reopening all facilities by Monday, Oct. 3. Patrick leaders preliminarily reported “minimal damage” to the base and its facilities, while MacDill officials lifted its evacuation order and cleared mission essential personnel, housing residents, and dorm residents to return to the base on Sept. 29.

However, both bases are warning personnel to take caution and report issues as they clean up, and some facilities and gates at both bases remain closed.

Elsewhere across the state, some aircraft have begun to return to their bases after flying out before the storm. The 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field had evacuated AC-130Js, MC-130Js, MC-130Hs, U-28s, CV-22s, and A-29s in advance of the storm, but commander Col. Allison Black announced Sept. 29 that they had started returning.

Eglin Air Force Base and Tyndall Air Force Base had moved out of Hurricane Condition Level 5, giving personnel the all clear after a state of heightened alert.

It is unclear when the KC-135s that evacuated from MacDill or the C-130s and HH-60s evacuated from Patrick will return.

In South Carolina, meanwhile, bases were hit as the storm once more strengthened to become a hurricane. Joint Base Charleston relocated its C-17s on Sept. 29, and while no evacuation order had been mandated, officials had urged personnel to stay in place and closed some facilities.

The South Carolina Air National Guard, meanwhile, evacuated its F-16s from Columbia, S.C., on Sept. 29.

Congress Approves CR to Avoid Government Shutdown, Provide Ukraine Aid

Sept. 30, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund the federal government through Dec. 16, avoiding a shutdown but ensuring that the Pentagon and other federal agencies will yet again start the fiscal year without a new budget.

The House of Representatives approved the CR early in the afternoon of Sept. 30 by a vote of 230-201, hours before the midnight deadline and the day after the Senate advanced the measure, 72-25, on Sept. 29. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk.

The continuing resolution will mostly keep spending levels frozen at the previous fiscal year’s levels, though it does include an extra $12 billion in aid for Ukraine—largely in line with Biden’s request for $11.7 billion earlier this month.

This new round of aid is intended to last through December. The $12 billion includes $3 billion in defense aid through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, $1.5 billion to replenish Pentagon stocks depleted by presidential drawdowns to provide weapons to Ukraine and other countries aiding Ukraine, $540 million to increase production of critical munitions to replace those sent to Ukraine, and up to $3.7 billion in presidential drawdown authority.

Aside from security assistance, the bill also includes $4.5 billion to support Ukraine’s national government.

Continuing resolutions have become a common occurrence for Congress in recent decades, as lawmakers have frequently failed to pass new budgets by the Oct. 1 start of each new fiscal year.

Defense Department leaders have decried the practice, saying it prevents the start of new programs, delays production increases, and keeps funds stuck in the wrong accounts. The Pentagon has started the new fiscal year under a continuing resolution in 13 of the last 14 years, according to a Government Accountability Office report that detailed the ways DOD officials have adapted to those constraints.

Department of the Air Force leaders, in particular, have already said any delay in the 2023 budgeting process will have “a particularly negative effect.”

While the Air Force and other Pentagon leaders will now have to wait until mid-December for that 2023 budget, it remains unclear when Congress will act on the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual bill that sets policy for the department.

The House passed its version of the NDAA in mid-July, increasing the top line of the Pentagon’s budget request by $37 billion. The Senate Armed Services Committee passed its version in June, with committee leadership filing it to the Senate floor in mid-July, but the full chamber has yet to vote on the bill.

The NDAA is typically considered “must-pass” legislation, but in recent years, that process has sometimes dragged to the end of the calendar year. Such a process may unfold again this year, as the House is scheduled to be in recess for all of October ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm elections.

Senate Confirms Saltzman as Next Space Force CSO

Sept. 30, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

The Senate has confirmed the Space Force’s second Chief of Space Operations.

Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman will pin on a fourth star and take command of the Space Force, succeeding Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, after lawmakers voted to approve his nomination by voice vote Sept. 29.

“I’m humbled and honored to be confirmed as the next Chief of Space Operations,” Saltzman said in a statement. “I look forward to leading the U.S. Space Force and building on the strong foundational leadership Gen. Raymond has provided for almost three years.”

“Congratulations to Chance Saltzman on his confirmation to serve as the next Chief of Space Operations,” Raymond said in a statement. “I couldn’t be more excited for the Saltzmans and for our Space Force. The team is in great hands.”

Saltzman will ascend to the role after previously serving as the deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear, a job he first took on in August 2020.

Over the course of more than 30 years in uniform, Saltzman has also commanded at the squadron, group, and wing levels in the Air Force. He has served as a satellite operator for the National Reconnaissance Office, commanded two space squadrons within Air Force Space Command, and worked at headquarters of AFSC.

Saltzman will take over a Space Force still developing and maturing its infrastructure, organization, plans, and traditions. In the coming months and years, the young service plans to fold in the Space Development Agency, launch a new resilient constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit, and build up its “lethality” and capability to respond to aggressive actions by competitors such as Russia and China.

