F-16s, KC-135s Deploy to Poland for Training Rotation

F-16s, KC-135s Deploy to Poland for Training Rotation

Aug. 14, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

F-16s and KC-135s deployed to two bases in Poland for an aviation rotation, shortly after the U.S. and Poland agreed to increase the amount of forces in the country.

F-16s from the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, deployed to Łask Air Base for Aviation Detachment Rotation 20.4, while KC-135s from the Illinois Air National Guard’s 126th Air Refueling Wing will be based at Powidz Air Base. Additionally, the contractor-owned, contractor-operated MQ-9s from the 52nd Expeditionary Operations Group Detachment 2 recently returned to Miroslawiec Air Base, Poland, from Estonia.

“A persistent rotation of both fighter and cargo aircraft in Poland gives U.S. and Polish forces at all levels the perfect opportunity to further strengthen our relationship, ensuring we can execute the mission anytime, anywhere,” said Gen. Jeffrey L Harrigian, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, in a release.

The rotation will focus on training alongside the Polish air force. USAF regularly sends detachments to the country.

The U.S. and Polish militaries on Aug. 3 agreed on a new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which would add a new Air Force cargo hub and remotely piloted aircraft unit in the Eastern European nation. The EDCA, which has not yet been signed, came as the Pentagon and U.S. European Command announced plans to draw down the American presence in Germany, including moving the 52nd Fighter Wing’s F-16s to Italy.

“Alongside the recently announced European strategic force posture changes, the EDCA will enhance deterrence against Russia, strengthen NATO, reassure our allies, and our forward presence in Poland on NATO’s Eastern flank will improve our strategic and operational flexibility,” Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said in an Aug. 3 statement.

The agreement would base an RPA unit at Łask and a “loading and unloading air base” at Wrocław-Strachowice Airport, along with increasing the Army presence in the country. 

DoDEA Schools at Kadena, Maxwell Will Start School Remotely Due to COVID

DoDEA Schools at Kadena, Maxwell Will Start School Remotely Due to COVID

Aug. 14, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Forty-six of the 159 brick-and-mortar Department of Defense Education Activity institutions will begin the school year remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a document obtained by Air Force Magazine.

Though many of these institutions are on Army bases, that includes elementary and middle schools at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., as well as several schools on Kadena Air Base, South Korea, the Defense Department said on Aug. 13. 

As of Aug. 12, the following schools at Kadena are planning to begin classes online:

  • Amelia Earhart Intermediate School
  • Bob Hope Primary School 
  • Kadena Elementary School
  • Stearley Heights Elementary School
  • Kadena Middle School
  • Ryukyu Middle School
  • Kadena High School

At an Aug. 13 Pentagon press briefing, DoDEA Director Thomas M. Brady said remote learning will still be a “classroom-oriented” experience where children whose schools are closed due to Health Protection Condition Level concerns are taught online until those institutions can safely reopen. Their teachers and classmates would be the same as if they were in their physical school building, and students will receive modified “instruction based on what would have happened in the classroom,” he said.

“The remote is a short-term answer to keeping students and teachers together while they’re pending return to the brick and mortar,” Brady said.

DoDEA is also offering a second alternative to in-person studies: the DoDEA Virtual School, which runs on a semester basis, Brady explained. Under this option, he said, students follow a curriculum that’s specifically engineered to be completed online, rather than being adapted from in-person lessons.

“We’ve had a virtual school for 10 years,” he said. “It was aimed primarily for high school students who are in remote locations who can’t take particular courses—for example, AP chemistry would be difficult to do if we don’t have the staff and the equipment at a remote high school—so they’re allowed to do it through virtual schools, where the curriculum is designed for computers.” 

Students who pursue this option will have the freedom to determine their own schedules, though classes will kick off on Aug. 24. and will follow the DoDEA Virtual High School academic calendar. Their studies won’t be interrupted even if their home bases’ HPCON levels change, according to a DoDEA webpage about the virtual option. 

For the upcoming academic year, the virtual option is available for children in grades K-12, but parents had to commit to finishing the entire first semester online “with an option for the entire year,” according to the webpage. 

The virtual enrollment deadline has come and gone, but DoDEA advised parents who’d like their children to be considered for virtual studies to reach out to their “local school registrar or district office.”

“Exceptions will be considered by the superintendent in coordination with the regional DoDEA Virtual School Assistant Principal,” the webpage stated.

