8th AF Boss on Hypersonics, B-21, Long-Range Strike, and B-52 Re-Engining

Aug. 31, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak

The AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon, likely to be the Air Force’s first operational hypersonic missile, could be a temporary measure until more advanced types come along, said 8th Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Mark E. Weatherington.

On a livestream event with AFA’s Mitchell Institute, Weatherington, who is also the commander of the Joint Global Strike Operations Center at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., said the service plans to try out “a range of capabilities” in hypersonics, and industry is competing for those programs right now.

Video: The Mitchell Institute on YouTube

“I think we’ll see kind of an uneven development,” he said of hypersonics. “We’ll see some systems that are early to the fight, and ARRW may be one of those.” Being early, it will “demonstrate some capability” and give Global Strike Command a chance to experiment with concepts of operation for hypersonic systems. It will help the command decide: “What are our considerations for planning and executing and integrating them into the fight?” Weatherington said.

But there will also be “room for … a range of weapons” in different size categories, he said.

“If you’re talking something really large, it’s probably going to be on a bomber aircraft. But you’re also going to want to develop some that are a little bit smaller, that are hypersonic, [with] maybe less range … or payload” that could fit on bombers or fighters. Key to their development, he said, will be understanding “the target, where it’s at, where it’s going, how do we provide updates if there is a longer time of flight, even though it’s hypersonic.”

The Air Force recently asked industry leaders to answer a request for information on an air-breathing hypersonic missile that would be smaller than the boost-glide ARRW. That new system is known as Mayhem, and it builds at least somewhat on the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept, or HAWC, the Air Force has been exploring with DARPA.

On the B-21, Weatherington said the first bomber, which is now under construction, will fly “no earlier than ’22,” which is slightly beyond a late 2021 estimate offered by Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen W. “Seve” Wilson last year. Otherwise, though, he said the new secret bomber is “on track, on schedule,” and coming in at “a little less” than the predicted unit cost.

He confirmed that the Air Force is considering accelerating the program—not its development, but the rate at which the service buys the airplane. That would allow the Air Force to more quickly eliminate the B-2 and B-1 bombers, reducing the logistics and training footprint of the bomber force and helping it become more efficient.

“If we get a steeper ramp, then you’ll see an earlier IOC,” or initial operational capability date, he said.

Weatherington said it’s likely the bomber force will contract before it begins to grow again. That will create a challenge for building a seasoned bomber pilot force, so Global Strike Command is working with Air Education and Training Command to push more B-1 Weapon System Officers into pilot training. There were two B-1 WSOs in the first Pilot Training Next class last year, he noted.

“We have to leverage the talent” already in the force, he said.

The arrival of the B-21 will change the complexion of the bomber fleet considerably, Weatherington noted. “Your bomber force will become two-thirds low observable, from one that is only 20 percent LO today.” This is a “big change” and affects “how we plan, operate, the facilities we use, everything.” Spreading the stealth enterprise “across multiple bases instead of just one base, currently at Whiteman (Air Force Base, Mo.), will force us to organize and operate differently than we do now,” he said.

While he’s aware of calls to cancel the Long Range Standoff missile on the grounds that a cruise missile with either conventional or nuclear warheads would be destabilizing, Weatherington said it has been that way for decades with the Air-Launched Cruise Missile. Adversaries also seem to “embrace ambiguity” in capabilities, “from ‘little green men’ to cruise missiles to ballistic missiles,” he said. The LRSO is “not escalatory.”

“I’m sure they would be delighted” if the U.S. unilaterally moved to limit its bomber capabilities, Weatherington asserted. Cruise missiles, he said, “are not new,” and he lamented that “we get trapped in these intense theoretical debates” that limit U.S. capabilities needlessly.

As for the escalatory nature of cruise missiles, “we message intentions. We monitor telltale signs” of adversary movements toward a first strike, he said.

The LRSO program downselected from two contractors to one earlier this year, and that step was also early. This in turn means the program could be accelerated, Weatherington pointed out.

“The sole source [decision] in April provided an opportunity to accelerate some of the milestones; Milestone B or IOC by about a year each,” he said. “Global Strike Command … will look for opportunities to accelerate it.” He said the missile has “good funding and support.”

While the idea of an Arsenal Plane has been around for decades, Weatherington said, there are problems with two ideas recently getting attention: The idea of adapting a commercial airliner as cruise missile or standoff weapon carrier, or of using airlift aircraft to carry “palletized munitions.”

