Maintainer Errors Cost Millions in F-22 Damage at Nellis

July 9, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

Maintenance errors and oversights caused $2.69 million in damage to an F-22 Raptor in October 2020 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., investigators found.

An Air Force Accident Investigation Board report released July 9 cited cultural issues within the 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and distractions caused by a “distinguished visitor” event as contributing factors to the incident, in which an auxiliary power unit overheated. The jet, tail number 06-4109 with the 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron, had not flown since June 2020 and had undergone extensive modifications for an operational test mission at the Nevada base.

As part of that process, crews removed the jet’s Auxiliary Power Unit Mixing Exhaust Duct, but failed to pull circuit breakers within the system or to attach collars—red “remove before flight” tags—as required. The squadron’s Level 7 maintainer, the supervisor at the time, failed to correct the error.

Two days later, crews tasked with defueling and reconfiguring the Raptor’s doors decided to use the aircraft’s APU, but its emergency-off switch had been incorrectly set to normal “by an unknown person,” the report states.

During the pre-procedural checks, a maintainer failed to note the APU’s Mixing Exhaust Duct needed to be installed first. After starting the power unit, smoke began to emerge from the APU’s exhaust bay and into the aircraft’s main landing gear well.

The maintainer did not immediately shut down the APU and instead started reviewing digital forms for possible error codes. Another maintainer ran up to the F-22 and hit the emergency-off switch.

The report stated that the overheating APU scorched cables inside the aircraft and that several pieces of equipment needed to be replaced, adding up to the $2.69 million repair bill.

USAF investigators found the primary cause of the incident was maintainers not following proper procedures, which resulted in starting the APU while the Mixing Exhaust Duct was removed. Additionally, the report states the unit’s culture of not using collars during repair procedures contributed, along with the design of instrumentation on the aircraft, which obscured access to circuit breakers; the extensive modification of the aircraft; and distractions that day from a distinguished visitor on base. That day, then-National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien visited the base, and Airmen participated in aircraft demonstrations and other events.

‘Not a Good Situation’: Off-Base Housing Crisis Has USAF Scrambling

July 9, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

Amid a wild housing market characterized by surging demand, rising prices, and abbreviated timelines, military members making permanent change-of-station moves are struggling to find affordable off-base housing.

Reddit, Facebook and other social media are filled with stories of Air Force and Space Force families struggling to secure housing over the past few months, and with PCS moves continuing into the late summer and fall, the problem isn’t over.

“We’re not in a good situation, and we’re very concerned about all of our service members that are PCSing at a time like this,” Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass acknowledged June 28 in a virtual “Coffee Talk,” saying she had heard stories of Airmen paying as much as $70,000 over the asking price for houses.

Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services, said the Basic Allowance for Housing rates are not keeping up with skyrocketing prices. Air Force leaders are looking for options to including asking the Defense Department to expedite a BAH rate review in locations where prices have increased at particularly high rates.

DOD updates BAH rates each year Jan. 1, but “we’re moving lots of folks this summer,” Kelly said.

Maj. Holly A. Hess, an Air Force spokesperson, said installations experiencing 20 percent or greater cost increases in local rental markets should submit emergency requests to the Office of the Secretary of Defense for immediate decisions for possible rate adjustments.

“We have reminded our installations to submit an out-of-cycle review for their specific housing areas where they are experiencing challenges in rental availability and affordability,” Hess said.

The Air Force has yet to identify specific installations for OSD review, Hess said. But data collected by Apartment List in June show Colorado Springs, Colo., Phoenix, Ariz., and Hampton, Va., all posting year-over-year rental cost increases of 15 percent or more.

Another potential course of action could be delaying PCS moves in certain markets.

“We’ve asked the MAJCOMs to identify for us any of those spaces and locations where the housing market just doesn’t sustain the amount of people who are moving into that area,” Kelly said. “If that’s the case, we’ll go back and look at adjusting our PCS schedule.”

No decision had been made as of July 7, Hess said. Such a move would have have broad implications for throughout the service. Some 22,000 Airmen are projected to move this year, Hess said, more than six percent of the service’s active duty members.