DoDEA hasn’t encountered connectivity problems, Brady added, noting that DoDEA provides WiFi hotspots to students, as needed, and has given out more than “7,000 Chromebooks, which are the connectivity to the Virtual School.”

Despite the existence of these study-from-home options, DoDEA’s ultimate goal is to get kids back in the classroom, Brady said.

“The best education is face to face, in a classroom, and so our priority is to open every classroom that we can safely, … because there’s a remarkable myriad of situations that we’re facing around the world, and unless we are flexible in our approach, we won’t be successful,” Brady told reporters. “And to date, I think that we’ve been remarkably flexible and cooperative.”

DoDEA worked guidance from DOD and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into its planning process for reopening schools, he noted. A PowerPoint slide about this process that was shown during the briefing identifies COVID-related opening requirements such as social distancing, personal protective equipment rules for staff and students, and medical surveillance protocols among the requirements for operating schools in the new abnormal.

Graphic: DoDEA PowerPoint slide courtesy of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

According to Brady, if a child falls ill at school and tests positive for the COVID-19 virus, the school will close for two to three days so the child can be cared for and the school can be sanitized, he said. If the school has to stay closed for five days or less, DoDEA will clean the school and bring back students, he continued. If a school is forced to close for six or more days, however, that school will switch from in-person to remote instruction, he explained.

But, DoDEA won’t preventatively test students for the virus, he emphasized.

“We work with the local commanders and the local medical experts, and that is not an option that appeared viable or necessary according to the CDC,” Brady said.

While DoDEA is still enrolling students for the coming academic year, as of Aug. 12, 35,989 students in grades K-12 had signed up to study in brick-and-mortar classrooms, while 15,540 were slated to start the school year remotely and 10,028 were registered for DoDEA’s virtual school, a Defense Department spokesperson said in an Aug. 13 email to reporters. About 2,000 other students were signed up to attend in-person pre-K, they added.

Joint Staff Strategy Boss Allvin Nominated as USAF Vice Chief

Joint Staff Strategy Boss Allvin Nominated as USAF Vice Chief

Aug. 14, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Lt. Gen. David W. Allvin is on deck to become the Air Force’s next vice chief of staff, the Pentagon announced Aug. 14.

President Donald J. Trump nominated Allvin to succeed Gen. Stephen W. “Seve” Wilson, who has been the Air Force’s second-highest officer since July 2016. Wilson is the longest-serving vice chief in the service’s history, according to the Air Force.

If confirmed by the Senate, Allvin would receive a promotion to four-star general.

Allvin has served as the Joint Staff’s strategy, plans, and policy director since January 2019. He is also a senior member of the United States delegation to the United Nations Military Staff Committee. His extensive experience in joint assignments, including about six of the last 10 years, indicates the Air Force will continue to grow its offerings and influence in the Joint Force. That push was a top priority of recently retired Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein.

“He provides strategic direction, policy guidance, and planning focus to develop and execute the National Military Strategy,” according to Allvin’s biography. “He enables the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to provide military advice to the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council.”

The decorated career pilot logged more than 4,600 hours in the C-12F, C-141A/B, KC-135R/T, C-17, C-130, C-130J, C-23, F-15, F-16, and T-38. He oversaw strategy and policy at U.S. European Command in Germany, held various leadership positions for NATO in Afghanistan as well as in the tanker and training communities, and was a C-17 and C-130J test pilot.

The Air Force has not said whether Wilson is retiring. During his time as vice chief, he helped build out the service’s ecosystem of innovation-focused groups and competitions, played a key role in developing the secretive new B-21 bomber, and drove mental health initiatives like the “True North” program, which will grow to 16 bases by the end of 2021.

“Our Air Force is smarter, more innovative, and agile because of him,” Goldfein said in a July 27 release. “I rely on him every day and I know he’s made me a better Chief.”

Also on Aug. 14, the Pentagon announced Maj. Gen. Jim Dawkins Jr. is nominated to take over as the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration, known as the A10. He would also be promoted to lieutenant general if confirmed.

Dawkins will leave his current position after a short stint as global power programs director in the Air Force’s acquisition branch, which he joined in June. Before that, he commanded Eighth Air Force and the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.

He is a pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours—including more than 260 hours in combat—in the F-111, F-16CJ, RC-135, B-1, B-2, and B-52.

Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, the outgoing A10, is leaving to become the U.S. Air Force Academy’s first Black superintendent.

Bass Becomes First Woman, Asian American to Serve as CMSAF

Bass Becomes First Woman, Asian American to Serve as CMSAF

Aug. 14, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass took over as the 19th senior enlisted leader of the service on Aug. 14, marking a period of change and promising more diversity and inclusion in the ranks.

