‘Commitment to Mastery’: 1st Lt. Novak, the 57th Guardian, Wins Polaris Award

Feb. 7, 2024 | By Patrick Reardon

The Space Force’s Polaris Awards annually recognize Guardians who best represent the Guardian Spirit. There are four individual award categories based on each of the core Guardian values—Character, Connection, Commitment and Courage—and a Team Excellence category that combines all four values. Air & Space Forces Magazine is highlighting each of this year’s winners before they receive their awards on stage at the 2024 AFA Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colo.

The U.S. Space Force selected 1st Lt. Jonathan Novak of the 3rd Space Operations Squadron at Schriever Space Force Base, Colo., as the winner of the Polaris Award for Commitment for “displaying devotion to personal development and self-improvement, utilization of resources, and unique strengths and skills” in 2023.

As the squadron’s engineering officer in charge, Novak leads a team of 15 technicians, analysts, and engineers in technical management and error resolution for the Space Force’s Protect and Defend mission. But it’s his commitment to the Space Force outside of his work—in fact, since his final days at the U.S. Air Force Academy—that earned him a Polaris recognition.

In 2020, when Novak was two weeks away from graduating from USAFA with a slot for Air Force pilot training, he received an acceptance letter from MIT’s Technology & Policy graduate program. Lacking the funding and personnel slot from the Air Force to pursue this last-minute opportunity, Novak reached out to a mentor to see if the Space Force could support his continued education.

The response came just three days later as an email from his mentor: “John, see below comments from your future boss.” Below that was the forwarded message, “I will make that happen. JWR”—as in, Gen. John W. Raymond, Chief of Space Operations.

“I couldn’t believe it at first, but he called me a few days later,” Novak said. “I remember just standing at attention in my room because I didn’t know what to do—a four-star chief of a service was calling me. And he goes, ‘Lt. Novak, I just want to let you know you’re squared away. You’re going to be working with Lincoln Labs. You’re fully funded, you’re slated to go.’”

Two short weeks later, Novak commissioned as the 57th Guardian of the U.S. Space Force and packed his bags for MIT. He said that phone call was what incited his “commitment to mastery” and dedication to the Space Force.

“Since the Space Force was going to be my team moving forward, I wanted this team to be as great as possible,” he said. “And because they trusted me with this, I wanted them to know that they made the right choice.”

1st Lt. Jonathan Novak, Engineering Officer in Charge, 3rd Space Operations Squadron, Schriever Space Force Base, Colo. USSF photo.

Novak spent 12 hours a day for the next two years writing a research thesis on resilient space architectures. He graduated from MIT in 2022. In January 2023, his thesis was published in Acta Astronautica, an international aerospace engineering journal.

Following its publication, Novak had the opportunity to distill his 200-plus-page paper into a presentation for 60 middle- and high-school STEM teachers. He said his presentation was more than just an opportunity for amplifying STEM education—it was an opportunity to educate teachers and students about the Space Force.

Building on his research, Novak identified an educational pipeline gap for 2,000 acquisition-coded personnel and spearheaded an effort to craft the Space Force’s first-ever space-centric acquisition training program. In April 2023, he brought his training concept to the inaugural Guardian Field Forum, a professional development forum where Guardians presented ideas to the Chief of Space Operations, the Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force, and other senior leaders from Space Force Headquarters.

Novak secured $500,000 to develop his curriculum.

“I didn’t want to just bring this problem in front of the CSO, I wanted to bring it with the solution,” Novak said. “They heard my concerns with acquisitions, but I still wanted to see if I could steward this on my level … Everyone was willing to listen to me. That’s really what I think was special about this experience, is not only how many times the senior leaders were willing to listen to us, but also the fact that it was able to happen on the tactical level.”

Novak also mentored more than 110 cadets at USAFA and three ROTC detachments on officership, partnership, and career field opportunities. He said these engagement opportunities were a full-circle way to advocate for the Space Force the way it advocated for him in 2020.

“When you open up these opportunities and take care of people, they’ll return that favor, and they’ll take care of the mission,” Novak said. “And so I remember when [CSO] said, ‘I will make that happen.’ That short, five-word email, that’s when I was committed. That’s when I started reaching out to people and I started seeing the Space Force as my team.”

“They gave me the trust, and I just wanted to steward that trust as best as possible,” he added. “Their trust is what underpins that commitment.”

