Brown: Air Force May Never ‘Slap the Table,’ Finish Iterating ACE

Sept. 27, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

As the Air Force moves forward with its efforts to operationalize the concept of agile combat employment, leaders need to embrace an iterative approach that builds on itself, recognizing that ACE may never be fully complete, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said Sept. 27.

ACE as an approach is built on the idea of small teams of Airmen operating in remote or austere environments outside of traditional fixed bases, capable of performing duties outside their specialties, moving quickly when needed, and acting based on a commander’s intent rather than waiting for specific instructions.

In order for that approach to work, Brown said during Defense One’s State of the Air Force webinar, the Air Force needs a cultural shift. Specifically, leaders need to “delegate more; we need to tolerate more; and we need to iterate more,” Brown said.

Airmen’s feedback will drive that iterative approach, Brown said, as they continue to train and test the ACE concept more and more. And because it requires a mindset of flexibility and responsiveness, change will always be needed.

“I don’t know that it’ll ever be done, partly because the environment will continue to change,” Brown said. “And I don’t want us to get to a point where we slap the table and go, ‘OK, we’re done, and we’re good to go.’ We do that, and we set ourselves up for where our adversary does something we didn’t expect.”

To avoid that, Air Force leaders need to keep thinking, wargaming, and planning to ensure ACE stays fresh, Brown said.

Such an approach seemingly shares characteristics with software development and the Advanced Battle Management System, which officials have suggested will never be “a shiny platform on the end of a ramp.”

It differs, however, from other systems or concepts in which the Air Force has moved methodically toward full operational capability, typically considered the end of a development cycle.

Brown has spoken of the need for a cultural shift inside the Air Force before, most recently at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference on Sept. 19. Highlighting that need for ACE, he said Air Force leaders need to trust their Airmen to try things, especially when they’re dispersed and operating in areas where communications may be disrupted—a key assumption of ACE.

“What we don’t want is to have them sitting, waiting for instruction, while they’re being attacked or in a difficult situation,” Brown said. “I prefer that they actually be taking action to move things forward.”

With that approach, though, comes the certainty that at some point, an Airman will do something counter to how a commander wanted it done, or even mess up—what Brown termed an “‘aw, shucks’ moment.”

More exercises and training will help Airmen get some of those mistakes out of the way, so that in an operational environment, “where you don’t know what the actual outcome or actually the threat is going to be, … you’ve done enough critical thinking where you feel like you can actually make a decision,” Brown said.

But inevitably, something will go wrong in the real world. And when it does, Air Force leaders need to be prepared to work with Airmen instead of simply punishing them, Brown said.

“When things don’t go quite right, it’s how we sit down and coach our Airmen through what did go right,” Brown said. “Now there is a level of accountability. If you purposely, willfully violated some guidance, then there’s a big level of accountability. But the other thing I personally look at—if something doesn’t go right, the first thing I do is look at myself in the mirror, and then [ask] did I provide an appropriate intent, did I provide the right guidance, did I provide the right resources, did I provide them the authorities to do what we asked them to do? And sometimes I can be just as culpable as they may be because there’s some things I didn’t do to help them out.”

The need for Airmen to make decisions without fear of serious repercussions is not an issue that Brown is alone in considering. At the International Air Chiefs Conference earlier this month, leaders from the Royal Canadian Air Force and Swedish Air Force both emphasized the need as part of the broader concept of distributed operations, which ACE would include.

“If you really want to do dispersed operations, distributed control and mission command, you need to build a culture that embraces that,” Maj. Gen. Carl-Johan Edström said. “You need to train your Airmen, your enlisted … from Day 1, to make them confident, to act on the commander’s intent. And that also means that you need to embrace mistakes and learn from them instead of punishing people that are doing mistakes. And that is very difficult, and it takes time.”

Complicating that task is the need for a balance between accountability and risk-taking, Brown said. He wants to avoid being “too constrictive and now more worried about compliance versus being an effective and credible combat force.”

And when it comes to compliance, Brown also noted that the service needs to update its policies to reflect how Airmen need to operate, not the other way around.

“Sometimes I don’t know that our policies keep track or keep pace with how the operations, how the geostrategic environment changes, which means we may have some few outdated policies we’re living by,” Brown said.

Pentagon Releases Report Detailing Civilian Casualties in 2021

Sept. 27, 2022 | By Chris Gordon

The Defense Department released its annual report on civilian casualties in 2021 on Sept. 27, the first such report since the department came under increased pressure to better mitigate the harm of U.S. operations and assess their aftermath.

The report details 12 total deaths from U.S. forces in “a declared theater of active armed conflict,” which the report defines as Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Syria. All of the deaths occurred in Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. “DOD does not assess other U.S. military operations in 2021 resulted in civilian casualties,” the report says, and only actions “attributed to the use of U.S.-operated weapons” are listed.

Included are the 10 deaths on Aug. 29 from the case of mistaken identity that killed a family during America’s rushed withdrawal from Kabul. In addition, approximately five civilians were injured by American forces in 2021, two in Afghanistan and three in a Jan. 1 airstrike in Qunyo Barrow, Somalia. Three cases of potential civilian casualty incidents in 2021 in support of Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria “continue to be under assessment,” according to the report, which Congress has mandated since 2018.

The report details 10 deaths and 18 injuries from American strikes that occurred in Syria from 2018 to 2020 that previous annual reports did not account for. Information on one strike was the product of an independent review ordered by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III. That strike killed four civilians and injured 15 others in Baghuz, Syria, on March 18, 2019, according to the Pentagon. All incidents of civilian casualties detailed in the report came from airstrikes.

America’s use of airstrikes, especially in the counter-ISIS campaign in Iraq and Syria, have come under scrutiny. Reports have suggested that the U.S. should do more to limit civilian casualties in some cases and that the Pentagon had a faulty system for investigating such cases. According to Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, more than 1,400 civilians have been inadvertently killed by the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria. Some nongovernmental organizations have said the number is far higher.

Austin issued a directive Jan. 27 to review DOD practices to mitigate harm to civilians, including damage to infrastructure and resources.

On Aug. 25, the department released a Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMR-AP), which implements changes to how DOD judges the risk to civilians and how it assesses the aftermath of strikes.

“DoD’s efforts to mitigate and respond to civilian harm are a direct reflection of U.S. values; doing so is a strategic and moral imperative,” the report says.

China ‘Knows What It’s Doing,’ Pursuing Fighter Similar to NGAD, Kelly Says

Sept. 27, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

China’s approach to developing a sixth-generation fighter is similar to that of the Air Force—a family of systems with an “exponential” improvement in stealth over current platforms—and China both knows how to pursue that technology and is moving rapidly to develop it iteratively, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mark D. Kelly reported. His priority is for the U.S. to get that technology first.

Though he said he could only speak in generalities due to the sensitivity of the topic, Kelly told reporters at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference that “by and large,” China views sixth-generation air dominance “greatly the way we see it: an exponential reduction in signature, exponential acceleration of processing power and sensing, and the ability to … iterate” improvements using open mission systems and “essentially, [the ability to] reprogram at the speed of relevance.” The Air Force’s sixth-generation fighter is known as the Next Generation Air Dominance platform family systems, or NGAD.

Kelly said he’s determined that “we get to sixth-gen air dominance at least a month prior to our competitors.” Of China and other potential adversaries, he said, “They’re not dummies. They know what they’re doing.”