“Existing guidance is in place for [Report No Later Than Dates] change requests,” Hess said. “Specifically, RNLTD changes are approved in coordination with gaining and losing unit commanders. Members can submit a RNLTD change request through myPers that will prompt commanders’ coordination. AFPC will continue to liberally approve RNLTD changes for members facing difficulty scheduling household goods (HHG) shipments and will look at RNLTD change requests due to housing/rental shortages to identified locations.”

Another option could be extending eligibility for Temporary Lodging Expense. Currently, service members can only receive up to 10 days of allowance to partially reimburse them for temporary housing and meals while undergoing a PCS in the contiguous U.S.

However, Hess said potentially extending TLE is an option service leaders are considering, along with “multiple avenues to assist Airmen if they incur hardships due to housing availability or costs associated with a Permanent Change of Station.”

Amid these off-base housing challenges, Air Force Materiel Command announced July 6 that it was implementing the four remaining rights included in the Tenant Bill of Rights for base housing, including a universal lease, with the expectation of almost every installation offering those rights by October. The move follows years of controversy over privatized military housing, including allegations of fraud and lawsuits over poor conditions at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., and Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.

France Stresses Need for Continued American ISR in African Sahel

July 9, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

Battlefield deaths from terrorist attacks in the vast, ungoverned region of Africa known as the Sahel have forced France to cut its military presence in half and ink a special operations deal with the U.S. at the Pentagon on July 9.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III met with French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly principally to discuss the future of the terrorism fight in Africa, a defense official told Air Force Magazine.

The decade-old French counterterrorism Operation Barkhane has long been supported by U.S. Africa Command, providing vital intelligence, airlift, refueling, and logistics to help a French force of 5,100 soldiers target and kill known terrorist leaders.

But French President Emmanuel Macron announced in June that he was tired of dealing with the corrupt and fragile states of the G5 countries—Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mauritania. In the past year, the president of Chad, where the French troops are based, was killed in battle, and Mali suffered a military coup.

French public support for the ongoing military presence was wobbly at best, and Macron began to court European allies who would likewise face a terrorist threat emanating from Africa.

Meanwhile, French soldiers continued to die in combat, even as 3,000 soldiers from 10 European countries partake in Takuba Task Force and fight side-by-side with African G5 soldiers.

Macron said July 9 he will reduce French forces by half, to 2,500-3,000 and a few hundred special operations forces, and Parly asked Austin to increase the American Special Forces commitment.

“During my meeting with Secretary Austin, I referred to the efficiency and the strong need for the future of this support,” Parly said at an Atlantic Council discussion following her Pentagon meeting.

The French defense minister stressed how American intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, provided in part by American MQ-9 Reaper drones operating from Air Base 201 in Niger, are helping the French to get accurate information and intelligence on terrorist groups.

“We can rely on a strong support from the United States, especially in the counterterrorism operations,” the minister said. “Secretary Austin said he was reviewing the global posture, and so I felt [it was] very important for him to know that we continue relying on this very specific U.S. asset, which at the end makes the difference.”

Biden hints at Africa counterterrorism shift

In announcing the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan on April 16, President Joe Biden pointed to Africa as one of the “disparate” locations where terrorist groups are strengthening through recruitment and fundraising.

AFRICOM has conveyed its needs to Austin as part of the ongoing global force posture review.

“We see terrorism globally distributed,” AFRICOM Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Kirk W. Smith told Air Force Magazine in a recent media roundtable. “We recognize the threat that emanates from Africa, and the potential that that can turn into, and therefore why it’s important to us.”

Smith said AFRICOM is working with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff to hash out the analysis of inputs that the command prioritizes in the terrorism fight.

“We absolutely recognize in the Sahel itself where those challenges are,” Smith added. “That is kind of why we are partnered where we are with who we are right now, principally those G5 countries, the G5 Sahel, and with the French.”

AFRICOM commander Gen. Stephen J. Townsend has described the spread of terrorism in the Sahel as a “wildfire” that could engulf West Africa’s littoral states.

Smith added: “Our concern is that potentially we see that continue to spread.”

U.S. presence in Africa

AFRICOM told Air Force Magazine just over 4,000 U.S. service members are across the African continent, primarily at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, in East Africa.

“Extreme poverty, vulnerable and marginalized populations, separatist movements, and illicit transnational networks overlap in West Africa and the Sahel,” an AFRICOM spokesperson told Air Force Magazine following the Parly meeting.