Meet the other 2023 Polaris Award winners below:

Polaris Award for Character: Tech. Sgt. Isabel Childress

Polaris Award for Connection: Lt. Col. Jessica Pratt

Air Force Invites Back Retirees To Fill Critical Manning Shortage

Feb. 7, 2024 | By David Roza

The Air Force is reimplementing a program to bring back officers and enlisted Airmen in an effort to stem an ongoing staff shortage in a wide range of career fields.

The Voluntary Retired Return to Active Duty Program (VRRAD) will restart Feb. 8 after a three-year hiatus: the program was last active from 2017 to 2021, according to slides shared on Reddit and the Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco. Air Force officials confirmed the slides appeared to be authentic.

“The VRRAD program is a strategic enabler to embrace experienced talent, tapping into a valuable resource of retired members to fill critical roles to close the gap against our peer competitors,” Lt. Gen. Caroline Miller, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel and Services, said in a Feb. 7 statement.

The program allows for up to 1,000 retired officers or enlisted troops to return to Active Duty. The deadline for applications is Jan. 31, 2026, and the period of service is limited to 48 months. Retired applicants selected for Extended Active Duty can expect to return to active duty about four to six months after applying.

Airmen who return to Active Duty will return to their retired grade, the slides explained. They will be ineligible for the aviation bonus, promotion, and SkillBridge, a transition program that helps service members prepare for civilian jobs. VRRAD participants will deploy only if they volunteer or are assigned to a combat-coded unit, but they may be subject to permanent changes of station or assignment.

Early reactions on social media were unimpressed with the lack of perks for returning to service. The return of VRRAD marks the latest effort to mitigate an ongoing staff and recruiting shortage in the Air Force. Other recent efforts include:

Raising the maximum age limit for initial accession from 39 to 42 years old.

Adding two years to the maximum time in service allowed for every enlisted grade up to E-8

Offering an experimental new bonus for aviators

The regular Air Force missed its recruiting goal by just under 11 percent for fiscal 2023, but Alex Wagner, assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs, said in December that he is “cautiously optimistic” about this year’s enlisted accession goals.

“Lack of familiarity is the most important thing,” Wagner told members of the House Armed Services Committee. “What’s important to realize is that once people become familiar, they want to join, they understand the benefits of service, they understand the opportunities—whether they be educational, financial—they understand the community, being part of a team.”

On the officer side, VRRAD is taking applicants who retired in the grade of captain through lieutenant colonel. While all members who meet eligibility can apply, the Air Force is targeting these specific career fields:

11X – Pilot

12X – Combat Systems

13B – Air Battle Manager

13H – Aerospace Physiologist

13M – Airfield Operations

13N – Nuclear and Missile Operations

14X – Information Operations/Intelligence

15X – Operations Analysis and Weather

16X – Operations Support

17X – Cyber Operations

18X – Remotely Piloted Aircraft

19Z – Special Warfare

21X – Logistics

31P – Security Forces

32E – Civil Engineering

35P – Public Affairs

38F – Force Support Officer

61X – Scientific/Research

62X –Developmental Engineering

63X – Acquisition

64P – Contracting

65X – Finance

71S – Special Investigations

On the enlisted side, the Air Force wants applicants who retired in the grade of staff sergeant through senior master sergeant. All eligible members can apply, but the focus is on the following career fields:

1C171 – Air Traffic Control

2G071 – Logistics Plans

2T377 – Fleet Management & Analysis

3F071 – Personnel

3P071 – Security Forces

4A271 – Biomedical Equipment

4E071 – Public Health

4N071 – Aerospace Medical Service

4R071 – Diagnostic Imaging

7S071 – Special Investigations

8R000/8R200 – Recruiter

PHOTOS: US, 4 Allies Kick Off Cope North Exercise with Impressive Elephant Walk

Feb. 6, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

The U.S. Air Force, Marines Corps, and Navy, along with four partner nations, flexed their airpower in an “elephant walk” at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, to kick off Pacific Air Forces’ largest annual multilateral exercise, Cope North.

All told, 35 aircraft from the U.S., Royal Australian Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force, French Air and Space Force, and Republic of Korea Air Force lined up in a united formation on Feb. 5, according to a PACAF release.