At the same time, USSF must also continue to build a culture that incorporates transfers from other military branches, recruits, and civilians, refine its plans for a modern “holistic health” program to replace traditional PT tests, and finalize how it will organize its Reserve and part-time elements.

“We honor Gen. Raymond’s contributions to establish the Space Force and we welcome Gen. Saltzman as he takes the lead,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in a statement. “I’m confident in Chance’s ability and judgement and know our Space Force will continue to provide key capabilities to the joint force and our nation’s defense.”

Saltzman was asked to address some of the challenges and opportunities facing the service in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Sept. 13. He emphasized the need for better test and training infrastructure for Guardians and continued investments in resiliency for satellites and ground stations.

Saltzman sailed through that hearing with little controversy and bipartisan support, and his nomination was approved two weeks later with no opposition.

The Space Force was targeting “early November” for Saltzman’s promotion and change of command ceremony, but the timeline was still being finalized, a Space Force spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

STRATCOM

In addition to Saltzman, the Senate also voted to approve the nomination of USAF Gen. Anthony J. Cotton to take command of U.S. Strategic Command.

Cotton, who currently serves as head of Air Force Global Strike Command, will now oversee the Joint force’s strategic deterrence, nuclear operations, joint electromagnetic spectrum operations, and missile defense, among other mission areas.

Also confirmed by voice vote, Cotton will take over the lead of STRATCOM a little over a year after he was tapped to lead AFGSC in June 2021.

A trained missileer, Cotton will oversee STRATCOM at a critical moment, with all three legs of the U.S. nuclear triad undergoing modernization. At the same time, China has aggressively developed its nuclear arsenal, leading Cotton to refer to its “bona fide” nuclear triad during his confirmation hearing.

Most immediately, though, Russia has engaged in nuclear saber-rattling over its invasion of Ukraine, raising fears that it could be setting the stage for actually using a nuclear weapon.

Cotton comes to the head of STRATCOM after time spent as deputy commander and commander of AFGSC, as well as commander of the 20th Air Force, which oversees the Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missile operations; and the 341st Missile Wing, responsible for the Minuteman III ICBMs at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.

Once he takes command of STRATCOM from Navy Adm. Charles A. Richard, Cotton will become the third Air Force general actively leading a combatant command, joining Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, head of U.S. Northern Command, and Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, head of U.S. Transportation Command.

Marooned Air Force CV-22 Osprey Finally Removed From Norwegian Island

Sept. 29, 2022 | By Chris Gordon

An aircraft built to quickly infiltrate and exfiltrate troops from far-flung locations left a Norwegian nature preserve Sept. 27, more than a month after it emergency-landed. The CV-22 Osprey belonging to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) had been stranded on the island of Senja since making a controlled emergency landing Aug. 12.

The issue was a hard clutch engagement, which causes the tiltrotor aircraft to lurch suddenly and can damage the gearbox and engines. The problem led AFSOC to stand down its fleet of around 50 CV-22s. While the issue remains unsolved, the aircraft was cleared to fly again in early September. Except for the one in Norway.

A CV-22 Osprey performed an emergency landing at Stongodden nature preserve. Norwegian Armed Forces photos by Tiril Haslestad.

“These things never seem to happen at airfields,” Lt. Gen James C. “Jim” Slife remarked at an AFA Warfighters in Action event Sept. 7. “They always seem to happen in Norwegian nature preserves above the Arctic Circle at the onset of winter.”

Procedures dictate that pilots must land the plane swiftly in the event of a hard clutch engagement. That forced them to put wheels down at Stongodden nature preserve. The crew was safe, and Norwegian officials wanted to ensure the local wildlife would be, too.

While the aircraft was near the water, it was not close enough to be lifted onto a barge by a crane.

The Norwegian Armed Forces, in consultation with the local Environmental Protection Office, the U.S. Air Force, and civilian contractors, developed a plan for some outside-the-box special operations work of their own.

In the Norwegian Armed Forces’ account of the events, engineers carefully built an improvised wooden road to move the Osprey closer to the island’s shore while limiting damage to surrounding nature and wildlife. The Osprey had to be emptied of fuel and raised up off the ground with a jack, as its landing gear was firmly stuck in the mud. The wooden mats had to extend to the shoreline so the aircraft could be lifted by crane onto a barge. Gravel had to be brought in the firm up the path and to create a jetty as the terrain turned into an uneven shoreline.

The makeshift path nearing completion. Norwegian Armed Forces photo by Tiril Haslestad.

The effort faced numerous delays due to Norway’s unpredictable and often poor weather.

When the aircraft finally got to the shore, the crane barge that was supposed to lift it off of the shore was not there, according to Norwegian officials. It was delayed due to bad weather in another part of Norway. On Sept. 27, the Osprey was finally lifted off the shore by crane. According to the U.S. Air Force and the Norwegian Armed Forces, it is safely underway to the closest NATO port.