“I think when you do the analysis you find that it’s actually cheaper and more effective to purpose-build an airplane that does all this,” he said, acknowledging that the B-52 already is an “Arsenal Plane,” but not answering a question on why another platform might be needed to supplement it in such a role.

“If there was a way to rapidly and easily convert” an existing platform for such a role, it would be “a neat route to go,” he said.

Before pursuing palletized munitions, he said, planners should think about “how much excess airlift capacity they think we have” and then weigh that against strategies requiring sudden, heavy movement of people, vehicles, and equipment.

“You may not have as much excess airlift [as] you think you have … for delivery of those palletized munitions,” he said, but it’s “something to watch.”

Weatherington said that when the B-52 engine replacement program gets going, the fleet will see some “30-40 refurbs per year” of their powerplants, suggesting the installation program could happen over a period of three or so years instead of the 10 that AFGSC has previously mentioned. However, he noted the B-52 will also be getting a new radar, is finishing a connectivity upgrade, and will see improvements to its internal weapon carriage capability. The latter could provide the capacity equivalent of 20 additional bombers, he said.

The 8th Air Force leader also said there should be some joint analysis about how much long-range strike capabilities the other services require.

“I’m not surprised, given the capabilities that near-peer adversaries possess—and are developing—that all the services are looking for ways to influence warfighting outcomes from a greater range. And to some degree, this exploration of diversity in capabilities is vital” to building a competitive force.

However, the Pentagon “should absolutely conduct some sort of joint analysis of different long-range strike capabilities. Some redundancy … may be needed. Some differentiation is essential.”

NATO: Russian Su-27 Violates Danish Airspace While Pursuing B-52

Aug. 31, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

A Russian fighter jet pursuing an Air Force B-52 violated Danish air space on Aug. 28, the same day a separate set of Russian fighters intercepted another B-52 in a manner U.S. officials say was unprofessional and unsafe.

The B-52, deployed to Europe as part of a bomber task force, was flying over the Baltic Sea as part of the “Allied Sky” flyover of NATO nations when a Russian Su-27 scrambled from Kaliningrad and pursued the bomber from international airspace, flying “well into Danish airspace” in the vicinity of the Island of Bornholm, NATO Allied Air Command said in a release. The act is a “significant violation” of Denmark’s airspace, according to the alliance.

“This incident demonstrates Russia’s disrespect of international norms and for the sovereign airspace of an Allied nation,” said USAF Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and NATO’s Allied Air Command, in the release. “We remain vigilant, ready, and prepared to secure NATO airspace 24/7.”

Danish Quick Reaction Alert aircraft launched to “counter the violation,” but the Russian fighters had turned back. The Danish jets stayed airborne and patrolled the area.

The intrusion was the first of its kind “for several years and indicates a new level of Russian provocative behavior,” NATO said.

Earlier the same day, the two Russian Su-27s intercepted another B-52 in the Black Sea in an “unsafe and unprofessional manner,” crossing within 100 feet of the nose of the B-52 while at the same altitude and in afterburner. Video of the intercept showed the B-52 experiencing turbulence because of the maneuver.

“Actions like these increase the potential for midair collisions, are unnecessary, and inconsistent with good airmanship and international flight rules,” Harrigian said in a release about the incident. “While the Russian aircraft were operating in international airspace, they jeopardized the safety of flight of the aircraft involved. We expect them to operate within international standards set to ensure safety and prevent accidents,” he added.

Incirlik Air Base Trains ‘Multi-Capable’ Airmen

Aug. 31, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force’s push for deployable, multi-capable Airmen has extended to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, a base on the southern flank of NATO, near Russia’s doorstep.

Agile Combat Employment, or ACE, has taken hold service-wide, with wings and major commands exercising how it can have one Airman serve in multiple roles when needed, to be able to run combat operations with a small footprint. At Incirlik, Airmen from across the 39th Air Base Wing trained with U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawks deployed to learn these new capabilities, Wing Commander Col. John B. Creel said in an interview.

“If you know more than just your one job, I can send that person that knows how to do more than one thing and I don’t have to send maybe more than that one person,” Creel said. “So the footprint that I need to move to another location for a shorter period of time, that can then project the … combat power, is smaller than if I have to send every single person that does this specific job.”