While Kelly could not give detailed information on what the Air Force knows about China’s efforts toward an NGAD-like capability, “I can tell you what’s not happening—they’re not having a debate over the relevance of sixth-gen air dominance. And I can also tell you, they’re on plan. Absolutely.”

The National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Kelly said, reports that China’s approach to developing advanced aerospace technology is highly iterative.

“We, as a nation, tend to let go of the trapeze and kind of make a leap for the next rung,” while “our Chinese ‘frenemies’ tend to iterate—5.1, 5.2, 5.3. They tend to iterate what they have, and morph and evolve.” This was China’s approach to building its fourth-generation fleet, he said.

“They started with Su-27, morph into Su-30, then their own J-16, Su-35,” he said, ticking off the upgrades and advancing versions of the Russian Flanker series of fighters that China purchased and then built indigenously.

“Then they build on that technology base,” he said. The Su-35, designed by Russia but which China has certainly tweaked to its own specifications, is “a good airplane,” Kelly acknowledged, calling it a fourth-generation airplane “with fifth-gen avionics [and] fifth-gen speed.” These aircraft will “make it a little easier when they go off the rung” to their next fighter.

“That’s an iterative plan to get to sixth-gen,” Kelly said. “We need to get there before they do. It won’t end well if we don’t.”

In his speech at ASC, Kelly said “China is building a first-rate air force … When it comes to a nation’s blood, treasure, and stature on the globe, the only thing more expensive than a first-rate air force is a second-rate air force.”

He also said the F-22 must be kept credible and relevant to a modern fight right up until the Air Force makes a “hot handover” to the NGAD. That will happen in roughly 2030.

Watch, Read: Secretary Frank Kendall on One Team, One Fight, One Year Later

Sept. 27, 2022

Department of the Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall delivered a keynote address on “One Team, One Fight, One Year Later” at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference, Sept. 19, 2022. Watch the video or read the transcript below. This transcript is made possible through the sponsorship of JobsOhio.

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Air & Space Forces Association’s Gerald R. Murray:

At this time, I am pleased to introduce, a man who needs no introduction to us. Ladies, gentlemen, the 26th Secretary of the Air Force, the Honorable Frank Kendall. Secretary Kendall is truly a visionary leader who has served at various levels of government and industry and we are honored to have him kick off our 2022 Air, Space and Cyber Conference. Mr. Secretary, please come forward.

Frank Kendall:

Thank you, sir. Good morning.

Crowd:

Good morning.

Frank Kendall:

I’m very grateful for the opportunity to speak with you today. It means I survived my first year in office. Thank you to Chief Murray, Orville Wright, Doug Raaberg, for your leadership of the Air & Space Forces Association and constant support to our Air space forces. And thank you to everyone behind the scenes was worked so hard to put on this conference, which I noticed we don’t need to wear face masks. Yes.

When I stood before you a year ago, I had just joined the Department of the Air Force family. I have now lived through one of the DAF and the US Air Forces 75 years and one of the Space Forces, three years. A lot has happened in that year. We have encountered new challenges and existing challenges have evolved. I have done some of the things I told you I would do. Others are underway or planned. My highest priorities have not changed and they are still completely aligned with those of Secretary Austin as expressed in the National Defense Strategy and then as March 2021 memo to the department. First, the mission. Our pacing challenge is China, China, China. Next and always are people and teams. My goal here is one that every leader at any level should have, to leave the organization stronger than it was when I arrived.

As you’ll see, that covers a lot of ground. I’d like to give you a report today on where we are in each of these priorities and I’d like to discuss the work to come and how it will directly affect our Airmen, Guardians, civilian employees, and their families. I’ll try to give you a sense of what all this means to you. Before I do that, I want to say thank you to some of the wonderful leaders that I’ve gotten to know and admire over the past year. First, my senior leadership team: under Secretary Jones, General Brown, General Raymond. For the last year before I’ve met at the start of virtually every single workday, to think, to plan, to strategize and to collaborate on our shared goals and vision. It has been a fantastic partnership for which I am very grateful. You’ll be hearing from each of these leaders during the conference.

Under Secretary Jones will be discussing the global competition we were in. Jerome Brown will remind us of our heritage and that as we face new threats, the so-called impossible is a challenge we have met before and we’ll meet again. General Raymond will discuss how far the Space Force has come in just three years and point the way forward for the service and his successor. Since last fall, we’ve had almost a full complement of DAF senior political appointees confirmed by the Senate. I’m very grateful to have such a remarkable team of professionals finally in place and I’m anxiously awaiting the one assistant secretary of the Air Force we still have in the process to be confirmed. I’d also like to thank all our Airmen and Guardians, active, guard and reserve. Thank you for what you have done for 75 years and before and for what you will do for the years and the generations to come. You will keep America safe. Thank you.

Thank you also to our military… “queue music,” I didn’t do that. Thank you also to our military families, your supporters essential to the wellbeing of our Airmen and Guardians and to their ability to serve. For our DAF civilians who enable and support our men and women in uniform, thank you for your dedication and professionalism. Thank you also to our industry partners who provide the products and services we count on to do our jobs. Thank you to the many nonprofit groups who support our men and women in uniform. A special thanks to our civic leaders who work with us in communities across the nation. Thank you to our international partners and allies, many represented here today. Thank you for sharing our values and our goals as we confront threats around the world together. Finally, a personal thank you to our Board of Directors, the Congress, thank you for their support in ’22 and ’23.

For all of those associated with the Congress and for everyone I thanked, it’s been an honor to get to know you and to work with you over the past year in my capacity as Secretary of the Air Force. I would, however, like to single out one person for some special recognition. One of the members of our senior leadership team will be retiring from the military soon and as contributions to the nation to have been truly extraordinary. I’m proud to call on my friend and my colleague and I know that everyone he has touched throughout his career has benefited from that interaction, I know that I have. And I’m speaking of course, of the man who will hence forth be known as the father of the Space Force.

General “Jay” Raymond is the first chief of space operations. He is a very big human being in every sense of the word. Please join me for a standing ovation for the person who more than any other, brought the space force into existence and let it through its formative years.

Now we get the music. There we go.

We’re all delighted to have General’s Chance Saltzman moving fairly expeditiously through the confirmation process. Salty will have big shoes to fill when “Jay” retires later this year. Jay has done a job that no one has ever done before and he’s done it superbly. He built the world’s first base force and give it an incredibly strong foundation. I’ve been honored to have him on the Department of the Air Force’s One team.

Let me now give you an update on where we stand on the goals and priorities that I laid out last year. Then, I’ll spend some time talking about our efforts to improve the Department of the Air Force Enterprise with a particular focus on our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. I’ve said again for my first days on the job that my priorities were China, China and China. I’ve been beating the drum about China’s military modernization program for a long time, a dozen years, and I’d like to think that the message is starting to resonate.

I said last year that I would give a classified brief on Capitol Hill about the threat we face to anyone who would listen and many members of Congress have taken me up on that offer. Last week, we briefed the only oversight committee we hadn’t been able to schedule before, the Hack D. The threat brief gets the attention of people hear it, but one question of threat brief always provokes is, “So, what are you doing about it?” Last fall, I formulated seven operational imperatives, as vehicles to help answer that question. The list of seven, which I discussed at AFA in Florida last spring, represents a set of operational problems or potential capability gaps that the DAF needs to address in order to successfully deter aggression and if necessary, defeat it.

