Air Force Magazine

INSIDE: The Pentagon and Congress battle over weapons buying. p.
36
The Perils
OF HYBRID WAR p. 24
A Century of Fighters at Selfridge p. 46
Joint Requirements for Joint Battles p. 54
Undeclared War on ISIS p. 40
March 2017 $8
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INSIDE: The Pentagon and Congress battle over weapons buying. p. 36
Joint Requirements
for Joint Battles p. 54
The Perils of Hybrid War p. 24
March 2017 $8
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A Century of Fighters
at Selfridge p. 46
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Undeclared War
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4 E d ito r ial: T he R eality o f R u s s ia 46 A C entu r y o f A c tio n

By Adam J. Hebert hotography by Greg linares
Every American President has wanted Text by Wilson Brissett
better US-Russia relations. Putin Selfridge Air National Guard Base,
does not. north of Detroit, mar s years of
operation this summer.
24 T he P er ils o f H y b r id W ar
By Peter Grier 5 4 T he S c ho o l o f J R O C
30
The US and NATO are still trying to By Wilson Brissett
figure out how to respond to hybrid The Joint Requirements Oversight
warfare. Council makes the tough decisions
on what s needed and what s afford-
30 P eg as u s P r ep able.
By Brian Everstine
The Air Force s KC-46 tanker 6 0 T he A ir R aid at T ar anto
program faces developmental and By John T. Correll
budgetary headwinds in the quest to The ritish torpedo bombers left
bring aircraft into service. three battleships sun or sin ing in
the main harbor of the Italian battle
36 H eap ing C hang e U p o n fleet.
I m p r o v em ent
y ohn A. Tirpa 6 8 L ear ning the N o t- S o - O b v io u s
Despite the entagon s recent L es s o ns
success at improving its ac uisi- y hillip S. Meilinger
tion systems, ongress is imposing Sometimes getting to real knowledge
major changes. takes some digging.
40 U nd ec lar ed W ar
By Jennifer Hlad
The US has been fighting ISIS for
two years without e plicit author-
6 0 ity from ongress. That s perfectly
normal.
INSIDE: The Pentagon and Congress battle over weapons buying. p. 36 INSIDE: The Pentagon and Congress battle over weapons buying. p. 36 INSIDE: The Pentagon and Congress battle over weapons buying. p. 36 INSIDE: The Pentagon and Congress battle over weapons buying. p. 36
A Century of Fighters
at Selfridge Undeclared War
on ISIS
p. 46
p. 40
The Perils
OF HYBRID WAR p. 24
Joint Requirements
for Joint Battles p. 54

The Perils of Hybrid War p. 24 The Perils of Hybrid War p. 24

Joint Requirements for Joint Battles p. 54 A Century of Fighters at Selfridge p. 46

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Air Force Association Air Force Association Air Force Association Air Force Association
E d ito r s no te: This issue of Air Force Magazine features four different covers, randomly assigned and distributed. Readers interested in
purchasing additional copies of the maga ine, or a complete set, should contact our Membership Department at - - - , or by
emailing membership afa.org. A b o u t the c o v er s : A tactical air control party airman prepares for helicopter e traction. See The erils of
Hybrid War, p. 4. USA photo. H A - fuels a avy A- . See The School of O , p. 4. USA photo by TSgt. arry . eid r.
H An A- deploys flares. See A entury of Action, p. 4 . hoto by ic linares. H Maintainers wor on a - . See Undeclared War,
p. 4 . USA photo by SSgt. atherine Spessa.
MARCH 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM 1

P u b lis her : Larry O. Spencer
E d ito r in C hief : Adam J. Hebert
Manag ing E d ito r : Juliette Kelsey Chagnon

E d ito r ial Dir ec to r : John A. Tirpak
N ew s E d ito r : Amy McCullough
S enio r Des ig ner : Heather Lewis
Dep u ty Manag ing E d ito r : Frances McKenney
P entag o n E d ito r : Brian W. Everstine
S enio r E d ito r : Wilson Brissett
16 Dig ital P latf o r m s E d ito r : Gideon Grudo
A s s o c iate E d ito r : June L. Kim
DE P A R T ME N T S P r o d u c tio n Manag er : Eric Chang Lee
16 S c r eens ho t P ho to E d ito r : Mike Tsukamoto

6 L etter s
Med ia R es ear c h E d ito r : Chequita Wood
6 I nd ex to A d v er tis er s 18 A ir F o r c e W o r ld
9 S enio r S taf f C hang es 23 V er b atim C o ntr ib u to r s : Joseph Bisognano, John T. Cor-
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10 A p er tu r e: War by other means; Troll-
5 9 F las hb ac k : Ship of the D esert Hlad, Beth Liechti Johnson, Greg Llinares, Phillip
ing for votes; Sources and methods;
J. Meilinger, Megan Scully
Nuclear superiority .... 6 6 K eep er F ile: Maxims of Mad D og
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Editorial
By Adam J. Hebert, Editor in Chief
The Reality of Russia

W A shiN G toN , d. C . , J A N . 1 7 , 2 0 1 7
E very US President who has had to deal with Russian

President V ladimir Putin began the relationship with high
hopes. Successive American leaders were slow to catch
Clearly, Russia needs a fresh start with the US far more
than the US needs another reset with Russia, so Trump
begins his presidency from a bargaining position of power.
on to what Putin really sought, however. He wants to be As he wrote in his 2015 book, G reat Again: H ow to Fix O u r
feared, unchallenged, able to lord over his neighbors. Putin C rippl ed America, Remember the principle strategy of ne-
only seeks cooperation with the US when it can help him. gotiation: The side that needs the deal the most is the one
Bill Clinton was fresh off a jovial relationship with Boris that should walk away with the least.
Y eltsin in 2000 when ever-closer US-Russian cooperation What does Putin want? Well, he recently demanded a
seemingly loomed. But Putin viewed the 1990s as a period reduction in the US military presence in NATO s eastern
of humiliation and soon told his military its mission included nations, an end to sanctions, and quite comically, called for
restoring Russia s honor and dignity. the US to compensate Russia for the economic losses that
George W. Bush met Putin shortly after taking office in came from those sanctions. Putin also craves endorsement
2001. I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very over Crimea.
straightforward and trustworthy, Bush declared. I was able What will Putin offer? Not much of lasting value. He can
to get a sense of his soul. Putin later launched cyberattacks promise cooperation fighting terrorists, but in Syria utin
on Estonia and defeated Georgia in a small war.
Barack Obama came to power determined to reset rela- Every American President has wanted better
tions with Russia. Putin illegally seized Crimea, launched
a shadowy war in Ukraine, attempted to delegitimize the
US-Russia relations. Putin does not.
US election, and used Russian airpower to brutally defend
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. rarely attacked ISIS while working to create a puppet state
Now it is D onald Trump s turn. As President-elect, he in D amascus. He could offer to negotiate a new Iran nuclear
often spoke glowingly of Putin while questioning the value deal, but Russia itself has recently violated or abrogated
of NATO. several international agreements.
Make no mistake: Putin will try to manipulate Trump. And Putin will surely turn on Trump if he needs the US as
Like Bush and Obama, Trump may be initially fooled by a scapegoat to shore up his popularity at home.
the scheming former KGB officer. Trump has a demonstrated If Trump is conned into a bad deal with Putin, the US will
fondness for strong personalities and is seemingly recep- have damaged NATO, upended the international order by
tive to flattery. But he has other personality traits that could bargaining away Ukrainian territory, and damaged the US by
serve the US very well. weakening some of its staunchest allies and trading partners.
Trump prides himself on his deal-making talents and Instead, Trump should demand that Russia honor the
will not stand for being made to look weak. Putin s idea Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, cease its un-
of a reset would be a blatantly bad deal of the sort Trump predictable and threatening military actions near America s
despises Putin wishes for Russia not to be punished for allies, end cyberattacks on the US, and get out of Ukraine.
its aggressions and to keep what it has stolen. If Russia will not comply, Trump should reinforce the allies
in Eastern Europe and ratchet up sanctions against Russia.
Kremlin photo
Putin understands strength and will only respect the US