There, the aircraft must be offloaded to undergo maintenance to replace at least one of its engines and gearbox before, hopefully, finally lifting off under its own power again and landing at its home base of RAF Mildenhall, U.K., Lt. Col. Rebecca L. Heyse, director of public affairs for Air Force Special Operations Command, told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

A CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft being rescued at the Senja island in northern Norway. Photo courtesy of the Norwegian Armed Forces.

The Story Behind the Space Force’s New Song

Sept. 29, 2022 | By Amanda Miller

Jamie Teachenor was living in Nashville in 2015 and browsing Craigslist for vintage guitars when he spotted the unlikely ad that ultimately led to his occupying a unique place in military history.

The Air Force Academy’s country band Wild Blue Country needed a lead vocalist. Teachenor later found out the ad was up for only a matter of hours.

“It wasn’t supposed to be advertised that way,” he recalled while headed back home to Nashville from AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference with his wife and two kids. “For whatever reason, I saw it in that small amount of time, and I called Colorado Springs and asked if it was legitimate.”

After a few more questions, “I put Colorado Springs’ weather on my phone, because I knew we were going to Colorado Springs,” he recalled. Without having yet auditioned, “I knew that was part of my path.”

He became a senior airman with the band, which performed at events for both the Air Force Academy and what was then Peterson Air Force Base, home to the Space Force’s predecessor, Air Force Space Command.

Given that this frequently put him in contact with military space personnel, it’s hard to imagine anyone better positioned to supply the words and melody to the Space Force’s new official song, “Semper Supra,” which debuted at the conference.

Together with a Coast Guard trombonist who doubles as musical arranger, Teachenor composed “Semper Supra”—named for the service’s popular motto—to join the likes of the Air Force’s official song “The U.S. Air Force,” a.k.a. “Wild Blue Yonder.”

“What was very interesting about my time of service was I knew what the space capabilities were for space operators before they were Guardians,” Teachenor said. He also met today’s Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond and Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force Roger A. Towberman at that time. As Teachenor’s enlistment wound down in 2019, he even went along on a trip with the two leaders to Thule Air Base in Greenland, which performs missions in space surveillance and missile defense.

“I got to see so much of what our now-Guardians—but at the time they were Airmen—do and just was blown away by their mission,” Teachenor said. He felt like the trip “had a lot to do with how the song was written because I saw firsthand just the precision and the … amazing assets that we have in our folks who wear the uniform. And our civilians, too.”

Teachenor and his family went back to Nashville following the conclusion of his enlistment, and in December 2019, the Space Force came to be.

“Several folks reached out and said, ‘Hey, you know, the Space Force is actually going to be a branch—are you thinking about writing a song?’”

He didn’t quite laugh off the idea, and “eventually Gen. Raymond and Chief Towberman reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, would you consider writing something and just, you know, give us an option?’”

Space Force song — Air Force Band members and guests sing the new U.S. Space Force service song during the 2022 Air, Space & Cyber Conference, Sept. 20, 2022. Air Force photo by Eric Dietrich.

Feeling simply “honored and thankful just to even throw something in there,” Teachenor estimated that by February 2020, the song was largely complete:

“Semper Supra”
We’re the mighty watchful eye
Guardians beyond the blue
The invisible front line
Warfighters brave and true
Boldly reaching into space
There’s no limit to our sky
Standing guard both night day
We’re the Space Force from on high
Beyond the blue
The U.S. Space Force

“I knew they wanted something that was singable and that fit with the other anthems—the other service songs—and that would be something that could last. … They made it very clear they wanted it to be timeless.”

Months passed as the service narrowed down the submissions until choosing Teachenor’s.

Throughout the process, Space Force leaders made only one request, he said—to include the words “Standing guard both night and day” in order to emphasize the service’s continuous mission of “making sure that we’re safe and protected all the time.”

“And so I looked at that line and changed it. I believe it’s a better line for that,” said the recently elected county commissioner for Sumner County, Tenn.

The Score

Trombonist and arranger Coast Guard Chief Musician Sean Nelson responded to a callout to military band arrangers early in the Space Force’s search for a song. Now an 11-year member of the U.S. Coast Guard Band based at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., he’d been “a little green,” he said, when he originally auditioned for the Air Force Band in the competitive national auditions that draw high-caliber musicians who ultimately “come in fully trained for the job.”

He’d composed the score to an organization’s military-style service song once before, updating the march of the Commissioned Officer Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

By 2020, he’d made a submission to the Space Force based on a preliminary set of lyrics, and “the group listening really liked my version.” In the spring of 2022, “they contacted me again and said, ‘We’ve come up with this melody and lyrics’—and it was Jamie’s lyrics and Jamie’s melody—‘and we’re looking for somebody to complete the song, to harmonize it, to orchestrate it.’”

Nelson liked the lack of any other musical contribution such as a chord structure “because it allowed me to be creative with it.”

“What I would do is I would play the melody on the piano, and I would sing it, and I would keep trying different harmonies underneath it. And sometimes there’s harmony that is obvious, and sometimes there’s harmony that makes sense but is unexpected.”