Airmen from different Air Force Specialty Codes first attended a three-day ACE “Academy,” where they worked in the classroom and on the flightline with the Army learning how to protect, fuel, marshal, and get parts for the Black Hawk. Some Airmen had never been around helicopters before, but they learned the basics on how to keep a small base of the choppers running if necessary. These Airmen, who got a certificate and coin showing their “multi-capable” role, will help direct future training events and exercises so in the future the base can send aircraft to austere locations for larger-scale events, and work with Turkish personnel as well, Creel said.

“We’re trying to make it to where our Airmen own the training, they just go out and have classes on other jobs,” Creel said. “So, if you’re a logistical Airman, maybe you go learn how to guard an aircraft. Maybe you’re an airfield manager, maybe you learn how to not only refuel the aircraft, but you also know where to go to get parts for the aircraft. We’re trying to do that to where you have the multi-capable Airman, and not just a specialty Airman on one thing.”

Bases across U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa did not get specific tasks, but instead were directed to “look at what we had available” to train on ACE, Creel said. Other wings have done training events where they have forward deployed aircraft, for example. Eventually, the wings will come together for additional exercises.

“We’re not just going to be doing this here at Incirlik,” Creel said. “It’s going to be in every other wing, and we’re fine tuning how we’re going to do it at each base initially, and then we’re going to start working together.”

Creel said the training at Incirlik is just beginning. It needs to extend beyond his tenure at the base, or the time each individual is based in Turkey. It needs to be a “three- to five-year plan, maybe even 10.”

“It needs to be a strategic thought,” he said. “It’s not just something that we’re going to do for a while and then, you know, focus on something else. This is how we deter aggression here on the southern flank. … This is extremely important way down south on the (U.S. European Command) side. It’s all about the location and [ability] to project the power when we need to.”

DARPA Names Tech Executive as New Director

Aug. 31, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Technology executive Victoria Coleman will run the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as its 22nd director, the Pentagon announced Aug. 31.

Coleman has worked on artificial intelligence, microelectronics, mobile devices, and other consumer electronics over more than 30 years in academia, government, and the private sector. She was the founding chair of DARPA’s Microsystems Exploratory Council and a member of the Defense Science Board.

Her resume spans time at household names like Yahoo!, where she served as vice president of engineering; HP, where she was vice president of software engineering in the Palm global smartphone business unit; and Intel, where she was security initiatives director, DOD said. She also worked as the chief executive officer of Atlas AI; senior vice president at Technicolor; and chief technology officer of Connected Home Business.

According to her LinkedIn, Coleman recently was senior adviser to the director of the California-based Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute. She’s been a member of the board of directors at the Bay Area’s Public Library of Science, and of Lockheed Martin’s technology advisory group.

She is the third woman to lead the military’s secretive tech development agency since its inception in 1958. DARPA is playing a key role in forward-looking aircraft designs, autonomy and AI, and new battle management concepts that are among the Air Force’s top priorities.

“During this era of great power competition, DARPA is critical to strengthening the U.S. military’s technological dominance and advancing innovations that benefit our warfighters. We are excited to welcome Dr. Coleman as the new director and look forward to building upon DARPA’s unmatched record of achievement,” Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael J.K. Kratsios said in a release.

Former DARPA Director Steven Walker resigned in January. His deputy, Peter Highnam, has temporarily held the top post since then.

Coleman will take over from Highnam in mid- to late September, a DARPA spokesman said. Highnam will return to serving as deputy director.

Brown: Change Now or Risk ‘Losing a High-End Fight,’ and ‘Quality Airmen’

Aug. 31, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force, under the direction of its new top uniformed leader, risks losing its superiority and a future conflict if change does not begin immediately, from how the service buys and evaluates weapons to how it trains and deploys Airmen, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. writes in his first directive to the service.

In an eight-page “strategic approach” memorandum to the force, titled “Accelerate Change or Lose,” Brown issues stern warnings on the ramifications of not taking threats seriously, and the importance of the Air Force clearly making its case to the country at large, saying failure is a realistic consequence.

“Today we operate in a dynamic environment with factors that have us taking various actions to continue the mission and take care of Airmen and families,” Brown wrote. “As a result, we have a window of opportunity. Our Air Force must accelerate change to control and exploit the air domain to the standard the nation expects and requires from us. If we don’t change—if we fail to adapt—we risk losing the certainty with which we have defended our national interests for decades. We risk losing a high-end fight. We risk losing quality Airmen, our credibility, and our ability to secure our future.”

In the “months ahead,” beginning with action orders expected in the coming weeks, Brown said USAF will take steps that will begin to change its future, though he acknowledged some of the more broad measures will take time and collaboration within the Pentagon, with Capitol Hill, and with industry.