The official said such conditions create opportunities for violent extremist organizations “to establish safe haven, increasingly control the local populace, and grow in strength.”

AFRICOM said France is currently leading efforts against al Qaida and Islamic State affiliates in the Sahel.

“In the region, we currently provide support to French counterterrorism operations through logistics, aerial refueling, aerial resupply, and intelligence sharing,” the spokesperson said.

KC-135 Stratotankers from RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom, deployed to Moron Air Base in Spain, are part of Operation Juniper Micron, helping support France and Mali in North Africa since 2013.

In the face of rising great power competition with Russia and China, along with a desire to slow the operational tempo after 20 years of Mideast wars, Austin now confronts a new challenge as a major ally begins pulling out of the regional hotbed for terrorist groups.

“We’ll also spend some time today discussing our cooperation in the Sahel,” Austin previewed in public comments prior to meeting with Parly. “The United States is proud to support our French and African partners.”

Parly, for her part after the meeting, indicated Austin’s commitment to Africa was intact.

“I am delighted to announce this morning Secretary Austin and I signed a roadmap to strengthen even more the relationship between our two special forces,” Parly said. “America is back. Now let’s get to work, and we will deliver.”

Costello: No Going Back on USAF’s Digital Acquisition Journey

July 8, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force is still in the infancy of its push toward digital acquisition systems, but it won’t go back to traditional methods because the threat, the need for speed, and increasing costs demand a new way of doing business, acting Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Darlene Costello said.

Speaking during a virtual Air Force Acquisition forum July 8, Costello said the old ways of doing business—using paper, ponderous development and test methods, and lengthy sustainment programs—won’t allow USAF to keep up with China, has shrunk the supplier base, and is costing far too much. Digital methods are the fix for all of those, and more, she said.

“We believe it’s essential to make that pivot to a digital architecture and a digital acquisition approach for our programs,” Costello asserted. The new approach started under Costello’s previous boss, Will Roper, and her presentation signaled there will be no retrenchment with old methods.

“The case for change has never been more acute than now,” she said, noting it took China 30 years to answer the F-15 with the comparable J-11. But “it only took them 10 years” to match the stealthy F-22 with their stealthy J-20.

“They’re finding ways to do this faster. We must, also,” she said.

In addition, program cycle times “are getting longer, which is not good.” The time to go from launching a program to initial operational capability continues to “go up a ramp. Not level. We have got to figure out how to turn that corner and make it more efficient,” she added.

The automotive industry has used digital methods to speed up the design, development, and fielding process, and USAF plans to adopt that approach, too, learning all it can from industry, Costello said.

The Pentagon’s costs “are increasing at an almost exponential rate, and we just cannot afford that,” she said. “The budgets are not going to continue to go up,” either, she noted.

“Because we haven’t been able to do a lot of new programs, … as much as we used to do in the past, we also have the industrial base that is continuing to consolidate and get smaller. That is not the trend we would like. We want the industrial base to be robust,” she observed. In the 1940s, Costello said, the industrial base offered 13 aircraft prime contractors; in the 1970s, “we had 10. Now we’re down to three.” And while they’re “good primes,” the Air Force is “motivated to broaden that group.”

Likewise, programs were completed in two to four years in the 1940s. In the 1970s, still about four years, but “we’re now in the 10-20 years” range, which is “not a good metric.” The ponderous process also leads to “bad behavior” on the part of contractors, who feel that the only way to survive until the next competition—if they don’t win—is through lengthy sustainment programs of the systems they built previously.

“We need to work as a team to change that model, and we feel strongly the digital acquisition approach will enable industry to work with us as partners,” Costello said.

Full digital methods weren’t possible before now, Costello said, but a “10,000 times” increase in computing power since 2000, along with cheap storage methods and an “exponential growth” in the amount of data collected as well as the ability to analyze that data, have made it possible.

Speeding Up Conventional Programs

The Air Force will create digital twins of either existing systems or new systems and seeks to do all the design and shake-out necessary in the virtual world so that only minimum testing is needed in the real world. While the initial model “may take as long” to construct as a real platform, future upgrades and changes will be far quicker and easier.

She said partial digital twin methods are being used on the B-52 re-engining and A-10 re-winging, making it possible to accelerate those programs dramatically.