Very briefly, we had to get the space order of battle right to find the Department of the Air Force’s C3 Battle Management Modernization Program, acquire resilient ground and air moving target indication capabilities, define and procure the next generation air dominance family of systems to include an on-crew combat aircraft, provide resilient forward basing, mature the B21 family of systems and harden our ability to mobilize and transform to war against a peer competitor.

We have largely completed the initial round of work on the operational imperatives with a focus on identifying our needs for the FY 24 budget. We use those results to build our program objective memorandum. I know that the media people here have their pens out hoping that I’ll drop some hints, but I’m not going to. We are working within the Pentagon and the administration to build the President’s FY 24 budget and that is very much a work in progress. I can tell you that the operational imperatives will be reflected in the FY 24 Department of the Air Force budget requests and for the moment, that’s about as far as I can go. I will, however, make one related announcement. One of the findings of the operational imperative work to date is we have not appreciated the scale of the effort needed to modernize D staff C3 Battle management in a Jag C squared context.

Our efforts to date have not been adequately focused, nor are they been adequately integrated. As a result, I have appointed regular General Luke Cropsey, as a new integrating program executive officer for DAF C3 battle management. Luke will report directly to Assistant Secretary Andrew Hunter, but also for space systems to Assistant Secretary Frank Calvelli. He will have technical authority over the DAF C3 Battle Management Enterprise and take the lead in overall architecture and systems design, system engineering, configuration management and interface control. He will be the DAF’s interface to OSD and the other military departments for DAF Jag C Square technical development. To ensure general cropsey success, we will continue the collaborative operational and technical leadership team model used for the operational imperatives. John Cropsey will work with General Jeff Valencia and General John Olson, who will be the operational requirements leads for their respective services. To ensure that this critical effort to modernize DAF C3 battle management stays on track, the service chief and I will conduct quarterly reviews of the integrated profile of DAFC3 Battle Management Programs.

The DAF is a large ship that turned slowly, but to use the [inaudible 00:11:12] expression, ‘that helm is hard over’. We’ve identified the change we need to accelerate, to avoid losing. Now we have to resource that change and execute the plan to make it happen. We will continue to use the operational imperative framework, but for each imperative there will be a program of actions tailored to meet that specific imperative. As a result of our work to date, we have also initiated efforts to address the future of our electronic warfare suite of capabilities, our munitions roadmap and the future of our mobility and tank capabilities, all in the context of a rapidly changing and competitive threat. We will be reaching out to industry for your ideas, your concepts, your analysis, your products and technologies in each of these areas.

Let me turn now to our decisive national advantage against authoritarian competitors, our Airmen and Guardians. Our competitors are deterred from aggression, not just by weapon systems, but more importantly by motivated professional, empowered, and well-trained joint force. The entire leadership team of the DAF is committed to maintaining a high level of readiness in the air and space forces. To achieve this goal, you must first and foremost, recruit, retain, and support the world’s best Airmen and Guardians and their families.

I spent Saturday at NASCAR’s, Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee with some of our outstanding recruiters. The highlight of the day was interacting with those recruiters and with their families and with swearing in our newest Airmen and NA guardian. Next on the list of highlights, it was either meeting Richard Petty or getting a few laps around the track and the PACE car with Eric Jones. Eric is our driver for the Air Force sponsored car number 43. I haven’t decided which of those was a greater thrill yet. Richard Petty posted a picture on Twitter of the two of us talking and the caption read, “The King,” that would be Richard Petty, … meeting the secretary of the Air Force.” The first comment he got was that the caption should have been reversed. The secret of the Air Force meets the King. One of these people has a temporary job and the other is, well, the King.

It helps me keep my perspective and actually I don’t disagree with the sentiment that was expressed there. Seriously, our recruiters are doing a fantastic job in a very difficult environment. While recruiting has become a challenge across the entire DOD, the Air Force is generally in much better shape than other services and the Space Force is easily meeting its goals. We expect the Air Force active component to meet its recruiting goals for this year, but with less margin than we typically see and a downward trend that may pose challenges in the future. Part of this challenge is related to current conditions like a strong job market, combined with limited in-school recruiting opportunities as a result of COVID-19. However, there’re broader trends which demand our attention. We must all work to increase the propensity of young Americans to serve. We must help a broader population see themselves as someone who can succeed, grow and thrive by serving their country in uniform as part of a great team.

For young Americans who want an opportunity to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems, challenge themselves at a job unlike any other as members of a great team, The Air & Space Forces are where you want to be. I’m getting a lot of questions from the media about Top Gun, which some have noticed is actually a film about navy fighter pilots. My response, in case you’re asked this question, is that first of all, the Air Force has a lot more fighters than the Navy and you don’t have to live on a ship for months in order to fly them.

Not to knock my sister service at all, of course. We’ve challenged our recruiters to increase the diversity of our applicant pool. We can’t just say we want the best and brightest. We need to focus our investment and our outreach toward reaching the best and brightest from all of America. We recently updated the Officer Ascension applicant pool goals. These were last revised in 2014. Our outreach to top talent must take advantage of and attract the broad diversity of our country’s talents. The science is very clear on this: a diverse team is a stronger team, one able to leverage different perspectives, different backgrounds and different experiences to solve the toughest of problems.

With these efforts, we’ve seen significant increases in female officer ascensions. We’ve increased our partnerships with minority serving institutions and strengthen community outreach that connects prospective recruits with mentors, especially those with an interest in aviation and STEM based fields and we know the diversity of our force also includes the incredible perspective and expertise in our Air National Guard and Air Force reserves.

They are at the core of all our mission sets, seamlessly integrating into our operational and our strategic objectives while enriching us with their diverse experience and expertise countered from the private sector. To ensure we have the fully ready force we need, we are also working to remove the barriers, hurdles, and headwinds identified in the disparity reports we published over the past year and before. We want to ensure we have the right mix of skills that we need to be operationally successful and we want everyone to serve to their full potential. These efforts come in many varieties. For example, we are putting cyber officers into a broader range of positions where their expertise can inform senior decision makers. Designed to assist us in identifying barriers to inclusion, the DAF Hispanic Empowerment and Advancement Team or HEAT, help us to update uniform name tags with accent marks.

Getting the small things right does matter. It shows people they are valued parts of the team. As we continue to reexamine our personnel policies to ensure we’re removing barriers that might have disparate impacts, under Secretary Jones and General Brown have been leading the charge to ensure that our female aviators have more input in determining whether they fly or not after becoming pregnant, while taking into account safety and operational readiness.

One of the greatest incentives to continue serving is our Airmen and Guardians know that we don’t just train, educate and grow them as leaders. We also take very seriously our obligations to take care of their families. As I’ve traveled to dozens of bases around the world, I’ve listened to our emanate Guardians discuss the challenges that they and their families face. Secretary Austin has personally engaged all the Department of Defense leadership to address these challenges and the DAF is leaning in to lead the way. The most common concerns I’ve heard from Airmen and Guardians about our inflation, housing cost or conditions and childcare. The DAF leadership knows we can’t expect Airmen and Guardians to give their all to the mission when they are worried about paying for gas to get to work, finding childcare or providing their family a safe place to live. That starts with compensation.