The roster comprised 13 U.S. Air Force, 8 Marine Corps, 10 JASDF, 2 French Air and Space Force, 1 RAAF, and 1 ROK Air Force aircraft, encompassing fighters, airlifters, and command and control aircraft, 36th Wing spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

“On behalf of RAAF, JASDF, and the USAF exercise leadership, we are excited to kick off Cope North 24 with this successful demonstration of interoperability through the Elephant Walk,” Lt. Col. David Overstreet, Cope North lead planner, said in the release. “Throughout the exercise we aim to aggressively practice combat air forces and mobility air forces dispersal activities in concert with all six participating nations. Our network of alliances and partnerships remains the backbone of global security.”

The demonstration illustrated the U.S. and its allies’ airpower presence and readiness across the Indo-Pacific region. It is the second multi-national elephant walk on Guam in recent months, after a 23-aircraft formation with six participating nations rolled out in July.

“The sheer amount of aircraft and the way our Allies and partners operate together with us is inspiring,” said Senior Airman Robert Rennie, an Air Traffic Controller assigned to the 36th Operations Support Squadron. As one of the Airmen who directed and oversaw the process, Rennie added that seeing the elephant walk reminds him that the team is “moving in the right direction to ensure deterrence.”

The larger three-week Cope North exercise provides a chance for the U.S. to cooperate with regional partners through sharing data and intelligence, refining tactics, and improving interoperability.

“The planning and execution was excellent,” said Master Sgt. Steven Hood, 756th Air Refueling Squadron KC-135 boom operator. “Everyone’s professionalism and eagerness to work together will propel our war-fighting capabilities in the Pacific.”

Cope North 24 is in full swing. PACAF shared photos Feb. 6 of a B-52 Stratofortress from the 5th Bomb Wing flying over Tinian and Saipan islands, about 120 miles north Guam. The heavy bomber was escorted by a USAF F-15, two F-16s, a Navy E/A-18 Growler, and a Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet, as well as JASDF F-15J Eagles, U-125A, and two F-2s. B-52s from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., deployed to Anderson last week to support the multinational exercise, running through Feb. 23.

During Cope North 24 a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress is flanked from left to right by a U.S. Navy E/A-18 Growler, Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-2, F-15MC, USAF F-16CM, JASDF U-125A, USAF F-16CM, USAF F-15C, JASDF F-2 and a U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet during a multinational formation over Tinian and Saipan Feb. 6, 2024. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Gerald R. Willis

About 700 service members from five nations, including the Royal Canadian Air Force, will join some 1,700 U.S. Airmen, Marines, and Sailors in training together to enhance agile combat skills, better integrate mission planning, and execute aerial missions. In addition, the exercise will include humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training and command and control operations, including airlift and logistics training from various locations.

In anticipation of the exercise, the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy engaged in three days of training to qualify members on fueling operations last week.

Originated in 1978 at Misawa Air Base, Japan, as a quarterly bilateral drill, Cope North relocated to Andersen in 1999.

New Report: Wargames Show CCA Could Have Huge Influence in a Pacific War

Feb. 6, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

Moderately capable—and moderately costly—Collaborative Combat Aircraft would be extremely valuable in a war with China, so long as they are “additive” to new crewed aircraft already planned and used independently and not just “tethered” to those crewed aircraft, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

A series of wargames run by the Mitchell Institute showed that when used by the U.S. Air Force in large numbers, CCAs—autonomous drones meant to supplement the manned fleet—compelled China to expend large numbers of missiles, created beneficial chaos in the battlespace, and overall were a cost-imposing factor on the adversary, participants said Feb. 6.

Retired Col. Mark A. Gunzinger, retired Maj. Gen. Lawrence A. Stutzriem, and Bill Sweetman summarized the wargames’ findings in a paper, “The Need for Collaborative Combat Aircraft for Disruptive Air Warfare.”

The CCA program, still in its infancy but expected to grow quickly, represents “an opportunity for the Air Force,” Gunzinger said during an online event. Given that the Air Force fleet is the smallest and oldest it’s ever been and there is a growing mismatch between “the supply and demand for Air Force airpower,” Gunzinger said, an injection of low-cost CCA drones in large numbers to match or overwhelm China’s air assets makes USAF potentially dominant in such a fight.

Gunzinger further emphasized the importance of low costs.

“It’s unreasonable to assume” the Air Force will be able to match China aircraft for aircraft, missile for missile, and so it must invest in an “asymmetric” approach which will disrupt China’s operating plan and impose costs upon it, he said.

In the wargames, three separate “Blue” teams were free to ask for CCAs ranging from “exquisite,” $40 million-plus autonomous aircraft with capabilities near that of a crewed fifth-generation fighter—2,000-mile range, six missiles onboard, very-low observable stealth, onboard radars and infrared trackers, and runway independent—to more basic craft, under $15 million apiece, with far fewer weapons and stealth.

