Brown: ‘Accelerate Change or Lose’

Brown: ‘Accelerate Change or Lose’

Aug. 30, 2020 | By Jennifer Hlad

The Air Force has a window of opportunity to change and it must do so quickly, because “our advantage as a nation, as an Air Force, as a joint team, is eroding,” Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said Aug. 29, noting the service this week will release a paper called, “Accelerate Change or Lose.”

The Air Force has been engaged in conflict—mainly in the Middle East—for the last 30 years, he explained, while “at the same time, our adversaries, …China and Russia, have done things to accelerate and or move to impact our advantage. And so, our advantage is eroding, so that’s why I say accelerate change or lose,” Brown said during a speech at the virtual National Guard Association of the United States conference. 

The potential consequences of not adapting are dire, Brown said: “Look at losing a great power competition. Look at losing a high-end fight. Look at losing quality Airmen, losing our credibility. And, unfortunately, I’m also thinking about how we might lose aspects of our national security.”

Brown outlined four “key factors” that will allow the service to accelerate that change now. The first is the stand-up of the Space Force. 

“We weren’t given any additional manpower to stand up the Space Force,” he said,” And so, as the Space Force stands up, it gives us an opportunity to look at ourselves internally … and make some changes.”

The COVID-19 pandemic and the changes that have been required because of that are another factor, as is the increased focus on racial disparity in the United States, he said. 

“We’re taking a hard look at ourselves, not only as a country, but really across the Air Force as well,” he said. 

The fourth factor that is providing the opportunity for change is defense funding, he said. 

Brown believes that “no matter who gets elected in November, the budget has already hit the high-water mark for the Department of Defense,” which means the service must take a “hard look” at itself and “make some tough decisions.” 

The new Chief is also focused on how to “empower Airmen and build leaders,” he said, describing a scenario in which communication lines are compromised and Airmen in the field must make decisions without guidance from commanders. 

“You can’t do that waiting until you get into a high-end fight,” he said. “Those are things we’ve got to be able to do on a day-to-day basis.” 

Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, speaking after Brown at the virtual NGAUS conference, also highlighted the need for rapid change, “to stay ahead of our adversaries and competitors.”

Space power is “absolutely systemic to our national power. It fuels our American way of life. It fuels our American way of war. It fuels our economy. There’s nothing that we do as a nation that isn’t enabled by space,” he said. But, there are now “multiple threats” putting U.S. satellites at risk. 

Still, Raymond said, he has “a much easier job than Gen. Brown.”

While Brown “has to take an organization and transform it, we get an opportunity to start with a clean sheet of paper in the United States Space Force, and to be bold in our efforts, and to start fresh on everything,” he said.

Large organizations can’t move fast enough to do what’s necessary in the space realm, he said, so Space Force “must be small, we must be agile.” To that end, the service has been “slashing bureaucracy,” which should also shrink the “decision space,” or the space between those who make the decisions and those who do the work, he said. 

“We’re going to increase our accountability and increase our speed,” Raymond said. “So we’re excited about that going forward.” 

As for the Air Force, Brown said it can’t change by itself, and must collaborate and communicate with Congress, with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, with the Air National Guard, and with industry partners.

“We’ve got to have a conversation. We can’t wait to the very end, and table drop a good idea and expect everybody’s going to buy in,” he said.

Kelly Succeeds Holmes, Transformational ACC Commander

Kelly Succeeds Holmes, Transformational ACC Commander

Aug. 28, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak

Gen. Mark D. Kelly on Aug. 28 took charge of Air Combat Command from Gen. James M. Holmes, who retired after a 39-year career. Holmes was regarded as a visionary by his peers, and was one of the most influential commanders of Air Combat Command, making more structural changes than virtually any other head of the command since it was created in the early 1990s.

Kelly is an ROTC graduate whose 34-year Air Force career has largely been in the F-15E. He had an exchange tour with Australia, where he flew the F/A-18, and has been a combat commander in Afghanistan, with tours in the Pacific, Alaska, and Southern Command.

New Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who presided over the change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., said Holmes was an intellectual leader in the Air Force. In addition to the callsign “Mobile,” Holmes’ peers referred to him as “The Sensei” and “Graybeard,” Brown said, “not because he’s the oldest, … but because he brings the most wisdom, the most experience, and the most vision” to the senior leadership. Holmes led ACC since March 2017, and before that, was deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements.

Kelly praised Holmes as having not big shoes to fill but “it’s his hat size that’s daunting, because about 45 seconds ago the collective IQ of Air Combat Command took a hit.”

Holmes has “never been afraid to challenge the status quo” in pursuit of greater combat capability, Brown asserted, calling him “laser focused on bringing the future faster, accepting risk, and pushing limits to combine and improve weapon systems and tactics in new, faster, and cheaper ways.” Holmes looked for “untapped capabilities” to increase USAF’s fighting power without requiring more resources.

Holmes never failed to deliver requested combat capability during his tenure, Brown added, providing more than 5,000 aircraft across 22 separate contingencies with 80 percent combat capability, including the first combat deployment of the F-35 strike fighter in the U.S. Central Command theater.

Among Holmes’ marquee achievements during his ACC tenure was the creation of 16th Air Force, cobbling together USAF’s cyber, weather, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance enterprise in a single coherent fighting information warfare organization. The new enterprise is “exactly the type of command our Air Force needs to compete and deter; and if deterrence fails, to fight and win in an age of Great Power Competition,” Brown said.

In just the last few weeks, Holmes moved to consolidate fighter, rescue, and the command and control elements of 9th and 12th Air Forces into the new 15th Air Force, streamlining operations and more efficiently presenting forces to combatant commanders. Brown said the new unit will make USAF forces “more lethal and agile in combat.”

Brown praised Holmes’s devotion to the mantra “mission first; people always,” and his having taken “good care” of the 159,000 Total Force people under his command. On Aug. 27, Holmes was inducted into the Order of the Sword by USAF enlisted personnel; their highest honor for officers.

Holmes led the recovery after natural disasters scoured Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., virtually off the map and flooded Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. He “secured the funds” and began the restoration of both facilities, Brown noted. Holmes also used the event to consolidate the F-22 force into fewer but more robust formations, which helped increase their mission capable rate.

Holmes received the Distinguished Service Medal later in the day, the citation noting in part that he increased the mission readiness rate of ACC assets 40 percent in two years.

In order to address the chronic pilot shortage problem, Holmes also pushed for a new fighter pilot training system, called Reforge, that will reduce the time necessary to “grow” a student pilot into a fighter flight lead by as much as 18 months. The new system is expected to deliver more pilots, faster, for fighter units, which in turn can devote more of their precious flight hours to employment operations and less to training.

Before the National Defense Strategy was created in early 2018, Holmes was already alerting the defense community to the need for a re-think of American military posture. In November 2017, in an AFA speech, Holmes explained how the U.S. can no longer expect “sanctuary,” either at home or in its wartime preparations, due to ubiquitous satellite coverage and precise long-range fires. He was the first to start referring to China and Russia as “peer adversaries” rather than “near-peers,” and warned that the U.S. needs to shake off the complacency of believing itself unchallenged as the world military leader. The currency of future war will be reliable data, he said, and playing offense in information warfare to get adversaries to doubt their own data.

He also warned that the U.S. can no longer take 20 years to develop a new combat platform, and embraced acquisition chief Will Roper’s digital Century Series idea of fewer, but more frequent iterations of new systems, even pushing his ACC strategists to re-think the question, “What is a fighter?”

“No one is more qualified to take the reins” of ACC than Kelly, callsign “Grace,” said Brown. He praised Kelly’s “intelligence and tenacity,” extensive combat experience, ability to build and lead teams, and two stints as a wing commander. Holmes said Kelly, who taught him to fly the F-15E Strike Eagle, “made me a better aviator and officer.” The backdrops for the event were an F-15E from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., and a T-38 from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.