when forced to do so.
Right, as the world goes, is only in question between
equals in power, Thucydides wrote in his H istory of th e
P el oponnesian War, because the strong do what they can,
and the weak suffer what they must.
The US has worked for 75 years to alter this brutal dy-
namic by defending freedom, security, and economic growth
in Europe. Russia has shown a desire to bully, intimidate,
overwhelm, and kill the weak.
Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Finland have much to
fear from Russia, as they lack NATO protection. Without
American leadership, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland
will also have much to fear.
Putin plays nice with US presidents while it works to his
advantage, but will push until he is stopped. It is up to NATO,
P u tin w ants am nes ty f o r thef t and ag g r es s io ns . the US and President Trump to stop him.
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Letters
letters@afa.org
B o r n to F ly I ns anity R ed ef ined smoking and causing the problem, yet

As I read the Retention Q uestions Regarding Empty Racks, January the Air Force suffers the consequences.
article on p. 49 of the January 2017 issue 2017, p. 28, Mr. Tirpak had a section Seems Congress are the inmates
of Air Force Magazine, I got to thinking. titled There Oughta Be a Law. I was in control of the asylum. Its processes
As far back as I can remember it seems Active D uty 83- 09 and was in the and lack of job performance give a
the Air Force has gone through these medical equipment repair field. As whole new meaning to the definition
swings of pilot shortages. I was not a I read that section I truly could not of insanity.
flier but knew a lot of them. The one recall when we didn t do the Con- SMSgt. Mark Cipriano,
thing they all loved to do was fly. With tinuing Resolution two-step debacle USAF (Ret.)
the cutbacks in funds to fly, the flight during my career; I figured it probably Elyria, Ohio
crews are not getting to fly as much as happened a few times but I was only
they used to, and like to do, as well as remembering when CR affected us. It G er m an K no w - H o w
stay current. Throwing bonuses at them was a tooth-pulling few months trying Y our recent article Our German
to keep them in helps but I think giving to secure funds for needed TD Y s, Scientists [ January, p. 71] brought to
them more flying time would really help. repair parts, one-time contracts, etc., mind my own experience with one of
The other problem is lack of people. to keep equipment running (which in these scientists during my first assign-
Across the board our airmen and turn impacted patient care). I did a ment as a second lieutenant, assigned
women are being forced to work long search and found on Wikipedia it was to the Materials Lab at Wright-Patterson
hours and are often gone on almost worse than I thought! Only three times AFB [ Ohio] in 1963.
back-to-back deployments. I believe between 1983 and 2015 did the budget The article rightly described the
to a person they are willing to do the actually pass on time! postwar efforts to obtain equipment,
job. However it takes a toll on their Now the same Congress that is sup- personnel, and documents from the
personal and family life. posed to pass budgets its job is pun- defeated Third Reich. I was elated that
Congress needs to step up to the ishing the Air Force (and other services), I would have the privilege to work with
plate and fund not only the Air Force affecting morale and performance, by a leading German scientist in the field
but all our military with the manpower denying them budget increases due to of aerospace materials. As I came to
and funds to do the job. a law Congress itself wrote! Their der- learn, the depth of his knowledge and
Col. D on Hengesh, eliction of their responsibility is in turn the application of such knowledge
USAF (Ret.) costing significant amounts of money remain a tribute to the quality of his
Petoskey, Mich. by delaying new aircraft purchases, academic education. [ Albrecht] Herzog
as well as delaying arrival time. It s told me many stories of the V olkenrode,
insane. They keep denying big dollar Braunschweig, aeronautical lab where
cost savings I m going to say it [ such he served as an assistant director.
D o you have a comment about a as] retiring the A-10 then add insult Fortunately, as key to his nonpolitical
current article in the magazine? to injury by not passing a budget, in stance, he never joined the Nazi Party.
Write to Letters, Air Force Mag- turn costing the services even more He did admit that party members did
azine, 15 01 Lee Highway, Ar- money problems.
lington, V A 22209-1198. (Email: The saddest thing of all is most bud- I nd ex to A d v er tis er s
letters@ afa.org.) Letters should gets get well past 95 percent completed Avis.............................................................67
be concise and timely. We cannot before 1 October, then more than the Boeing......................................Cover II, 5 , 15
amount of time that was spent getting L3 Technologies ..........................................3
acknowledge receipt of letters. USAA................................................Cover III
We reserve the right to condense there is wasted dragging their feet over Walgreens.......................................Cover IV
letters. Letters without name stupid little concessions no one wants to
Air Warfare Symposium................................35
and city/ base and state are not give into. It reminds me of basic training AFA Planned Giving.....................................67
acceptable. Photographs cannot back in 1983 if one smoker lit up in AFA V ision Insurance.................................73
the bathroom at night, all 5 0 troops in AFA Monthly Giving.....................................75
be used or returned. the editors Corporate Membership Spotlight...............45
the flight suffered the consequences. Hangar Store...............................................79
In this case it isn t even the Air Force Hotels.........................................................73

