Space Command HQ Search Narrows to Six Locations

Nov. 19, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

The military has narrowed its search for the future home of U.S. Space Command to six locations across the country, the Air Force said Nov. 19.

Finalists include Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., a space technology hub for the Air Force Research Laboratory; Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., the headquarters of U.S. Strategic Command; Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., which manages space launches at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station; Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., home to the current SPACECOM headquarters; Port San Antonio, Texas, the former Kelly Air Force Base; and Redstone Army Airfield, Ala., in the “Rocket City” of the South.

The Pentagon considered locations in 24 states to house SPACECOM and will choose its preferred candidate in early 2021. The Department of the Air Force is leading the search on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

“The Department of the Air Force evaluated each location and will now conduct both virtual and on-site visits at each candidate location to assess which location is best suited to host the U.S. Space Command headquarters,” the department said in a release. “This assessment will be based on factors related to mission, infrastructure capacity, community support, and costs to the Department of Defense.”

Peterson will temporarily host SPACECOM HQ in Colorado Springs for the next six years as the command settles into a permanent location.

Colorado has been central to the military space community for decades, most notably under the former Air Force Space Command and its successor service, the Space Force. When the Pentagon first embarked on its search for a formal SPACECOM headquarters, four Colorado bases made the list of six candidates.

Earlier this year, the military announced it would broaden its search to consider dozens of self-nominated communities.

SPACECOM is the combatant command that uses satellites, radars, personnel, and other resources provided by the armed forces for daily operations. It was reestablished in 2019 to support other combat groups, while taking on a more important role in needing support itself.

GAO: Most Military Aircraft Fell Short on Readiness in Past Decade

Nov. 19, 2020 | By Amy Hudson

The vast majority of Defense Department aircraft, including all of the military’s most advanced fleets, fell short of their mission readiness goals over the past decade, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report.

Only three of 46 different types of aircraft that the GAO studied hit their mission-capable rate goals during most of the period studied, from fiscal 2011 to 2019. Those platforms include aerial tanker, anti-submarine, bomber, cargo, command-and-control, and fighter planes, as well as rotary-wing aircraft. GAO did not provide exact fleet capability figures, citing operational security concerns.

The Air Force’s nearly 50-year-old UH-1N Hueys, which have on average flown nearly 15,000 hours over the course of their lifetimes, exceeded their MC goal all nine years, according to the report. The Air Force also had more Hueys available than expected in three of those years.

The other two aircraft that usually achieved more than their annual MC goals were the Navy’s EP-3E Aries II anti-submarine aircraft (seven of nine years), and the Navy’s E-6B Mercury airborne nuclear command post (five of the nine years).

About half of the aircraft did not meet their MC goals at any point in the nine-year period, including the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor, F-15C/D Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, B-1B Lancer, C-17 Globemaster III, and the C-130J Super Hercules.

Former Defense Secretary James N. Mattis in 2018 directed the Air Force and Navy to boost F-16, F/A-18, F-22, and F-35 fleet readiness to 80 percent by October 2019. No Air Force planes hit the mark, though the F-16 and F-35 came close. The USAF inventory reached an average MC rate of about 70 percent in fiscal 2019.

“None of these aircraft had achieved the 80 percent mission-capable goal, when mission-capable rate data are averaged for each day in fiscal year 2019,” the report noted.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown told senators ahead of his confirmation hearing that the service was moving away from MC rates in favor of a more holistic view of readiness.

“The Air Force has made improvements in the readiness of its units. However, the continued high demand for Air Force capabilities continues to impact recovery,” Brown wrote. “If confirmed, I will continue the effort [former Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein] has put on readiness recovery with a focus on recruiting, training, and retaining high-quality Airmen, driving down the average age of our aircraft fleets through modernization, and working with our combatant commanders on balancing current operations tempo with time for our Airmen to train for full-spectrum combat operations.”

The Active-duty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter Wings conducted an F-35A Combat Power Exercise at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, on Jan. 6, 2020. **Photo: R. Nial Bradshaw/USAF**

F-35 Joint Strike Fighter

The Air Force’s F-35A and the Marine Corps’ F-35B did not reach annual aircraft availability goals from fiscal 2013 to 2019, while the Navy’s F-35C carrier variant hit that threshold in two of those years. For MC rates, the F-35A and F-35C reached their targets in two fiscal years, while the F-35B met its target once.