“We can use E-program mods on a conventional program,” she said. On the A-10, “we did not go and turn the entire A-10 into a digital model, but we took the part we needed, and modeled that.” On the B-52, “we’re … doing digital models for the engines, connections, and the interfaces, but not the entire B-52 [aircraft] per se.” The Air Force is saving “many, many months” on the B-52 re-engining—“a year or more”—and that program is also making use of congressional authorities to pursue rapid prototyping.

“We’ve used a combination of the digital and the mid-tier acquisition authority” to cut time from the project, she said, doing “rapid virtual prototypes, [and] industry [is] doing virtual prototypes of their engines.” The next phase will be to “downselect to a rapid physical prototype, look at those, then move into production.” The B-52 re-engining contractor is slated to be selected in September.

“So it will be … two mid-tier acquisitions and a traditional program after,” she said.

She distinguished between “E-programs,” which are existing systems that can be modified using digital methods, and “E-series” efforts, which will rapidly design and field systems that won’t be kept in the inventory for decades, but perhaps only 12 years or so. The Next Generation Air Dominance Program and the T-7 trainer are “E-series” projects, she said. However, the F-15EX, is an “E-program.”

With the T-7, “the results were there” when it was chosen as the next advanced trainer. The project has reduced assembly hours 80 percent and software development “by half.” T-7 went “from computer screen to first flight in 36 months,” added Costello.

Agile software development goes hand in hand with the other digital methods, Costello noted.

Time savers of new programs will be “baked-in” airworthiness, safety, and cyber certifications, she said. This, too, will help change the “culture” of those who insist that extensive—and time consuming—real-world testing is the only way to go.

The Air Force seeks to save the real-world testing only for the things that most require it, she said.

The digital models also will serve as “ground truth” in programs, so that all stakeholders can see the same model, accelerating the time it takes to do design reviews.

The Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent went through “six billion iterations” of configuration trades before the optimum one was selected, Costello said, something never before possible. It is also on schedule, and that fact speaks volumes about the value of the new approach, she asserted.

While some programs—like T-7, GBSD, and NGAD—are performing at a high level, in the Air Force “writ large,” Costello said the progress on a scale of 1-10 is about a two to three.

“We’re at two. We’re just starting our journey. We have a couple programs that are there,” but for the service generally, “we are just … making our plans, getting tools in place, doing our training, teaching people. Maybe we’re a three.”

While the Air Force has “pockets of greatness,” it’s still “on a journey, moving up. We’ve got a ways to go,” Costello said.

Space Command Supports CENTCOM Mission as Troops Exit Afghanistan

July 8, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

As the last Americans leave Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command will look to space to support its continued counterterrorism mission against al-Qaida and Islamic State group remnants, U.S. Space Command confirmed to Air Force Magazine.

President Joe Biden said July 8 that the Afghanistan mission will be complete by Aug. 31. The announcement comes two days after U.S. Central Command said more than 90 percent of U.S. forces had already left the country. But CENTCOM still has the counterterrorism mission of rooting out the remnants of terrorist groups still operating in Afghanistan, and the command’s war planning relies on space-based capabilities.

“USSPACECOM will continue to provide USCENTCOM with space capabilities supporting their missions in their theater of operations to include Afghanistan,” a U.S. Space Command spokesperson told Air Force Magazine.

Space-based capabilities include space control; position, navigation, and timing; satellite communications; and missile warning, the command said.

That means the Combined Force Space Component Command at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., will be helping to protect the signals controlling remotely piloted aircraft in the skies over Afghanistan. The CFSCC could also be jamming any signals when necessary.

In congressional testimony, CENTCOM commander Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. has said maintaining ISR in Afghanistan without basing in the country or regionally will require many more overflight missions due to commutes of up to four hours from Gulf bases.

Those support requests will be routed through Space Command.

Meanwhile, aircraft will still need navigation, position, and timing guidance if they are to target terrorists on the ground in Afghanistan.

A defense official told Air Force Magazine the mission to support CENTCOM with space-based capabilities is nothing new. But without assets on the ground, America’s eyes in the sky will form the intelligence picture until a new agreement is worked out with the Afghan government.

“Not a lot is going to change space-wise,” the official said.

Afghan war veteran Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) warned that America’s intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance capabilities over Afghanistan will sharply reduce once troops are out, even with drone ISR capabilities commuting from Gulf bases.

