DOD Rolls Out More COVID-19 Vaccines, Ramps Up FEMA Support

Feb. 11, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Defense Department has administered more than 800,000 coronavirus vaccines to its personnel so far, as Active-duty troops begin heading out to help the general public get vaccinated as well.

The Pentagon had ordered 1,040,825 vaccine doses as of Feb. 11, with 966,280 delivered to military treatment facilities across the globe, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. Of those, 800,135 doses have made it into people’s arms—including 580,442 first shots and 210,693 second shots.

“Essentially, we’ve administered 82 percent of all the vaccines delivered,” Kirby said. “The focus is keen and sharp and we’re continuing to do what we can to make vaccines available to all who want them.”

The Pentagon is not tracking how many troops have opted out of the jab, which is still a voluntary procedure, he said. DOD says there is no central way to track who turns down the shot or who wants to wait for inoculation.

The department is trying to instill confidence in the vaccines that are, or may soon be, approved for emergency use in the U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who has served as the face of the federal pandemic response for nearly a year, urged troops to get the shot at a recent event.

While Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has taken the vaccine “because he believes it was the right thing to do for him and for his health and for his family, and for his ability to do the job,” Kirby said, “he recognizes that this is a personal decision that everybody has to make.”

As the vaccine effort ramps up nationwide, the Pentagon is sending out the first Active-duty teams to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency. An Army unit from Fort Carson, Colo., will arrive in Los Angeles to help beginning Feb. 15, Kirby said.

The 222-person team is assigned to the 299th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and is largely made up of medical personnel, including vaccinators and registered nurses, according to a U.S. Northern Command release.

Last month, Maj. Gen. Chad P. Franks, commander of 15th Air Force at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., also said his personnel were again activated to help with the joint COVID-19 response for a second time during the pandemic. Those Airmen will be part of a headquarters team that helps states rapidly distribute vaccines in short supply, he said.

“Just yesterday, we got activated again, as part of NORTHCOM’s planning to see how we can help the country with vaccinations across the U.S. here in the next couple months,” Franks said during a Jan. 28 Space Force Association event. “Now we’re going through that planning process.”

The Pentagon has authorized more than 1,000 troops to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with additional deployments still in the works, Kirby said.

Air Force Launching Extremism Review as DOD Mulls Problem

Feb. 11, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Department of the Air Force will conduct its own comprehensive assessment of white supremacy and other forms of extremism in its ranks, while senior leaders in the next few weeks begin to discuss the problem with Airmen and Guardians as part of a Pentagon-wide look at the issue.

In question are the effects on the force—and the United States at large—of personnel who sympathize with or actively participate in local militia groups, white supremacist organizations, and other extremist factions.

In a letter to Airmen and Guardians on Feb. 11, acting Air Force Secretary John P. Roth, Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force Roger A. Towberman, and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass said that the vast majority of service members uphold the nation’s laws, policies, and standards.

“There is a small subset who fall short and are eroding the respect our nation’s citizens have for its military,” the leaders wrote. “We have a responsibility to defend the nation for all Americans.”

While service members have a First Amendment right to freedom of expression, Airmen and Guardians have an obligation “to stand against extremism, as we should with anything that threatens to undermine good order and discipline, trust, and our culture of respect,” they said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Feb. 3 ordered the military to pause their work in the next few months so units can hold conversations on extremism. Air Force and Space Force leaders will hold talks “about the threat extremism poses to the Department of the Air Force, our Nation, and our democracy” as part of that stand-down, the leaders said.

The Department of the Air Force plans to release more guidance in the next two weeks on how units should handle the stand-down. Spokespeople from multiple major commands said they are waiting on more information from headquarters to begin those discussions.

As part of the department-wide assessment, leadership also wants to hear from Airmen and Guardians about their thoughts on and experiences with extremism, according to the letter.

Multiple current and former military personnel took part in the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, prompting the Pentagon to begin reviewing its policy, laws, and regulations that govern the active participation of military members in extremist groups. That report is expected to be completed at the end of March.