Last year, GAO said 52 percent of the F-35 fleet was ready to take on a combat mission, largely due to a lack of available spare parts. In 2018, the Defense Department had a backlog of 4,300 F-35 parts, though the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin are working to improve that pipeline.

DOD has also purchased F-35 parts in advance, an approach that hasn’t always worked out in its favor as the aircraft is updated over time.

“For example, 44 percent of purchased parts were incompatible with aircraft the Marine Corps took on a recent deployment,” according to the GAO. In addition, “DOD’s networks for moving F-35 parts around the world are immature, and F-35 customers overseas have experienced long wait times for parts needed to repair aircraft.”

F-35 sustainment costs are estimated at more than $1 trillion over the 60-year life of the program, making it DOD’s most expensive weapon system by far. Total operations and sustainment costs have ballooned from $55.6 million in fiscal 2011 to $2.2 billion in fiscal 2018, while maintenance costs have increased from $15.8 million to $758.4 million in the same time, according to the report. The F-35A accounted for the majority of those costs.

“The Air Force and Marine Corps recently identified the need to reduce their sustainment costs per aircraft per year by 43 [percent] and 24 percent, respectively,” GAO said.

When it comes to maintenance, GAO argues the Defense Department has a “limited capability to repair parts when they break.” The watchdog noted that, as of April 2019, the F-35 program “was failing to meet four of its eight reliability and maintainability targets, which determine the likelihood that the aircraft will be in maintenance rather than available for operations, including metrics related to part removals and part failures.”

In fact, the GAO claims DOD’s ability to repair parts is eight years behind schedule.

“DOD originally planned to have repair capabilities at the depots ready by 2016, but the depots will not have the capability to repair all parts at expected demand rates until 2024,” the report said. “As a result, the average time taken to repair an F-35 part was more than six months, or about 188 days, for repairs completed between September and November 2018—more than twice as long as planned.”

The Joint Program Office has taken several steps to address this issue, including taking less time to activate a depot, making sure parts are available earlier, and initiating performance-based logistics contracts to incentivize performance and cost improvements.

Air Force Magazine previously reported the F-35A had an MC rate of 61.6 percent in fiscal 2019.

F-22 Raptor

Lockheed’s F-22 Raptor is one of the Air Force’s newest aircraft, averaging 12 years old and nearly 1,900 flying hours per jet. But the fighter fleet “faces challenges with its low-observable system and spare parts,” which were “exacerbated by the extreme damage at Tyndall Air Force Base, [Fla.], from the effects of Hurricane Michael” in 2018, GAO said.

F-22 aircraft availability and MC rates fell over the nine-year stretch. According to program officials, those low numbers were tied to degraded stealth coating, supply shortages, and more frequent use than anticipated.

“After 2017, the Air Force devoted additional funding for the F-22 to help procure time-sensitive spares, repairs, and consumable parts,” GAO said.

Total operations and sustainment costs for the F-22 increased from $2.3 billion in fiscal 2011 to $2.4 billion in fiscal 2018, due mainly to an increase in flying hours and scheduled engine depot inductions, according to the report.

Air Force Magazine previously reported the F-22 had a 50.6 percent MC rate in fiscal 2019.

An Airman assigned to the 55th Fighter Generation Squadron waits by an F-16 Viper at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, on Nov. 9, 2020. **Photo: Airman 1st Class Destani K. Matheny**

F-16 Fighting Falcon

F-16 fighter jets exceeded their annual aircraft availability goals in nearly half of the nine years studied, narrowly missing the mark in four other years. However, the fleet failed to meet any of its MC goals during the same time period.

“The F-16’s inability to meet its mission-capable goals is due in part to the age of the fleet and related supply and maintenance challenges. The F-16’s aircraft availability rate and mission-capable rate decreased slightly during the time period,” the report said.

The service plans to start replacing the F-16 with the F-35 around 2040. Fighting Falcons, with an average age of 29 across the fleet, have flown for an average of 7,100 hours per C-model and 6,300 hours per D-model, according to the report.