seem to advance to higher positions kidnapping and how fortunate they
more rapidly, but he insisted he was were that he wasn t home.
a scientist, not a politician. However, Herzog shared other stories of how
that early decision to devote his life technology was appropriated by the
to scientific pursuits paid unexpected Russians. The Z eiss optical works in
dividends, as he was selected as one Jena, Germany, was within the Russian
of the Paperclip scientists. zone. The Russians carefully recon-
He told me that initially, the Paper- structed the entire Jena physical facility
15 01 Lee Highway Arlington, V A 22209-1198
clip scientists were interned at Wright in Russia. All equipment and technical
Field in barracks surrounded by barbed support personnel were transferred to T elep ho ne: (703) 247-5 800
wire-topped chain-link fences similar to Russia. Several years later, Russia T o ll- f r ee: (800) 727-3337
POW conditions. Their first assignments won international awards for the quality F ax : (703) 247-5 85 3
entailed reassembly and calibration of of their optical systems for cameras. W eb s ite: www.afa.org
all captured scientific equipment, in- Perhaps this was proof of successful
cluding translation of pertinent technical technology transfer. Email Addresses
documents. Once the equipment and I remember asking Herzog, Why
documentation were assembled, sister wasn t the Braunschweig facility Events..................................... ev ents @ af a. o r g
services and industry personnel were bombed by the Allies during the war? Field Services ............................. eld afa.org
invited to inspect and review this Third He confirmed what your article stated, Government Relations ................... g r l@ af a. o r g
Reich technology and to freely use any namely that the Allies did not know of
Industry Relations ............................ ir l@ af a. o r g
portions of these items to enhance their its existence nor its location. The facility
own product technology as desired. was indeed safely located in the forest. Insurance............................af a. s er v ic e@ m er c er .
com
This was only a small example of how Once he was integrated into the Civil
this technology lead was shared with Service working for the Air Force, Her- Member enefits...........m em b er s hip @ af a. o r g
American industry to capitalize on that zog continued his studies of behavior Membership .................. m em b er s hip @ af a. o r g
five- to 10-year technology advantage of rapid heating of advanced turbine
Communications (news media).........................
developed by the Germans. alloys. Publication of these studies ............................... c o m m u nic atio ns @ af a. o r g
Importantly, we were not alone in this earned him several top technology CyberPatriot............. inf o @ u s c y b er p atr io t. o r g
quest for the treasure trove of German achievement awards.
advanced technology. The Russians Before my assignment to Wright-Pat- Mag azi ne
also had lists of key personnel, equip- terson AFB, I worked with a small firm Advertising ............ air f o r c em ag s ales @ af a. o r g
ment, and documents representing both producing advanced fibers for potential ditorial Offices ....................... af m ag @ af a. o r g
government and industry. use in high performance composite
Letters Column. .......................letter s @ af a. o r g
Herzog told me one story that dem- structures. A diligent division chief of
onstrated the determination of the Rus- the Advanced Metallurgical Studies
sians to also benefit from the German Branch of the Air Force Material Lab Change of Address/Email
technology. He related that postwar, interviewed me and told me he had a
In an effort to stay connected with AFA
there was a scarcity of key foodstuffs scientist who was also working with and your local chapter, please remember
including meats. His wife learned that high-strength fibers. He introduced me to update your mailing address and email
there was a limited supply of meat in to Herzog, a GS-15 senior scientist, address.
an adjacent town. He left on his bicycle and we became involved in these ad- Change of address requires four weeks
to try to obtain some small amount of vanced composite materials. Herzog s notice. Please mail your magazine label
meat. While he was gone, a Russian research also focused on exploiting and first and last name to the Membership
D epartment at 15 01 Lee Highway, Arlington,
tank pulled up outside his house and these advanced fibers with properties V A 22209-1198.
a Russian officer demanded Herzog. exceeding anything experienced with
Y ou may also update your contact informa-
His wife told the officer that her hus- conventional materials. The challenge tion under the Members Only area of our
band was away and she wasn t sure was exciting to utilize materials which website at w w w . af a. o r g , by calling our
of when he would return. The Russian were four times stiffer than steel and Membership D epartment at 1-800-727-3337,
told her he would wait. As this was up to 10 times stronger. or emailing m em b er s hip @ af a. o r g .
not the Russian sector, it wasn t legal I had the privilege to work with a
to kidnap personnel in Allied sectors. man who had earned the respect of
AFAs Mission
(Recall that postwar, Germany was the Air Force scientific community
divided into four sectors, including and had achieved that senior scientist
O u r mission is to promote a dominant U nited
US, French, British, and Russian.) rank from a near-POW beginning at States Air Force and a strong national de-
His wife was terrified when he didn t Wright Field. We spent several years f ense and to h onor airmen and ou r Air Force
return promptly and she thought the investigating advanced composites. I h eritage. T o accompl ish th is, we:
worst. After a time, the Russian officer, remain humbled by the opportunity the E du cate th e pu b l ic on th e critical need f or u n-
knowing about Allied patrol schedules, Air Force gave me to support Herzog, match ed aerospace power and a tech nical l y
su perior workf orce to ensu re U S national
angrily departed. Soon afterwards, a Paperclip scientist s research, and secu rity.
Herzog returned and told his wife that to share many fascinating stories. As
the butcher shop in the adjacent town a friend and mentor, his guidance will Adv ocate f or aerospace power and ST E M
edu cation.
ran out of meat, so he had to pedal to always remain the highlight of my tech-
another town to get the needed sup- nical career. That guidance enabled me Su pport th e T otal Air Force f amil y and pro-
mote aerospace edu cation.
plies. She related the story of the near to become a more effective Air Force

