Saltzman Nominated to Follow Raymond as Space Force CSO

July 28, 2022 | By Amanda Miller

President Joe Biden has nominated Space Force Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman to be the Space Force’s next Chief of Space Operations. Saltzman currently serves as the deputy CSO for operations, intelligence, sustainment, cyber, and nuclear.

The Pentagon announced Saltzman’s nomination July 28. Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, the first person to serve in Space Force, is retiring.

Saltzman holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Boston University, Mass., and a Master of Strategic Management from George Washington University, D.C., according to his official bio. He went from Air Force Space Command in 2016 to the Pentagon, where he served as director of future operations at Headquarters Air Force. After that, he was director of current operations.

A year as deputy commander of U.S. Air Forces Central preceded his return to D.C., where he took up his current post in August 2020. In that same month he transferred into the Space Force and received his third star.

Speaking with AFA president retired Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright at the AFA Warfare Symposium in March, Saltzman said he wasn’t confident in today’s “space status quo” in the event of a “high-end fight” with China’s military “if all sides of a fight are using space the way they currently do now,” he said.

“I don’t like our advantages there—the complexity of synchronizing in the Indo-Pacific, the distances we have to cover,” Saltzman said. China is “going to have targeting capability. They’ve got advanced weapons. … I don’t like to win 51 to 50. That’s not the way I want to go to war with these guys.”

This shift from the “benign space environment” the U.S. military enjoyed in the past means it now will “operate against a thinking adversary that is committed to denying us those space capabilities,” Saltzman said.

Instead, he said that presenting “a formidable force” to deny any benefits of an attack in space could be “one of the cornerstones of deterrence,” along with being able to “impose costs” on an adversary as punishment for “aggressive behavior in space.”

A strategy for doing so, he said, requires not just new equipment for a more resilient space architecture but also training, and investing “to make sure that our operators, whether they’re providing ISR, SATCOM, missile warning, electronic warfare, any of those capabilities” are “the best trained in the world.”

Mid-Tier Programs Running Out of Time; Overruns Coming, Kendall Says

July 27, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall thinks Congress will give the Air Force a bigger topline budget amount than it requested in fiscal 2023—and not a moment too soon, because a number of “mid-tier acquisition” programs are running out the clock and need a fresh funding stream, he said. He also warned that the need to speed up the program acquisition pipeline will inevitably cause “cost and schedule pickups” that are “unfortunately … the price we pay” to stay ahead of China.

“This year, the Congress is likely to provide a significant increase to the funding we asked for,” Kendall said at the Potomac Officers Club Air Force Summit on July 26, and “this will significantly reset our baseline for ’24.”

The long-term budget plan “we just built … is a starting point for discussions that will happen over the next couple of months” about the fiscal 2024 budget, he said.

“We don’t really know where we’re going to end up … but I think we’ll do well in [the] Department of the Air Force.”

That’s a good place to be because many important programs that were launched with new fast-track authorities from Congress as so-called “mid-tier acquisition” projects are running out their five-year clocks and need an infusion of funds to stay on course, he said.

“My intent … with the programs that I’m trying to fund, is to move towards fielding meaningful military capabilities,” Kendall said. “I’m not very interested in experimentation for its own sake. I’m prepared to accept risk and move toward engineering and manufacturing development of systems that lead to production … at scale.”

In reviewing the most essential projects, “I’ve found that a number of them are mid-tier acquisition programs,” which require that the system be fielded “within five years: Do development, get a couple of working prototypes, get them into the field, and then decide what to do after that.”

It was assumed that those programs would be funded for subsequent production, he said, but “most of them aren’t structured that way … A lot of them are only funded for that five-year initial [phase], so there’s no funding in the out years of our FYDP for those programs,” he said. A “high percentage … are not fully funded.”

Kendall didn’t list the affected projects, but among the 20 or so the Air Force is working on are hypersonic missiles, the B-52 re-engining program, F-22 upgrades, and satellites.

“So, what I’m doing in the budget this year is structuring things to actually get toward capability,” Kendall said, but he added: “There’s risk in that.”

He explained that “Back in a less-stressful time, we could take three or four years to do a risk reduction program first, demonstrate the maturing technology, and then commit to [engineering and manufacturing development] for production after that. I think the situation we’re in, if the risk appears to be manageable, and there are reasonable mitigations, we need to get on with it and get toward production.”