Kelly, who pinned on his fourth star just hours before, promised to maintain “the intellectual rigor” of Holmes’ tenure and the “foundation of trust” between ACC and the rest of the combat team. He offered a comment from former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., who made an “unscripted, unsolicited” comment about ACC when the two ran into each other last year. “Whether it’s air, space, or cyber, Airmen thrive where there is no precedent, step forward where there is no predecessor, they do so with pride, energy, and efficiency, and they find a way to win,” Kelly said, quoting Dunford.

F-22s Intercept 6 Russian Aircraft Near Alaska, Russian Fighters Intercept B-52 Over Black Sea

F-22s Intercept 6 Russian Aircraft Near Alaska, Russian Fighters Intercept B-52 Over Black Sea

Aug. 28, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

A team of F-22s, supported by KC-135 tankers, intercepted three sets of two Russian Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone late Aug. 27, North American Aerospace Defense Command announced. A day later, two Russian Su-27 Flankers conducted an “unsafe and unprofessional” intercept of a USAF B-52 flying over the international waters of the Black Sea, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa announced.

The Russian pilots crossed within 100 feet of the B-52’s nose “multiple times at co-altitude and while in afterburner, causing turbulence and restricting the B-52’s ability to maneuver,” according to the release.

“Actions like these increase the potential for midair collisions, are unnecessary, and inconsistent with good airmanship and international flight rules,” said Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, USAFE-AFAFRICA commander. “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.

On Aug. 27, the Russian aircraft loitered off for about five hours, coming within 50 nautical miles of Alaskan shores, though they remained in international air space the entire time, NORAD said in a release. On Aug. 26, NORAD monitored a Russian submarine that surfaced in international waters near Alaska.

“Our northern approaches have had an increase in foreign military activity as our competitors continue to expand their military presence and probe our defenses,” said USAF Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, in the release. “This year, we’ve conducted more than a dozen intercepts, the most in recent years.  The importance of our continued efforts to project air defense operations in and through the north has never been more apparent.”

NORAD would not say how many F-22s took part in the intercept, but did say the flight did not include an E-3 Sentry, unlike some previous intercepts.

The intercepts this summer have repeatedly involved Tu-142s, along with IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft, Tu-95 Bear bombers, A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft, and Su-35 fighters. Earlier this month, the Russian government claimed three of its MiG-31s intercepted an RQ-4B that was operating in the Chukchi Sea.  

Aerospace Corp Developing Space Simulator to Game Satellite Wars

Aerospace Corp Developing Space Simulator to Game Satellite Wars

Aug. 28, 2020 | By Shaun Waterman

Federally funded computer engineers at the Aerospace Corporation are developing simulation software that will let U.S. space agencies virtually game out the consequences for satellite constellations of everything from software upgrades to military confrontations.

Prairie, as the software platform is dubbed, marries the latest techniques in digital twinning with recent advances in social media and gaming platforms, to create a cloud-based virtual space environment controlled through slick, intuitive user interfaces, Randy Villahermosa, general manager of Aerospace’s iLab, told Air Force Magazine.

“The aim is to put the user in control,” he said. “The only real constraints [on in-game activities] are physics-driven … We wanted to give the user the ability to customize the scenario,” he said.

The program is designed to make the game simulation as realistic as possible. “In space, operators have to make decisions in a split second,” said Joshua Cohen, engineering manager at iLab and the leader of the Prairie team. Using existing commercial game engines like Unreal and Unity, his team created “a Star Trek-type interface” for Prairie, so actions can be taken “with one or two clicks [of a mouse] or touches of a finger,” Cohen explained.

He added that the platform is built to be continually updated, so it can keep up with constant disruptions in the space sector caused by the emergence of new technologies. “We wanted to make it open ended, … a system that could incorporate innovations as they came online,” he said.

The architecting process currently in use by the Department of Defense and other federal agencies is too slow, Villahermosa said. “Much of it is done the same way it was done in the days of the Apollo program,” he added. Speed will be the key to prevailing in the new space era, he said.