L etter s
officer. Honoring an earlier pledge to was D r. Hubertus Strughold. Prior to down on p. 61 of the January issue.
his wife, he retired back to Germany suspicions being raised decades later [ B-1, Better Than Ever, p. 5 4] . Is
to an honorary professorship at his about his WWII participation in Nazi the current philosophy to not enforce
university in Aachen. experiments, Strughold in fact pio- grooming standards in the aircraft?
Col. Wendell Meyerer, neered space medicine in this country Just saying.
USAF (Ret.) and made numerous contributions to Lt. Col. Randy Rothe,
Longwood, Fla. R& D concerning aviation physiology. USAFR (Ret.)
His work is said to have allowed men Colorado Springs, Colo.
Rebecca Grant hit another home to walk on the moon. The research
run with her article on the effort to library at Brooks City-Base was named I ve been retired for a couple of years
find and get German scientists, and after Strughold, and he had an office so I checked the AFI to see if there had
the technology they had developed, in that building into the 1980s. Brooks been a change in female hair grooming
to the US after World War II. To my closed as an Air Force facility in 2011. standards. Apparently not, so what s up
knowledge, this subject hasn t ever Strughold s name is no longer honored. with Captain D uckett s hair?
received a lot of attention. Most people However, the fact that a German sci- Maj. Gen. Brett Williams
know about Wernher von Braun and entist made such a contribution could USAF (Ret.)
some of his contributions to the space have been mentioned in the article, D urham, N.C.
program. But that was just the tip of perhaps with the proverbial asterisk.
the iceberg. Some of the concepts It is rare that engineers receive N ew T im es , N ew R u les
that these men brought with them, training in how the human operator Re: Air Force Magazine s January
or developed after they came here, functions in a human-machine system. 2017 news item: Air Force SetsTrans-
are still in use today. The two books Thus, while the machine side of the gender Policy [ Air Force World, p.
referenced in the article, O peration P a- system may be amazingly functional 18] . I hope our new D efense Secretary,
percl ip and American Raiders, should and reliable, the human-machine in- James Mattis, calls a halt to social
be interesting reading. Thanks again terface may be appallingly bad. I saw engineering experiments that sacrifice
for the outstanding article! this combination a number of times in discipline for diversity. The Air Force s
CMSgt Bill Leistiko, 1987-89 as chief of the Human Fac- transgender policy is a perfect example
USAF (Ret.) tors Engineering Branch for the Air of this insanity.
Wichita, Kan. Force Flight Test Center at Edwards The policy states that transgender
AFB [ Calif.] . This is not just a USAF troops must use lodging, bathroom,
Two articles in the January 2017 is- problem, but one that plagues system and shower facilities in accordance
sue of Air Force Magazine, 44 Hours development in nonmilitary institutions with their Military Personnel D ata
[ p. 33] and Our German Scientists, and in our sister services. System gender marker both before
were quite interesting as far as they The omission of a mention of the and after their transition. D o they need
went. In both cases, I was struck by the human component in these two articles gender-neutral foxholes in combat
omission of references to the human was quite consistent with the organi- situations? The policy also forbids
component in weapon systems. For the zation of the R& D component of the a commander to deny medically
44-hour missions, the Biobehavioral USAF acquisition system. Within AFRL, necessary treatment to a transgender
Performance Branch of the Air Force only one directorate, the 711th Human airman. D oes this mean Uncle Sam
Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Brooks Performance Wing, focuses on the hu- pays for gender reassignment pro-
City-Base in San Antonio provided ap- man component, while seven director- cedures? If so, can taxpayers claim
plied research and development (R& D ) ates focus on hardware and software. a deduction for equipment replace-
and real-time guidance to the crews Within the Air Force Office of Scientific ment costs? Just asking. I assume
executing the missions. We created Research (AFOSR), only a portion of this policy, set under former D efense
the Fatigue Avoidance Scheduling Tool one of four divisions, Chemistry and Secretary Ashton Carter, also applies
(FAST) quantitative software designed Biological Sciences, focuses on the to the Army, Navy, and Marines. His
primarily to support the scheduling of human component. This organizational successor must revoke it.
aircrew premission sleep and in-flight structure for R& D seems quite out of Former SECD EF Carter earlier said
naps for these missions. The soft- line with the phrase within the USAF the Pentagon will consider easing
ware made calculations based upon vision statement that states, The standards for tattoos and physical fit-
personal sleep histories of individual World s Greatest Air Force Powered ness to attract a wider mix of recruits
crew members, geophysical daylight- by Airmen, Fueled by Innovation (em- who don t meet current requirements.
darkness cues en route, scheduled phasis added). Perhaps a somewhat That s like saying: D on t raise the
in-flight refuelings and bombing runs, greater focus on R& D and acquisition bridge. Lower the water. If basic rules
and quantitative data about predicted on the human component in weapon don t apply to everyone in uniform,
human circadian rhythms, sleep length, systems is justified. then they apply to no one. If you lower
sleep quality, etc. D r. William F. Storm James C. Miller standards for tattoos and fitness,
traveled a number of times to White- Buffalo, Wyo. what s next? Can Rastafarian recruits
man AFB, Mo., from Brooks to help wear dreadlocks? Will Muslim troops
plan specific missions. AH air y S itu atio n be allowed to grow long beards? Can
Perhaps the foremost German sci- I was amazed to see the photo of former street gang members sport
entist who worked for the Air Force Capt. Krystle D uckett letting her hair gang tattoos and colors? If everyone