“Some F-16 aircraft are operating beyond their expected service life with maintenance and supply challenges. Planned actions to mitigate these challenges include extending the service life of the aircraft, identifying all parts that need to be replaced during the inspection phase of maintenance, and identifying alternate vendors for parts,” GAO added.

Operating and sustaining the F-16 cost about $5.2 billion in fiscal 2011, which fell to $4.1 billion in fiscal 2018 as the fleet shrank. Maintenance itself increased in fiscal 2014, 2015, and 2017 because of unscheduled repairs and replacement of structural components and radar-absorbing material, according to GAO.

Air Force Magazine previously reported the F-16C saw a 73 percent MC rate in fiscal 2019, while the F-16D came in at 70.4 percent.

An F-15C Eagle assigned to the 493rd Fighter Squadron takes off from RAF Lakenheath, U.K., on Jul. 21, 2020. **Photo: Airman 1st Class Mikayla Whiteley**

F-15C/D Eagle

The roughly 35-year-old F-15 is averaging around 8,500 flight hours per aircraft, and is expected to remain in service through 2045. The fleet exceeded its aircraft availability goals in one-third of the years studied, but never met its MC goals, according to the report.

“The F-15C/D’s aircraft availability rate and mission-capable rate both increased during the time period,” GAO said. “According to program officials, the aircraft availability and mission-capable rates were at their lowest in fiscal year 2011 due to F-15C/D manning challenges as avionics trained technicians shifted to maintaining the F-22 fleet, reductions in the F-15C/D combat air force fleet—including transfers to the Air National Guard—and radar upgrades that increased unscheduled maintenance downtime.”

Total O&S costs decreased from about $1.9 billion in fiscal 2011 to about $1.4 billion in fiscal 2018, due in part to “significant decreases in unit operations.”

Air Force Magazine previously reported the F-15C’s MC rate was 70 percent in fiscal 2019, outpaced by the F-15D at 72.5 percent and F-15E at 71.3 percent.

Airmen assigned to the 7th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, perform an operations check on a B-1B for flight at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., on Aug. 13, 2020. **Photo: Senior Airman Jacob Derry**

B-1B Lancer

Air Force leaders have long lamented the B-1’s abysmal MC rates, which at one time dipped into the single digits as years of overuse in the Middle East nearly broke the fleet. The Lancer did not meet any of its annual aircraft availability or MC goals from 2011 to 2019, but USAF officials are optimistic about the future.

Air Force Global Strike Command boss Gen. Timothy M. Ray told Air Force Magazine in December 2019 that the fleet’s readiness had improved thanks to a focus on fleet management, additional maintenance help from Boeing, success in working through technical orders, and by addressing problems with the aircraft’s egress systems. That work brought the B-1 back into the deployment rotation.

In September, the fleet completed the eight-year, $1.3 billion Integrated Battle Station upgrade to modernize the jet’s datalinks, cockpit displays, and test system.

A structural fatigue test on the B-1, underway since 2012, is now expected to wrap up next year. An Air Force Materiel Command spokesman said the findings of the test are “driving a fleet safety analysis, which includes analyzing data and conducting research. Results are then applied to the fleet to determine which aircraft are at risk and when inspection and repairs should begin.”

Air Force Magazine previously reported the B-1 saw a 46.4 percent MC rate in fiscal 2019.

A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster assigned to Joint Base Charleston prepares for departure during PATRIOT South 2020 at the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center in Gulfport, Miss., on Feb. 29, 2020. Photo: Tech. Sgt. L. Roland Sturm/Air National Guard

C-17 Globemaster III

The roughly 16-year-old C-17 fleet averages around 15,300 flight hours per aircraft and is facing challenges associated with age and maintenance, according to the GAO. The Globemaster III failed to meet MC or aircraft availability rates from 2011 to 2019, as both figures slightly fell during this period. However, the fleet came within 1 percentage point of the goal in two of the years studied.

The number of aircraft undergoing thorough maintenance, scheduled or not, was largely to blame.

“Officials said that the C-17’s aircraft availability and mission-capable rates were lower in fiscal year 2019 than in fiscal year 2011 due to an increase in the amount of time needed to complete a scheduled, field-level maintenance inspection; a depot-level upgrade to the latest airplane tracking system used by the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic control; and supply challenges,” GAO said.