Skipping some of that risk reduction time means “there will be cost and schedule pickups as we go forward. But I’m afraid we’re going have to pay that price to get where we need to go.”

China, he said, is advancing rapidly, and there’s no time to waste if the Air Force is going to stay ahead, he said.

“One thing that has impressed me in the year that I’ve been back” in the Pentagon “is that the Chinese modernization program continues apace … The threat does not get less over time—it gets worse … And it isn’t just about the things they have … it’s what they see in the future.”

The Air Force has to be “thinking ahead of that, and moving ahead of that.”

Kendall said he sees “increasingly aggressive moves by China” and that the “rhetoric coming out” of Beijing about Taiwan “is a little unsettling.”

While China “does have its problems” militarily, Kendall asserted, “its ambitions … are not going to diminish anytime soon.”

Asked what lessons Kendall thinks China might be learning from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he said he “hopes” the Chinese leaders recognize that aggression will bring “grave economic consequences” on the aggressor. He also said Chinese president Xi Jinping should appreciate that military forces don’t always “perform as you expected” and that ”what you think is going to be a short war doesn’t always end up that way.”

Beyond his oft-reported “operational imperatives,” Kendall said, he is reshaping the Air Force headquarters bureaucracy to restore “a science and engineering cadre that has atrophied over time.” While some changes are “inside baseball … others have a direct relationship to our effectiveness overall.”

“We need to rebuild” the science and engineering expertise and operational analysis capabilities that have deteriorated in the Air Force, he said, “recruiting and growing people and giving them experiences that make them more technologically capable, and in a better position to manage technology and be in a better position to make technological judgments about what technologies are ready and what can be done with them.”

Headed to Poland to Boost NATO, F-22s Arrive in UK

July 27, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

F-22s arrived at RAF Lakenheath, U.K., on July 26 en route to Poland, as the U.S. Air Force continues to bolster its presence of fifth-generation fighters in the region.

U.S. Air Forces in Europe confirmed the F-22s’ arrival, stating in a release that the fighters from the 90th Fighter Squadron of the 3rd Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, will be traveling from Lakenheath to the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, Poland, to support NATO’s air shielding mission.

New USAFE commander Gen. James B. Hecker hinted at the F-22s’ appearance in Europe at the Royal International Air Tattoo on July 17 in an interview with Air Force Magazine.

“We’re bringing over F-22s … that are going to be coming over shortly, within a month, and they’ll spend four or five months over here,” Hecker said. “So we’re going to constantly cycle in fifth-generation in addition to what will eventually be two permanent [F-35] squadrons at Lakenheath. So we’ll be cycling it in here in the meantime.”

According to local media reports, six F-22s arrived at Lakenheath. When they arrive in Poland, they’ll be tasked with supporting a new mission for NATO. Air shielding is intended to protect NATO nations from air and missile threats by leveraging air- and ground-based air defense assets.

Air shielding “will provide a near seamless shield from the Baltic to Black Seas, ensuring NATO Allies are better able to safeguard and protect Alliance territory, populations and forces from air and missile threat,” USAFE’s press release states, adding that the F-22’s success as an air dominance platform makes it “a highly strategic platform to support NATO Air Shielding.”

This marks just the latest deployment of USAF fighters to eastern Europe in an effort to reassure NATO allies on the eastern flank in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and continued aggression.

Earlier in July, F-35s from the Vermont Air National Guard forward-deployed to Amari Air Base, Estonia, to support the air shielding mission. Prior to that, the Air Force has moved F-15s, F-16s, other F-35s, and still more aircraft into Eastern Europe, participating in NATO’s Baltic air policing and enhanced air policing missions.

The constant rotation of new aircraft into the region is part of the Air Force’s plan to remain vigilant as the Russia-Ukraine war drags on.

“What we’re going to do is just kind of have six, 12 kinds of airplanes that will come in here for four months, and we’ll do that for about a year or so, in addition with all the permanent aircraft that we have stationed here,” Hecker told Air Force Magazine. “And that will increase our presence here, and then we’ll have to readjust and see what this thing looks like a year from now, and then we can adjust as necessary.”

US, UK Will Have ‘Avenue’ to Share Best Practices for Sixth-Gen Fighter Development

July 27, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

LONDON—After working together closely to help develop and deploy the F-35, the United Kingdom and the United States have pursued different programs when it comes to sixth-generation fighters.