in uniform does their own thing, you and remoteness of the site made the Air National Guard as a major
have a mob, not a military. Sacrific- recovery impossible. The airplane command?
ing discipline on the altar of diversity was abandoned after being stripped Colonel Lilljedahl noted that in the
threatens our nation s security by of instruments and other equipment Photochart of USAF Leadership (Sep-
putting political correctness ahead that could be easily salvaged. tember 2016) ANG director Lt. Gen. L.
of combat readiness. End it ASAP. The website says that over the years Scott Rice was included under the Air
Richard Reif over seven meters of ice and snow buried Staff rather than with majcom com-
Flushing, N.Y . the aircraft. In 1986 it was decided to manders.
rescue the airplane. After a lot of effort, The Air Force currently has 10 major
H o o v er P r ais e this was accomplished and on 10 Janu- commands, of which the ANG is not one.
Y our article on Bob Hoover brought ary she flew again The ANG is a state militia air reserve
back fond memories [ Air Force World: SMSgt. D ave Caron, component (ARC) of the United States
Bob Hoover, 1922-2016, p. 20] . While USAF (Ret) Air Force and as such reports to the Air
at the 198th Fighter Squadron in the Las V egas, Nev. Staff. Operating under Title 10 USC all
Puerto Rico Air National Guard, Bob ANG units are operationally gained by
Hoover accepted our invitation to par- A N G v s . A F R C an Active D uty major command.
ticipate in our anniversary activity at I was disappointed that Air Force The Air Force Reserve, which the
the ANG base in San Juan. Bob flew Magazine editors recently passed up an colonel also mentioned in his letter, is
in on his Aero Commander and asked opportunity for an informable moment both a majcom and an ARC.
me if he could fly one of our F-86D s to in the January 2016 Letters [ p.8] . Col. Bill Malec,
familiarize himself with the local area. In his letter, retired Col. Robert C. USAF (Ret.)
I was to be his wingman on takeoff Lilljedahl asked, What happened to O Fallon, Ill
but at the runway end he signaled me
to take the lead. We flew around the
area for about 40 minutes or so and S enio r S taf f C hang es
went back to the air guard base at
San Juan. When I parked my F-86D
at the ramp the crew chief asked me C O N F I R MA T I O N S : T o b e G ener al: James M. H o lm es . T o b e L ieu tenant G ener al: Jerry D .
if I had gone crazy. Seems like Bob H ar r is J r .
Hoover did a couple of rolls right after T o b e A N G Maj o r G ener al: D avid P. B ac z ew s k i, Timothy J. C athc ar t, Brian T. Dr av is , James
takeoff and all thought it had been me. O. E if er t, Richard W. K elly , Christopher J. K nap p , D avid M. Mc Minn, Jon K. Mo tt, Clayton W.
What a great guy. Had him for dinner Mo u s ho n, Kerry L. Mu ehlenb ec k , Ronald E. P au l, Howard P. P u r c ell, D avid P. S an C lem ente,
at my home that evening and one of Jesse T. S im m o ns J r . , Randolph J. S tau d enr au s , Michael R. T aher i, Roger E. W illiam s J r .
the pilots brought a guitar. Bob knew T o b e A N G B r ig ad ier G ener al: Joel E. DeG r o o t, Christopher M. F au x , Robert J. G r eg o r y I I I ,
all the raunchy tunes. We had a great Henry U. H ar d er J r . , Eric W. L ind , Stephon C. Melto n, D avid D . Z w ar t.
evening with a great pilot. T o b e A F R C Maj o r G ener al: Craig L. L aF av e, Pamela J. L inc o ln, D onald R. L ind b er g , Randall
Maj. Gen. Orlando Llenza, A. O g d en, Robert N. P o lu m b o , James P. S c anlan, Patrick M. W ad e.
USAF (Ret.) T o b e A F R C B r ig ad ier G ener al: Brian K. B o r g en, William E. Dic k ens J r . , Kathleen M. F lar ity ,
Pembroke Pines, Fla. Jeffrey S. H inr ic hs , Jay D . J ens en, Bret C. L ar s o n, Todd J. Mc C u b b in, Patrice A. Melanc o n,
Ellen M. Mo o r e, Boyd C. L. P ar k er I V , Steven B. P ar k er , Bryan P. R ad lif f , Scott A. S au ter , Con-
F u n W ith R es to r atio n stance M. V o n H o f f m an.
I thoroughly enjoyed the article in a
recent edition about how they restored N O MI N A T I O N S : T o b e A N G B r ig ad ier G ener al: Jerry D . A eb is c her , Nathan B. A lho linna, Boris
a B-5 2 (Ghost Rider) from storage at R. A r m s tr o ng , Kimberly A. B au m ann, Robert L. B ell, D onald R. B ev is J r . , Shawn N. B r atto n,
the Boneyard and got it back to full Jeffrey L. B u tler , Michael E. C allahan, Kevin J. C am p b ell, Thomas S. C au then, Lawrence L.
operational status [ Air Force World: C hr is tens en, Shawn A. C lo u thier , Gerald K. C o lm er J r . , D arwin L. C r aig , Robert C. Des k o ,
Ghost Rider Returns to Minot, D e- John R. DiDo nna J r . , Kevin M. Do no v an, Bobbi J. Do o r enb o s , D avid N. Dz io b k o w s k i, Randal
cember, p. 18] . Eight years in the dry K. E f f er s o n, Howard L. E is s ler I I I , Shawn D . F o r d , Jed J. F r enc h, D aniel E. G ab r ielli, Mark P.
desert air and proper storage had kept G au l, Rainer G. G o m ez , Patrick M. G u inee, Penny C. H o d g es - G o etz , Jeremy C. H o r n, Cas-
the aircraft in very good condition. sandra D . H o w ar d , Paul D . J o hns o n, Edward S. J o nes , Gary W. K ir k , Heidi L. K j o s , Meaghan
However, not to take anything away Q . L eC ler c , Gregor J. L eis t, Suzanne B. L ip c am an, Paul S. L y m an, Keith G. Mac Do nald , Rolf
from the efforts of all personnel involved, E. Mam m en, Gerald E. Mc Do nald , Christopher G. Mc G r aw , Michael R. Mo r g an, Rebecca L.
how about restoring a crashed C-130 O C o nno r , Jeffrey L. R y an, Jon S. S af s tr o m , William L. S p ar r o w , James R. S tev ens o n J r . , Jef-
abandoned and buried in the ice at the frey D . S to r ey , Bryan J. T ef f , Edward L. V au g han I V , April D . V o g el, Charles M. W alk er , Chris-
South Pole for 17 years? topher S. W alk er , D avid B. W alk er , D avid A. W eis haar , Wendy B. W enk e, Gregory T. W hite,
According to the website http:/ / Jeffrey J. W ieg and , Brent W. W r ig ht, William T. Y ates , D aniel S. Y enc hes k y .
www.southpolestation.com/ trivia/ his-
tory/ 321/ digout.html, a Navy LC-130 C H A N G E S : Brig. Gen. William T. C o o ley , from Program Exec., Prgms. & Integration, Missile
(called 321 for its call sign) crashed on D efense Agency, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., to Cmdr., AFRL, AFMC, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
D ec. 4, 1971. The LC-130 that arrived Brig. Gen. Michael A. G u etlein, from Sr. Materiel Leader, Remote Systems D irectorate, SMC, AF-
four days after the accident to rescue SPC, Los Angeles AFB, Calif., to Program Exec., Prgms. & Integration, Missile D efense Agency,
the crew and brought a Navy accident- Redstone Arsenal, Ala. Brig. Gen. Kevin B. K enned y , from D ir., Cyberspace Ops. & Warf-
investigation team. The team s evalu- ighting Integration, Office of Info. Dominance IO, OSA , entagon, to Dep. IO, 4 Info.
ation was that the extensive damage Infrastructure Capabilities, OSD , Pentagon.

Aperture
By John A. Tirpak, Editorial Director
War by other means; Trolling for votes; Sources and

methods; Nuclear superiority ....
A UNANIMOUS INTELLIGENCE DECISION any tampering with ballots or voting machines or hacking of
other vote-counting technology.
The US Intelligence Community issued a rare public re- Trump, issuing a statement after his briefing, called it a
port in early January, explaining its unanimous judgment that constructive meeting. He said, While Russia, China, other
Russian intelligence, under the direct orders of President countries, outside groups, and people are consistently trying
V ladimir Putin, conducted a massive effort to interfere with to break through the cyber infrastructure of our governmental
the US presidential election, mainly through social media institutions, businesses, and organizations, including the
and the selective leaking of hacked information. It was the D emocratic National Committee [ D NC] , there was absolutely
boldest example yet of Russia s move toward achieving its no effect on the outcome of the election.
ends through hybrid warfare. Clapper would not comment directly on whether Russia
The report was released the day after a hearing of the had managed to sway the election, saying simply that it is
Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on cyberse- not the place of the intelligence agencies to assess how the
curity, where outgoing D irector of National Intelligence electorate was influenced by the disinformation campaign.
James R. Clapper explained Russia s influence campaign The Intelligence Community said Russia s goals in this
within the US. campaign were both broad and specific. roadly, utin
Russia s goals were to undermine public faith in the US wanted to advance Russia's long-standing desire to under-
democratic process, denigrate Secretary [ Hillary] Clinton, mine the US-led liberal democratic order that of free and
and harm her electability and potential presidency, said fair democratic elections and free speech which he saw as
the unclassified version of the report, released late on Jan. a threat to Russia and his regime.
6, hours after a secret version was briefed to President-
elect Trump. WHY HIM, NOT HER?
We further assess Putin and the Russian government
developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. Moreover, Putin most likely wanted to discredit Secretary
We have high confidence in these judgments, read the Clinton because he has publicly blamed her since 2011 for
report, issued by Clapper on behalf of the CIA, FBI, National inciting mass protests against his regime in late 2011 and
early 2012, and because he holds a grudge for comments
C-SPAN photo
he almost certainly saw as disparaging him, the report said.
Clinton had also orchestrated sanctions against Russia for
the invasion of Ukraine and the seizure of Crimea. Along
with falling oil prices, the sanctions severely damaged the
Russian economy.
In Trump, meanwhile, Putin saw an opportunity to achieve
an international counterterrorism coalition against ISIS. He d
also had many positive experiences working with Western
political leaders whose business interests made them more
disposed to deal with Russia, such as former Italian Prime
Minister Silvio Berlusconi and German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder.
Pro-Kremlin proxy V ladimir Z hirinovsky, leader of the
nationalist Liberal D emocratic Party of Russia, proclaimed
just before the election that if Trump won, Russia would
C lap p er o f f er s the c o ns ens u s v iew . drink champagne in anticipation of being able to advance
its positions on Syria and Ukraine, according to the report.
Security Agency, D epartment of Homeland Security (D HS), The report summed up the findings as follows: Mos-
and other agencies. cow s influence campaign followed a Russian messaging
strategy that blends covert intelligence operations such
DISINFORMATION VS. VOTE-CHANGING as cyber activity with overt efforts by Russian govern-
ment agencies, state-funded media, third-party interme-
Although Russia hacked and maintained access to ele- diaries, and paid social media users, or trolls. Russia,
ments of multiple US state or local electoral boards, the D HS like its Soviet predecessor, has a history of conducting
said those targeted or compromised were not involved in covert influence campaigns, focused on US presidential
vote tallying. The Intelligence Community said it didn t detect elections, that have used intelligence officers and agents