With the FY 23 budget, we expect the largest pay raise we’ve seen in nearly two decades. We are working with the Office of the Secretary Defense to ensure basic allowance for housing also keeps space with costs. I’ve heard from the husbands and wives or our service members how frequent moves can lead to job uncertainty and insecurity, and so we are expanding our efforts to reduce barriers to spousal employment opportunities, including additional work on state reciprocity in professional licensing. We are also implementing the basic needs allowance program that provides supplemental income for military members and dependents whose gross income falls below 130% of the federal poverty line. The past several months of inflation has put unique pressures on the finances as some of our Airmen and Guardians in critical specialties. Our system to adjust special duty pay was out of sync, with the rapid changes in our economy brought on by COVID and the invasion of Ukraine. That’s why I’m announcing today that the DAF will restore all of the cuts to special duty assignment pay that were scheduled to take place on one October, including… Thank you.

I didn’t get any music for that one. Including those for our recruiters. To address childcare needs. We are investing significantly in a military construction budget that prioritizes child development centers. Expanding capacity won’t alleviate today’s staffing challenges, which have been exasperated nationally by COVID-19 and low unemployment. We are aggressively developing and will soon announce new incentives that we believe will increase staffing at CDCs and expand alternative childcare programs. To address housing needs. We are working with local providers and officials to increase the availability of off base housing. We are working with privatized housing companies to enforce our contracts to ensure that such housing meets the standards we require and that the tenant’s bill of rights is implemented and enforced. Through our military construction program, we are addressing infrastructure challenges to our basis, especially dormitories.

I may now turn to some more controversial subjects. One of the events of my first year in office has been the Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down Roe v. Wade.

We know that many Airmen, Guardians and their family members are worried about the impacts of the decision and the resulting proliferation of state laws that affect them very differently depending upon where they are stationed. This, of course, a subject with widely varying views across the country and indeed within the A space forces themselves. The DOD is fully engaged in exploring how to best respond to this situation to support our people, but in the meantime, we are committed to and have been providing complete, accurate and accessible information on current rights and benefits to the DAF. The Supreme Court decision does not change any healthcare benefits provided by the Defense Department, or our policies relating to emergency, convalescent and sick leave that members can use to obtain medical treatment including reproductive health treatment.

Now I’d like to touch on the scourge of sexual assault, sexual harassment and interpersonal violence, especially domestic violence.

The recently released report on sexual assault in the military makes it clear that our efforts to improve in this area have not been good enough. While the DAF may have substantially fewer reported incidents than our sister services and we should be encouraged by that result, the fact that incidents are increasing overall, must be addressed. We are moving out as quickly as possible to implement the independent review commission recommendations and the direction in the NDAA to establish an independent reporting and prosecutorial system. There is one thing I want to make extremely clear today: eradicating sexual assault and harassment and creating a command climate in which no one feels disrespected or unsafe, is a commanders and leaders core responsibility and that will not change. Let me say that again, eradicating sexual assault and harassment and creating a command climate in which no one feels disrespected or unsafe is a commander’s and leader’s core responsibility and that will not change.

The service chiefs, your senior enlisted leadership and I all expect commanders and enlist leaders to build and maintain organizations in which sexual assault, sexual harassment and interpersonal violence are neither condoned nor tolerated in any form. Our leaders, you, will be held accountable for this now and always. The formation of an independent reporting and prosecution chain does not relieve our leaders of this foundational command responsibility. While prevention comes first, you must also do everything we can to support survivors of sexual assault and other forms of interpersonal violence. Just last month in line with IRC recommendations, we launched an integrated response co-location pilot program at seven of our installations to increase the awareness, accessibility and support to survivors. The pilot physically co-locate several resources to help survivors navigate available resources and better access the support that they deserve. Over the next six months, we will collect feedback including data and key metrics to leverage and scale this pilot program.

We want to improve how we respond and take care of victims of violence or harassment. We owe all our Airmen and Guardians a work environment and a community that they can trust and we will provide it. We will ensure that Air & Space Forces our organizations everyone wants to be a part of and in which everyone is treated with respect. We cannot tolerate anyone in our ranks who does not live those values, no matter what other admirable things they have done professionally. This past year we changed our guidance on how to determine whether someone who has committed sexual assault can remain in the military, to make it much clearer that sexual assault and military service are not compatible.

One of the most difficult parts of my job has been the over a hundred emails I’ve received telling me that a suicide had occurred in the department and the letters that I write to the families, the loved ones of each Airmen or guardian we lose to suicide. The vast majority of these suicides are our youngest and most junior people and by far the dominant means of self harm is a firearm. We are committed to improving resiliency and addressing the mental health needs of our force. Our suicide prevention focus starts with implementing the White House strategy for reducing military and veteran suicides and builds on the CDC supported strategies. We are also looking at how to strengthen and scale some of our initiatives that are showing promise like True North, our integrated resilience program that embeds mental health care providers and spiritual leaders within our organizations. As some of our senior DAF leaders have made clear by example, mental health is health. Seeking care when you need it does not demonstrate weakness. It shows courage, sound judgment, and maturity.

Building the innovative and professional force we need, requires effective talent management that provides the mix of skills and expertise we need while giving our people relevant options and opportunities and encouraging retention. The DAF senior leadership is actively managing our promotion processes to ensure we have the right depth and breadth of expertise in all our ranks, particularly in leadership. For example, we must have enough general officer through proficiency in technologies and systems in areas like cyber or battle management, so that this expertise is not confined to nearly focused organizations but also routinely represented at the highest decision making levels. Ensuring our leaders have these types of capabilities is critical to effectively addressing the facing challenge. To better manage our talent, we are revamping the entire evaluation system, moving to a 21st century IT platform and shifting away from the formulaic bullet statement approach that we have used for some time.

We are moving to a clearer performance statement system based around the assessments of Airmen’s leadership qualities and ensuring leaders are accountable for their unit climates. On the civilian side of the organization, we are also building a variety of programs to increase the flexibility of our civilian workforce and bringing in much needed talent including the Cyber Accepted Service, the Civilian Short Term Experiential Program, the Premier College Intern Program, and the Science Mathematics and Research for Transformation scholarship per service program. All of these will improve our capacity to meet our facing challenge. We have the world’s best fighting force and it’s only getting better, but we cannot be complacent about any aspect of our readiness, both today and for the foreseeable future. I focused a lot on our people today, but it all comes back to your mission and our readiness to perform it. You think that calling our immanent Guardians are decisive national advantage is just a tagline, take a look at what’s happening in Ukraine.

We’re seeing the price rush is paying for failing to invest in its people. We’re seeing failure at scale in action and it’s very visible on the battlefield. Beyond that, we’re seeing the difference between those who are fighting for a cause and an organization and a team that they can believe in and those whose only motivations are survival and avoiding harsh discipline. Some of you may think we’re preparing for a fight that hasn’t started yet and may never even happen. Unfortunately, we are already in the midst of a battle over fundamental values, our nation’s core values of freedom and democracy.

I’m hopeful that we can deter any military conflict between Major Powers. Between the US and China or Russia, where authoritarian system of governments have the clear potential for aggression. To deter that if necessary, when you must both modernize the Air & Space Forces and ensure that our Airmen and Guardians are as ready as possible for the pure competitor that they may be asked to win against at any time.

Once again, we are dealing with aggressive and expansionary authoritarian powers, something we have not seen for decades. For many of us, for our entire lifetimes, history has taught us grim lessons about what happens when we ignore the threat with authoritarian aggression. Aggressive authoritarian powers don’t stop until someone stops them. We’re seeing that in Ukraine right now. Some of you heard me say this on Thursday at the Air Force tattoo, but it’s worth repeating. Since World War II, our world has experienced unprecedented peace and prosperity because a coalition of democracies led by the United States has enforced rules based interactions between states to prevent aggression. We were strong enough to win World War II, defeat the Soviet Union in the Cold War and deal with all the threats we have seen since, but our work is not done. Yesterday I saw a P51 Mustang flying formation with an F35.