He would ultimately compose 30 parts for a full military band, including the four-part vocal harmony performed at the Sept. 20 premiere by the Air Force’s Singing Sergeants as well as counter-melodies—“there’s the main melody that you sing, and there are multiple melodies going on at the same time above and below that melody that makes it sound full and thick and [gives it] a traditional march sound.”

Having performed the “Armed Forces Medley” of service songs at many military events, he well knew the need for the Space Force’s to fit in with the other traditional military marches. At the same time, he wanted to write something “that was maybe a little unexpected and maybe not as obvious and that had its own sounds as opposed to copying other military songs.”

To strike the balance, “you have to know the tradition”—specifically that of American march composer, the Marine Corps’ John Philip Sousa—“while knowing where you can break from it.”

Without such a well trained ear, “not everyone might notice it,” Nelson said, “but I think if you listen to it a few times, you start to notice, ‘Hey, that sounds a little fresh.’”

He sang the first two lines to demonstrate:

“We’re the mighty watchful eye; Guardians beyond the blue. …

“When you get to the word ‘blue,’ that chord is outside of the key—so it’s just a little bit surprising, I think. … Maybe you get a little extra sparkle out of it.”

Nelson suspects—based on his experience performing in the Coast Guard Band, usually without singers—that “the form that you’re going to hear the song in the most is actually going to be without singing.”

Next he expects bands and choruses across the U.S. to start adding “Semper Supra” to their medleys.

Pentagon Accounts for Aircraft Moved Out of the Way of Hurricane Ian

Sept. 29, 2022 | By Chris Gordon

The Department of Defense released an accounting of where it moved its aircraft in response to Hurricane Ian, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on the west coast of Florida on Sept. 28.

MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., was evacuated, and other bases were placed on a heightened state of alert and instructed their personnel to shelter ahead of the storm. The Air Force and other services moved aircraft from several military installations to keep them out of harm’s way. Many commercial airports in the storm’s path also closed and moved airliners.

Individual Air Force bases have detailed some aircraft movements, but the Pentagon provided a list to the press Sept. 29 to more fully account for aircraft movements across the joint force, though the information may be incomplete. The Defense Department had yet to fully assess the damage, which was likely to continue to mount due to flooding. According to the Pentagon, information about Air Force activities was current as of the evening of Sept. 27.

Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.: F-22s and T-38s moved to Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.; F-35s to Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

Hurlburt Field, Fla.: AC-130Js, MC-130Js, MC-130Hs to Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; U-28s to Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.; A-29s to Kansas City, Mo.

Jacksonville International Airport (Florida Air National Guard): F-15s to New Orleans, La.

MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.: KC-135s to Bangor Air National Guard Base, Maine, and Pease Air National Guard Base, N.H.; UH-60s to Miami, Fla.

Moody Air Force Base, Ga.: A-10s to Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

Patrick Space Force Base: C-130s & HH-60s to Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.; HH-60s to Orlando Convention Center, Fla.; UH-1s to Cape Canaveral, Fla.

The DOD also detailed non-Department of the Air Force moves, including 71 aircraft from Naval Air Station Jacksonville and 11 aircraft from Naval Air Station Key West that were evacuated to undisclosed locations. The Navy also moved four littoral combat ships and two cruiser-destroyers based at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville to undisclosed locations. The remaining Navy ships are in “heavy weather moor,” according to the Pentagon, which said the Army and the Marines did not relocate any major assets.

The figures, however, are movements that were done ahead of the storm or just as it was making landfall. Damage from the storm has been severe, and flood damage will be a major concern in the days and weeks ahead.

“This storm is having broad impacts across the state and some of the flooding you’re going to see in areas hundreds of miles from where this made landfall are going to set records,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on Sept. 29.

President Joe Biden decla red a major disaster Sept. 29. Some fatalities due to the storm had already been confirmed.

“This is going to require years of effort to be able to rebuild and to come back,” DeSantis said.

As of the morning of Sept. 29, Florida had 4,818 Guard members on State Active Duty (SAD); Louisiana had 83; Tennessee had 15; and New York had 11, the National Guard Bureau told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Air Force Recruits Who Test Positive for Marijuana May Now Get a Second Chance

Sept. 29, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

Potential Airmen and Guardians who test positive for the high-producing compound in marijuana during their entrance physical may still be able to serve, thanks to a new test program announced by the Department of the Air Force on Sept. 28.

Under the two-year program, recruits who test positive for tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, during their physical exam at the Military Entrance Processing Station will be allowed to re-test in 90 days if they get a waiver from their recruiter.

In order to be considered for a waiver, the recruit must have a high school diploma, a score of 50 or higher on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, no Category 1 or 2 moral violations, and otherwise be medically qualified for service, according to an Air Force release.

Once the recruit enlists, he or she must still follow the Uniform Code of Military Justice and DAF policies, which prohibit drug use.

Prior to this new program, any recruit who tested positive for THC was automatically barred from ever serving in the Air Force or Space Force. But in recent years, public attitudes—and laws—regarding cannabis have changed dramatically.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 37 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia have laws allowing the use of medical marijuana, while 19 states, two territories and D.C. allow for recreational use as well.