C-17s logged an MC rate of 82.2 percent in 2019, Air Force Magazine previously reported.

C-130J Super Hercules

Though the average age of the fleet is less than a decade old, the C-130J already “faces increasing maintenance requirements and parts obsolescence,” according to the GAO. The fleet met its aircraft availability rates in roughly half of the years studied but never hit its MC goals.

“According to Air Force officials, the aircraft availability rate decline was largely due to an increase in the amount of time the aircraft spent in depot maintenance,” GAO wrote.

“Depot inductions increased 400 percent overall and the associated downtime increased by 436 percent mostly due to the aircraft’s procurement history and programmed depot maintenance schedule. Older aircraft began to require recurring maintenance as newer aircraft continued to receive the initial maintenance,” according to the report.

The C-130J fleet recorded an MC rate of 77 percent in 2019, Air Force Magazine previously reported.

Air Force Reverses Tuition Assistance, AF COOL Changes for Fiscal 2021

Nov. 19, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Department of the Air Force has raised the military tuition assistance cap for Airmen and Space Professionals back to fiscal 2020 levels and restored funding for Air Force Credential Opportunities Online prep courses, it announced Nov. 19.

These changes, which have already taken effect, mean service members can apply for up to $4,500 in departmental military tuition assistance in fiscal 2021, a $750 jump over the original fiscal 2021 limit announced on Sept. 29. Airmen and Space Professionals may also apply for up to $4,500 in departmental funds to pay for AF COOL “boot camps” over the course of their entire careers, the release noted.

“We are excited our members are taking advantage of their time under COVID[-19] to improve themselves and pursue education,” said Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel, and Services Lt. Gen. Brian T. Kelly in the release. “The Department of the Air Force was able to reprioritize funding to encourage our service members to maximize their development through these educational benefits.”

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass praised the move in a Facebook post, noting that she’s “encouraged to see Airmen” chasing self-improvement amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She also said “the COOL piece is an even bigger win” than the tuition assistance cap increase, since many Airmen’s workloads make taking college or university courses impossible.

“Voluntary education and military tuition assistance programs continue to be important to the development of our force,” she added in the release.

In the same release, Chief Master Sgt. Roger A. Towberman, the Space Force’s senior enlisted adviser, expressed his approval of the move.

“I am thankful for great leaders who put service members first,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier to see us enable the best growth, education, and development possible.”

The tuition assistance cap was originally lowered to ensure the department’s tuition assistance dollars could be stretched out in an equitable manner, Air Force Magazine previously reported.

CENTCOM: Iraq Drawdown Coincides With Increased Capability of Local Forces

Nov. 19, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

Iraqi forces have shown their ability to maintain security, enabling the U.S. drawdown in the country despite increased attacks from Iranian proxies and an Islamic State group focused on rebuilding its caliphate, the head of U.S. forces in the region said Nov. 19.

“The progress of the Iraqi Security Forces has allowed the United States to reduce posture in Iraq,” U.S. Central Command boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. said during a virtual event hosted by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. “We have closed several bases and turned them over to Iraqi control. And we’re moving forward with the President’s decision to reduce our forces in Iraq to 2,500.”

Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller announced that plan, and the accompanying step of reducing U.S. forces in Afghanistan to the same level, by Jan. 15, 2021.

McKenzie said the U.S. military and diplomatic actions have largely “deterred” Iran within Iraq “because the regime now understands we possess both the capability and the will to respond,” following response to the ballistic missile attack and the American killing of Iranian Quds Force boss Qassem Soleimani in January.

At the same time, however, rocket and small arms attacks by Iranian proxies have “increased in scope and severity,” McKenzie said.

“Over the past year, Iranian-aligned proxies have conducted more than 50 rocket attacks on coalition bases, as well as our embassy in Baghdad, and more than 90 attacks on coalition logistics convoys,” he said. “In short, Iran is using Iraq as its proxy battleground against the United States, with Iran’s ultimate objective being to eject the United States and our forces from Iraq and the broader Middle East.”