For me, it was an emotional event. Eight decades ago, not terribly long before I was born, air power was at the very heart of saving the world from tyranny and an American Air Force was born from that moment. Today, that Air Force is joined by a space force that shares with the Air Force both a long heritage and the great burden of protecting our freedom. That burden is greater than it may ever have been, but we are ready for it. You are ready for it. I’m proud to be part of the Air Force family as we celebrate the 75th year of the Department of the Air Force. Fly, fight and win, air power anytime, anywhere. Semper Supra. One Team, One Fight. Thank you.

Kelly: Take an Iterative Approach to Collaborative Combat Aircraft or Risk Getting it Wrong

Sept. 26, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force’s approach to developing Collaborative Combat Aircraft—uncrewed airplanes that will fly in loose formation with crewed airplanes to perform missions such as sensing and jamming—should be rapid but iterative, lest the service get the concept wrong and have to back up and start over, Air Combat Command head Gen. Mark D. Kelly said.

“Everyone is in agreement,” Kelly told reporters at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference, that CCAs are “something in our future,” and he expects early versions will be in the hands of Airmen to start experimenting with in less than two years.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall “is right” that the technology exists for prototype systems to be built, Kelly said, but the right approach will be to let pilots work with them and decide where to put the emphasis in further development.

“The captains will lead us through this,” he said. “That’s the path we’re going on: get the tools to the Airmen and get out of their way. Let them iterate and innovate.” He urged that the Air Force listen to those who will fight with the CCAs.

“Throw it into the mix … and learn,” he said. He said he’s sure that “if we try to foist” an end-item “on them and tell them how to do it, we’ll mess this up.”

The discussion now underway, he said, is “how are we going to get there? Are we going to swing for the fence and have these things almost operational in a short amount of time, or are we going to kind of get some singles and folks on base and try to iterate our way there?”

Kelly called himself a fan and an advocate of iteration, “because there’s so much we don’t know. And if we try to shoehorn our way into something … we may cue up an exquisite miss.” He also noted that exquisite capabilities usually end up being very expensive.

“And then if I build an exquisite CCA—exquisite means exquisite pricing—I could have a CCA that could punch into really, really highly-defended piece of airspace, I don’t have resilient comms, and that thing doesn’t know how to phone home … I don’t get it home.”

His advice to industry would be to make “clean sheet” CCA design “something you can iterate” with modular, interchangeable sensors, radar, jammers, etc.

“Unlock a nose, bolt on another nose,” he said. “Quickly take off the radars, put on the jammers,” so that the CCAs can rapidly adapt to a changing air battle.

“I would not lock us into…’it’s a sensor…a jammer…it can’t do anything else.’”

He acknowledges that many in the senior leadership want to go fast on CCAs; to rapidly put them in the field and start increasing the number of combat platforms for capacity, and also to impose cost on China by giving America’s pacing adversary more it must shoot at.

“I think we can iterate pretty fast,” Kelly said, but warned that “if we lock ourselves into” something of a certain size or capability, it could turn out to be “a race to failure … under the banner of ‘accelerate, change or lose.’”

If “we … find out we’re wrong, we have to go back to the start,” he said, and that would cost time and resources USAF doesn’t have to squander.

“But I agree with the Secretary: we need to start doing and iterating and test-driving this, and get ourselves away from some of the PowerPoint slides. … He’s right, that there’s enough out there that we can start iterating now.”

He also said the operational concepts and authorities have to develop in pace with the technology. Right now, he said, armed, uncrewed aircraft like the MQ-9 are limited to operations from just a few bases such as Creech Air Force Base, Nev., Tonopah Test Range, Nev., Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., and Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

He said he lacks the authority to land such an aircraft “anywhere I want in the U.S.,” which inhibits their ability to integrate with the force and be incorporated into large-force training.

“You can race down the track of autonomy, but if you don’t have the authority to go right with it,” the concept will falter, he said.

“So I’ve got to have autonomy, authority and resilient comms (communications)” to make the CCA concept work, he said.

Overall, it’s too early to be thinking about what squadrons will look like with a mix of crewed and uncrewed aircraft, but some are, Kelly added.

Watch, Read: Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. on The State of the Air Force

Sept. 26, 2022

Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown delivered a keynote address on ‘The State of the Air Force’ at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference, Sept. 19, 2022. Watch the video or read the transcript below. This transcript is made possible through the sponsorship of JobsOhio.

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We’ve done this before. We can do it again.

When I became the chief, I shared my strategic approach: Accelerate change or lose. Because as I looked across the security horizon, three things crystallized for me:

Uncontested air force dominance is not assured;
Good enough today will fail tomorrow;
We must collaborate within and throughout to succeed.

As the international security landscape changes, we must also change and prepare to preserve our way of life. In Hap Arnold’s final World War II report, he said, “A modern, autonomous, and thoroughly trained air force will not alone be sufficient, but without it there will be no national security.” These words from 1945 are just as applicable today as when they were first written. If we don’t get this right together, if we fail to adapt, we risk our national security, our ideals, and the current rules-based international order. But if we do get this right together, if we do adapt, we’ll preserve the freedoms we hold most dear, the same freedoms that enables the spread of democracy, supports alliances and partnerships built on common values, and strengthen societies all around the world.

As a department and the Air Force celebrates our 75th anniversary, I want to thank our leadership of our one team: our secretary, the Honorable Frank Kendall; undersecretary, the Honorable Gina Ortiz Jones; the Chief of Space Operations, Gen. Jay Raymond; Chief Master of the Air Force JoAnne Bass; and Chief Master of the Space Force Roger Towberman. Thank you all for what you do for our Air Force and for our Space Force.

As the secretary shared in his remarks, one member of our leadership team will be retiring soon. Jay and Mollie, Sharene and I are honored to have worked closely with you on the historic task of standing up the Space Force. Having first cross paths back in 1996 at Air Command and Staff College, we, and I know so many others, want to wish you the very best as you open the next chapter. Although the leadership of the one team will change, the one fight will continue, focused on ensuring that we remain the world’s preeminent air force and space force. Congratulations, Jay, on a job well done.

Now, I do wonder, as we make the transition to [Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman], I wonder if Salty’s going to get the Department of Air Force chief … same haircut style. We’ll see if we can put some money on how that’s going to play out.

I’ll also say huge thanks to the Air Force Association for organizing this week, providing Airmen and Guardians an opportunity to celebrate an important anniversary, giving us all opportunities for professional development and strengthen our relationships. And Chief Murray, I’m not sure who approved you to be able to move away, but it’s been a real honor to be working with you over the past several years at this event and throughout all the other events that the Air Force Association supports. So thank you very much for what you’ve done for us.

Our airpower forefathers may have laid the groundwork that led to the establishment of our Air Force, but it’s organizations like AFA and your unwavering advocacy that sustains us into the future. We appreciate your tireless support advancing airpower.

And finally, and most importantly, to the world’s greatest Airmen—Active, Guard, Reserve, and civilian—and your families, thanks for all you do to make us the world’s most respected air force.

Over the last two years, I watched with pride. I’ve seen the vision of “Accelerate change or lose” take hold in every corner of our Air Force. This year’s 75th anniversary marks another way point on our journey. And as we cross three quarters of a century as a separate service, we have much to be proud of, but we cannot rest on our laurels. As I reflect on our history, as I ponder our future in the next 75 years, I remain confident, especially as I look across this crowd of incredible Airmen and all you represent.