“We’ve got to move faster,” Brown told a small group of reporters Aug. 31. “We’ve got to move at … at least the same pace that our adversaries are moving. And so that’s why we’ve got to adjust. And then the other part of that is, we’ve got to be adaptable and threat focused. So if the threat changes, then we’ve got to be willing to change, and ready to change in the same way so we can stay several steps ahead of our adversary.”

Possible Loss of Air Dominance

Air Force leaders have repeatedly said in recent years that air superiority, which the U.S. military has enjoyed uncontested for decades, is not guaranteed. Brown, however, issues an even more stern warning.

The loss of dominance is realistic, and closer on the horizon than most are willing to admit. China and other competitors “have made and continue aggressive efforts to negate long-enduring U.S. warfighting advantages,” he said. Beijing has resourced and introduced new systems that are “specifically designed to defeat the U.S. Air Force capabilities that have underpinned the American way of war for a generation,” warns Brown, who most recently ran Pacific Air Forces.

“While we and industry previously enjoyed the benefit of time, when U.S. Air Force dominance seemed unassailable, we are now seeing competitors outpace our current decision structures and fielding timelines,” Brown wrote.

In the future, Airmen will face advanced weapon systems, and have to fight for localized air superiority. By the nature of the service, Airmen will be the first to respond to an emerging crisis, while also providing deterrence.

“Tomorrow’s Airmen are more likely to fight in highly contested environments, and must be prepared to fight through combat attrition rates and risks to the nation that are more akin to the World War II era than the uncontested environments to which we have since become accustomed,” Brown writes. “The forces and operational concepts we need must be different.”

In the call with reporters, Brown said if the Air Force just ignores this possible reality “and [does] not talk about what’s at risk and the potential for high attrition rates, and we just kind of continue on the path we’re on, then shame on us. … I think I owe it to the Air Force, to our senior leadership, the discussion on what the potential is. And when you talk about a peer competitor and a high-end fight, that is one of the facts that we have to be thinking about. We can’t just wish that part away.”

‘Good Enough Today Will Fail Tomorrow’

The Air Force’s current requirements for its weapons systems and capabilities were designed decades ago, and “since then, much has changed.” In addition to the obvious advances in technology, the source of that technology has changed.

“Unlike the past, much of the emerging technologies that will determine our future are no longer created or funded by the Department of Defense,” Brown writes. “The processes with which we build capabilities for our Airmen have not adapted to these changes; the ways in which we test, evaluate, and train with them do not meet current or future demands.”

The Air Force must find new operational concepts and ways to bring on new systems more quickly, as opposed to the traditional, drawn-out process. This includes better ways of experimentation, rapid prototyping, and more collaboration with industry.

“We must also use this opportunity, given the stand-up of the U.S. Space Force, to evaluate and adjust internal U.S. Air Force structures and decision processes to include a renewed look at service-assigned roles and missions internal to the Department of the Air Force and even within the Joint Force,” Brown writes. “We must also consider how to achieve improved interoperability and data sharing with our closest allies and partners so that we can fly, fight, and win together.”

Collaborate ‘Within and Throughout’

The Air Force needs to successfully make its case before any changes can take root, especially with regards to how it can divest or take risk in legacy missions. Congress has historically opposed any Air Force move to get rid of older equipment, so “navigating the challenging times ahead requires effective collaboration among all stakeholders to acknowledge, balance, and share risk over time,” Brown wrote. Within the Air Force, the service must address its own impediments and acknowledge that future budget pressures “will require the most difficult force structure decisions in generations. We cannot shy away from these decisions,” he added.

Past force structure decisions and deferred modernization, which were made with the “best intentions, reflecting perceived needs at the time,” have put the Air Force behind potential adversaries such as Russia and China. To change this, there needs to be “ruthless prioritization” in modernization and changes to missions and capabilities, which is “informed by how they fare against our understanding of competitors’ theories of victory, ways of war, and force development strategies.”

In future acquisition, focus should be on the overall mission, rather than specific airframes and platforms—the basis of USAF’s decision to move away from Joint STARS recapitalization and toward the Airborne Battle Management System. Furthermore, Brown said the Air Force needs to be able to end programs when it chooses.