Aperture
ing her expected presidency, crippling it from the start,

and questioning the legitimacy of the election.
The report said Russia had conducted cyber operations
against both major US political parties in the 2016 elec-
tion, as well as think tanks and lobbying groups they viewed
as likely to shape future US policies.
ussia collected on some epublican-affiliated targets
but did not conduct a comparable disclosure campaign, the
report added, but it did not offer a judgment on why Russia
withheld this information.
NEW NORMAL
The report concluded with a judgment that Russia s

behavior in the 2016 US election marks the start of a
new normal in Russian interference in the politics of its
Photo by Gage Skidmore adversaries.
We assess Moscow will apply lessons learned from its
T r u m p : H ac k ing had no ef f ec t.
Putin-ordered campaign aimed at the US presidential elec-
tion to future influence efforts worldwide, including against
and press placements to disparage candidates perceived US allies and their election processes. It has already used
as hostile to the Kremlin. these techniques with effect in some Western European
countries and in former Soviet-bloc republics.
A NEFARIOUS, STATE-CONTROLLED WEB At the SASC hearing, chairman Sen. John McCain (R-
Ariz.) decried the absence of a strategy in dealing with hack
The National Intelligence Council said Russia s strategy attacks from foreign governments and criticized the Obama
was to use its military intelligence organization (called administration for failing to establish clear-cut rules as to
the GRU) to hack the D NC and people associated with what constitutes an act of war in the cyber domain. He
Clinton, then feed anything embarrassing to Julian As- called Obama s expulsion of Russian diplomats and other
sange s WikiLeaks website. Stories would next appear on sanctions in response to the election tampering a weak
the government-sponsored RT (formerly Russia Today) response that won t deter Russia or other countries, such as
network and other websites. The GRU then used paid in- China and North Korea, from cyber espionage or election-
ternet trolls to create and spread social media campaigns tampering campaigns such as the one Clapper described.
to further distribute the stories on Facebook, Twitter, and Clapper said cyber retaliation is fraught with peril, be-
other media. In some cases the information was factual, in cause it s hard to gauge what will happen as a counter-
others it was exaggerated or wholly contrived, but it was retaliation. Clapper said he s a big fan of sanctions as
given the look of real news. a tool to punish such cross-domain campaigns and cyber
The unclassified report cited mostly open-source informa- attacks. He also acknowledged that the US, too, conducts
tion about how items originating on RT were disseminated cyber espionage and warned that people in glass houses
through social media. In one of more than a dozen bul- might think twice before throwing rocks.
leted examples: On 6 August, RT published an
English-language video called Julian Assange Kremlin photo
Special: D o WikiLeaks Have the Email That ll Put

Clinton in Prison? and an exclusive interview
with Assange entitled, Clinton And ISIS Funded
by the Same Money. RT s most popular video
on Secretary Clinton, How 100% of the Clintons
Charity Went to Themselves, had more than
nine million views on social media platforms.
Other conclusions were based on classified
information, and Clapper waved off discussing
those in an unclassified setting, saying sources
and methods are fragile and the US would
have to kiss that off if they were exposed.
They would be almost impossible to reconstitute,
because opponents would rapidly move to block
the leaks. This was particularly true of cyber
attributions, he said.
The intelligence estimate held that the Rus-
sians became convinced in October that Clinton
would win the election and shifted their cam-
paign from promoting Trump toward undermin- utin insists on meeting the ve- ear goal.

Aperture
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), running with that especially on the Russian border, and timely action to adjust
metaphor, said, It is time now not to throw pebbles but to plans so as to neutralize potential threats our country may face.
throw rocks. He touted the success of Russian forces in Syria, saying
they have passed the test of counterterrorist struggle.
RED STAR RISING Syria and Russia refer to all opponents of the Bashar al-
Assad regime in Syria as terrorists, making no distinction
Russian President V ladimir Putin s annual address to between groups such as ISIS and the Free Syrian Army that
his defense leaders showed clearly that he s aiming for a seeks to install a democratic Syrian government.
military not just equal to that of the US, but superior to it. The military services of Russia must be modernized in a
Putin suggested a continuation of the aggressive policies balanced fashion, Putin said, urging all to assimilate high
of recent years where Russia used military force to subdue precision weapons as quickly as possible, along with the
independence-minded or pro-Western neighboring govern- latest communication, intelligence technology, means of
ments. [ command and] control, and electronic warfare.
In the D ec. 22, 2016, speech, a transcript of which was Putin urged close cooperation between the military and
made available by the TASS state-run news agency, Putin armaments industry, warning of heavy repercussions if it
said he expects the Russian military to meet his goal of fails to perform. Referring to the 2021 modernization goal,
having a 70 percent modern military both conventional he said, Five years is not a long period for a program of this
and strategic forces by 2021. He instructed it to develop scale. Any delay in its implementation can have a disruptive
nuclear weapons that can overcome any potential defenses. effect on the production chain that will be very hard to put
We need to enhance the combat capability of the stra- back on track. For this reason, any failure in the execution
tegic nuclear forces, he said. These must be guaranteed of contracts must be subject to severe sanctions.
to penetrate existing and future missile defense systems. In addition to a push for modernization, Putin signaled an
He said strategic non-nuclear forces must also reach a increase in training and its realism.
new level of sophistication, so as to neutralize any military
threats Russia may face.
Though there s much to do to strengthen Russia s nuclear ARMS SHOW?
triad, missile warning, intelligence, surveillance, and recon-
naissance, and ground and naval forces, Putin insisted, The success of Russia s weapons in Syria offers new
Today we are stronger than any potential aggressor. I repeat, possibilities for arms sales and cooperative weapons pro-
any aggressor. grams with other countries, Putin said, urging that full use
In the speech, Putin said the Russian military has made be made of these opportunities.
good progress toward modernizing, urging his leaders to We know that foreign partners are very much interested
maintain momentum. In nuclear forces, he said 60 percent in Russian weapons, he asserted. Russia has been try-
are modernized already. He mentioned a series of exercises ing out new weapons in the Syrian fight, ranging from a
and four snap inspections of combat readiness that have new long-range cruise missile to satellite guided munitions
demonstrated the uic ness and increased efficiency of comparable to the US satellite guided Joint D irect Attack
conventional forces. These e ercises have reaffirmed that Munition, or JD AM.
our military units can be quickly deployed large distances Putin said he s done much to provide for the well-being of
in strategic directions, he said. the army personnel, boasting that people on the waiting list
NATO leaders have said these snap inspections, con- to obtain housing from the D efense Ministry dropped 2.8-fold
ducted without prior notice, have put alliance forces on alert since January 2012. He told his defense leaders that caring
and driven them to adopt a posture of deterrence, not merely for army personnel and providing better social guarantees for
reactive readiness. (See Bears Watching, September 2016, soldiers and officers is the most important contribution to
and NATO s New Reality, October 2016.) training a new generation of defenders of the Fatherland.
Putin wants close tracking of any changes in the balance Lastly, Putin urged no letup in the push to modernize, saying
of forces and military-political developments in the world, there s no time for even a single significant mista e.
u- ghters are part of Russia s big push to moderni e