Today, I reflect on how the world’s greatest Airmen have collaborated, accelerated, innovated, and thrived, many times in the face of daunting challenges. And it’s clear our Air Force and nation already know how to accelerate change. We’ve done this before and we can do it again. And our past ingredients of success are collaborating with our Joint teammates, allies, and partners in industry and academia, accelerating change to outpace our competitors, and innovating the technical and perceptive boundaries of what airpower can do, all our fundamental elements we need to thrive when addressing the pacing, acute and unforeseen challenges of the future.

The Air Force’s legacy started long before the establishment of our service. It began with a dream by two brothers from Dayton, who unlocked the secrets of aerodynamics and achieved something thought impossible. That is our legacy. We are the United States Air Force. And when I say we have done this before, you may be asking, “What is ‘this?’” This is what others accept as impossible, but the complacent dare not try. This is a difficult task that requires pushing through failure until finding success. This is taking risk, knowing what’s at stake if we don’t. This is accelerating change. And this has always been part of our DNA. And our incredible Airmen have always risen to the challenge and found a way.

We did this leading up to 1947, when airpower pioneers pushed the limits, challenged the status quo, proving the preeminence of airpower against overwhelming odds, when courageous visionaries, the likes of Billy Mitchell, Bessie Coleman, Hap Arnold, Jimmy Doolittle, Amelia Earhart, and Benjamin Davis, Jr. foresaw the importance of unlocking the hidden value of airpower and talent of the air-minded, establishing airpower credibility that led to the establishment of the Air Force as a separate service. We trace our lineage to these giants in aviation and Air Force history, who in some cases risked their reputations and their careers to pursue what they knew to be a noble cause.

We did this in 1948 when the U.S. and our allies foiled the Soviet blockade in Germany and proved the Air Force could deliver airpower anytime, anywhere. Without firing a shot, we embarked on the largest aerial resupply mission in history during Operation Vittles, landing at Tempelhof Airport every 45 seconds and delivering more than 13,000 tons of cargo in a single day.

We did this in the 1950s when we proved global strike can occur in a matter of minutes, enhancing our deterrence and creating the backbone of extended deterrence which exists today. As the Cold War heated up and the Soviet nuclear threat increased, the Air Force and industry and academia developed a solution. In just two years, the Air Force launched its first operational Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile.

We did this in the ’70s and the ’80s. We developed a groundbreaking technology to counter increasing air defense capabilities around the world. The Air Force took an idea from an urgent operational need and filled it in brand new and revolutionary capability, the F-117 Nighthawk. We did so in record time, paving the way for stealth technology we see today.

We did this in the 1990s, with a coalition of the willing, bringing stability to Southeast Europe, stopping a humanitarian emergency and upholding democratic values. Thirteen nations rallied around a common cause to end the brutal ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians, during Operation Allied Force. This campaign marked multiple firsts for our Air Force, the filling of the MQ-1 Predator in 39 days, the first operational use of the B-2, and the first time the Combined Air Operations Center was employed as a weapon system.

And we did this in 2001. We did not allow terrorists to break our spirits and change our way of life. We rose as Americans and saw the strength of our nation when challenged. And for 21 years, there have been no major terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.

At every stage, in every new trial, no matter how difficult, we proved that we could rise above any challenge. We proved that we were willing to take risk. And we proved we could solve any problem. We collaborated across our Air Force and within DOD, with allies and partners, industry and academia. We accelerated by driving outcomes, challenging the status quo, and not waiting for the perfect conditions to be act.

We innovated through experimentation, rapid prototyping, adapting new ideas, and having a bias for action, risk-taking, and creative disruption across all levels of Airmen. Nothing could stop us, in every challenge and in every era. We have done this before, no matter how seemingly impossible or difficult, and we can do it again.

For the last 30 years, we’ve enjoyed a period of steady state dominance in which we’ve grown accustomed to being an Air Force with unmatched technical prowess. We now find ourselves in a pivotal period, one that is fundamentally reshaping the international security landscape. When our nation was focused on countering violent extremists for two decades, our competitors focused on matching our way of war. Our tactical skills are sharp, but we need to reframe our thinking to meet the challenges we will face in the future.

In many ways, today’s security environment parallels our past, from competition among nations, the race for technology advancements, territorial disputes, to vying for resources. These are not new challenges, but the complexity and combination are more than ever before. And the growing capabilities of our strategic competitors challenges our advantages, but our Air Force thrives under challenging conditions. We know strategic competition and we know what it means to accelerate change, because we’ve done this before and we can do it again.

When we provide intent, trust and empower Airmen, they rise to the challenge, even in the most impossible circumstances, Airmen likes Senior Master Sgt. Cedric Evans of the PACAF headquarters. Cedric, I know you’re here some place. Could you please stand up?

Now, Cedric is leading the creation of the Inter-Pacific Air Forces Academy, delivering professional military education and collaboration with more than 10 allied and partner nations—sharing ideas, strengthening our relationships, and enhancing a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Airmen like Senior Master Sgt. Brent Kenny of the 52nd Fighter Wing, who created a way to provide drinking water and save energy in remote locations. Instead of using pallets of prepackaged water and diesel generators, he used solar fabric and an environmental water harvester, saving money and precious cargo space.

Airmen like Senior Airman Kyle Swink, an Explosive Ordinance Disposal team member assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing. Kyle was frustrated that his counter IED system, the JCREW, would not stay stable in the field, impacting its operation. After collaborating with academia and within a single afternoon, a solution was developed. Kyle will take delivery of five units next month.

Airmen like Capt. Taylor Bye of the 23rd Wing, who experienced a catastrophic gun failure on her aircraft, and the canopy of her A-10 went scoring through the sky. It is because of her immense professionalism, calm demeanor, and ability to tap into her years of training, that Taylor was able to safely perform a gear up, no canopy landing.

Last week’s Air Force Tattoo, in front of 49 international air chiefs and a home crowd of thousands, our Air Force honor guard and the Air Force planned and executed a spectacular display of military and musical precision. This doesn’t happen by itself. It’s because of Airmen like Senior Airman Essence Martin, Tech Sgt. Matthew Slabin, and Tech Sg.t Brandon Lightburn from the Air Force Honor Guard. I know they’re here as well; if they could stand up so they could also be recognized.

And Master Sgt. Brooke Emory, Senior Master Sgt. Chad Randolph, and Chief Master Sgt. Dennis Hoffman from the Air Force Band, I know you’re also here. We’d like to get you a little publicity.

And finally, the man behind the magic, really, Lt. Col. Dave Fink, who led the detail planning and coordination for more than 450 personnel. He spent a lot of time in my office talking about the vision for the Tattoo. He really set the bar high for following tattoos. Dave, if you could please stand.

Last Thursday night, for those that went with us, you saw our Airmen demonstrate the unmatched discipline and professionalism found in all 689,000 Airmen that make us the world’s most respected air force. Seeing all the incredible accomplishments our Airmen have done and continue to do, I’m confident we can do it again, but we must do this together. Success takes help. Failure can be done alone. In order to protect and enhance our future collective international security, we need our emphasis on collaboration and integrate like never before, because the emerging threats of today require a collective effort.