Bass’ appointment makes the Air Force the first military service to have both a woman and an Asian American in the senior enlisted role, shortly after Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. became the first Black officer to lead a branch of the Armed Forces.

“This is a historic moment for you,” Bass said to Airmen of all ranks watching the ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Md. “I encourage you to stay passionate, determined, purposeful, and keep running your race. And together we will continue to make meaningful and lasting history as our force charts and navigates new domains.

“As we reflect on the past, we must also look forward to cultivating an environment filled with innovation, with collaboration, moving toward our future, a future where we value the elements that make us the greatest Air Force in the world. … A future where we embrace true diversity and forge an inclusive culture where our Airmen’s talents, what they bring to the fight, are embedded deep in our roots.”

Bass comes into the job having served as the command chief master sergeant of 2nd Air Force. She has previously been the chief of Air Force Enlisted Developmental Education, the command chief master sergeant of the 17th Training Wing at Goodfellow Air Base, Texas, and the superintendent at the 86th Operations Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. She started her Air Force career in operations system management, range scheduling, and as a noncommissioned officer in charge and operations scheduler with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron.

She said she only expected to serve four “quick” years in the Air Force and then get out, and figure out what she wanted to do in life. As Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, Bass said she will work to “cultivate and develop” talent and ensure that the service’s processes and policies help build “the force that we need.”

https://www.facebook.com/USairforce/videos/928797437627997

Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett said Bass has a “deep background” in special operations and international experience, while also most recently working to develop Airmen at Air Education and Training Command.

“JoAnne has championed Airmen development through programs to improve training and readiness, including basic training, technical training, and medical and distance learning courses,” Barrett said. “She advised the commander of 2nd Air Force on the instruction of 93 percent of the force. Chief Bass, your extraordinary record of service has prepared you well to serve as the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force.”

Brown, speaking of his new top adviser, said she has the “passion, skills, and the strength of character we need to lead us to face head on the demanding challenges of today and the future.”

Bass took over the job from the 18th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright, who is retiring after about 31 years in service. Wright thanked his family, the Air Force, and now retired Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein for standing by him “through this journey.”

“I would never have imagined receiving the type of love and support that I have throughout my time as Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force,” Wright said. “I love hearing your stories, I love doing my best to make a difference, I love working alongside you, digging ditches with you, jumping out of airplanes with you. I love everything about this job.”

At the ceremony, Barrett unveiled a new award, called the “Goldfein-Wright Inclusive Leadership Award,” which will be given for the command team that best fosters an inclusive environment. The award is based on discussions of diversity and inclusion Wright and Goldfein started in recent months amid civil unrest about racism across the country.

Goldfein said of all the personnel decisions he made during his tenure as Chief of Staff, “none was more important than the choice of my wingman for the journey.” While the two didn’t get everything done that they intended to, “we got a heck of a lot done together. And we always found a way to make it fun.”

Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Aug. 14 at 3:33 p.m. EDT to include tweets from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr and Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett.

Space Force Doctrine Raises Questions About Nuclear Missiles

Space Force Doctrine Raises Questions About Nuclear Missiles

Aug. 14, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

If a nuclear missile passes through space on its way to hit the Earth, should the Space Force own it?

That idea puzzled some policy watchers who read a section on orbital flight in the Space Force’s first Space Capstone Doctrine paper, published Aug. 10. To them, it suggests that the Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are fired from underground silos and arc above the atmosphere before plummeting to a target, would fall under the space jurisdiction instead.

“Orbital flight (also referred to as spaceflight) is the act of deliberately manipulating gravitationally curved trajectories in order to transverse beyond Earth’s atmosphere and through space,” the doctrine document said. 

That definition covers “suborbital trajectories that travel into space but deliberately reenter the atmosphere before a complete circumnavigation,” it added.

The section struck some policy experts as odd.

“Not sure why they included suborbital as a subset of orbital flight, as by definition, suborbital is NOT orbital. Does that mean ICBMs now do orbital flight?” Brian Weeden, program planning director at the Secure World Foundation, mused on Twitter.

“I think they’re either confused on the physics or have decided to open a legal door for some sort of nuclear weapons delivery from ‘near space,'” he added.

ICBMs and space operations have long been intertwined. Russia used the world’s first ICBM, the R-7, to launch Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, in 1957. A modified R-7 missile also carried cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s spacecraft into orbit in 1961.