and dominate.
Russian Federation Ministry of D efense photo

Action in Congress
By Megan Scully
Fasten Your Seatbelts

T he defense and aerospace industry is off to a bumpy start
with resident Donald Trump, who put two high-profile
programs in his sights in the weeks leading up to his inau-
But the companies responses to the then-President-elect
were somewhat muted, as they mulled the unprecedented
nature of not only Trump s tweets but also his intended in-
guration and signaled that he could take a very unorthodox volvement and interest in Pentagon acquisition.
approach to buying aircraft and other military hardware. David . Melcher, president of the Aerospace Industries
D uring the presidential campaign, Trump, then the GOP Association, suggested after an industry lunch in December
nominee, pledged to boost defense spending by tens of bil- that defense firms should not overreact to Trump s tweets.
lions of dollars annually to modernize the US military and give This is a relatively new phenomenon, said Melcher, who
it a bigger technological edge against rivals around the world. sat down with Trump several months ago to discuss the in-
Since winning the election, however, Trump has expressed dustry s priorities. I know the right answer is not going to be
little patience for the Pentagon s arcane and heavily regulated [ to] tweet back, so don t expect us to be doing that.
acquisition processes, expressing frustrations with price tags Indeed, instead of tweeting back, Lockheed Martin CEO
for the - stri e fighter and the Air orce One replacement Marillyn Hewson and oeing O Dennis A. Muilenburg found
programs, in particular. themselves summoned to meet with Trump in D ecember.
What s more, the real estate mogul has signaled he intends Muilenburg called his meeting with Trump a productive and
to get involved in negotiations himself, an unusual move for open discussion and pledged to produce the two Air orce
a Commander in Chief, as presidents typically have little to One jets currently planned for below the $ 4 billion estimate
say about the particulars of weapons contracts. that has been panned by Trump though current Pentagon
Trump, who has bemoaned the cost of the - and Air estimates already have the total cost for the program well
Force One programs in a series of tweets since the election, below that amount.
is a different breed of President, more accustomed to the We re going to get it done for less than that, and we re
boardroom than the congressional hearing room. But Trump, committed to working together to make sure that happens.
who has spent his life in the private sector, is likely not quite And I was able to give the resident-elect my personal com-
clear on what he s getting himself into. mitment on behalf of the Boeing Company, he told reporters
Indeed, there are many layers of bureaucracy and many after the meeting. This is a business that s important to us.
bureaucrats between the President and the contracting The President-elect himself boasted that he would cut costs
officials who negotiate and sign agreements for defense on the huge, triservice F-35 program.
programs. Meanwhile, the Pentagon must, by law, abide by We re just beginning. It s a dance, he said. It s a little bit
USA photo by aul Holcomb
of a dance. But we re going to get
the costs down and we re going to
get it done beautifully.
The next day, Trump upped the
ante with Lockheed Martin, tweet-
ing that he had asked rival Boeing
to price out a comparable A-
Super Hornet, carrier-based fight-
ers that are currently flown by the
Navy. The tweet underscored his
aggressive negotiation tactics, but
also highlighted his unfamiliarity
with some of the intricacies of
eeting the strike ghter. Pentagon acquisition.
Indeed, Trump will not have
final say over the awarding of de-
an extensive set of policies and regulations that in no way fense contracts, even as Commander in Chief of the armed
resembles the kind of deal-making Trump is used to in com- forces. Only a warranted contracting officer, which the resi-
mercial real estate. dent is not, can sign off on contracts.
Nonetheless, Trump has used Twitter, his preferred The layers of bureaucracy between the President (or any
medium, to call out the two programs, in the hopes of cut- other political figure, for that matter and the contract officer
ting costs on both multibillion-dollar efforts. F-35 maker e ist for good reason to prevent any undue political influence
Lockheed Martin and Boeing, which is expected to build on the process.
Air orce One, both saw immediate hits to their stoc s fol-
lowing Trump s tweets. Megan Scully is a reporter for CQ Roll Call.

Forward Deployed
By Jennifer Hlad
Airmen not alone; Covering reachback; Avoiding the steamroller;