“The reality without local allies on the ground, without local intelligence on the ground, without a base in country, the distances involved—or in the region for that matter—the distances involved from the Gulf, that makes it incredibly complicated,” he told Air Force Magazine in a recent interview.

The State Department is actively negotiating with several countries that border Afghanistan and could potentially host American surveillance drones. In a series of quiet Pentagon meetings without press availability or public welcoming, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III met with the defense ministers of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, both northern neighbors of Afghanistan.

“I will be pleasantly surprised if the Russians allow us to base forces there, but I remain hopeful,” said Waltz. “Those things should have been worked out before we made the withdrawal decision because at the end of the day, maintaining pressure from a counterterrorism standpoint is critical to our national interest.”

Space Command, temporarily based in Colorado Springs, already provides combat-relevant space capabilities to combatant commanders, coalition partners, and the Joint Force.

“Additionally, USSPACECOM has a standing integrated planning element at the USCENTCOM headquarters to facilitate the integration of space into USCENTCOM plans and operations and to be the liaison between our headquarters,” the SPACECOM spokesperson said.

That means an operational liaison from SPACECOM is present as part of CENTCOM’s war planning process, not as an afterthought.

U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to Air Force Magazine’s requests for comment.

DOD said July 2 that McKenzie will soon take over the mission in Afghanistan from Gen. Austin S. Miller.

Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby told Air Force Magazine on July 6 that McKenzie will retain all the “over-the-horizon” strike capabilities necessary for the counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan.

“I don’t have a breakdown for you right now what that’s going to look like,” he said. “It’s important to remember we already have an over-the-horizon counterterrorism capability … [and] a carrier strike group in the region. We’ve got facilities throughout the Middle East that have and will continue to be of value in this regard, so we have that capability.”

Lakenheath F-15s Take Over Icelandic Air Policing Mission

July 8, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

F-15s from the 493rd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, have deployed to Iceland to take up the NATO Air Policing mission there for the second time in less than a year.

The three F-15C/Ds, plus an F-15E from the 493rd’s sister unit, the 494th Fighter Squadron at Lakenheath, arrived at Keflavik Air Base for the mission, which protects NATO’s airspace in the northern Atlantic. U.S. Air Forces in Europe, in a statement, said the tail swap typically occurs because of maintenance issues or similar factors.

While deployed, the Eagles will fly in Icelandic airspace for familiarization and will be certified by NATO’s Combined Air Operations Center to conduct the policing mission.

“NATO Air Policing in Iceland is another great example of how NATO allies and partners address security threats in a true team effort,” USAFE Commander Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian said in a release. “Our partners in the High North are essential to ensuring regional security, and we will continue to work together in the name of collective defense.”

The 493rd Fighter Squadron deployed to Keflavik for the air policing mission last fall. For this rotation, the F-15s are replacing F-35s from the Royal Norwegian Air Force that deployed to Iceland in February.

Also on July 6, four Turkish F-16s deployed to Malbork air base in Poland to work with the Polish air force “in securing skies in the region,” NATO said in a release.

“Across Europe, NATO fighter jets are on duty around the clock, ready to scramble in case of suspicious or unannounced flights near the airspace of NATO Allies,” according to the alliance. “This includes air policing missions in which fighter detachments rotate in and out of allied countries to help safeguard their skies. NATO scrambled its air forces across Europe more than 400 times in 2020 to intercept unknown aircraft—mostly from Russia—approaching NATO airspace.”

Biden: Afghanistan Mission Will End Aug. 31

July 8, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The U.S. mission in Afghanistan will conclude Aug. 31 with almost all American personnel and equipment withdrawn from the country, said President Joe Biden on July 8. He also promised that Afghan interpreters will have a place in the United States after the U.S. leaves the country.

Biden said military commanders have requested a quick withdrawal, noting that “in this context, speed is safety.” On the ground, U.S. forces quickly retrograded, sometimes leaving major bases in the middle of the night.

“Thanks to the way in which we have managed our drawdown no one—no U.S. forces or any forces—had been lost,” Biden said. “Conducting our drawdown differently would have certainly come with increased risk of safety to our personnel. To me, those risks are unacceptable.”

Until the end of August, U.S. forces will maintain the same authorities they have had for “a while” to protect themselves and conduct airstrikes. Following that, U.S. officials are working with partner nations on ways to protect the international airport in Kabul and maintain a presence at the U.S. embassy in that city to protect the diplomatic presence.