“Programs that once held promise, but are no longer affordable or will not deliver needed capabilities on competition-relevant timelines, must be diverted or terminated,” Brown writes. “Cost, schedule, and performance metrics alone are no longer sufficient metrics of acquisition success. We must be able to account for the interactive nature of competition and continuously assess ourselves relative to our adversaries’ adaptation.”

Changes also need to happen within the Air Force’s own personnel structure. The Air Force also needs to change the way it deploys its Airmen, including finding ways to “enable our Airmen to rest, recover, and train for the future,” writes Brown. “Innovative Airmen are diligently building better ways to generate and present Air Forces to the Joint Force. Garrison structures and processes must align to these new models, eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy and redundancies, and repurposing manpower to emergent and under-resourced requirements.”

The service has multiple deployment models, making it difficult to understand even within the Air Force, “much less [amongst] our joint partners …,” Brown said. The service is looking at streamlining these different models to better let Airmen train how they fight, and Brown said he wants to “dive in” to these discussions to find the “best model that provides a level of readiness, and ability to train forces, and how we are organized at home station.”

Empowering Airmen

Operating in a contested environment means Airmen need “maximum delegation, trust, and empowerment” before a conflict starts, Brown said. This means Airmen at all levels need to be empowered to make decisions while also being held accountable, and leaders need to train to make the right decisions, while creating an environment that enables everyone to understand their contributions. In addition, the understanding of possible threats needs to start early.

“Starting with recruitment and accession, and through all of our Airmen and leader development programs, we must develop the Airmen we need for the high-end fight,” Brown writes. “The U.S. Air Force must develop and build deep institutional understanding of China and Russia.”

To keep the right Airmen, the Air Force needs to create an environment where all can reach their full potential by valuing diversity and enhancing the quality of service and quality of life for them and their families.

The Consequences of Failure

Wargames and modeling have repeatedly shown that if the Air Force fails to adapt, there will be mission failure, Brown warns. Rules-based international order may “disintegrate, and our national interests will be significantly challenged,” according to the memo. Without the changes he outlines, Brown warns the Air Force will not be prepared to do what the country asks of it.

“Urgent actions are required now to secure the U.S. Air Force’s continued ability to deliver global effects on strategically relevant timelines. … Our nation has come to expect much from its Air Force; we must rise to the challenges of tomorrow’s highly competitive environment to deliver.”

Esper Staffer Becomes Top DOD Space Policy Official

Aug. 31, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Justin T. Johnson, a senior staffer to Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, has taken over as the Pentagon’s top space policy official, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Uriah L. Orland told Air Force Magazine.

Johnson is now acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, after his predecessor Stephen L. Kitay left for the private sector Aug. 21. DOD has not said publicly whether Johnson will permanently hold the position.

Kitay departed after three years as the Pentagon’s space policy boss.

The handoff comes as the Pentagon further stands up its Space Force, juggles multiple space-focused development offices, and crafts strategy and policy to establish a broader military presence in space and protect U.S. assets like satellites. Johnson will have a say in which military resources should move from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force into the Space Force in the coming years.

Johnson most recently served as Esper’s deputy chief of staff, where he offered advice on issues like the military budget, reform, and management. Before that, he was the deputy secretary of defense’s top space adviser and ran the Space Working Group that drafted a proposal to create the new Space Force, according to his official biography.

He was an early defense staffer in the Trump administration, as one of 10 experts that made up the DOD “landing team” during the presidential transition in 2016 and 2017. The transition team plucked him from his job as a defense budget analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation. He then helped create the fiscal 2017 and 2018 budget proposals in the Pentagon comptroller’s office, his official biography said.

His LinkedIn resume also includes time on Capitol Hill, including more than three years as former Rep. Todd Akin’s (R-Mo.) military legislative assistant while he sat on the House Armed Services Committee, and two years as Rep. Doug Lamborn’s deputy chief of staff and MLA. Lamborn represents the Colorado Springs, Colo., area—the longtime military space operations hub that contains Schriever Air Force Base, Peterson Air Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, and the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Colorado Springs is vying to continue serving as the home of U.S. Space Command, which is temporarily headquartered at Peterson while DOD decides on the best long-term location. Johnson will be part of those discussions over the next several months.

Register Now for Virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference

Aug. 31, 2020

The Air Force Association’s annual Air, Space & Cyber Conference kicks off Sept. 14 with Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett and Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. The annual conference, which will be held virtually this year for the first time, runs through Sept. 16. Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond speaks on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

Conference attendance is free for military members and defense civilians, and rates for industry participants are discounted for AFA members (and from traditional rates for in-person participants). Registration is open now and space is limited, so early registration is encouraged.