Air Force Reviewing Support Services Amid Suicides, COVID-19

Feb. 11, 2021 | By Rachel S. Cohen

The Department of the Air Force is launching a review of its mental health, family advocacy, and other support programs for Airmen and Guardians, as part of an ongoing struggle with suicide in the ranks and to offer better care during the coronavirus pandemic.

A new Air Force task force called “Operation Arc Care” is taking a fresh look at bolstering service members’ resiliency in the face of stress and adversity.

“Our people are the most important resource we have,” said Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass in a Feb. 11 release. “We’ve been hearing their challenges, and we owe it (to) them to build a strategy that ensures our Airmen, Guardians, and families get the care they need, wherever they are, and whenever they need it.”

The task force is taking the long view, opting for an open-ended, five-year strategy that the department says can give leaders the flexibility they need to tailor support programs to their troops. That strategy is now in the works, and should be done by the end of March.

Aspects of the military that fall under the review include unit leadership, the chaplain corps, key spouse programs, mental health clinics and alcohol and drug abuse prevention initiatives, the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program, and more.

The group plans to issue recommendations later this year for potential changes in those areas that “remove policy barriers and … improve the experience of care” for service members and their families, Col. Laura Ramos, Air Force Resilience strategic partnership division chief, said in the release.

“We’re using community-focused programs customized by major command, base, and garrison-levels because they are best suited for answering the needs of their Airmen, Guardians, and families in their unique locations,” Ramos said. “We recognize that having a worldwide presence makes us a ‘community of communities’ and while many needs are universal, some are specific to certain units, missions, people, areas, and geographic locations.”

Their work began in 2019, when then-Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein ordered all wings to stand down for a day to discuss suicide prevention. The Air Force has seen around 100 or more suicides a year since 2014.

Despite their efforts, that pace hasn’t slowed: 98 Airmen had killed themselves in 2020 as of mid-September, the service said in its most recent public tally. For many, pandemic-era stressors—such as an inability to spend time with loved ones and the shift to virtual work and schooling—are an added mental-health concern.

Feedback from the ops pause and beyond led the department to create its Arc Care team. Starting in November 2020, the group gathered more data and looked at the policies and resources of Air Force and Space Force support programs and services. That information is now shaping the ultimate strategy and the group’s guidance on how to move forward.

“Are leaders at every echelon involved?” Air Force Resilience Director Brig. Gen. Claude Tudor said in the release. “What resources will we have at your fingertips to click on or call to make an appointment that helps you find their way? Are we providing those resources and are they readily available for all forces and family members to understand and use? That is what we want to get after.”

Andrews Commander Addresses Breach, Teases Next Steps in Letter to Defenders

Feb. 11, 2021 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Joint Base Andrews’ installation commander expressed faith in the 316th Security Forces Squadron’s ability to do its job following a Feb. 4 breach at the Maryland installation and said he will push for more time and resources to help Airmen effectively guard the base, according to a Feb. 9 memo obtained by Air Force Magazine.

In the memo, Air Force Col. Tyler R. Schaff—who commands both the 316th Wing and its home base—expressed “complete confidence” in his Airmen’s ability to safeguard the installation, but acknowledged that the breach denigrated the public’s trust.

“The nation’s eyes are on Joint Base Andrews almost every day because of the national security missions we are tasked to execute,” Schaff wrote. “We must maintain the trust and confidence of our nation and those we serve. This trust has been eroded because we allowed an individual to penetrate our layered security and ultimately, was able to access America’s Airfield.”

The breach triggered an Air Force Inspector General investigation into the incident, as well as a global review of all Department of the Air Force installations worldwide.

Schaff said that while the intruder—who made his way onto a C-40B aircraft assigned to the 89th Airlift Wing before being apprehended—didn’t harm personnel or aircraft, the breach “could have had a disastrous ending.”