Considering we just completed a very successful International Air Chiefs Conference, I want to focus on allies and partners for a moment. We must start at the beginning with the end in mind. We need to be integrated by design. Integrated by design is a deliberate way we must all work together to understand the environment, to find the threat, share information, and employ airpower. Integrated by design is not new. It is a renewed emphasis on integration that is discussed more often than truly executed.

It expands our approach to developing people, policies, and processes, and the need for partnership. Integrated by design is our cooperative effort to build the most capable air forces in the world. We must start with allies and partners in mind versus building the U.S. first, then adapting to include our allies and partners later. We must collaborate when we innovate by design, because the evolving complexities of today remind us we can not do this alone. Not only do we need to collaborate and integrate, but we must accelerate. Our window of opportunity is closing.

Our future requires us to get beyond talking about what we want to do. We have to go do. We need an approach that serves our national security and defense strategies, our Joint war-fighting concept, and recognizes the changing trends and tendencies in the character of warfare. We need to accelerate the adoption of operational concepts to integrate our core missions at key points in time. Adoption is more than just drafting the concept and putting it on the shelf in the event of crisis, contingency, or conflict. Adoption is making the concepts part of our DNA, part of our culture. Bottom line, we must build our culture, not just our concepts.

We are committed to five areas that will drive culture change: mission command, force generation, agile combat employment, multi-capable airmen, and the wing A-staff construct. We must do it now, because our adversaries will not wait for us to perfect these concepts. You might ask, “Are we really going to do this? Are we really committed?” Let me tell you, if we can’t drive culture change, if we can’t get on the same page, if we debate and litigate decisions after they’ve been made, let there be no doubt the decision has been made. It is now time to execute.

We rewrote Air Force Doctrine Publication 1 with a focus on mission command, which requires mutual trust, shared understanding and clear commanders’ intent. Leaders need to give our Airmen intent, empower them, and get the hell out of the way. Now, we might think this is intuitive. I assure you, based on Action Order B, it is not. To make our doctrine easier to grasp and to read, we took 141 pages and knocked it down to 16 pages, so there is no excuse not to read and know our doctrine. Bottom line, we can’t wait to implement mission command in a conflict. It needs to be something we do every day.

We’re transforming the way we deploy and integrate with the Joint force through the Air Force Force Generation Model, or AFFORGEN. This has been a concept and model that’s been in development for the past couple of years. AFFORGEN goes to its initial operational capability in just a couple of weeks on the 1st of October, with a predictable four-bin model: prepare, ready, available to commit, and reset. Designed to balance combatant command requirements with building high-end readiness, AFFORGEN is about better articulating impacts to future readiness and driving strategic discipline and addressing the global demand for air force capabilities.

I’m serious about agile combat employment, because the way we deployed our forces to established and static bases over the past several decades will not work against the advancing threat. ACE is a means of maneuver to increase survivability while generating and projecting airpower; versus dispersing our capability on airfields, ACE is dispersing our capability across airfields. ACE requires us to be lighter, leaner, and more agile.

As I’ve had the opportunity to visit bases across our Air Force, I’ve seen the progress we’ve made, but we must continue to develop and refine capabilities that are important to ACE: command and control, logistics under attack, resilient basing, air and missile defense, just to name a few. As we embrace ACE, we must all be multi-capable Airmen. It’s not a checklist of qualifications, it’s a mindset and technical competency that when things hit the fan, our Airmen are ready.

Multi-capable Airmen is about crushing bureaucratic hurdles and functional union cards that could be holding back the immense talent and innovative ideas and thoughts of our Airmen. It comes down to being ready. We are employing ACE. Multi-capable airmen will be expected to accomplish tasks outside their core specialty. Multi-capable Airmen will ensure we are the more agile and lethal force that we can be, able to create increasing dilemmas for our adversaries.

As part of their Joint force, we will train like we fight, moving to a wing A-staff construct. We may be moving at different paces across our MAJCOMs, but we’re moving, nonetheless. Our wings need to support rapid decision-making, maximize responsiveness for crisis and day-to-day operations. When we’re organizing our wings to an A-staff construct, we align from the headquarters of the Air Force all the way down to the wing level; organizing to an A-staff for most professional development, so our Airmen and airpower are better prepared to plug in to a Joint team. Mission command, force generation, agile combat employment, and the wing A-staff construct: these are the concepts we must accelerate to drive culture change.

Airpower is dependent on the potential of our Airmen, industry, and academia to innovate, a potential which is not limited to technology but includes using current technology and capabilities in new ways. We cannot simply view new, big, or expensive technology leaves as the only way to innovate. We must harness any innovation that can put meaningful capability into the hands of our war fighters. We can’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough and get in the way of [minimal] viable product. We must deploy, employ, and iterate, but we must have the right talent to be effective.

Our Airmen, the ones sitting in this room, the ones getting the J-O-B done every day, at every base across our Air Force, our Active Duty members, Guard, Reserve, and civilian, and our vast and incredible partners in industry and academia, you the heart of our innovation. And I’m constantly reminded, each of you drive the potential of our technology and the potential of our ideas. Both are unlimited, but our resources and timelines to provide credible combat power and capability are not. We’ll need to have strategic conversations that make difficult choices to drive change and to solve our toughest problems, and make sure our seven operational imperative become a reality. These are the changes we need and the key areas we must modernize to have a credible combat force. And when we put all these pieces together across domains and services, inter-agency, industry, academia, and with our allies and partners, we can assure and deter. We can have integrated deterrence. And we can have airpower anytime, anywhere, should the deterrence fail.

In closing, every day when I come into the Pentagon, I come in through the river entrance. And just before I get to the top of the stairs, I pass the painting by Robert Emerson Bell entitled ‘Wings Through Time.’ The painting was done for the 50th anniversary of our Air Force. It visually depicts every airplane related to the history of the Air Force since the Wright flyer. This painting is instructive, showing the large number of aircraft built early in our history. Between 1944 and 1984, on average, we produced a new fighter every two and a half years, a new mobility platform every year and a half. It’s clear from our history, our Air Force and our nation already know how to accelerate change.

Now, if we could extend that painting to today, our 75th anniversary, you’d only see the addition of three fighters and two mobility aircraft. This painting is a visible reminder that we’ve done this before, but our future is not guaranteed. Together, we must plan and build for the future, with full acknowledgement that we must collaborate, accelerate and innovate so our Air Force can continue to thrive for the next 75.

As I reflect on the words from Gen. Hap Arnold, I know we can and we must create the force we need for the future. We must be modern, with the capabilities and capacity that would outpace the threat, now and well into the future. We must be thoroughly trained, recognizing the changing trends in the character of warfare. And we must do this together, one team, one fight, because a strong Air Force will not alone be sufficient, but without it, there will be no national security. Last year, I told you I didn’t believe in impossible. This year, I’m going to tell you, our airmen don’t either. We have done this before. We will do it again. Happy 75th, Air Force.

Air Force Personnel, Aircraft in Florida Evacuate Ahead of Hurricane Ian

Sept. 26, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

Non-mission essential personnel have been ordered to evacuate MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., by noon of Sept. 27, and aircraft are being flown out of the base as Hurricane Ian gathers strength and threatens to hit Florida later this week.

Elsewhere on Florida’s Gulf coast, officials at Eglin Air Force Base plan to evacuate fighter and trainer aircraft on Sept. 27, and other USAF bases in the region remain on heightened alert in advance of the storm’s arrival.