The result: teams scarcely used “exquisite” CCAs in the early days of a fight because of the risk of losing them.

Curtis Wilson, senior director of emergent missions at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, participated in the games and said if a CCA “only needs to last 30 minutes, the cost goes way down” relative to an aircraft expected to serve for decades and built to do so. He also noted that the artificial intelligence needed for such aircraft can be more generic and less capable than would be needed for high-end “exquisite” systems.

Wilson recommended that CCAs be generically designed to take advantage of existing ground support equipment, rather than “bespoke” aircraft requiring significant investment in specialized handling and maintenance gear.

General Atomics is one of five contractors that have been selected to design and build CCAs by the Air Force.

Independently, all the teams involved in the Mitchell wargames chose to use large numbers of moderately-capable, moderately priced mid-range CCAs. These autonomous airplanes sharply reduced the risk to crewed aircraft by soaking up adversary missiles, and China was forced to “honor” each one as a threat that could not be ignored, Gunzinger said.

Their deployment across a wide range of austere air bases, some launched from aircraft or islands with no runways, also compelled China to meter its use of ballistic missiles against the usual well-established operating bases, he noted.

Moreover, Blue threats “attacking early from every axis” vastly complicated China’s defense problem, Stutzriem said, and forced China to maintain a high pace of defensive operations around the clock.

“There is a need to break from the mindset that the CCA always operates in support of crewed aircraft,” Gunzinger said. “CCAs that are appropriately designed to have the right mission systems [and] the right degree of autonomy, can also be used as lead forces to disrupt the enemy’s operations.”

Still, when CCAs were used cooperatively with crewed aircraft like the F-35 or the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter, “it made the fighters better” at accomplishing their missions, Mitchell fellow Heather Penney said.

Robert Winkler, vice president of corporate development and national security programs at Kratos Defense and a wargame participant, said CCAs added considerably to crewed fighter survivability.

Participants from industry, the Air Force and other experts participating in the wargames “unanimously agree” that the CCAs must be “additive and complementary” to crewed aircraft programs already in the pipeline and not a substitute for them, Gunzinger said.

“They’re not going to reduce the Air Force’s requirements for F-35s, NGAD, and B-21s and other critical modernized systems,” he said. Their maximum combat value “will be realized by taking full advantage of the attributes of crewed and uncrewed aircraft, that each bring to the fight.”

Asked if CCAs should have their own squadrons and organizations or be blended with crewed combat aircraft organizations, Gunzinger said this was a heavy topic in post-games analysis.

The conclusion, he said, was that “we need to build future units that consist of both CCA and fighters …bombers, maybe even tankers … So they can operate every day like they’re going to fight, so they can develop the tactics, techniques, procedures, concepts and so forth.”

At the same time, when employed, CCAs don’t need to be “co-located with fighter units or bomber units,” Gunzinger said. They could be crated up and pre-positioned at austere fields, ready for use at need.

Winkler noted that CCAs work best when they are positioned “inside the first island chain” of China’s sphere of operations, rather than operating at long ranges. Doing so increases their operating tempo and further taxes China’s ability to respond, he said.

While the Air Force considers how it will organize and use CCAs, Gunzinger stressed that it is important to recognize that “as the capabilities increase, so will your costs.” Stealth and high-end sensors “all add up to more cost, just like other aircraft, so the secret sauce is developing CCA forces” with the right mix of capabilities.

Certain capabilities are crucial—Stutzriem said a “major insight” of the games was that CCAs must have enough survivability “to reach their weapons launch point.” CCAs that weren’t stealthy enough to survive obviously played little role in the battle.

The report authors recommended that the Air Force:

Determine the sweet spot of capabilities for the bulk of CCAs and develop a cost-effective mix for the future force structure

Develop operating concepts for CCAs, such as going after high-value targets and compelling an enemy to expend weapons against them

Treat CCAs as force multipliers and not substitutes for new crewed systems in the pipeline

Acquire CCAs “at scale” in this decade

Give CCAs enough survivability to reach their weapon release points

Determine what support and launch location needs are required for CCAs in forward areas

Adapt current munitions to fit on small CCAs and work on miniaturizing new munitions such that many can fit on a small CCA platform

Persuade Congress of the practical benefits of CCAs and not to “cannibalize” other programs to pay for them

Gunzinger said CCAs “could dramatically change the Air Force’s air combat operations, but it will not happen if the Air Force is forced to rob money from its other modernization programs to pay for it.”