The White House and the State Department are coordinating efforts to bring Afghan interpreters and translators out of the country on special immigrant visas, with flights beginning this month. Biden also called on Congress to change the special immigrant visa law to speed up the process and allow the interpreters to stay in the United States while they await their visas.

Biden said he wants to send the message that “there is a home for you in the United States if you so choose. We will stand with you, just as you stood with us.”

We will never forget those who gave the last full measure of devotion for our country in Afghanistan – nor those whose lives have been immeasurably altered by wounds sustained in service.

We are ending America’s longest war, but we will always honor those who served in it.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 8, 2021

Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said in a July 8 briefing that the military’s role is identifying installations outside the continental United States that could house potential immigrants. This includes U.S. bases on the American territory of Guam and bases in which there is an American presence abroad. There is also potential to send the visa applicants to other nations unrelated to the U.S. military presence.

“There’s not one part of the world we’re solely focused on,” Kirby said. “It’s truly sort of a global look.”

So far, about 2,500 Afghan personnel have worked through the special immigrant visa process, with about half indicating a “willingness to move at this point,” Kirby said. The process is State Department-led and would likely use chartered flights to fly the personnel out of the country. The military does have “transportation capabilities” that could be used, but it appears unlikely airlift would be required.

Biden reiterated the U.S. military’s plan to maintain an “over the horizon” presence to conduct counterterrorism operations, though no specifics have been announced, and it’s not clear what nearby nations would host a continued American footprint. The “over the horizon” capability will “allow us to keep our eyes firmly fixed and act quickly and decisively if needed,” he said.

Kirby said the military plans to use “a range of [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] capabilities at our disposal” to keep watch over Afghanistan while also leveraging the “strong relationship” with Afghan forces who are continuing to fight on the ground.

The military is still figuring out how it will support the Afghan Air Force from outside the country while it’s also continuing to send more aircraft to the country. This includes two refurbished UH-60 Black Hawks with several more on the way, along with maintaining AAF Mi-17 helicopters, and three more A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft, Kirby said.

American forces over the past 20 years, “through great blood and treasure,” built up the Afghan National Self Defense Forces with aircraft, modern weaponry, and the training to use them, but the question remains: “Are they going to use that capacity?” Kirby said.

The U.S. mission in Afghanistan, to bring Osama bin Laden “to the gates of hell” and to prevent al-Qaida from being able to plan and launch attacks targeting the American homeland, had long been accomplished, Biden said, noting the withdrawal is long overdue. There is now no way to win the war militarily. Instead, a negotiated settlement is required.

“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build,” Biden said. “It is the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future.”

Lawmakers React

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers shared mixed reactions on the announcement of ending America’s longest war.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said in a statement that it was a “critical step” to ending the conflict and that “certain problems” lack a purely military solution.

“It is now up to the Afghan people to decide their future as they continue to grapple with their ongoing civil war,” Smith said. “The Taliban poses a real threat to stability, but the Afghan National Security Forces are highly capable.”

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), a former Green Beret who sits on the HASC, said he is encouraged to see the administration “finally begin to focus on evacuating Afghan interpreters, … but I fear time has run out” following a rushed withdrawal.

“Thousands of Afghan interpreters and their families eagerly await their fate while the clock ticks,” Waltz said. “As the Taliban continue to gain strength and ground, they are hunting down those who stood with America in our fight against global terror.”

Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement that Biden may have “set a deadline to end the war,” but al-Qaida and ISIS “don’t have deadlines when it comes to attacking American interests.” He warned that conditions are developing in the country for a re-emergence of those groups.

AFA Board to Delegates: Give Every Member a Vote

July 8, 2021 | By Tobias Naegele

AFA’s Board of Directors voted to approve new bylaws in a bid to strengthen organizational leadership and open voting to every member. The vote must be ratified by delegates to AFA’s convention in September for the changes to take effect.

“We voted to replace our complex and outdated Constitution with simplified Bylaws that will enable AFA to be more agile and responsive to opportunities and risks; more accountable to our members and stakeholders; and more effective in our mission to educate and advocate for American air power and space power and to support Airmen and Guardians and their families,” wrote AFA Chairman Gerald R. Murray, the 14th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, in a letter to members.