“We must do better, we must learn from this unacceptable incident, and we must ensure an intrusion like … this never happens again,” he wrote.

Schaff also detailed ways the installation is reviewing the way it handles base visitors beyond a previously announced suspension of its Trusted Traveler Program.

This includes a “comprehensive review of all approved credentials used to enter the base,” since Schaff acknowledged that defenders encounter identification from more than “100 local, state and federal agencies,” which can lead to confusion about who actually has permission to access JBA.

“As your installation commander, I am reinforcing your authority to not allow access if they do not have the proper credentials, if they are not properly vetted, and if they have not been appropriately identified or cleared, regardless of who they are or where they work,” he added. “If the credentials do not allow entry to our installation, then we must not allow them on to Joint Base Andrews.”

Schaff said he’s determined to get 316th SFS Airmen “the resources, time, training, and technology” they need to succeed. Multiple funded “technology upgrades” are on the way, but additional ones are needed to support defenders’ efforts to protect the base, he added.

“I believe in you and trust you to keep Joint Base Andrews safe,” he wrote. “Hold the line, take the high road, stay professional and keep pressing excellence.”

At least two other USAF installations—Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., and Joint Base San Antonio, Texas—have changed their protocols for base visitors since the Andrews incident, though they didn’t specify the breach as having sparked the shifts, Air Force Magazine previously reported.

30 Years After Desert Storm: Feb. 11

Feb. 10, 2021

In commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm, Air Force Magazine is posting daily recollections from the six-week war, which expelled Iraq from occupied Kuwait.

Feb. 11: Coalition aircraft fly 2,900 attack sorties, bringing the total number of sorties flown during 26 days of air war to 61,862.

Check out our complete chronology of the Gulf War, starting with Iraq’s July 1990 invasion of Kuwait and running through Iraq’s April 1991 acceptance of peace terms.

Space Force Building Plan to Combine Active-Duty and Reserve Service

Feb. 10, 2021 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Space Force officials are fleshing out the details of a unique approach to military service that combines Active-duty and Reserve commitments, hoping that design will provide more flexibility for families and ultimately keep people in uniform longer.

The service may decide to keep a separate Space National Guard as well, Lt. Gen. Nina M. Armagno, staff director at Space Force headquarters, said during a Feb. 10 Space Foundation event.

“We’re actually working on a dual componency, where instead of having Active, Guard, and Reserve, we have a combined Active and Reserve force, and then potentially a separate space Guard,” she said. “We’re really working on trying to figure out how to recruit the best and retain the best.”

The dual approach could particularly help women in uniform who see a stark choice between starting a family or continuing to serve, among other factors that lead female service members to separate mid-career. As the first armed force created since women were fully integrated into the military, the Space Force is looking to bake in structural measures to boost gender equity from the start.

Nothing is set in stone yet, Armagno cautioned, though Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond has said the service will propose a new kind of Reserve this year. He told Air Force Magazine last fall he expected the plan to be approved by December 2020, signaling that coming to an agreement on the best force design is proving trickier than anticipated.

“It’s really innovative,” Raymond said of reshaping the typical force structure. “That will require some legislative proposals to make that happen.”

Congress in the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act fell short of creating a Space Force reserve component, but told the Defense Secretary to send lawmakers his recommendations of how such a plan might work. Capitol Hill also has been skeptical of the need for a Space National Guard, though proponents are quick to note that about 1,500 National Guardsmen now use military space assets for missions like wildfire tracking.

Reservists are already part of the fight as well, handling ballistic missile warning to space weather monitoring during operations and training rotations that last 39 days a year.

The trick is finding the “sweet spot” between full-time and part-time service, Armagno said. Under the dual-track idea, Space Force Guardians may be able to bank time to have a child or finish an educational degree program, she said.

“Other times, life just kind of hits you,” Armagno said. “We want to be able to accommodate the various situations.”

Maj. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt, a top operations official in both the Space Force and U.S. Space Command, said that stability extends to single Guardians as well as those with partners or families. Someone without a spouse or kids shouldn’t be made to move every year, she said, just as the military should find ways to make assignments work for married couples.