But that doesn’t mean the two countries and their air forces won’t collaborate in the future on sixth-gen technologies, capabilities, and best practices, America’s air attache in London, USAF Col. Charles E. Metrolis, told Air Force Magazine in an exclusive interview.

At the moment, the U.S. Air Force doesn’t have any publicly known international partners for its secretive Next Generation Air Dominance program. Britain, meanwhile, has teamed up with several other nations as part of its Tempest program. And at the Farnborough International Airshow earlier in July, the British government announced that it will also work with Japan to conduct a joint analysis of Tempest and the Japanese F-X sixth-gen program. Also at the show, the U.K. announced that a demonstrator aircraft for the Tempest program will fly in the next five years.

“We’re aware the U.K. is working with Sweden and Italy on [Tempest],” Metrolis said. “And I saw the announcement about involving Japan, though I believe the U.K. will have to formally submit a request to Sweden and Italy to have Japan join the program.”

NGAD, meanwhile, “is U.S.-only for now,” Metrolis said. That stands in contrast to the development of the F-35. Seven other nations partnered with the U.S. to share development costs and technologies for the Joint Strike Fighter, and the U.K. led the way as the program’s only Level 1 partner, having contributed the most financially besides the U.S.

But while the two nations have seemingly gone their separate ways for sixth-gen, Metrolis hinted that there will be dialogue in the coming years.

“We would welcome the U.K.’s thoughts on sixth-gen development and deployment. But it’s not clear right now how that will look,” Metrolis said.

Specifically, Metrolis pointed to the technologies that will make up the sixth-generation fighters as a ripe area for the U.S. and U.K. to work together.

“It’s going to be the latest technology on both sides. … So if they have a particular insight or capability they can share, or we have something we can share with them, that’s good for the alliance,” Metrolis said. Basically, it’s best practices. There will be some avenue for crosstalk in the future in terms of development.”

And the U.K. might not be the only nation the U.S. turns to in its effort to develop sixth-gen capabilities. Australia has also been part of the F-35 program as a Level 3 partner, and the U.S., Britain, and Australia announced the trilateral security pact AUKUS in September 2021.

The AUKUS agreement was initially focused on sharing technology related to nuclear-powered submarines, but its scope has expanded in the months since. Australian ambassador to the U.S. Arthur Sinodinos noted in November that it will also include “enhanced” air and space cooperation.

“There’s so much more that’s being thought about,” Metrolis confirmed, “especially in air and space: the E-7 [Wedgetail], fifth- and sixth-gen fighters. Sixth-generation might become an AUKUS pillar.”

How exactly that might manifest remains to be seen. While the U.K. is developing Tempest and the U.S. is pursuing NGAD, Australia has yet to publicly involve itself with a sixth-generation program.

As those future decisions are made, Metrolis said there will be economic and industrial base considerations. But even more so will be the question of interoperability.

“We’re very interoperable with the U.K., more than any other nation,” Metrolis said. “And as the F-35 rolls out across NATO, along with other platforms like the E-7, we’ll become even more interoperable. But we still have a lot to do with the interoperable piece.”

US Aircrews Took a Break From Busy NATO Ops Tempo to Greet Civilians at UK Airshows

July 27, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

FARNBOROUGH, U.K.—As tens of thousands of industry officials, military personnel, and aviation enthusiasts streamed through the Royal International Air Tattoo and Farnborough International Airshow, many gathered to see U.S. Air Force jets, assembled from across Europe and the U.S., and to speak to the aircrew who fly them.

For the Airmen, the airshows marked a key opportunity to engage with civilians at a time when concerns about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its implications for the continent are dominating the public discussion.

“People that are coming by … are interested in the aircraft and asking all sorts of questions about how NATO is structured and what USAFE is doing here,” Capt. Jacob Herrick, an F-16 pilot from Aviano Air Base, Italy, told Air Force Magazine from the U.S. corral at Farnborough, which also featured an F-15E and F-35 from RAF Lakenheath, U.K., and a C-130H from the Georgia Air National Guard.

Even more USAF aircraft were displayed at RIAT, including a CV-22 Osprey, a KC-46 Pegasus, a KC-135R Stratotanker, and an MC-130J Commando II. And between the two airshows, there was plenty of focus on what comes next—and questions, F-35 pilot Maj. David Bown told Air Force Magazine.