Other speakers include Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper, the senior enlisted leaders of both the Air and Space Forces, and more than two dozen panel discussions featuring Air Force, Space Force, and industry leaders. A virtual industry expo and opportunities to schedule meetings and win prizes are also included.

With the theme “Aerospace Nation: Air, Space & Cyber Forces in the Fight,” the event will present the best opportunity this year for Airmen, Space Professionals, defense civilians, and industry leaders to gain direct insights into the plans, policies, and vision of Air Force and Space Force leadership, as well as emerging trends and developments in aerospace technology.

Barksdale Bombers Home, Operations Back to Normal

Aug. 30, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak

The 2nd Bomb Wing’s B-52s have returned to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and operations there have returned to a normal operating tempo just two days after Hurricane Laura swept toward nearby Shreveport and threatened grave damage, a wing spokesman said.

Laura was still a Category 1 storm pushing winds in excess of 85 miles per hour when it passed within a few miles of Barksdale, in northwest Louisiana, but the base itself saw far less fierce winds and only suffered minor damage and flooding, the spokesman said. Airmen on base took precautionary measures, such as boarding up windows and deploying sandbags in areas prone to flooding during heavy rains.

“Although minor cleanup efforts will continue, damage was deemed minimal and base leadership has determined the installation is ready to resume normal operations,” the spokesman reported. Damage included some downed trees and an interruption of power for some off-base.

Col. Mark Dmytryszyn, 2nd Bomb Wing commander, thanked “Team Barksdale and our Ark-La-Tex partners for their energy and attentiveness in preparing for the storm, thus enabling a speedy return to normalcy for our warrior Airmen,” he said in a statement for the press. “Our long-range strike capabilities were unaffected, and … we remain at the ready for the nation.” As a precautionary measure, most of the base’s roughly 47 B-52H bombers relocated to Minot Air Force Base, N.D., USAF’s other B-52 base, for two days while the storm passed.

Statewide, Louisiana recorded at least 10 deaths due to the hurricane, mostly in the southwestern coastal areas, where the storm came ashore as a powerful Category 4 hurricane with winds in excess of 135 miles per hour. A forecast storm surge was not as bad as initially feared, but destruction was widespread in the portion of the state near Lake Charles. Louisiana authorities predict power and water outages in the coastal areas near Texas could last for weeks.

Biden, Loh Praise National Guard at Virtual Conference

Aug. 30, 2020 | By Jennifer Hlad

The National Guard is the “backbone of our nation,” former Vice President Joe Biden told attendees of the virtual National Guard Association of the United States conference in a speech Aug. 29.

“It takes incredible bravery, incredible courage, incredible guts to be a citizen Soldier, citizen Airman,” said Biden, whose late son, Beau, served in the Delaware Army National Guard.

Biden said that if he is elected President, he will relaunch the Joining Forces initiative, which was originally created in 2011 by his wife, Jill, and former First Lady Michelle Obama to support troops, veterans, and military families.

“We’ll fight for you, I promise. We’ll work for you, I promise. And we’ll serve you and your families as hard as you fight for, work for, and serve our communities. You deserve no less. We owe you that,” he said.

Biden, like many of the other speakers at the virtual conference, highlighted some of the disparate missions the National Guard has responded to this year: Supporting COVID-19 testing and relief efforts, helping keep the peace during protests over racial inequality, leading the responses to devastation from hurricanes and other natural disasters, and fighting wildfires in California and Colorado.

Early in 2020, it became clear the National Guard motto of “Always Ready, Always There,” would be put to the test, said Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh, director of the Air National Guard.

“The Air National Guard has demonstrated just how ready we are to take on an incredibly diverse set of domestic operations,” Loh said, quipping that while 92 percent of their equipment is dual use, “It quickly became apparent that 100 percent of our incredible Airmen are absolutely dual use.”

“When calamity strikes, whether at home or abroad, your National Guard is there,” Loh said, “And 2020 does not seem to want to let up.”

But as “interesting” as 2020 has been, National Guard Bureau Director Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson said, it is “just the most recent example of what we have done for over 384 years: delivering combat readiness and response capability and capacity when our nation needs us.”

“There is no limit to what our country may ask of us, and we continue to show there is no limit to what we can accomplish,” Hokanson added. “We do not always know we’re making a difference, but I can assure you, as Guardsmen, you’re making a difference every single day.”