“Flying atop a highly modified Titan II ICBM, NASA’s Gemini Manned Spaceflight program achieved 100 percent mission success. Titan’s exemplary record established a standard for perfection, safely launching two-man crews into orbit 10 times from 1965-1966, one of the most dynamic and fast-paced periods in the Space Race,” Lockheed Martin said of the missile built by its predecessor, The Martin Company.

The Space Force today hosts ICBM tests at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., where its launch range works with Air Force Global Strike Command to send missiles into the Pacific Ocean.

Kaitlyn Johnson, associate director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, argues the Space Force should not manage the land-based nuclear missiles—though its missions do include tracking and warning of enemy ballistic missiles. (Others say ICBMs are a better fit for the Army than the Air Force.)

Describing orbital flight as such may have other benefits.

“This might give them more claim to jurisdiction or the potential for future suborbital space travel for military logistics,” like moving people or supplies, Johnson said.

According to the Space Force, the writing isn’t an oversight or an attempt to swipe the ICBM mission. The doctrine is simply laying out what the space domain looks and acts like.

The Space Force is responsible for defining space’s physical and operational characteristics, but it is not the only service that deals with the cosmos, Col. Casey Beard, commander of the operational group Space Delta 9 at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., said in an email.

“The Air Force has a small contingent of land and maritime capabilities, and the Army and Navy have air assets,” Beard said. “However, the Air Force is the only service designed and optimized for the air domain and is therefore responsible for defining that domain’s physical and operational characteristics for the Joint Force, just as the USSF now is for space.”

It appears the nuclear missiles will stay put.

Space RCO Presses Forward Amid Reorganization

Space RCO Presses Forward Amid Reorganization

Aug. 13, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

The secretive Space Rapid Capabilities Office’s workload has taken shape two years after its inception, as the space research and development enterprise changes around it.

The Space RCO, which speedily develops cutting-edge technologies at the request of Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, handles capabilities that go “in, from, and to space,” with less bureaucracy and more flexibility than typical research programs, Space RCO Director Michael W. Roberts said during a virtual Aug. 13 Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event.

Video: Mitchell Institute on YouTube

“That may sound familiar, as the U.S. Space Force thought about what we go after,” Roberts said. “I don’t see that changing. … There’s a lot of different capabilities that we’re working right now, and in the future, I see that staying about the same number.”

Randall G. Walden, head of the separate Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, indicated in 2018 the new group needed to set a baseline from which to start its work.

“To me, that’s the most important piece,” Walden said. “Once you get a feel for the space system you want to go build, then you can start populating with the right folks and get the right contracting officers and program managers.”

The Space RCO appears to have settled on a slate of initiatives that will keep it occupied. Most of its portfolio is classified, but ostensibly complements work underway at the Space Force’s more traditional Space and Missile Systems Center and the commercial industry-focused Space Development Agency.

A space solar power program that fell under the former Operationally Responsive Space office is transitioning to the Air Force Research Laboratory instead. The Space RCO replaced the ORS office at Congress’ direction.

One program that looks to augment existing spacecraft ground control systems isn’t quite as under wraps.

“We’re working at it as a rapid acquisition program to build some algorithms to help with ground processing,” Roberts said.

However, one project will notably stay off the Space RCO’s plate: the experimental X-37B spaceplane. It is a reusable, uncrewed spacecraft that carries experiments to orbit, then returns them to Earth for evaluation. After spending a record-breaking 780 days on orbit, the Boeing system is receiving the National Aeronautic Association’s prestigious Robert J. Collier Trophy for furthering aerospace technology.

Walden said the Air Force RCO will keep the Orbital Test Vehicle in its own portfolio but will continue to collaborate with the Space RCO.

“I’ve talked to Gen. Raymond about that multiple times, and the Secretary of the Air Force,” Walden said. “We plan on keeping that. There’s a lot of interest in reusable space vehicles, and right now, we’ve gained a lot of information in the decade we’ve been operating that system.”

The Air Force and Space RCOs will work together as the X-37B offers more insight into new technologies that could shape future space systems. Roberts’s team could ask the Air Force RCO to test payloads on the spaceplane that would eventually fly on satellites or other spacecraft.

Critics argue that defeats the purpose of creating an RCO specifically to handle space projects, echoing larger concerns that the fragmented military space enterprise is simply growing instead of consolidating into something more effective.