MacDill, located in the Tampa Bay region, hosts the headquarters of U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, as well as KC-135s as part of the 6th Aerial Refueling Wing, and U.S. Army UH-60s. Most of those aircraft are being evacuated, an Air Force spokeswoman told Air & Space Forces Magazine. The KC-135 aircraft that are leaving are going to either Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., or Bangor Air National Guard Base, Maine.

“Our fleet of KC-135s Stratotankers are a strategic national asset. We will continue to protect them and the service members who ensure their success,” Col. Adam D. Bingham, commander of the 6th ARW, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, officials at Eglin Air Force Base are planning to fly their F-35s to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and their F-22s and T-38s to Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., on Sept. 27, an Air Force spokeswoman said.

Both MacDill and Eglin have evacuated aircraft in advance of storms before. In 2021, MacDill sent its KC-135s to McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., in anticipation of Tropical Storm Elsa. In 2004, Eglin evacuated fighters in advance of Hurricane Ivan.

But while Eglin leaders have not yet ordered an evacuation of personnel, Bingham made the decision for a limited evacuation of MacDill, which lies entirely within Evacuation Zone A, on Sept. 6.

The order includes service members, civilian employees, and their dependents who live in areas designated Evacuation Zone A in Hillsborough, Manatee, and Pinellas counties. In addition, those who reside in Zone B in those counties, as well as residents of Zone C in Pinellas County, can also evacuate and receive reimbursements for their travel.

Another evacuation order for those in Zones A, B, and C in Pasco County will take effect at 8 a.m. Sept. 27.

“To ensure mission-essential personnel are available for base preparations, military members and base civilian employees must receive approval for departure from their chain of command via supervisory channels,” according to a post to MacDill’s official Facebook page. Commanders are being instructed to release non-mission essential personnel as quickly as possible.

As of 2 p.m. Sept. 26, the National Hurricane Center’s forecast for Ian shows it becoming a major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico by Tuesday, Sept. 27, and potentially making landfall in central Florida by 8 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 29.

Local and state officials are warning residents to prepare for high winds, heavy rain, and a storm surge along the coast. The Tampa Bay region in particular, where MacDill is located, is bracing for impact, though there is still uncertainty about the storm’s path.

MacDill is currently at Hurricane Condition Level 3, according to its website, meaning destructive winds in excess of 58 miles per hour are possible within 48 hours.

Eglin Air Force Base, along with Hurlburt Field, is currently at HURCON 5, meaning destructive winds could arrive within 96 hours. Tyndall Air Force Base is at HURCON 4, meaning such winds are possible within 72 hours.

For Tyndall in particular, the threat of a storm comes as the base is still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Michael in 2018. The Category 5 storm inflicted what officials called “catastrophic damage” on the base, severely damaging or destroying 95 percent of the base’s 1,300 structures, requiring several billion dollars’ worth of remediation.

Burt: Space Force Needs to ‘Get Out of Our Own Way,’ Enable Companies Instead

Sept. 23, 2022 | By Nick Adde

Unlike nearly every other innovative technology throughout history, Maj. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt believes the space enterprise emerged backward.

“Every other domain started with an entrepreneur who built something,” Burt, the special assistant to the Chief of Space Operations, said in a panel discussion Sept. 21 at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference.

“Henry Ford builds a car; we put armor on it and it becomes a tank. Orville and Wilbur fly an airplane. In World War I, we realize we can conduct ISR, put guns, drop bombs from it,” Burt said.

It is time for the scenario to shift 180 degrees, Burt told the audience.

“Industry is doing the things we need to do. We have to figure out how to get out of our own way and enable them, and help them,” Burt said.

As director of the Defense Innovation Unit’s space portfolio, panelist Steven J. Butrow oversees the Pentagon agency’s effort to foster contracting relationships that address national security issues.

“The future is space-enabled and software-defined,” Butrow told the audience. “That’s why we created the Space Force. That’s why we should be embracing and supporting a vibrant commercial space industrial base.”

While the U.S. led the way in developing innovations such as the modern internet and electrification of automobiles, panelist Chris Kemp told the audience that the nation has let down its guard in one key technology.

“We had the opportunity to lead the world with drones—autonomous flying technology,” said Kemp, who founded and heads Astra, a California-based space technology firm.

Turning around the trend in drones and ensuring it does not happen in other areas, Kemp said, is reachable.

“All you in this room have the power to drive the changes in procuring solutions and services by simply buying the data from the companies before you,” Kemp said. “If you do, America will lead the world in space for the next decade.”

Panelist Marc Bell, founder and chief executive officer of Terran Orbital, is encouraged by the space community’s overall willingness to adapt to change. His company is building software-defined synthetic aperture radar, which can reconstruct two- and three-dimensional images. The Defense Department, and USSF in particular, have demonstrated a willingness to buy such a product rather than embark on building one from scratch, he said.

“It’s a way the industry is changing, and the DOD and Space Force are changing with it,” Bell said.

Russia Increasing ‘Very Concerning’ Behavior in Syria, AFCENT Commander Says

Sept. 23, 2022 | By Chris Gordon

The Russian Air Force has become “more aggressive” in Syria as tensions have risen over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the top Air Force general for the Middle East said.

“There’s always a concern,” the commander of Air Forces Central Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The U.S. and Russian militaries have operated in an uneasy coexistence in Syria since the Kremlin sent forces there in 2015 to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But in recent months, Russian transport planes have flown near Al-Tanf Garrison in southeast Syria—where U.S. troops have been working with Syrian fighters battling ISIS militants—without notifying American commanders as done in the past, Grynkewich said at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference on Sept. 19.

There is “a disregard for our presence at Al-Tanf,” Grynkewich said. “They would at least give us a phone call. They stopped giving us that phone call now.”

Russian aircraft have also flown into eastern Syria, where U.S. forces have been partnering with Syrian fighters who are battling ISIS. Russian combat aircraft have been in both areas.

Grynkewich, who took command July 21, said Russia’s more aggressive posture appears to stem from the arrival of Russian commanders who had been involved in Moscow’s troubled invasion of Ukraine and are trying to make up for their poor performance there. “To me, it’s very, very concerning. I believe that some of those Russian leaders are trying to rebuild their reputation.”

The U.S. military operates in Syria with its Syrian partners as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. While ISIS’s physical caliphate has been destroyed, remnants of the group are trying to make a comeback.

Russia and the U.S have maintained a deconfliction communications line to prevent an inadvertent confrontation between the two sides. U.S. aircraft have flown into areas that have been generally controlled by the Russians, but they have done so in pursuit of ISIS militants and after notifying Russian commanders.

“The qualitative difference to me is, when we go into airspace, we always give them the heads up,” he said. “And then we’re doing it for the purposes of defeating ISIS … The Russians come back at us, and, as far as we can tell, there is nothing that they’re doing qualitatively against ISIS when they come into those spaces.”

A U.S. Navy F/A-18 shot down a Syrian Su-22 in June 2017, but U.S. and Russian aircraft have never clashed. U.S. air and ground forces pummeled Russian mercenaries who threatened U.S. forces and the Syrian SDF fighters they were working with in February 2018, killing several hundred. Russian commanders insisted they were not aware of the operation but later asked permission to retrieve the bodies.

When Russian aircraft enter what the U.S. regards as its airspace, American warplanes intercept them.

“We are not here to escalate. We are not here to make the situation worse than it is,” Grynkewich said. “But we do have an obligation to be in a location where we can monitor the Russian behavior, so we close within several miles. We monitor their behavior as they go through the airspace and ensure that they’re not going to be a threat to our forces.”