Despite this pressure, Iraq has shown it wants to maintain its alliance with the U.S. and coalition as the fight against ISIS continues. Despite the planned reduction of 500 forces, 2,500 American troops will work with a similar number of coalition forces to help bolster Iraq’s capability to fight ISIS.

“While ISIS no longer controls territory, a recent estimate by the United Nations reported as many as 10,000 ISIS fighters still remain in Iraq and Syria, and they still have the capability to carry out attacks,” he said.

The group has “gone to ground” with the goal of maintaining a cyber presence, while also hoping to re-establish its physical “caliphate.” Military pressure in both Iraq and Syria is still needed, because attacks will likely continue in the form of an insurgency. Even the “brightest possible future will not be a bloodless future,” but the best end-state will be for local security forces to be able to contain ISIS without significant help, he said.

In the interim, U.S. and coalition support is still needed to keep ISIS down and prevent them from planning large attacks.

“What we want to focus on is preventing the organized, enabling, or detailed planning,” McKenzie said. “Because when you’re running for your life up and down the Euphrates River Valley, listening to the noise of an armed MQ-9 drone over head, it’s hard to think about conducting planning against Detroit.”

Aircrew Faulted for Landing Too Fast, Destroying C-130 in Camp Taji Mishap

Nov. 19, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

A C-130H crew landed too quickly, causing the aircraft to oscillate and then overrun the runway before crashing into a concrete barrier in June at Camp Taji, Iraq, destroying the Hercules, according to an Air Force investigation.

The C-130H, tail number 94-6706, assigned to the 165th Airlift Wing of the Georgia Air National Guard and flown by a crew from the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing, was flying a theater airlift sortie from Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, when the mishap occurred on June 8. All 26 aircrew and passengers survived, with four sustaining non-life-threatening injuries. The aircraft was a total loss valued at $35.9 million.

The C-130, callsign CROME60, took off without incident from Ali Al Salem and began its descent 59 minutes later into Camp Taji at about 10 p.m. local time for a night-vision landing, according to an Air Force Accident Investigation Board report released Nov. 18. During the descent, the aircrew turned earlier than its planned turn point and did not descend to the lower altitude as described in its flight plan.

The C-130 engaged its flaps to 100 percent while flying at about 157 knots indicated airspeed, though the recommended speed for 100 percent flaps is 145 knots indicated airspeed, according to the investigation. Two miles out from the airfield, the C-130 was flying at about 1,000 feet above the recommended glideslope for a landing at Camp Taji.

GPS data showed that when the C-130 crossed the runway threshold at the base, it was flying 151 knots, with the recommended landing speed for a C-130 at its loaded weight being 105 knots.

Because of the excessive speed, and the fact the C-130 was at a nose-down attitude, the aircraft generated lift causing it to oscillate or “porpoise” down the runway—an up and down movement similar to how the sea mammal swims. By the time the aircraft’s engines engaged reverse thrust and allowed it to settle onto wheels so its brakes could engage, there was only about 1,000 feet of runway left. It overran the runway, and ultimately slammed into the concrete barrier 600 feet beyond the end of the tarmac.

In the impact, all propellers, still in reverse, and the front of their reduction gear boxes came off their engines. Two external fuel tanks hit the barrier, and debris from aircraft parts scattered across the aircraft and the ground around it. All 26 aircrew and passengers were able to escape through paratroop doors.

The report states the primary cause of the mishap was the excessive speed above the landing velocity, which caused the oscillation during landing. Additionally, the aircrew failed to adequately assess risk, follow proper procedures, and had poor communication throughout the incident, the report states.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9:47 p.m. on Nov. 19 to correct the affiliation of the unit flying the aircraft.

Pregnant Airmen Needed to Test Out USAF’s Maternity Flight Suits

Nov. 19, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Air Force Uniform Office is searching for 25 pregnant Airmen at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to test the service’s new Maternity Flight Duty Uniform.

Once the service selects volunteers for the effort, it’ll take participants’ measurements, fit them for their flight suits, have them don them for four weeks, and then ask them to report back about how the outfits held up “during their normal duty day,” according to a Nov. 18 Air Force Life Cycle Management Center release.