The Space RCO sees itself as a fast-moving counterpart to the SMC, which handles more traditional military satellites, radars, and other space-related equipment from design to retirement. It is also supposed to mirror certain efforts at the SDA, which now reports to the Pentagon’s research and engineering boss but will transfer to the Space Force in the next few years. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency handles similar initiatives that can transition to the Space RCO as well.

Roberts and SDA Director Derek M. Tournear talk at least once a week about their similar efforts. SDA is pursuing a constellation of potentially thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit to handle everything from target tracking to missile warning.

“[Our approach] is a little bit different,” Roberts said. “He has an ability to go out and do proliferated things, using straight off-the-shelf things that commercial [industry] is doing, for the most part. We don’t necessarily have that same construct.”

He firmly opposes the prospect of moving under the Space Force’s new Space Systems Command, the organization meant to encompass all space research, development, and acquisition under the Department of the Air Force. Right now, the plan is to continue answering directly to Raymond.

“If we move under the Space Systems Command, we probably should cease to exist,” Roberts said. “It will slow us down. It’s not the fault of … the commander or anybody else at Space Systems Command, it’s just because you’re adding two to three layers of bureaucracy and decision-making on top of my current organization. You will never be allowed to go fast.”

Offutt Airmen Face Falling Concrete, Asbestos as Rebuild Costs Rise

Offutt Airmen Face Falling Concrete, Asbestos as Rebuild Costs Rise

Aug. 13, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., continues to move forward with its effort to rebuild following last year’s historic flood, despite the coronavirus pandemic, growing costs, and hazardous work conditions.

Rapidly melted snow and more than six inches of rain breached river levees near the base in March 2019, displacing more than 3,200 personnel. Water submerged about one-third of the base and nearly one-quarter of the 12,000-foot runway. The flood affected 1.2 million square feet of workspace and 118,000 square feet of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility space used to discuss classified intelligence.

Video: Offutt Air Force Base on YouTube

Last year, the Air Force said it needed $420 million for operations, maintenance, and construction, plus $234 million for training devices at Offutt. In February, the service cheered that Congress had provided $5.3 billion in disaster relief funds to cover the full cost of rebuilding its storm-battered bases, including Tyndall Air Force, Fla., in fiscal 2019 and 2020.

But Lt. Col. Chris J. Conover, director of Offutt’s rebuilding management office, told Air Force Magazine the initial price tag was off and could rise further. The Air Force now estimates it will cost more than $1 billion to create a new Offutt, meaning they may need to ask Congress for more help.

“We’re realizing it’s not what we needed,” Conover said of the early estimate, which was drawn up within two months of the flood. “We don’t have a finger on that yet, because right now, we’re in planning and design, and those numbers are just preliminary and they’re dynamic. … They’re not realistic.”

The base began a nearly yearlong design process in January to put eight future campuses, including new information warfare facilities, on higher ground. It hasn’t yet started tearing down its unsalvageable buildings because economic and environmental analyses won’t wrap up until September.

Mechanics will regain full use of the Bennie L. Davis Maintenance Facility for the first time since the flood at the end of the year, Conover said. Those Airmen have been working from community centers and picnic tables while waiting for new HVAC, carpeting, and walls in their offices.

Yet the makeshift workplaces at the base—which handles intelligence-collecting and nuclear command aircraft like the Rivet Joint, Open Skies, and “Doomsday” planes—are hardly ideal.

Intelligence teams relocated to the Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant, a nearly 80-year-old building that built the B-29s used to drop nuclear weapons on Japan. It offered 200,000 square feet of unused space that was turned into offices, but the space is less than 25 percent of what’s needed, the Air Force said.

A net hangs in the ceiling above their workspaces to catch falling concrete chunks that are dislodged when heavy equipment moves across the floor above them. Temporary plastic air ducts snake through the hallways to protect people from asbestos.

“This building is anything but water-tight,” according to a July 28 video posted by the base. “This parachute-like collection system helps capture contaminated water and keeps it away from vital electronics, communications infrastructure, and personnel.”

It will be a long time before personnel can move back into safe facilities, as overhauling the base is expected to take another six years.

“We’re probably more focused on rebuilding out of the flood-prone areas,” John W. Henderson, assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment, and energy, told Air Force Magazine last year. “A lot of what we’re doing is repairing the existing facilities in place just because that’s the most economical way to do it. We don’t necessarily have a clean slate.”

The pandemic hasn’t much affected progress toward restoring Offutt, Conover said. But on a base already pressed for usable workspaces, the coronavirus has forced Airmen to spread out to observe social distancing rules. It’s one more stressor in a situation where people are already trying to maintain normalcy.