“Younger people are very comfortable with the gaming interfaces,” observed Villahermosa. But what distinguishes Prairie is the engineering that’s behind it. “Users will be able to create effects and use analytical tools to determine impacts,” to simulate the use of anti-satellite weapons and other kinetic interventions, he said.

But Prairie is much more than a wargame—it can be used to test real satellites.

“We’re very excited by the possibilities of digital twinning”—the creation of extremely detailed software models of real pieces of engineering like jet engines or satellites, Villahermosa explained. In the virtual Prairie environment, satellites are individually programmed avatars with a very high level of fidelity to the actual spacecraft.

This fidelity makes it possible to use Prairie to test upgrades to the latest generation of software-defined satellites. So detailed are the digital twins in Prairie that the operators of these constellations will be able to load software upgrades and other programming changes in the simulation—to check they work safely and correctly before deploying them on the real spacecraft.

But it’s a model called “mixed reality gaming,” that really lets Prairie’s developers “take it to the next level,” Villahermosa said. It will be possible to “hook up test hardware on a workbench … and use that to run the software” loaded into the simulation, to provide an extra layer of fidelity.

In an unforgiving environment like space, these test deployments of software speedily written using the latest agile development processes are essential, Villahermosa said.

Prairie will also provide a way to test and model the use of artificial intelligence in space. The platform will enable “virtual fly-offs,” where two satellites will complete the same maneuver, one powered by AI and one controlled in traditional fashion by a human operator, he said.

“We need to find out where AI works better than human operators,” said Villahermosa. “We need a very tangible understanding of where it might be useful to employ AI.”

AI can also be used to re-run games played between human opponents over and over—changing one factor, one decision, each time—“to discover which moves lead to success and which don’t.”

Users concerned about putting their proprietary or even classified technology into the Prairie cloud will have options to preserve their intellectual property, Villahermosa said. Prairie will be able to exchange data with a digital simulation safely confined to the user’s own network through an application programing interface. Users will also be able to run their own version of Prairie in their own cloud, if desired.

“We took a page from the playbook of commercial gaming,” added Cohen. “Code it all once, and make it deployable on any platform.”

Aerospace Corporation hasn’t decided what business model it will adopt for Prairie or whether or how to charge for its use, Villahermosa said. But users will be restricted to the “U.S government spacefaring enterprise” of military and civilian agencies. “We want our partners in that enterprise, their engineers, to be able to contribute.”

He added that a small team of engineers had been working on the project for two years. “We hope to have it ready to demonstrate in November,” he said.

B-52s Fly Over All NATO Member Nations in One Day

B-52s Fly Over All NATO Member Nations in One Day

Aug. 28, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

Six B-52s on Aug. 28 overflew all North Atlantic Treaty Organization member nations, both in Europe and in North America, as part of a mission called “Allied Sky” that was designed to “demonstrate NATO solidarity.”

Four B-52s deployed to RAF Fairford, United Kingdom, flew over European member nations, while two B-52s from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., flew over the U.S. and Canada. All of the bombers are part of Minot’s 5th Bomb Wing.

“U.S. security commitments to the NATO Alliance remain ironclad,” said Gen. Tod D. Wolters, commander of U.S. European Command, in a release. “Today’s bomber task force mission is another example of how the Alliance sustains readiness, improves interoperability, and demonstrates our ability to deliver on commitments from across the Atlantic.”

The same day as the mission, Russian state-owned media posted a video allegedly showing Su-27 fighters intercepting a Minot B-52 over the Black Sea. The intercept reportedly occurred in neutral waters.                           

During Allied Sky, the bombers linked up with other nations’ fighters and refueling aircraft. Participating countries included: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

Joint flights are designed to enhance “interoperability for all participating aircrews from the U.S. and NATO allies,” according to the release.