Will the Air Force Bring Back Warrant Officers?

Feb. 6, 2024 | By Tobias Naegele and David Roza

Challenges with retaining highly skilled technical specialists could drive the Air Force to reintroduce warrant officers 45 years after the last Air Force warrant officer retired in 1980. The Air Force and Space Force are the only military services not to include warrant officers, who fill technical, rather than leadership functions in the other military branches.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall III expressed interest in the idea in a recent interview, saying “We’re looking at things like technical tracks for officers and NCOs, and possibly creating something like a Warrant Officer track for people that are in, cyber, for example, an area where we need people and where there are a lot of people who don’t want to do other than technical things.”

A copy of what appears to be an Air Force planning document began circulating on social media in recent days, indicating a possible pilot program. Air Force spokespeople declined to comment however.

The document, posted anonymously on the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page and the Air Force subreddit directs Air University to develop a concept of operations for establishing a training pipeline at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. “to reintroduce a USAF non-aviation warrant officer program as a technical corps.”

The initial cohort, according to the document, would consist of 30 prior-service personnel, but a separate planning document obtained by Air & Space Forces Magazine says the pipeline could scale up to 200 junior warrant officers and 50 senior warrant officers a year.

“The Service must examine new ways to develop and retain a highly capable, technologically capable corps of air-minded warfighters,” the order states. A warrant officer corps would “fully leverage the technical depth and breadth of talent of our Airmen and cultivate the strategic advantage USAF technicians have historically provided[.]”

Reaction on social media was strong and positive.

The Air Force is expected to announce a series of changes next week after an extensive five-month review of challenges to readiness and its preparedness for great power competition with China at the AFA Warfare Symposium near Denver, Colo. “Anything related to the plans for Reoptimizing for Great Power Competition will be announced next week,” the spokesperson said.

Kendall is expected to unveil extensive plans meant to prepare the service for a possible conflict with China or Russia. Among other changes, significant changes to the service’s organization are under consideration, Air & Space Forces Magazine has reported.

Warrant officers are neither enlisted nor commissioned officers, falling in the middle between the two. The Air Force had about 4,500 warrant officers in the late 1950s, but phased them out after the top-most enlisted ranks were added, according to the RAND Corporation.

The last Air Force warrant officer retired in 1980, and the service has flirted with the idea of reinstating them in the past, both as a stop-gap to stem the ongoing pilot shortage and for other purposes. The latest proposal was discarded in 2018.

“Congress asked us … do warrant officers make sense to come in and help the Air Force with their pilot retention problem [and] pilot production problem?” Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, then the Air Force personnel chief, told Air Force Times. “We’re going to go back and say, ‘No, they do not.’”

But Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass has floated the concept as one way to retain highly skilled enlisted specialists.

“I think the Air Force has to, as we’re developing our broader talent management model, make sure that we have a pathway to be able to retain our technical expertise,” she told Air & Space Forces Magazine in July.

When asked if the Air Force ought to implement a warrant officer system, Bass said she was “definitely not opposed to the suggestion of that. We just have to do the analysis to make sure that is what is best for the U.S. Air Force.”

In the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, warrant officer and limited-duty officers help retain subject matter experts without pushing them into leadership or administrative roles. Then-Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force Roger Towberman also expressed interest in warrant officers, saying in 2021 that the Space Force would study the option.

Ellsworth Runway Reopens After B-1 Crash Wreckage Moved

Feb. 6, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

After a month-long closure, the runway at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., has reopened and a B-1 bomber that crashed there has been cleared, a 28th Bomb Wing spokesman said Feb. 6.

Meanwhile, some of the B-1s that left the base to train and operate elsewhere have returned, with the entire contingent expected back by the end of the week, the spokesman told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The runway was initially closed Jan. 4 after a B-1 crashed while attempting to land. Base officials said the closure was necessary to fully document the crash site and conduct a sweep of the airfield for debris needed for the investigation and that could threaten future flight operations.

It was briefly reopened late in January to allow several B-1s to move to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, to continue training and operations—around 250 Airmen made the move as well. Some of those bombers wound up participating in the Feb. 2 airstrikes over Iraq and Syria.

Now they are starting to return, with the full contingent expected back by the end of the week. The exact number of aircraft that left was never publicly disclosed.