“Pushing forward with operations as best we can has been good for us, but it’s also hurt us,” Conover said. “When we have our mission back, functioning, it seems like, ‘Oh, Offutt’s good to go.’ But we have severe damage and destruction here.”

DOD Gives Military Families Access to Child Care Search Service

DOD Gives Military Families Access to Child Care Search Service

Aug. 13, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Defense Department is giving military parents access to a subscription-based online service that they can use to find hourly child care services that make the most sense for their families, according to an Aug. 10 release.

This service, which they can sign up for through Military OneSource, will let them look for care based on their family’s unique needs and preferences, locate potential providers, pore through their background checks and references, and interview them, according to Military OneSource’s website.

“The subscription, provided at no cost to eligible military families, offers a user-friendly way to explore providers who can assist with hourly, flexible, and on-demand child care services,” the release states.

Anyone who qualifies for all of Military OneSource’s support services, as outlined on this webpage, can access the service free of charge, Defense Department spokesperson Lisa Y. Lawrence told Air Force Magazine.

According to Military OneSource’s website, families can sign up for the service by:

  1. Logging in to their Military OneSource account;
  2. Locating an individualized member code and link on the site’s Member Connect page;
  3. Following that link; and
  4. Plugging in the code and signing up for an account.

Once they’re registered, the website noted, military parents can navigate straight to the child care search service’s homepage to access it.

“We are committed to taking care of our service members and military families, and understand that families may need assistance with their hourly care needs,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy Anne Kimberley “Kim” Joiner said in the release. “This new service provides a flexible way that empowers modern military families to find child care services that best meet their hourly care needs.”

Brown Outlines Leadership Style, Expectations as New Chief of Staff

Brown Outlines Leadership Style, Expectations as New Chief of Staff

Aug. 13, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

As Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. took over as the service’s top uniformed leader, he directed his inner circle to address urgent issues with, at times, imperfect information and to provide direct, unvarnished advice to move the service forward.

The guidance to the Air Staff, issued Aug. 6, provides a glimpse of the direct leadership style of the 22nd Chief of Staff as the service prepares for a high-end fight, with specific mentions of the growing threat from China and the “generational” opportunity to restructure that comes along with the creation of the Space Force.

“We must make enterprise-wide and clear-eyed judgments about our strategic future as an Air Force and how we enable all Airmen to reach their full potential, quickly adapt to changes in the geopolitical environment, and succeed in a high-end fight,” Brown wrote. “The future will pose far more challenging scenarios than those to which we have become accustomed. We must change now—so that we are prepared when the nation next calls upon our Airmen to fly, fight, and win.”

In the memo, Brown writes that his staff can expect him to stick by the four tenets he has followed in his career, which he outlined at the Aug. 6 change of command ceremony:

  • Execute at a high standard
  • Be disciplined in execution
  • Pay attention to details
  • Have fun.

Brown said as he leads, he will work to be transparent to “articulate the why and my intent for the how.”

“My personal credibility, my professional credibility, and the credibility of our Air Force are extremely important to me,” he wrote. “As such, I will continually assess myself and our Air Force for continuous improvement.”

In turn, Brown holds his staff to high standards. He writes that Air Staff Directors need to be experts in their areas of responsibility, providing timely and informed options. The staff will have to make “consequential decisions with imperfect information,” with risk articulated and mitigated. The staff needs to precisely diagnose problems, with a bottom line provided up front. Leaders need to flatten communication, share knowledge with their own staff, and collaborate with personnel at all levels.

“The Air Staff is nothing without the Airmen—uniformed, civilian, contractors—you are privileged to lead,” he wrote. “They deserve to work in an environment that fosters diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and I expect you to mentor, coach, and enable all to reach their full potential.”

To make effective change, the whole Air Force needs to buy in on what problems have to be solved. The moment is right to act, Brown said.

“We must leverage the momentum resident in our rapidly changing world to accelerate the types of changes we have long been interested in making, but have been unable to make due to systemic inertia or the need to address more immediate concerns,” he wrote. “Confronting long-term challenges under conditions of deep uncertainty is a daunting task, but not impossible.”

Brown wrote he is personally responsible for articulating why changes are needed, and for directing how to move forward to “address the significant challenges facing our Air Force.” He calls on the Air Staff to answer with urgency on how to address challenges, and provide professional yet “unvarnished” advice.

“We must never lose sight of the fact that our success will ultimately be determined by our ability to arm our Airmen with the tools they need to succeed in the high-end fight,” he wrote.