Some of the nations shared photographs of allied aircraft alongside the B-52s. All told, about 80 NATO fighter aircraft participated.

https://twitter.com/USAmbPrague/status/1299325598406447111

“Today’s training event demonstrates the United States’ powerful commitment to NATO, and Allied solidarity in action,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. “As U.S. bombers overfly all 30 NATO Allies in a single day, they are being accompanied by fighter jets from across the Alliance, boosting our ability to respond together to any challenge. Training events like this help ensure that we fulfil our core mission: to deter aggression, prevent conflict, and preserve peace.”

The bombers deployed to Fairford on Aug. 21, and immediately flew with Norwegian aircraft. On Aug. 27, two B-52s trained with French Mirage and United Kingdom Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, with French KC-135 and RAF Voyager aircraft providing refueling, according to a U.S. Air Forces in Europe release. 

Williams to Serve as ANG’s 13th Command Chief Master Sergeant

Williams to Serve as ANG’s 13th Command Chief Master Sergeant

Aug. 28, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Chief Master Sgt. Maurice L. Williams will succeed Chief Master Sgt. Ronald C. Anderson as command chief master sergeant of the Air National Guard, ANG announced Aug. 27. 

“Chief Williams has led from the front at every level to include squadron, group, wing, and as the senior enlisted advisor for the state of Kansas,” said ANG Director Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh, who chose Williams for the role, in a release. “He’s a self-starter, an exceptional wingman, and will be a huge asset to our joint team.”

Williams currently serves as the Kansas National Guard’s command senior enlisted adviser.

In his more than three decades in uniform, Williams deployed to Europe and the Middle East, studied at U.S. military institutions including the Community College of the Air Force and National Defense University, and earned degrees in criminal justice and business administration before getting his M.B.A. in 2015, according to his Air Force biography. 

His leadership experience includes serving as North Carolina state command chief, and as the command chief of the state’s 145th Airlift Wing. Williams also served on the command staffs of U.S. European Command and Air Forces Central Command, and chaired the Air National Guard Enlisted Field Advisory Council.

“The Airmen of the Air National Guard are amazing folks, and I am extremely grateful to be representing them as their new Command Chief,” Williams said in the release. “As a country, we are all living in unprecedented times, but what hasn’t changed is the Air National Guard’s dedication to supporting our communities when needed most. Thank you for your continued dedication to the country and thank you for allowing me to represent you.”

“Chief Williams brings a lifetime of dedicated service and experience in the Air Guard,” Anderson said in the release. “There is no better choice to lead our Airmen; the future is bright for our ANG.”

Esper Warns of China’s ‘Self-Serving’ Behavior During Pacific Trip

Esper Warns of China’s ‘Self-Serving’ Behavior During Pacific Trip

Aug. 27, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper continued his verbal offensive against China, accusing the country of “self-serving” behavior and a disregard for international laws, the same day the Chinese military fired medium-range ballistic missiles during a military exercise.

China is undergoing an aggressive modernization plan to “achieve a world-class military by the middle of the century,” which will embolden Beijing’s expansionist plans and provocative behavior, particularly in the disputed South and East China Seas and “anywhere else the Chinese government has deemed critical to its interests,” Esper said during an Aug. 26 speech at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Esper is traveling through the Indo-Pacific, including a visit to the Rim of the Pacific exercise, U.S. forces in Guam, and the tiny island nation of Palau. During the speech, Esper highlighted U.S. modernization efforts and outreach to allies.

“As we continue to implement our Indo-Pacific strategy, the United States needs our allies and partners to contribute in ways that are fair and equitable,” Esper said. “We need them to pursue close alignment in policies that uphold a free and open order, and reject decisions that would benefit malign actors to our collective detriment. And we need them to make the necessary investments to improve their capabilities so that, together, we can safeguard our interests, strengthen our readiness, and defend our sovereignty and values.”

Esper highlighted about $160 billion in U.S. foreign military sales to Indo-Pacific allies, including F-35s to Japan, Seahawk and Apache helicopters to India, and F-16s and M1 Abrams tanks to Taiwan. Several U.S. modernization efforts include equipment that will be vital in the region, including the B-21 bomber, P-8 maritime surveillance plane, underwater and surface unmanned vehicles, long-range precision munitions, integrated air and missile defense, and a new class of Navy frigates, Esper said.