She indicated the Space Force may not require a family to relocate while their child is in high school, a move that would avoid uprooting students in their crucial pre-college years.

Those considerations dovetail with the human capital strategy underway in the Space Force’s personnel office. Because the service is so small relative to the rest of the military—it’s expected to grow to 6,700 Active-duty troops this year, compared to the Marine Corps, which has the next-largest Active-duty force at around 181,000 members—leaders see it as a proving ground for better personnel policies.

For one, the Space Force is adjusting to generational differences in how long employees want to stay in one job. Because younger workers are less likely than their parents and grandparents to remain at a single company for decades, the service is reviewing its rules around who can join and when, according to Chief Master Sgt. Amber B. Mitchell, the Space Force’s deputy personnel director.

Other changes in the works include a new approach to promotions and more opportunities for fellowships that let military and space industry employees learn about the other side.

“We still have a lot of work to do to finalize that strategy and fill in some of the blanks,” Raymond said in December. “This will be the most important thing that the Space Force does in the next few months, because it’s going to provide us the means to recruit, attract, assess, develop, and retain a force that we need to be able to operate in space.”

Super Bowl Bomber Flyover Previews Future Tactics

Feb. 10, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

The formation flyover of the Super Bowl by the Air Force’s three bomber types on Feb. 7 is a signal of things to come, said Air Force Global Strike Command.

A B-1B and B-52 flew interoperability sorties at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., several days before the big game, swapping aircrew and developing handoff techniques for employing standoff weapons. The two bombers flew one joint sortie, and several others as single-ships, in which a B-52 pilot flew aboard a B-1B and vice versa, while weapon systems officers also switched platforms, to get a feel for how the other type of aircraft is employed, AFGSC said in a press release.

The B-52 crewmembers were able to see the B-1’s radar and connectivity in action; a preview for them, as new radars and datalinks are coming to the B-52 in the next few years.

The 337th and 49th Test and Evaluation Squadrons, which conduct tests on the B-1 and B-52, respectively, flew the missions in the “Lancer” practice area west of Dallas, Texas.

One focus of the Feb. 3-6 flights was to develop handoff techniques for the stealthy AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, an AFGSC spokeswoman said.

The flights were “the first in a series of B-1 and B-52 interoperability sorties, as the bomber operational test community explores tactics development for a more agile bomber strike force that leverages the strengths of the different platforms,” AFGSC said.

The exercise explored and verified “integrated tactics” to give combatant commanders “the option and flexibility to employ the B-1 and B-52 as an integrated and synergistic long-range weapon force package.”

The interoperability push is on a “crawl, walk, run” continuum, the AFGSC spokeswoman said, “and we’re very much at the ‘crawl’ stage now.” However, more such experiments are expected to be conducted in the next three months to hone the techniques and procedures explored in this series of flights, she said.

The B-1 bests the B-52 in speed, signature, and payload, but the B-52 can carry a more diverse array of weapons.

“A goal of these tests was to fly in formation to do practice standoff weapon sorties so we can start building how we fly together, pass targets if we get new ones, and how we ultimately work together,” said Maj. Joseph Wilkinson, a B-1 Weapon System Officer and instructor with the 337th TES.

AFGSC commander Gen. Timothy M. Ray expects to sharply increase the number of B-1s and B-52s employed in testing, so the command can more rapidly integrate new weapons, such as the hypersonic AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon, and explore new tactics for the bomber fleet. While the test community normally has two each of the bombers, Ray has said as many as eight aircraft of each type will be dedicated to testing new weapons, as well as upgrades to the B-52’s engines, radar, connectivity, and other systems.

The 49th and 337th TE Squadrons are Air Combat Command units, but are part of the 53rd Test Management Group, which oversees testing of all bomber and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms.