“Current aircrew members are modifying their flight duty uniforms, at a significant personal financial cost, or they are borrowing bigger uniforms from their husbands, which creates a safety of flight issue,” noted 1st Lt. Avery Thomson, the office’s lead program manager for maternity development efforts, in the release. “The Maternity Flight Duty Uniform will help remove a barrier for approximately 400 pregnant Airmen each year.”

Airmen who are interested in taking part must complete the survey located here using a Common Access Card-enabled device, and are advised to reach out to Thomson via the Global Address book with any survey-related questions, the release stated.

The new uniforms are among steps the Air Force is taking to help encourage more women to pursue rated careers and not force them to choose between becoming aviators and mothers.

The service also recently got the ball rolling on the production of female-specific body armor for security forces Airmen, Air Force Magazine previously reported.

Space Force Plans Ahead for Future of Rocket Launches

Nov. 19, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

The Space Force is thinking ahead to what it might need from rocket providers at the end of the decade, as it plans for the next phase of the National Security Space Launch program.

The service released a request for information on Nov. 10 to open a more formal discussion between the government and launch companies of all sizes on the path forward. Military officials are considering rocket launches for everything from transporting cargo through orbit to points around the globe, to rapidly upgrading and repopulating groups of intelligence and communications satellites if attacked.

“Given the rapidly increasing threat from our nation’s adversaries, the United States Space Force is focused on ensuring our national space capabilities retain their technological advantage and maintain U.S. superiority in the space domain,” the RFI said. “To that end, the USSF is considering establishing a research, development, test, and evaluation program to accelerate the development of transformational commercial space access, mobility, and logistics technologies that can be on-ramped when available.”

The global space industry is undergoing a major transformation as countries and companies plan new ways to use and travel the cosmos. Cutting the cost and time it takes to put a satellite or other spacecraft on orbit has started to revolutionize military planning, which now prioritizes ease of access to space.

“We’re really interested in where innovative industries are seeing launch going in the future and what they’re doing to get to that future,” Col. Robert P. Bongiovi, the Space and Missile Systems Center’s launch enterprise director, said Nov. 19. “It’s not just, how do we get from Earth to orbit? What are the different on-orbit [concepts of operations] that might drive different launch needs, what do we need to be doing to get these future constellations up there?”

Speaking at an AFA Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event, Bongiovi said the RFI will shape Space Force investments starting in 2025. The service recently decided to keep United Launch Alliance and SpaceX as its two major rocket manufacturers under Phase Two of the NSSL program. The companies will handle many key military and intelligence launches starting in fiscal 2022 as part of that effort.

The next phase of NSSL is slated for the late 2020s, when the U.S. hopes to have set up camp on the moon and space operations promise to look markedly different. Bongiovi wants to avoid locking the military into particular requirements that could be obsolete by then, while still imagining how to maintain a growing set of space technologies that terrestrial troops increasingly rely on.

“This is why we’re trying to keep our aperture open,” he said. “Maybe there’s a part of the contract that is very focused on the strategic capability and that’s what gets us to the end of the decade or into the next decade.”

Not everything will be so long-term, though: SMC is “considering [research and development] investments in technologies that can be implemented within the next three to five years, as well as more revolutionary future capabilities which can be realized over the next decade and beyond,” the RFI said.

Officials could shape the program to focus on new technologies that may make military launches easier, cheaper, and capable of handing farther travel to places like cislunar orbit. They may also move away from the Phase Two approach of tapping two companies for heavy-lift rockets and let more participants into the program.

Bongiovi indicated the Space Force will try to shape NSSL to benefit the military, commercial players, and NASA, rather than only considering its own needs.

“We really need to understand better where things are going and where we need to go, and put that priority in place and put it against the rest of the Space Force’s priorities” to see what works, he said.

Petition Aims to Win Berlin ‘Candy Bomber’ the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Nov. 18, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

A petition on WhiteHouse.gov is looking to get retired Air Force Col. Gail S. “Hal” Halvorsen—a 100-year-old veteran who flew the C-47 and C-54 aircraft in Germany during the Berlin Airlift—the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Halvorsen is often referred to as the “Candy Bomber,” because he used to attach candy to parachutes constructed from handkerchiefs and string and drop them from his C-54 to try to bring cheer to the children below.