With those changing laws, the Air Force’s policies also needed to adapt, Air Force Recruiting Service commander Maj. Gen. Edward W. Thomas Jr. told Air & Space Forces Magazine at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber conference.

“This is … about being able to make smart determinations based on societal norms, laws today, and how to be able to have a process that better matches the laws in the country,” Thomas said.

However, Thomas emphasized that “drug use in the United States Air Force has no place” and warned that the new policy is not intended to be a free pass for recruits.

“What this is not about is those folks who were not honest with their recruiter, and they smoked marijuana, and then they went in the next day or the next week, they went to MEPS and they tested positive. That’s not who this is for,” Thomas said.

Instead, Thomas suggested the policy is intended to benefit potential Airmen and Guardians when recruiting commanders believe the positive test was “due to unintended exposure or the residual effects of THC in their system.”

Those who test positive won’t automatically be allowed to re-test. The waiver program simply “gives us more latitude,” Thomas said.

In that regard, the program is not unlike other recent policy changes the Air Force has made, like one giving Thomas and other recruiting leaders the authority to approve waivers for smaller hand tattoos.

The need for more flexibility in the recruiting process is due in part to a historically difficult environment that has seen all the military departments struggle to reach their recruiting goals. The Air Force, in particular, just barely reached its Active Duty goal for fiscal 2022 and fell short for the Guard and Reserve.

“A year or two ago, frankly, we could afford to lose people around the margins because of finger tattoos, because of certain medical conditions that we weren’t willing to take risk on,” Thomas acknowledged. “We are in an environment today that we have to be exceptionally smart in how we assess the risk and how we set our accession criteria.”

And when it comes to marijuana, the service is dealing with a recruiting population that is more likely than ever to have tried or regularly use cannabis, according to polls.

After the initial pilot program runs for two years, the department will analyze the data and determine whether to make the policy permanent.

Watch, Read: Gen. Mike Minihan on ‘The Mobility Manifesto’

Sept. 29, 2022

Commander of Air Mobility Command Gen. Mike Minihan delivered a keynote address on “The Mobility Manifesto” at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference, Sept. 21, 2022. Watch the video or read the transcript below. This transcript is made possible through the sponsorship of JobsOhio.

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Voiceover:

General Wright, over to you sir.

Retired Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright:

Well, thank you and good afternoon. Beware, we’re going to blow the roof off of this place tonight during the 75th anniversary of our United States Air Force and celebrate every Airman and Guardian who does such an incredible job of defending this nation, current and past. Well, our next speaker, General Mike Minihan took command of Air Mobility Command in October of ’21. Picking up General Brown’s direction to accelerate change or go faster, General Minihan and his team have developed a strategy that drives a warrior culture biased towards action, unencumbered by bureaucracy, and intentionally disruptive to the status quo. Our mobility forces are critical to projecting, connecting, maneuvering, and sustaining our joint force. And General Minihan’s command is charging forward with clear intentions, a bold opinion, and a singular objective. Please welcome the commander of Air Mobility Command, General Mike Minihan.

Gen. Mike Minihan:

It’s my new fight song. Get over here. If you participated in OAR, stand up please. So I realized that not everybody’s standing is Mobility, and I realize that not everybody’s standing may be an Airman. So I get often, when people run out of questions for me, they say, “What keeps you up at night?” What keeps me up at night is that my actions aren’t worthy of theirs. What keeps me up at night is that I’m not meeting their passion and professionalism and getting after the mission as awesome as they are, that their mothers and their fathers and their sons and their daughters and their brothers and their sisters don’t know how much I appreciate the courage they display in getting after missions that are incredibly challenging. So when I’m asked what keeps you up tonight, it’s a mirror check for me. And I vow to do everything in my power, not just my command, my headquarters, but me personally to be as awesome as this crowd right here. So give them a round of applause please.

Speaker 4:

I appreciate it yet again.

Gen. Mike Minihan:

All right, So I’m going to make everybody nervous here. I’m not bound to the stage, I’m not bound to a script. I’m untethered as of now. My rehearsal consisted of me walking around this room at 7:15 this morning going check one, two, check, check, check. And so I certainly have something in mind that I want to say. I hope I get about 80, maybe eight would be my standard. About 80% across here. I do have something to say. I can’t see the clock. I’m going to go till I go, all right? I’m finally that rank. It’s important that I say thank you right now to AFA and General Wright.

It’s important that I say thank you right now to those that are in the room that are loyal to me throughout my career. Ash and I are incredibly grateful. It’s also important that I say thank you to those are just merely intrigued either by whether I’ll have a job tomorrow morning or perhaps the mobility manifesto caught your attention. I’m grateful for your presence. I know you have a lot of choices on where to be right now. I’m also incredibly grateful for my headquarters team, my total force team, my spouse and family team, my wing woman, my wing man, Chief BK and his bride. I’m incredibly grateful and thankful for everybody that wears an Air Mobility patch.