Biden Outlines Views on Using Military Power in 1st Pentagon Visit as President

Feb. 10, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The U.S. military under President Joe Biden will use force as a “tool of last resort” as he aims to bring a responsible end to ongoing wars, though he told Defense Department employees during his first Pentagon visit that he will never hesitate to use force if needed.

“Our country is safer and stronger when we lead not just with the example of our power, but with the power of our example,” Biden said during the visit on Feb. 10, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III.

During a brief speech from the stage in the Pentagon briefing room, Biden told service members and DOD civilians the military’s “central mission is to deter aggression from our enemies and, if required, fight and win wars to keep Americans safe.”

Biden said the U.S. needs to “rethink and reprioritize our security to meet the challenges of this century, not the last.” This means embracing emerging technology and enhancing cyber capabilities to ensure the U.S. will lead the “new era of competition from deep space to outer space,” he said, calling out China in particular as a growing threat.

He did not bring up any budget priorities for the department, though the Pentagon is bracing for possible cuts, nor did he touch on other major strategy goals. He did not take questions.

Biden repeatedly highlighted the service of his late son Beau, who was a captain in the Delaware National Guard who deployed to Iraq and served under Austin when he led U.S. Forces-Iraq. “I understand the full weight of what it means” to use military force, he said.

“For those of you who raise your hands and sign up to wear the uniform of the United States, we owe you an incredible debt,” Biden said, adding he and his administration will “never disrespect you, never politicize the work that you do. This is personal for me. The Biden family is a military family.”

Following the speech, which comes during Black History Month, Biden and Harris visited the Pentagon’s African Americans in Service Corridor with Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley. While 40 percent of the military’s Active duty force is composed of people of color, the higher ranks of the force do not reflect that diversity—it is “long past time that is reflected at every level of this department,” Biden said. Austin is the first Black Defense Secretary, and Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr is the first Black uniformed leader of any U.S. military service.

Biden said his administration is committed to ensuring “every single person is treated with dignity and respect.” One of his first acts as President was to overturn the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, and it’s why Austin’s first memo as Secretary was focused on the issue of sexual assault, he noted.

“Every single person, no matter their gender, identity, sexual orientation, race, or religious background, deserves to feel safe in the ranks and to have their contributions valued,” he said. “It’s on all of us to stand up, to speak out when you see someone being abused.

“This is an organization that has defeated American enemies on land, sea, and air and [has] been defined by the way we treat others, so I know that this is not beyond us, not if each of us makes this a priority as well.”

Biden Announces DOD Task Force on China Policy

Feb. 10, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

President Joe Biden on Feb. 10 announced a new Defense Department review of the military’s overall strategy toward China.

Over the next “few months,” the Department of Defense China Task Force will work to define new priorities and “decision points so that we can chart a strong path forward on China-related matters,” Biden told DOD personnel in a speech from the Pentagon briefing room.

The Task Force will be led by Ely Ratner, the special assistant to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, and will include up to 15 civilian and uniformed members from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the military services, combatant commands, and intelligence, according to a DOD fact sheet. The review is expected to focus on key topics such as modernization requirements, basing and access in the Indo-Pacific, intelligence, and alliances, among others.

The results of that review are expected to be released in no more than four months, according to the Pentagon.

Developing a new strategy toward China needs to be a “whole of government effort,” including bipartisan support in Congress, along with alliances and partnerships, Biden said.

“That’s how we’ll meet the China challenge and ensure the American people meet the competition of the future,” Biden said.

Biden was briefed on the task force upon arriving at the Pentagon on Feb. 10 for the first time as President. Austin, in his confirmation hearing Jan. 19, highlighted China’s modernization and growth in the region, saying he will work to make sure China never meets its goal of creating a military stronger than that of the U.S.

China has long been considered a “pacing threat” to the U.S. military, with the 2018 National Defense Strategy highlighting Beijing as a strategic competitor that exerts its influences over neighboring nations and highlighting its militarization of the South China Sea. Austin has said the Pentagon, under his leadership, will update this strategy.