During his upcoming visit to Guam, Esper said he will see some of these capabilities there, along with the Air Force’s current Bomber Task Force of B-1B Lancers at Andersen Air Force Base “that prepare us to defend the Indo-Pacific at a moment’s notice,” he said.

The trip comes as China is showing some of its capabilities in a large-scale exercise. On Aug. 26, the Chinese military fired four medium-range ballistic missiles that landed in the South China Sea, according to the Defense Department. The exercise over “disputed territory in the South China Sea is counterproductive to easing tensions and maintaining stability,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

“This military exercise is the latest in a long string of PRC actions to assert unlawful maritime claims and disadvantage its Southeast Asian neighbors in the South China Sea,” the Pentagon said. “The PRC’s actions stand in contrast to its pledge to not militarize the South China Sea and are in contrast to the United States’ vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, in which all nations, large and small, are secure in their sovereignty, free from coercion, and able to pursue economic growth consistent with accepted international rules and norms.”

Earlier in the week, the Chinese government accused the U.S. of flying a U-2 surveillance plane over a no-fly zone during its exercises. Pacific Air Forces countered the claim in a statement, saying a U-2 sortie flew in the Indo-Pacific “and within the accepted international rules and regulations governing aircraft flights. Pacific Air Forces personnel will continue to fly and operate anywhere international law allows, at the time and tempo of our choosing.”

Barksdale Escapes Severe Hurricane Damage, Guard Rallies for Storm Support

Barksdale Escapes Severe Hurricane Damage, Guard Rallies for Storm Support

Aug. 27, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak and Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Barksdale Air Force Base, La., suffered light damage and no injuries or deaths due to Hurricane Laura, which passed close to the base early on Aug. 27.

Damage at the base was reported as light to moderate, mostly due to fallen trees, with some wind damage to buildings and flooding in low-lying areas. The highest wind speed recorded at the base was 55 miles per hour, according to a base spokesman, but nearby Shreveport experienced winds in excess of 90 mph. A comprehensive evaluation of damage will take a few days.

The 2nd Bomb Wing relocated its B-52s to Minot Air Force Base, N.D., throughout the day on Aug. 26, up until just a few hours before the storm arrived. Minot—Global Strike Command’s other B-52 base—had space because six of its B-52s recently deployed to Europe. Barksdale has about 47 Stratofortresses, but base officials declined to say how many moved and how many remained behind due to maintenance groundings.

“Base leadership will continue to monitor the situation and will have our crews come home when it is safe to do so,” the Barksdale spokesman said. “However, our Airmen are trained to deploy at a moment’s notice, and we remain postured to support contingencies in support of national defense priorities, even during a hurricane evacuation like this.” The bombers’ return to Barksdale will not be announced in advance due to operational security concerns.

Minot, home of the 5th Bomb Wing, has “considerable infrastructure and support to ensure the Global Strike Command mission is not impacted,” the spokesman said.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, in a midday press conference, said the hurricane caused four deaths throughout the state—all due to falling trees—despite warnings from the National Hurricane Center that the storm surge would be “unsurvivable” along the coast. Edwards said he mobilized 5,400 Army and Air Force National Guard, who will be deployed “in a variety of ways,” including to help restore power, clear roads, and rescue people in flooded areas. Edwards said more than 600,000 people are without power in the hardest-hit parishes.

Col. Matthew G. Rippen, commander of Louisiana’s 159th Fighter Wing, announced the state was activating its entire National Guard force in an Aug. 26 Facebook video.

https://www.facebook.com/159thFighterWing/posts/10157503571365983

“Hundreds of us in the Air Guard are going to get activation notices—if you haven’t gotten it already, you’re gonna be getting it soon,” Rippen said. “I need everyone to have their bags packed, have seven days’ worth of everything that you need, and be prepared to live in some fairly austere conditions.”

As of the afternoon of Aug. 27, 480 Airmen from the New Orleans-based 159th Fighter Wing had been mobilized in response to the storm, Louisiana National Guard spokesperson Maj. Noel Collins told Air Force Magazine in an email the same day.