The cause of the Jan. 4 crash also remains undisclosed as investigators continue to probe the incident, the 28th Bomb Wing spokesman said. Four Airmen ejected from the aircraft and survived. The incident occurred during poor weather in below-freezing temperatures with dense fog limiting visibility, according to local weather reports. Radio traffic from local first responders said there was an “active fire” after an “explosion.”

Unofficial imagery that circulated online showed the aircraft severely burned, with significant damage after crashing and skidding off the runway.

The spokesman said engineers from the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron and maintainers from the 28th Maintenance Group, along with other personnel, “teamed up to relocate the wreckage from the side of the runway to another location on the installation where the investigators will continue to complete their review of the accident.”

Should the aircraft be deemed unrepairable, it would mark a significant blow to the Air Force’s B-1 fleet, which consists of just 44 other airframes at this point.

With 17 recently-operational B-1s stored at the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., it may be possible to return a retired B-1 to operational duty, but the Air Force has not said whether it is considering such a move.

Cannon Program Brings Needed Medical Specialists To Rural Base

Feb. 6, 2024 | By David Roza

A new program at rural Cannon Air Force Base, N.M. brings in medical specialists who can’t be found nearby. Since the “Circuit Rider” program stood up in October, specialists have come in from as far as Alaska to spare Airmen and their families long trips off-base for consultations and treatments.

“We recognize the strain that traveling over 100 miles for many medical specialties can cause on Airmen and their families,” Col. Jeremy Bergin, commander of the Cannon-based 27th Special Operations Wing, said in a statement to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The idea for Circuit Rider grew out of a medical support summit held at Cannon in September meant to identify barriers to health care at the 27th SOW. Lack of access to specialty care is a challenge for both military and civilian families in the area.

“We don’t have enough doctors anywhere in New Mexico, but especially in rural New Mexico,” one doctor told New Mexico in Depth in October.

Specifically, the summit found shortfalls in specialties such as behavioral health, applied behavior analysis, neurology, and endocrinology. The summit also found that families at Cannon travel an average of 147 miles for consultations and treatment. Increased access to virtual appointments is one way to help shorten the distance, and another is the Circuit Rider program.

Circuit Rider programs are not unique to the Air Force, but the Cannon version comes during a time when medical staffing shortages are widespread across the Military Health System. The Cannon circuit rider providers come from military treatment facilities with enough capacity to support the program, said Capt. Jaclyn Pienkowski, Cannon’s chief of public affairs.

Staff shortages were a common complaint among members of the 27th Special Operations Medical Group who responded to a 2022 Defense Organizational Climate Survey. Pienkowski said the group worked with the Air Force and the Defense Health Agency to improve Active-Duty manning and bring civilian positions up to 95 percent.

“The 27th SOMDG continues to review staffing to ensure solutions are in place, or pending, to support the mission,” she said.

All circuit rider providers are military personnel, who do not have the same state licensure restrictions that civilian providers often have, though they require an unrestricted active state medical license to practice, Pienkowski said.

The 27th Special Operations Medical Group uses its travel funds to bring in specialists from further afield. The Defense Health Agency also pitches in to help the effort. A visiting developmental pediatrician saw 12 patients in October, followed by a child psychiatrist in December—both providers plan to return in February, according to a press release. Current offerings include psychiatric care for children and adolescents, developmental pediatrics, and endocrinology, while dermatology, neurology, and audiology could be on the docket for later. Visits are scheduled based on patient needs.

Though other rural Air Force bases already have similar programs, Cannon is working with Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., to share travel costs when they both need circuit rider specialists.

“We will continue to pursue these efforts and highlight new programs as they come online,” Bergin said in his statement. “We are incredibly thankful for our partnerships within the state of New Mexico and Defense Health Agency as we work to improve the quality of lives for the Air Commandos and their families at Cannon AFB to ensure we are ready to respond whenever the nation calls.”

First Phase of Taiwan F-16V Program Is Complete

Feb. 5, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

The $4.5 billion “Peace Phoenix Rising” program to upgrade 139 of Taiwan’s F-16s to the F-16V (Block 70-72) configuration is complete, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center announced Feb. 5. The next step in the boost of Taiwan’s air defenses is to deliver 66 new-build F-16s in a comparable configuration, expected within the next two to three years.

The upgrade gives Taiwan’s F-16s a capability equivalent or superior to those of most U.S. Air Force F-16s. The program is intended to help deter the People’s Republic of China from a military assault on Taiwan.