Retired Col. Gail S. “Hal” Halvorsen, known commonly as the Berlin “Candy Bomber,” stands in front of a C-54 Skymaster like the one he flew at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Arizona. **Photo: Bennie J. Davis III/USAF**

“The Presidential Medal of Freedom is typically awarded for especially meritorious contribution to either ‘security or national interests of the United States,’ ‘world peace,’ or ‘cultural or other significant public or private endeavors;’ Col. Halvorsen’s accomplishments throughout his life encompasses all of these areas,” the petition web page states. “With this petition, we are requesting the White House consider Col. Halvorsen for the Presidential Medal of Freedom as soon as possible to honor this extraordinary man.”

As of press time, the petition had garnered 5,794 of the 100,000 signatures needed by Nov. 22 to merit a White House response.

“Anyone who believes in freedom and the power of good to triumph over tyranny will join me in making the case for Gail Halvorsen, an incredible Airman and an inspiration for us all,” Air Force Association President and retired USAF Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright said.

Col. Gail S. "Hal" Halvorsen — Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Gail S. “Hal” Halvorsen, also known as the candy bomber, waits in excitement before dropping over 300 candy parachutes to children in Hailey, Idaho, on May 26, 2011. Halvorsen was a command pilot during the Berlin Airlift. **Photo: Staff Sgt. Gina Chiaverotti-Paige**

“The U.S. had quickly recognized the publicity value of what came to be called Operation Little Vittles,” Air Force Magazine previously reported. “Commanders charged Halvorsen with organizing a larger airdrop. Eventually dozens of pilots were involved.”

German children in West Berlin wave to a U.S. Air Force transport aircraft as it comes in to land at Templehof Airport during “Operation Vittles,” better known as the Berlin Airlift in 1948. **Photo: USAF**

U.S. pilots dropped more than 20 tons of sweets from a quarter of a million parachutes by the time the Airlift concluded in mid-1949, according to a USAF release.

Halvorsen’s post-Airlift career included a stint at the Wright Air Development Center in Dayton, Ohio, a transition into the Air Force’s space program, and eventually leading “a satellite-tracking facility at Vandenberg” Air Force Base in California.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Nov. 19 at 8:51 a.m. EST to correct the total number of signatures needed to merit a White House reply to the petition.

PACAF: China, Russia Have Taken Notice of Increased USAF Bomber Ops

Nov. 18, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

China and Russia have noticed an increase in USAF bomber missions in the Indo-Pacific, and they are starting to respond in their own ways, the top USAF officer in the region said.

The Air Force in April stopped permanently basing bombers at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and started deploying short-term “dynamic force employment” task forces of bombers in the region on short notice. B-1Bs from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, recently deployed to Andersen under this model for training with partners in the region.

Since shifting to dynamic force employment, “We’ve actually flown more of the bomber-type missions than we did in the last nine months of the continuous bomber presence,” Pacific Air Forces boss Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach told reporters Nov. 18 during a virtual roundtable. In addition to flying missions from bases like Andersen or Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, there have been several long-range missions for bombers that begin and end at their continental United States home bases.

“They fly all the way to either the East China Sea, and sometimes we go [over] the South China Sea and execute the mission,” Wilsbach said. “And the really cool thing about these is that it’s not just one bomber or four bombers flying a straight line for sometimes 24 hours, there’s training events that are occurring all throughout. We train with our allies and partners, we train with the joint forces, and of course we do train with the United States Air Force.”

The missions have brought an uptick in Chinese and Russian intercepts.

“They’ll send their fighters out, and of course, through our collections we can tell that they see us with their radars, and then we have other methods to figure out what they’re thinking,” Wilsbach said.

Russia also has increased its “countering missions” near Alaska, he said. During the summer, the Air Force flew a large mission in the region “and then a few days later, the Russians reciprocated with a pretty large mission into the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone,” he added. “And so there’s a little bit of back and forth there with flying missions inside of our air defense identification zone.”

China bombers also have been “quite active in the South China Sea, in particular, almost every day” and sometimes in the East China Sea, Wilsbach said. “So, we’re seeing their activities perhaps as counter to what we’ve been doing.”