These Airmen are working in an emergency operations center, serving as liaison officers in three different parishes, teaming up with the Louisiana Army National Guard on search and rescue, driving buses, and “providing some signal/communications support to the response effort,” she said.

While the wing’s aircraft aren’t involved in the storm response, Louisiana ARNG helicopters are supporting these efforts, she added.

“The LANG currently has 27 Army aircraft available, along with 222 high-water vehicles and 65 boats manned and staged in southern Louisiana prepared to provide evacuation, search and rescue, and recon support,” the National Guard Bureau said.

As of late morning on Aug. 27, about 100 Airmen from the Texas Air National Guard were responding to the tempest in their own state, Texas Military Department spokesperson Maj. Martha C. Nigrelle told Air Force Magazine. Just over 1,000 personnel from across the Texas National Guard were supporting response efforts as of the same evening, she added.

In addition to running the Texas Air Operations Center at Camp Mabry—the epicenter of local, federal, and Defense Department aerial response efforts in the state—Nigrelle said the Texas ANG is supporting storm response in the following ways:

  • The Fort Worth-based 136th Airlift Wing Airmen are prepared to conduct “aerial evacuation or cargo operations” out of Jack Brooks Regional Airport in Beaumont, Texas. “This unit also helped pre-position supplies ahead of the storm to ensure we were well prepared,” Nigrelle wrote, adding that it has C-130s “on standby to support with resupply operations as required.” NGB said the state’s National Guard also has UH-60s and CH-47s on standby to further assist in response efforts.
  • The Houston-based 147th Attack Wing Tactical Air Control Parties are embedded with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Texas A&M Task Force 1 to help with SAR operations, as needed.

NGB said Louisiana’s 159th Fighter Wing and Texas’s 147th Attack Wing relocated some of their tails ahead of the storm, but the move won’t impact their readiness. 

“We did not have the worst-case scenario develop, but we still have thousands and thousands of families whose lives are not right-side up today,” Edwards said. He warned that recovery efforts are “a marathon, not a sprint” and that more casualties may be in store.

“It is quite often the case that it is the cleanup that causes people to injure themselves in an accident,” with a chainsaw or coming into contact with downed but live power lines, he said. “Don’t do something you’re not qualified to do,” he urged. “Be patient, don’t go sightseeing.”

Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Aug. 27 at 6:22 p.m. EDT to include additional information about the Texas National Guard’s response to Hurricane Laura.

USAF Eases Fitness Demands on Airmen Who Have Had a Miscarriage

USAF Eases Fitness Demands on Airmen Who Have Had a Miscarriage

Aug. 27, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

An Air Force Instruction published earlier this month aims to ensure that Airmen who suffer miscarriages are given time to recover and get back into fighting shape before taking their next fitness assessment. Some of these Airmen weren’t previously guaranteed a minimum grace period before they were forced to test.

Once Airmen’s pregnancies conclude—whether or not they result in childbirth—they will be exempt from taking a fitness assessment for a time period determined by a sliding scale, according to the new instruction, which was published Aug. 7, and replaces AFI 10-203.

Airmen whose pregnancies last for less than 12 weeks won’t need to take a fitness test for “up to 60 days,” while those whose pregnancies last for at least 12, but less than 20, weeks will get an 180-day exemption. Finally, those whose pregnancies last for 20 weeks or more won’t need to take a fitness test for a year.

An Airman may be eligible for more time if they have “medical conditions complicating the pregnancy,” the instruction added.

“The changes are intended to make sure Airmen and Space Professionals who are pregnant, recently delivered, or experience a miscarriage are taken care of and it helps standardize the process for our medical personnel,” wrote Lou Burton, a spokesperson with the Air Force Surgeon General’s Office, in an Aug. 27 email to Air Force Magazine. 

Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Sept. 1 at 1:42 p.m. EDT to clarify the service’s former fitness assessment exemption policy for Airmen who miscarried.