“[I’ve been] answering a lot of questions about the F-35 and what capabilities it brings to the U.S. Air Force, as well as all our partner nations. And then … at Farnborough, [I’ve been] meeting a lot with the industry and trade show partners, kind of seeing what the future holds,” Bown said.

The F-35, in particular, garnered intense interest from spectators, as more European nations move forward with plans to procure the fifth-generation fighter for their own air forces.

Of course, for many, the chance to see all of the fighters up close was unique.

“Everyone comes over to look at the Strike Eagle and talks about the size and how it’s one of the best fighters that they can think of,” F-15E weapons systems officer Capt. Trent Norton said. “It’s a lot of people who … they grew up seeing the Strike Eagle, or just the Eagle in general, and wanting to see it in person, and now they have the opportunity to be real close or even touch it, and they’re all really excited to see it.”

For the pilots and aircrew, the time at the airshows represented a change of scenery after several months of high operations tempo. In response to Russia’s invasion, the U.S. has increased its vigilance on the eastern front of NATO, with more air policing missions in the region and rotations in the area.

“We’re … supporting NATO and supporting our partner countries,” Herrick said. “So everything that they’re telling us to do, we’re out there doing it alongside England, Germany, everybody else that’s supporting NATO.”

For the F-16s at Aviano, in particular, he added that the past few months have been especially busy.

“We’re kind of becoming the quick-reaction force for NATO. Out in Aviano, we’re a little bit more forward deployed than the base … at Lakenheath, so we’re a bit more rapidly deployable,” Herrick said.

For the fighters from Lakenheath, ops tempos have always been high and have stayed relatively steady recently, Norton and Bown agreed. But there’s no denying that world events have created a new urgency.

“There’s a heightened awareness around the base and around the world on what’s going on,” Bown said. “And the motto is just, we’re always prepared, no matter what.”

SASC Advances Two Combatant Commander Nominees

July 26, 2022 | By Amanda Miller

The Senate Armed Services Committee advanced the nomination that could make the son of an Airman the Marine Corps’ first Black four-star general.

The SASC advanced the nominations to the full Senate of both Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael E. Langley to become commander of U.S. Africa Command and Army Lt. Gen. Bryan P. Fenton to lead U.S. Special Operations Command.

Langley’s father, retired USAF Master Sgt. Willie C. Langley, who served for 25 years, attended the prospective combatant commanders’ joint confirmation hearing July 21.

Langley currently serves as commander of both U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command and Marine Corps Forces North and as commanding general of Fleet Marine Force Atlantic.

He would replace Army Gen. Stephen J. Townsend. Langley told the senators that like Townsend, he would prioritize more intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to deter terrorists in the AFRICOM area of responsibility.

Fenton is commander of Joint Special Operations Command; and of Joint Special Operations Command Forward, U.S. Special Operations Command.

He would replace Army Gen. Richard D. Clarke at SOCOM and said he would strengthen special operations in the Indo-Pacific region with “asymmetric, scalable options … via our special operators’ placement, access, and influence, presenting multiple dilemmas.”

Kendall Says F-35 Engine Decision Needed Soon; Won’t ‘Limp Along’ on R&D

July 26, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force will likely make a decision this summer on whether to insert Advanced Engine Transition Program (AETP) powerplants into the F-35 fleet, Secretary Frank Kendall said, because he doesn’t want to waste money on further delay if the program isn’t going forward.

“We need a decision, which is where I am right now,” Kendall told the Potomac Officers Club in Tysons, Va.

“I don’t want to limp along, spending R&D money on a program we either can’t afford or that we’re just not going to get agreement on among the different services,” he said. The fiscal 2024 budget is already being debated in the Pentagon, and Kendall said he hopes the AETP decision will be counted in it. For fiscal 2023, research and development continues in the engine, he noted.

Congress added language to the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act directing the services to look hard at incorporating either the GE XA-100 or Pratt & Whitney XA-101 engine into the F-35 as early as 2027. The AETP was intended to power the crewed sixth-generation fighter at the heart of the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) system, but Congress wants the engine to power Block 4 and later F-35s as well.

However, there are “two obstacles” to getting the AETP into the F-35, he said.

“One is the high cost. It’s going to take several billion dollars and a five-year program to move through [engineering and manufacturing development] to get that program ready to be fielded.”

The other, he said, is that the AETP “will not fit all three variants of the F-35.” Specifically, the AETP’s new third-stream airflow makes it incompatible with the F-35B, which uses redirected air and a downward-rotating rear exhaust to be capable of vertical takeoffs and landings.