And so, just an abundance of thank yous and appreciation walking into this. Slide. ROE, I’m going to speak not speech, means it’s going to come out a little wobbly at times, maybe stutter, I might get some spittle going. It means that you’ll see the DNA of my adjectives ties back to my Auburn education. I really only have about three. Anybody in SEC want to make a comment right now? Go ahead. Roll tide. The sound of a young mind shutting down. By the way, that works every time, just so you know. Means that I’m Irish. And you certainly already heard, when I talk about things that I love, I get emotional, and you’ll hear the passion in my voice.

I don’t very rarely get to the anger part, but there’s certainly not a big screen between my words and the emotions that lie between them. That’s the ROE. Why am I here? I wish I could say it’s because I’m a hurt driver, but that’s not true. I’m here because I spent 10 years in the Pacific. I was fortunate enough to have three jobs and two tours at USFK in Korea. I was fortunate enough to serve in headquarters Pack AF and then have three jobs and two tours up at Paycom. All that combined is about 10 years of experience in the Pacific worrying about the pacing challenge and nefarious actors like North Korea. That’s why I have this job. And five minutes before he promoted me, General Brown said two words in the back room. Go faster. Go faster. And he didn’t say it as a comment of my predecessors. He said it as a comment of my experience and the current environment, the retrograde from Afghanistan, COVID, the evac, and certainly we were watching the initial posturing of what is happening now in Europe and Ukraine. Go faster.

And in the nervousness before my change of command speech, I got a text from a brother, a weapons officer named Hefe Brown. And I had all these notes and all these cards that I was trying to formulate in my head what I was going to say. And he said, “Brother, fly it like you stole it.” Fly it like you stole it. Like that formation of B-17s up there, surrounded by flak, driving to the objective. We’re going to fly it like we stole it. So there’s some initial admin with some more admin to follow. Go ahead. From my change of command speech forward, I realized that those things underneath that strategy aren’t the strategy, but you need to know it’s based on winning. This matters. We’ll talk about it later. Nobody’s going to care what our plans are for five or 10 years if we lose tomorrow. They won’t care. There is an urgency here that the chief is very clear on, that the secretary is very clear on, that we need to get after.

And in getting after, I’ve got four gaps that I’m concerned about. Command and control, navigation, maneuvering under fire, and tempo. And I wish I was as smart as my classmate Jim’s life. So I completely give you credit for this next column, sir. Three approaches to get after those gaps. Make the best with what we have. If the A2 were going to walk into my office tomorrow and say they’re getting ready to go, what am I going to do now? We’re going to take roll with who we got and we’re going to take roll with the toys we have and we’re going. So with that in mind, have I done everything possible in my organization to unleash the talent and unleash the quality of what we have to get after it? Tactics, techniques, procedures, risk, training.

Start from the objective area back and tie everything to what we’re trying to achieve. And when that runs out, we look for value that already exists that may not be tapped into. Is there something that exists that I just need to buy that makes my life better? And then when I’ll run out of those with my maleadmadgecom hat on, I have an obligation to drive what the future force looks like. Can I put a demand signal on industry to create a technology that makes my life better? Admin. Slide. Admin. Lethality matters most. When you can kill your enemy, every part of your life is better.

Your food tastes better, your marriage is stronger. Why is the mobility guy talking about lethality? I’m not coming at you as a C-130 driver, I’m not coming at you as a mobility officer. I’m coming at you like an Airman, like Rickenbacker, like Mitchell, like LeMay, Olds, Levitow, Sijan. This is who we are. We are lethal. Do not apologize for it. The pile of our nation’s enemy dead, the pile that is the biggest is in front of the United States Air Force. This is why we mutinied in 1947.

Slide. That’s just admin. Our toys are meaningless unless we put them in a place to be lethal. Our toys, our training, our desires are meaningless unless we maneuver them to advantage. Unfair advantage, unfair lethality, unrepentant lethality, lopsided lethality. If we can’t get them to where they need to be to do that, then we are wasting our time. Slide. It’s important that we surround ourselves with a winning lexicon. It’s important that we surround ourselves with a winning lexicon. Destroy, dominate, kill, defend, secure, win, unfair win, lopsided win. Those terms matter. Slide. The context to why is incredibly important here. Incredibly important here. That’s my grandfather’s 344th bombardment group patch, which is now the patch of the 126 air refueling wing. Coincidentally, it’s Scott Air Force Base. The bottom says we win or die.

And when you understand what’s at stake, this victory language comes into a sharper contrast. Okay, your kids grow up subservient to a rules based order that benefits only one country if we lose this. There is no access to the global commons. There is no free and open. There is no rules based order. So the stakes are incredibly high. And I think the message coming out of this conference is incredibly consistent as we get after this. Slide. Problem statement, we are not ready to fight and win inside the first island chain. Who’s we? Joint force.