The last “Viper”-upgraded jet was delivered in December after final checks, AFLCMC said. The Taiwanese Air Force, officially known as the Republic of China Air Force, commissioned its first operational wing of F-16Vs in November 2021.

“This massive upgrade,” as AFLCMC described it, provided Taiwanese F-16s with the Northrop Grumman-built AN/APG-83 Active Electronically-Scanned Array radar, the Sniper targeting pod, Link 16, a helmet-mounted cuing system, precision GPS navigation, capability for advanced weapons, an upgraded modular mission computer, an ethernet high speed data network, a new center cockpit pedestal display, and heavyweight landing gear.

“Additional modifications to the aircraft include a slew of structural upgrades to the wings, fuselage and landing gear that make the aircraft more capable and sustainable. It also allows for a heavier takeoff as well as increased landing weight,” said Nathan Frock, AFLCMC’s acting security assistance program manager for the Taiwan F-16 retrofit program.

The upgrade program began in 2016 and the first completed aircraft was delivered in late 2018. Peace Phoenix Rising is the largest F-16 FMS retrofit program since the F-16 was inducted into the U.S. Air Force in 1979, AFLCMC said. Taiwan bought 150 F-16A/Bs in 1992; most of those were upgraded under Peace Phoenix. The upgrade was originally supposed to cover 144 aircraft, but there have been attrition losses since the original request.

Taiwan requested the Block 70 upgrade and new-jet sale after being rebuffed from buying F-35s.

The completion of the program comes on the heels of a letter from 24 U.S. lawmakers to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall in November 2023, urging the service to expedite the program’s conclusion and press quickly ahead with the follow-on $8 billion purchase of 66 new F-16Vs approved by Congress in 2019. They noted that the upgrades were running behind schedule and the new-build fighters were delayed by at least two and maybe three years.

“We still consider these FMS cases to be high-risk,” the lawmakers said. The members said the two FMS cases—the upgrade and new-build F-16 sales—were “impacted from their earliest inception by optimistic assumptions about how rapidly new technology and modifications might be integrated” into the F-16 design.

“Taiwan urgently needs these new and upgraded aircraft, and a stronger, more resilient Taiwan will improve stability across the Taiwan Strait,” they said.

Air Force acquisition executive Andrew Hunter replied that the service is exploring “all options to prioritize and expedite” the transfer of new F-16Vs to Taipei.

Although the first two new jets were supposed to be delivered in late 2023, that did not happen; the delay was chalked up by the Air Force and Lockheed Martin to “complex developmental challenges” in developing new software for the fighter. Industry sources now say Taiwan should get its first F-16 Block 70 in the third quarter of 2024.

In their letter to Kendall, the lawmakers urged that the Air Force not make “similarly optimistic assumptions from manifesting in the future. We cannot afford to over-promise and under-deliver to our closest friends.”

President Joe Biden’s administration has pledged to speed up the Foreign Military Sales process, and last week reported that 2023 was a record year for FMS agreements, totaling $80.9 billion, a 55 percent increase over fiscal 2022.

Unlike earlier F-16s, which had about an 8,000-hour service life, newly built F-16Vs will have a 12,000-hour service life.

Aerospace Industry Development Center (AIDC) was Lockheed’s subcontractor in Taiwan. Together, the two companies designed and built Taiwan’s indigenous F-CK-1 Ching Kuo, or Indigenous Defense Fighter, 130 of which were delivered in the 1990s. The jets are considered to have a capability between the Northrop F-5E, which Taiwan also flies, and the F-16. Taiwan’s air force also includes Dassault Mirage 2000s, some of which may be life-extended due to delays in delivering the F-16Vs.

AFLCMC said it’s now working on a second phase of the upgrade project—Peace Phoenix Rising Modernization II—which will add capability for the AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), an automatic ground collision avoidance system, the MS-110 multispectral reconnaissance pod, and the AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW).

“We know this work is not done, as we continue to accelerate capability upgrades to the Taiwan Air Force’s existing F-16 fleet, but successfully accomplishing this key milestone is definitely worth highlighting,” said Col. Eddie Wagner, AFLCMC’s F-16 FMS Senior Materiel Leader.

Taiwan was also approved for $500 million worth of infrared search and track systems for the F-16s last August. The Legion IRST systems are considered essential to helping fourth-generation fighters like the F-16 spot aircraft with a low radar cross section, like China’s J-20.