Murray said the proposed bylaws are needed for two reasons: First, to vest more responsive and accountable authority in the Board of Directors, which meets frequently throughout the year, rather than in a convention that meets annually; and second, to empower every AFA volunteer leader and member, whether Active duty, Guard, Reserve, civilian, or community and industry partner, by enabling them to elect Association directors.

The Board approved the changes June 23, and the vote to ratify will be held Sept. 18-19.

Murray said he intends to spend the summer raising awareness of the proposed changes and to fully inform all convention delegates and members about what’s at stake. He urged members and delegates to educate themselves by reading up on the details and reaching out to AFA leaders to share their views on the changes and gain a fuller understanding of the issues at stake.

He said all AFA members, including Active-duty Airmen, Guardians, and civilians, deserve an opportunity and should be directly involved in their professional association.

“Under our present construct, it is the Delegates, not the Board, that make the most momentous decisions for the Association,” wrote Murray, noting that delegates gather only once a year. “In the high-tech, fast moving, and dynamic society we live in today, that’s no longer good enough,” he said. “Our Association must be agile and adaptable, responsive to change and challenges.”

AFA President, retired Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright, said giving every member a vote provides everyone a greater sense of ownership in the Association. “Today’s Airmen and Guardians offer a whole new perspective developed through decades of a dynamic, high-ops-tempo environment, including combat operations,” he said. “They know what works today and what doesn’t, what they need now, and what they’re going to need from their Association. Active duty and recently retired Airmen and Guardians are also the talent pool for current and future AFA volunteer leaders. They should have an active voice in the future of their professional association.”

AFA, like the military services themselves, must modernize, Murray said, invoking former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III and quoting his advice to the Board from a year ago: “AFA is at an inflection point,” Welsh said then, before urging Association leaders to chart a new course to remain effective and relevant in the fast-paced future.

Murray said the new bylaws are long overdue. While a decline in membership has been arrested, growth has proven difficult, and he said the Association must diversify its income streams and its Board makeup by bringing in directors who can supplement the Board’s strengths with complementary skills and expertise.

“The Bylaws approved last week were crafted by a respected and experienced team of AFA leaders, aided by outside professional counsel,” Murray said. “The new Bylaws ensure volunteer field leaders continue to serve on and inform our Board [and] also enable AFA to attract new outside directors who can share expertise in business, academia, fundraising, and more.”

“Your Board stands strongly in favor of these changes,” Murray said. “Now we look to the delegates to affirm the Board’s decision to strengthen AFA, embrace all our members, strengthen our Board and governance, and build a strong future.”

GAO: Tie F-35 Buys to Operating Cost Improvement

July 7, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

In the wake of threats by members of Congress to cut buys of the F-35 over its high sustainment costs, the Government Accountability Office is recommending that just such a course of action be considered until the fighter’s operating costs come under control.

In “F-35 Sustainment: DOD Needs to Cut Billions in Estimated Costs to Achieve Affordability,” the GAO recommends that the Pentagon get realistic about “affordability constraints” in the F-35 program so that the services—particularly the Air Force—don’t buy more of the fighters than they can pay to operate.

To that end, the GAO recommends holding off on declaring Milestone C—full-rate production—until the services and the Office of the Secretary of Defense develop a detailed plan for improving the F-35’s sustainment costs and living within their expected F-35 budgets. The plan should take a “risk management approach” that assesses the likelihood of success of various sustainment fixes, Congress’ watchdog agency said.

Members of both the House and Senate in recent months have suggested backing off F-35 purchases until the sustainment enterprise catches up to the demands of the extant inventory. Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), chair of the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee, promised a “hell of a fight” if his colleagues moved to add extra F-35s to the Air Force’s budget beyond whatever it formally requested. In each of the past three years, USAF has included a dozen extra F-35s on its “unfunded priorities list,” a wish list of items not included in the formal budget request, and Congress has obliged. But for fiscal 2022, USAF conspicuously did not include F-35s in that document.

The GAO suggests DOD report to Congress annually on its progress in achieving F-35 goals within available funds and that it makes “F-35 procurement decisions contingent on DOD’s progress in achieving these constraints.” The GAO further suggests a new long-term plan be created on how to “afford to sustain the future F-35 fleet.”

While the F-35 has made gains in mission capable rates, the GAO said, these are still short of operator requirements.