What are the components of ready? Readiness, integration, agility. Forgive me, I’ve been moving everybody for 32 years, and I realize the C-130 is the Cadillac of the sky and there’s a long list of people that want to go slow and only move six pallets. I get that. Nobody is as ready, integrated or agile as they think they are. And if we’re going to carry that into the current fight, it ain’t going to be pretty. Slide. What’s the reason? Is it the overmatched west of the international dateline? Is it the quality and quantity of our pacing challenge? Is it that they, as Grace just said, are tailor making an air force to kill you?

Not you hypothetically. You. Look in the mirror. You. That they can project power to the first island chain, the second island chain, Hawaii and Konas? Pretty good reason not to be ready, integrated, agile. Slide. What it look like to do little. Two carriers, one squadron, B-25. Quality, quantity, tailor made force to kill him. Slide. What it looked like to Spruance. Sail in the Midway, quality, quantity, tailor made force to kill him. Slide. What it looked like to Ira Eaker. In 1942, more killed in action in the eighth Air Force than the Marine Corps.

Quantity, quality, tailor made force to kill him. Slide. So this ain’t about the red. This is about us. Our decision to be ready, to be integrated, to be agile. Go back. I love the way the chief said it. It’s unrehearsed. We’ve done this before. It’s our turn. Generate your courage. Aim the pointy into the scary place and execute. Slide. We’ve done this before. Generate your courage. Aim the pointy into the scary place and execute. Slide. Generate your courage. Aim the pointy into the scary place and execute. Slide. Has nothing to do with them. I would argue there’s more permissive than non-permissive on the slide.

When you base your argument on threat rings, you’re making some flawed assumptions, the first being that it’s a worst case scenario. It extends a persistence that’s not real, it extends a custody that’s not real, and it extends a magazine depth that’s not real. Invest in our tenacity and go. We don’t have a choice. We don’t have a choice. The takeaway from this slide is there’s more persistence, there’s more permissive than non permissive. Invest in American tenacity. Invest in Airman tenacity. We’ve done this before. Slide. Problem statement. We’re not ready to fight and win inside the first island chain. But we will be in a year. Well sir, that’s a lot to do in a short time. Yeah, no shit. So we can decide to accelerate, we can decide to change, we can decide to be lethal, we can decide to maneuver and we can decide to win. Step up. Slide. Manifesto. Here’s for the people that were intrigued. A public declaration of policy and aims, a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, opinions and objectives issued by a government organization build it. I’m not trying to be like Ted or Karl.

And I’m certainly not to equate myself to more amazing Airmen and Americans than me. I’m not at all the level of a Martin Luther King or a John F. Kennedy or certainly the founding fathers. And I’m not equating the mobility manifesto to things like I Have a Dream or the Declaration of Independence. But I do have intentions and I do have an opinion and I do have an objective. Slide. We can do big things quick. We just have to decide to do it. Not quite a year. On the mobility team fight club, the motto is bring the evil. He’s the evil and I’m happy to bring him. And I want him to be successful. Make the main thing the main thing. Rehearsals. Put a map on the ground, commander. Tell me where you’re going to go, what you’re going to do. Tell me what your authorities are, tell me what your priorities are, tell me what your objectives are. Not hypothetical, not exercise. Rehearse it like it’s going to happen tomorrow and get after it. Slide. I’m sorry, no, don’t do that. Thank you.

Staff to staff down to AFSOC, over to Pack AF, Global Strike AFMC, ACC. We’re getting after that. We could not possibly know the things we need to work unless we do it face to face. WEPTAC series. I’m tired of being the side show and I want to be on show center, not by myself but line of breath with every weapons officer in this air force. And I’m speaking now to the weapons officers, both my tribe and anyone that’s out there, and anybody that’s considering being one. Things I’ve never said. Get me somebody with exec experience. Things I’ve never said. Golf tournament projo, find him asap, get them over here.

Things I’ve never said. I’d rather have the ACSC and residence graduate then the correspondence graduate. Things I have said, get me the weapons officers, I need them now. And this crowd is pulling, pulling hard and every bit of momentum I got has been the shoulders on this weapons officer crowd. Thank you. Now you would think that a command that’s entrusted to do amazing things in combat, command and control it, plan it, execute it, would have the authority to award my own combat awards. And it’s true, I got it but only a week ago. And it’s only because the most senior leadership over rode some opinions. I’m leave it at that. So I’m happy to have. It’s meaningful to me and it’s a statement on this manifesto. Phoenix rally. I will take our investment in the WEPTAC series and I will brief the chief personally on a scheme of maneuver that we’re going to get inside the first island chain and win.

Mobility OI. I see myself in every single one of them. What I want most out of them is access and analysis, and we’re well on our way. And Mobility Guardian, the crown jewel of the mobility exercises I’ll do over the Pacific. With the schema maneuver, I brief the chief so I can demonstrate a win. I’ll put the 46 on the foundational work that Jackie and the team did to get it up, put it into EUCOM, put it into PACOM, put it into Sycom, get her on step. And you can see underneath that I’ve combat certified it. It’s ready to go. Certified that on Friday. 24 hour sortie, 30 hour sortie, 36 hour sortie, we’re getting it. Pilot plus one. Nothing provocative here. You’ll have to forgive me. I don’t think fighter pilots are the only ones that have a birthright to fly an airplane solo.