Former F-35 Joint Program Office director Lt. Gen. Eric T. Fick has said that if the Air Force wishes to pursue the AETP for its own F-35As, it will have to do so at its own expense, because the F-35 program is structured such that “you have to pay to be different” from the other users, to hold costs down for all.

In addition, “there’s other things on the table; there are upgrades to the current F135” that Pratt & Whitney is proposing, Kendall said.

“I am hopeful that we will have” an AETP decision in the fiscal 2024 budget, Kendall said. “I think we need to make some decision about the future of the F-35’s engine and get on with it.”

Kendall said he, personally, “very much desire[s]” to have “the AETP solution” in the F-35 because “you get significant range extension out of that” as well as “more capability that we need” for the F-35. He didn’t specify the added capabilities, but industry officials have said some would entail additional electrical power for F-35 electronic warfare and directed-energy systems as well as additional thrust and some improvement in stealth.

Kendall said the decision may rest with William A. LaPlante, the current incumbent in Kendall’s old job, that of Pentagon undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, who will “help us sort it all out” among the services with a unified “Department of Defense position.”

But Kendall noted that the Air Force “would have a very hard time affording the AETP if it’s only going in the F-35A” variant of the Joint Strike Fighter. He has previously said he has been in talks with the Secretary of the Navy about that service adopting the AETP for its carrier-capable F-35Cs. Industry officials have also not ruled out the potential for the AETP to be used in the Marine Corps F-35B, but acknowledged it would take substantially more modification of both the engine and the aircraft than the standard AETP.

Some 35 members of Congress, anxious to keep the F135 in the F-35, sent LaPlante a letter July 22 urging him to drop the idea of putting the AETP in the F-35. Putting the AETP in the F-35 would be too risky, they said, and it is already “the most complex and expensive program” in the Pentagon’s portfolio. Now that the F-35 is transitioning to high-rate production and sustainment, a new engine would needlessly complicate matters, they said. The letter stressed that the “cornerstone” of the F-35 program is that all users rely on a common logistics base; and that introducing a dissimilar engine would add cost and expand the count of parts needed to keep on hand.

“Now is not the time” to introduce a new variable into the F-35’s struggle to reach affordable sustainment costs, the lawmakers said, also noting Kendall’s own testimony earlier this year that the AETP is likely to be a $6 billion development program to reach operational status.

Townsend: Russia Added to Instability in Africa With New Air Defenses in Mali

July 26, 2022 | By Abraham Mahshie

Outgoing commander of U.S. Africa Command Gen. Stephen J. Townsend said Moscow has used its mercenary Wagner Group to install air defenses in Mali, a troubled West African country that has seen a marked increase in terrorist activity under a new military government.

Ruled by a military junta following a May coup, Mali first kicked out French counterterrorism troops then withdrew from a regional security group, instead increasing its cooperation with the Russian proxy Wagner Group.

“Wagner is a Russian mercenary group working at the behest of the Kremlin,” Townsend told journalists on a July 26 media call from AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.

Townsend said that while Russia’s war in Ukraine has pulled some Wagner Group resources out of Libya, Russia has increased its proxy presence in Mali.

“So far, they do not appear to be drawing down in Mali,” Townsend said. “In fact, they appear to be leaning in to Mali as much as they have been throughout. In fact, they’ve deployed sophisticated new capabilities like air defense capabilities to Mali that we have seen appear there recently.”

U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa did not immediately respond to questions from Air Force Magazine about the new threat the air defenses pose to U.S. Air Force operations in the Sahel region.

Townsend said Russia has expanded its influence in Africa through the proxy group, which has contributed to instability and political uncertainty.

“Though the Kremlin likes to deny it publicly, they are an arm of the Kremlin, and they are doing President Putin’s bidding,” Townsend said. “The only thing I see Wagner doing is propping up dictators and exploiting natural resources on the continent.”

Russia was previously estimated to have 2,000 Wagner Group fighters in eastern Libya supporting Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army, which has fought against the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, which is recognized as Libya’s official government by the United States and the United Nations. In 2020, AFRICOM released images of some of the 14 MiG 29s and Su-24s Russia sent to support its Wagner forces in the Libyan desert.

In recent months, Russia has pulled back some of its proxy manpower to fight in Libya, but Townsend said 1,000 remain deployed to Mali, plus a “substantial” number are in the Central African Republic and elsewhere on the continent.