Specifically, it noted, the average MC rate for aircraft in the F-35 fleet—indicating the jet can fly and do some of its multiple mission types—improved from 59 percent to 69 percent for all services from fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2020, while the average full mission capable rate—meaning it could do all of its assigned missions—rose from 32 percent to 39 percent over the same period.

The Air Force’s F-35A full mission capable rate was higher than that of all services—54 percent over that period—but the objective was 72 percent.

“Despite efforts to reduce costs” since 2012, the GAO said, the cost of operating the multiservice F-35 fleet increased from $1.11 trillion to $1.27 trillion, calculated over an expected 66-year service life for the program.

There’s “a substantial and growing gap” between what the services thought they’d spend on operating the F-35 and what it’s really costing, with that gap projected to be “almost $6 billion in 2036 alone,” the GAO reported.

If trends are not reversed, “the services will collectively be confronted with tens of billions of dollars in sustainment costs that they project as unaffordable during the program,” the agency said.

In the Air Force’s case, it needs to cut annual estimated sustainment costs per tail by $3.7 million. Otherwise, in 2036 alone, “it will incur $4.4 billion in costs beyond what it currently projects it could afford.”

The Air Force has upset some members of Congress by pushing to divest some of its aircraft in order to pay for development of new ones. In the fiscal 2022 budget request, USAF proposes cutting more than 100 aircraft to save $1.4 billion for research and development.

Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. recently said he’s contemplating using the F-35 only for “high-end missions” as one way to reduce its operating costs.

The Air Force’s F-35 operating costs were actually lower than those of any of the other services in fiscal 2020 at $7.8 million versus $9.1 million for the Marine Corps F-35B, $7.9 million for the Marine Corps F-35C, and $9.9 million for the Navy F-35C, the GAO said, based on data it obtained from the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office.

But because the Air Force has so many more F-35s than the other services, the cost gap adds up much higher. The GAO projects that USAF will have 1,192 F-35As in 2036. If it’s still paying $3.7 million more to operate each one per year than it forecast, that adds up to the $4.4 billion deficit in 2036. Including the other services, that F-35 sustainment deficit comes to about $6 billion, the report said.

“Without assessing cost-reduction efforts and program requirements (such as number of planned aircraft), and developing a plan prior to declaring Milestone C, the DOD may continue to invest resources in a program it ultimately cannot afford,” the GAO asserted. If Congress insists on a performance improvement report and “making F-35 procurements contingent on achieving affordability constraints,” that would improve the Pentagon’s accountability and spur “appropriate actions” to sustain the fleet, the agency said.

In a lengthy response, the JPO said the GAO’s report contained “no surprises” and that the situation is “well known” to the services, the defense industry, and F-35 international partners. The Pentagon “partially concurred” with all the GAO’s recommendations, and the JPO will implement them, it said. The non-concurrences focused mainly on things the Pentagon said it is already doing that would fulfill GAO’s intent and noting that it still doesn’t know when Milestone C will come because of unrelated issues having to do with integrating the F-35 into the Joint Simulation Environment wargaming tool.

The JPO did not directly address the GAO’s numbers but said the situation is not as dire as it may look. It asserted that in base year 2012 dollars, F-35 operating and sustainment costs have grown only seven percent, or $42.8 billion, and that these numbers are verified by the Pentagon’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office.

Moreover, the JPO said GAO is using long-term projections that may not pan out or are due to recent changes. The “end of operations” of the F-35 has been extended from 2064 to 2077, the JPO said, and this has added 23 percent to program operating and sustainment costs. Meanwhile, an increase in numbers of aircraft to be bought, from 2,443 to 2,456, drove another half-percent increase in operating and sustainment costs, while flying hours have been raised from 14.9 million to 15.6 million, accounting for another five percent increase. Aircraft operating years have risen from 56,445 to 60,767, driving a further eight percent increase in operating and sustainment costs.

The JPO said it recognizes that F-35 users “don’t have unlimited funds” and is doing all it can to cut costs.

“Signs of progress” cited by the program office include a decrease in USAF flying hour costs from $37,000 to $33,600 in fiscal 2020. The JPO has also previously pointed out that it has sharply accelerated the number of depots servicing the F-35 and that the full planned number of depots will be up and running six years ahead of schedule.