And as much as I admire and trust that crowd, I admire and trust mine exactly the same way. There’s a real operational need for it. In order to generate the tempo required to win, it’s not hard to imagine a piloted boom on the bunk sleeping with a pilot and a boom in seats getting the mission done. And I’d rather test that out now than try to figure it out when the shooting’s going on. External fuel tanks on a HERC, there’s a boneyard full of them. There’s hard points on a J. 8,000 pounds of gas each, 16,000 pounds total, three hours extra flying, offloaded into a bladder and it’s a bag of gas for a fighter to at least get up on the tanker.

That’s value that exists that we’re simply not tapped into. Limited air crew ops for the exact same reasons for other AWS is relevant. Missing essential lists that account for the severity of the need for victory and what happens if we lose. Slide. A public declaration of policy and aim, a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, opinions and objective issued by our government or an organization. Slide. I’m not interested in being the best air force on the planet.

I’m interested in being the most lethal force the planet has ever known. I get it. You can’t have one without the other. But the aspiration is important here. Only this air force can do it. AMC is the joint force maneuver. AMC is the meaningful maneuver. There is too much water and too much distance for anyone else to do it relevantly. At pace, at speed, at scale. Everybody’s role is critical, but Air Mobility Command is the maneuver for the joint force. If we don’t have our act together, nobody wins. Nobody’s lethal. Nobody’s in position. Slide.

I hope you’re not offended by trolls. And I’m not desperate for talent. I’m desperate for collaboration. I’m desperate to accelerate. I’m desperate to change. I’m desperate to achieve what the chief and the secretary want. Because I believe in it. Bothered. It keeps you up at night. You understand what’s at stake. Warrior, that we understand lethality and our role in it. Troll, the most affectionate term possible. The grinders, the get in a vault and figure it out team. The don’t go to bed till it’s done team. The take it personal team. The won’t let it go team. I am agnostic when it comes to who’s on the team. I value and demand the diversity. Diversity of background, diversity of rank, diversity of fly fix support, diversity of service.

If you want to help, I got a place for you. If I can’t, PCS you, I’ll TTY you. If I can’t TTY you, I’ll remote you. And if I can’t remote you, you have access to my email. I’m not a good pen pal. But I’ll have the professional courtesy to give you an act and I’ll have the professional courtesy to get it into the team and I’ll have the professional courtesy to truly take your input and put it into the scheme. Because I need it. I demand it. This is the investment of tenacity. Slide. Okay? That’s my change of command speech. The very end of it. I’m not expecting you to read it.

I’ll queue in on the bottom here in a second. But it’s important before we leave here that you understand my appreciation for each and every one of you. I started worrying in the late innings before this speech that I wasn’t emphasizing Airmen enough. But in bundling up the messaging of all the senior leaders that have come up on this stage, while the slides had maps and toys and projects and OPTs, this is really about us and our culture. So it is all about Airmen. It’s nothing but Airmen here. This is about us. This is our time. We’ve been here before. We’re simply following in the footsteps of giants and it’s up to us to decide to accelerate, to change, to be lethal, to maneuver, to win. And you will get zero sympathy from me, zero, about having to do big things quickly.

You’ll get zero sympathy from me when it comes to the legitimate, horrific challenges that exist. I owe each of you an enormous debt of gratitude for that. For those that came here because you’re loyal to me, thank you. For those that were just simply intrigued by the title, I hope I at least scratched the curiosity itch here. Hopefully. For anybody that wears or has worn an Air Mobility patch, it is an honor and an inspiration each and every day to serve alongside you and to try to keep up, because you can kind of tell I don’t need much coffee in life, right?

But my feet hit the floor in the morning running. Okay? I want to focus on the bottom line there and tie it back to my granddad’s patch. When he says accelerate, change or lose, we say we win or die. And if that’s framing the decisions that we need to make, we’re going to be just fine. Last thing I’m going to sign off with, and I’m going to ask for a little audience participation here. And this is a mobility thing, so I realize the mobility team will do it and you guys can, maybe it is a loyalty test here. Yeah. Two words, let’s go. When I say let’s go, I’m extending much more than just vaminos.

When I say let’s go, I’m saying thank you for the oath you took for the uniform you wear. Thank you to your parents for raising a patriot. Thank you to your spouses and your kids, and your brothers and your sisters, for the service and sacrifice and the support that they provide so that you can serve. When I say let’s go, I’m saying, I know you know your mission, I know you are trained well, and I trust you with my life, with my kid’s future, with the mission. And when I say let’s go and you say it back, I know you’re holding me accountable to the same, and that we’re aligned on the stakes here, and that we’re aligned on the challenges here, and that we completely understand. It’s our time to step up and decide. So I’ll say it once, you say it back, and then I’ll be up here up front. If you guys want to come up and meet me, I’d love to meet you. One, two, three, let’s go.

Audience:

Let’s go.

Gen. Mike Minihan:

Thank you.