“They’ve gotten a footprint in a number of other countries, but those are probably some of the big ones,” Townsend said.

Townsend acknowledged that the military takeover in Mali and cooperation with Russian forces is hindering Western attempts to contain terrorism in the arid region of West Africa known as the Sahel, where the United States maintains two MQ-9 bases, Air Base 101, and Air Base 201, in neighboring Niger.

“What we see is we see these threats expanding,” Townsend said, describing ISIS-West Africa as the dominant terrorist force in the region.

“In Mali, and Burkina Faso, al-Qaida’s arm JNIM have been on the march towards the south” and the capital of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, he added. “They’re starting operations now in the northern border regions of the coastal state. So, this is a great concern.”

Townsend spoke to journalists as part of a series of media appearances in the final weeks of his tenure as AFRICOM commander. July 26 marked his third anniversary as leader of the Africa-focused combatant command.

In comments to Air Force Magazine in Fairford, U.K., the new commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa Gen. James B. Hecker said MQ-9 Reapers in Africa are operating around the clock.

“If required, we can arm those ISR platforms as well to provide a kinetic activity, if we need that. So that’s a big part of our job in Africa,” he said, nothing that some platforms remain airborne for 24 hours at a time to gather intelligence for AFRICOM.

In the past, AFRICOM has shared that intelligence with French forces operating in Mali and the regional G-5 Sahel Joint Force group, which was made up of forces from Niger, Mauritania, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Mali.

But Mali kicked out French forces and withdrew from the G-5 on May 15.

All spell new challenges for both Hecker and Townsend’s successor, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael E. Langley, who is expected to take over AFRICOM in a change-of-command ceremony at Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart on Aug. 9, pending congressional approval for a fourth star and confirmation as new AFRICOM commander. The Senate Armed Services Committee advanced Langley’s nomination July 26.

“In light of the continued expansion of terrorists, irregular changes of government in the region, arrival of malign groups like the Russian mercenary group, Wagner, and recalibration by other partners such as France, and others, the United States is also recalibrating our approach,” Townsend said. “We’re striving to find a way to become more effective in the future.”

Brown Adds Two Books, Podcast, Movie to His CSAF Leadership Library

July 26, 2022 | By Amanda Miller

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. added four more titles to his revived CSAF Leadership Library in July, bringing the number of titles listed by their relevance to Brown’s “Action Orders” to 32.

This is what Brown had to say about each new selection:

“Winning the Next War: Innovation and the Modern Military” by Stephen Peter Rosen

“As we continue to Accelerate Change to [become] the Air Force our Nation needs, we must be mindful of organizational lessons from the past. Historical analysis allows us to synthesize patterns in the character of warfare and incorporate them into our future Air Force design through initiatives like Action Order D and the Operational Imperatives. … Rosen analyzes military and technological innovations during war and peacetime and offers prescriptions for managing uncertainty.” Action Order: D—Design Implementation.

“Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

“Transformation requires we aggressively overcome the organizational inertia of the status quo. [The book] is a story-driven account that reveals insights into the heuristics of our rational and emotional minds and how they relate to each other. I need your help implementing [the Action Order] to switch our organizational behavior to streamline decision-making, eliminate redundancy, and limit bureaucratic layers.” Action Order: B Mod 1—Bureaucracy.

“Bridging the Oceans Podcast: What’s All the RAUKUS About? The View from Washington” by the Royal United Services Institute

“The Air Force does not fight alone, nor do we deter alone. Last September, the United States co-signed a groundbreaking trilateral security pact alongside Australia and the United Kingdom called AUKUS, representing one of the most significant security agreements in a generation. [The podcast] illustrates the magnitude of this agreement and the enormous opportunity it presents for the Air Force to ‘Integrate by Design’ with our Allies and Partners in enhanced and novel ways.” Action Order: D–Design Implementation.

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003)

“What can a film about the crew of a British ship during the Napoleonic Wars teach us about Agile Combat Employment? In [the film], the climate of mutual trust, shared understanding, and commander’s intent under the military leadership of Captain Aubrey represents a textbook case of mission command. What is most interesting its art the crew’s ability to be ready to execute the mission in unpredictable ways and rapidly respond to the adversary’s moves by moving fluidly across a theater of operations represents the essence of the ACE operating concept.” Action Order: B—Bureaucracy.