“I am extremely proud of how all stakeholders involved with this [Peace Phoenix Rising] critical modification were able to overcome so many obstacles, including the COVID-19 pandemic, to deliver all 139 retrofitted aircraft by the end of 2023,” said Wagner. “We know the work is not done as we continue to accelerate capability upgrades to the Taiwan Air Force’s existing F-16 fleet, but successfully accomplishing this key milestone is definitely worth highlighting.”

Lockheed has at least six customers for the Lockheed F-16V/Block 70 and delivered Slovakia’s first two in January. Company officials say they are aiming at production of up to 36 F-16s per year by the end of 2024 and 48 per year by the end of 2025 from Lockheed’s Greenville, S.C., plant, where F-16 production moved from Fort Worth, Texas several years ago. However, at these rates, it will be challenging to deliver all of Taiwan’s new F-16Vs by 2026.

O.J. Sanchez, integrated fighter group vice president and general manager at Lockheed, said the company sees substantial F-16 upgrade opportunities, with more than 3,000 F-16s flying around the world. Greece, for example, has accepted more than 10 F-16s upgraded to the V configuration out of 84 expected to be delivered by 2027.

New Photos Show B-1 Lancer Crews Prepping for Feb. 2 Middle East Strikes

Feb. 5, 2024 | By David Roza

The Air Force published a batch of photos and videos this weekend showing B-1B bomber crews preparing for the CONUS-to-CONUS mission that included strikes targeting Iranian-aligned groups in Iraq and Syria on Feb. 2.

The crews and jets are from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., but launched from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, due to an ongoing investigation closing the runway at Ellsworth after a B-1 crashed there on Jan. 4.

Taking off from Dyess, the B-1s flew nonstop to the Middle East, where, along with fighter aircraft deployed to U.S. Central Command, they dropped more than 125 precision-guided munitions on 85 targets at seven facilities, according to the Pentagon.

The strikes were in response to the Jan. 28 drone attack on Tower 22, a U.S. outpost in northeast Jordan near the border with Syria. Three U.S. Army reservists were killed and at least 47 other troops injured. The group of Iranian-backed militias known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.

Speaking to reporters Feb. 5, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder said the targets struck by the B-1s included “command and control operation centers, intelligence centers, rockets, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicle storage and logistics and munitions supply chain facilities.”

“Although we continue to evaluate, we currently assess that we had good effects and that the strikes destroyed or functionally damaged more than 80 targets at the seven facilities,” he added. “The number of casualties is still being assessed.”

Even so, Iran-backed militia groups hit back at least twice, killing six allied Kurdish fighters in eastern Syria on Feb. 4. When asked about the ongoing attacks, Ryder said “our responses are not complete.”

“I’m not going to telegraph or discuss what that may be, other than we’ll conduct that at a time and place of our choosing,” he added.

A B-1B Lancer from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, takes off the runway at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, Feb. 1, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Leon Redfern)

Meanwhile, U.S. and coalition forces also struck multiple areas controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have launched dozens of attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea in recent months. The intent is to “disrupt and degrade” the Houthis’ ability to disrupt shipping through the vital channel, Ryder said.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, Iran-backed militia groups throughout the region have used ballistic missiles and drones to attack U.S. forces scores of times. That includes groups in Iraq and Syria, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Whether B-1 crews will make another trip to the Middle East is unclear. For now, Col. Derek Oakley, commander of Ellsworth’s 28th Bomb Wing, seemed pleased with his troops’ performance last week.

“Our Airmen demonstrated once again our ability to conduct long range precision strike missions when tasked to do so,” he said in a press release. “Teaming with our fellow Strikers at Dyess to accomplish the mission is a testament to what we are able to do while further enhancing interoperability and improving our collective readiness.”

An Airman from the 7th Munitions Conventional Maintenance shop prepares Joint Direct Attack Munitions at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, Jan. 31, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Leon Redfern)

Though it cannot carry nuclear weapons, the B-1B’s three internal weapons bays can carry more guided or unguided weapons than any other Air Force aircraft, including the venerable B-52 Stratofortress. The jet’s four engines can push it over 900 miles an hour, and its swing-wings give it better performance at low speeds while loitering over a battlefield. The crew of four includes an aircraft commander, a copilot, and two combat systems officers who specialize in offensive and defensive systems.

“The mission we conducted validated that we can respond to any threat anywhere on the globe,” Oakley added. “We continuously train and prepare for these types of situations, and we are always ready to answer the call when it comes.”