Continued evolution ....
THIN BLUE LINE
USAF photo by SrA. Z achary Kee

There are hundreds of airmen assigned to individual
augmentee billets or to joint expeditionary taskings in the
Central Command area of operations.
Lt. Col. Sang Kim s job is to take care of them.
Kim, commander of the 387th Air Expeditionary Squadron,
said he and his staff are the Air Force blue line for about
300 airmen with more than 60 Air Force specialties, scattered
throughout about 10 countries.
The squadron oversees those airmen, to make sure
they re taken care of, that they have the right training, the
right gear, that they re not alone, said Col. Charles D . Bolton,
commander of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing.
That assistance comes in the form of administrative sup-
port and other organize, train, and equip functions, Kim said.
The staff also makes sure the airmen are being used properly
in their jobs, and if there s a problem, they will engage with F ir s t r es p o nd er s w ith the 38 6 th E x p ed itio nar y C iv il E ng ineer
the airmen s leadership on his or her behalf. S q u ad r o n p er f o r m m ed ic al ev ac u atio n tr aining .
Some airmen are kind of by themselves at certain loca-
tions, Kim said, so if the unit didn t exist, those airmen YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY
wouldn t have anyone to reach back to if, for example, they
need a cold-weather jacket or legal help. Bolton said the Air Force has come a long way to get our
That s where we come in and help them out, Kim said. arms around taking care of them.
At one point during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Op- For example, if an airman from Little Rock AFB, Ark.,
eration Enduring Freedom, there were 2,000 to 3,000 JET embeds with an Army unit in Irbil, Iraq, he or she could be
(joint expeditionary tasked) and individual augmentee (IA) the only airman there, said Bolton. So who does that person
airmen deployed and all sorts of issues associated with have helping them, supporting them? We do that, he said.
that, Kim said. The JET and IA airmen could be tactical air control party
personnel, security forces, intelligence, pilots, logistics, or
USAF photo
any other specialty the joint staff or other service unit needs.
Frequently, Kim said, an Army or Marine ground unit or joint
staff unit will be looking for the airpower mentality that obvi-
ously the Air Force brings, and requesting an airman is like
hitting the easy button.
Since the airmen are spread out over a large geographic
area, maintaining 100 percent accountability can be a chal-
lenge, Kim said. Some may be in a different location than
they had originally deployed to, and the numbers in the
region change every day.
But, Bolton said, the squadron does a great job of taking
care of all those airmen, making sure they get the mail, that
they have someone to talk to if they have a legal concern,
or just to make sure the Air Force family is still with them.
The overall JET and IA mission continues to evolve, Kim
T S g t. R o nald G o w en, a lo g is tic ian as s ig ned to the 38 7 th A ir E x - said, and while there are about 300 in his squadron now, the
p ed itio nar y S q u ad r o n, help s u nlo ad a C - 17 in S o u thw es t A s ia.
battle to reclaim Mosul, Iraq, has increased their numbers.
That s why the AES [ air expeditionary squadron] construct The requirement is steadily increasing, so likewise, our
started to grow, to have that blue line connection with our squadron grows with that requirement, he said.
JET and IAs, to make sure that they re being taken care of
and not just being steamrolled in any way, Kim said. There s
a lot of behind-the-scenes things that our guys do to take Jennifer Hlad is a freelance journalist based in the Middle East
care of our JET and IAs. and a former Air Force Magazine senior editor.
Photo credit

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SCREENSHOT
01.18.2017
A B-2 from the 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman AFB, Mo.,

is prepared for takeoff on a mission against ISIS targets
near Sirte, Libya.

USAF photo by SrA. Joel Pfiester

By Wilson Brissett, Senior Editor
O f f W e G o o n the T - X T-50A variant of the Korean Aerospace Industries T-50 trainer

The Air Force released the final request for proposal (RFP) and Raytheon is bidding the T-100 variant of the Leonardo
for the T-X advanced pilot trainer on Dec. 30, launching a (formerly Alenia Aermacchi) M346 Master. Textron is reported
competition that is expected to pit a half-dozen major con- to be considering offering a modified version of its Scorpion
tractors against one another for a contract worth in excess of jetwhich in its present configuration doesnt meet USAFs
$16.3 billion. The award, expected in 2017, would be for 350 G-loading requirementsand service officials suggested
jets and a ground-based training system to replace the T-38 that other, surprise offerors may join the contest.
fleet. The Air Force wants initial operational
capability in 2024 or sooner.
According to the RFP, the award will cover
development and production of the first five
aircraft, plus mission planning systems, ground
support gear, and initial spares. The first two
lots of production jets would be at a low rate,
followed by nine more lots at full rate, likely to
be about 37 jets per year. T-X is a program
weve got to get right, Air Force Chief of Staff
Gen. David L. Goldfein said in an accompany-
ing statement.
Boeing/Saab, Northrop Grumman, and
Sierra Nevada/Turkish Aerospace Industries
are offering new-design aircraft for the com-
petition, while Lockheed Martin is offering the
USAF photo by Amn. Tristan D . V iglianco
rafc ontrol istake aused ollision

An F-16CM and a private Cessna collided in July 2015
because neither aircraft could see the other and there was
poor direction by an air traffic controller, causing the aircraft to
crash. The pilot and passenger of the small plane were killed.
The F-16, assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw AFB,
S.C., was traveling to Charleston, S.C., when a controller
directed the Viper to turn 180 degrees near a small airfield
near the town of Moncks Corner. A Cessna 150M had taken
off and was ascending into the path of the F-16. The Air
Force pilot had an obstructed view and insufficient time to
avoid a collision.
National Transportation Safety Board photo
The investigation found that the controllers direction to
send the F-16 to a nearby uncontrolled airfield and the pilots
nonuse of additional systems (such as those that scan for
F - 35 A N G C and id ate B as es A nno u nc ed
civilian transponders) contributed to the crash.
The Air Force has named five installations as candidates
The crash killed Michael Johnson, 68, and his son Joseph
to become the second and third Air National Guard homes for
Johnson, 30, both of Moncks Corner. The pilot ejected and
the F-35A. They are: Montgomery Regional Arpt. (Dannelly
sustained minor injuries.
Field AGS), Ala.; Boise Air Terminal (Gowen Field AGS),
Idaho; Jacksonville Arpt./AGS, Fla.; Selfridge ANGB, Mich.;
and Truax Field/AGS, Wis., according to a press release.
USAF photo by SrA. D evante Williams USAF said it would select preferred and alternate locations
this spring. Environmental impact studies will be performed
and a final decision will then be made. The F-35A will begin
arriving at the selected bases in the mid-2020s.
The 158th Fighter Wing at Burlington Arpt./AGS, Vt., is
slated to receive the Guards first F-35s in fall 2019. The Air
Force also previously named three Active Duty operational
locations for F-35A basing, including Hill AFB, Utah; RAF
Lakenheath, UK; and Eielson AFB, Alaska.

oving For ard ith AR Recap
olmes onrmed o ead A The Air Force released the final request for proposal to
The Senate confirmed Lt. Gen. James industry for the JSTARS recapitalization program. The RFP
includes all aspects of the system, including the airframe,
USAF photo
M. Mike Holmes to receive his fourth

star and lead Air Combat Command. radar, communication systems, and battle management
Holmes, currently the deputy chief of staff command and control suite, according to an Air Force news
for strategic plans and requirements, will release.
take over from Gen. Herbert J. Hawk The service intends to award a contract in Fiscal 2018 for
Carlisle, who is retiring. Carlisle has led three engineering and manufacturing development (EMD)
ACC since October 2014. Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS)
Holmes is a command pilot with more than 4,000 hours, recap weapon systems for testing, with options for low-rate
mostly in F-15s. initial production of two more aircraft and full-rate production
of four aircraft each in Lots 1 to 3, bringing the total fleet to
17 aircraft.
AF Approves ockheed round ontrol stem The contract will include options for ground support,
The Air Force approved Lockheed Martins design for an such as training systems, mission planning and processing
upgrade to the existing GPS ground control system, which systems, system integration labs, support equipment, and
will now enter risk reduction, the company announced. This spares, stated the release.
upgrade is being performed under a $96 million contract ap- Initial operational capability for the JSTARS recap is slated
proved in February 2016 and will enable the current system, for 2024. Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin
built to operate GPS II satellites, to also operate the next recently completed an 11-month pre-EMD phase, helping to
generation GPS III. Lockheed Martin is building those satel- assess the maturity of subsystem technology, stated the
lites. The first is scheduled for launch this year. release, and reduce the risk of weapon system integration.
The upgraded control system provides a temporary solu- The Air Force released a memorandum to industry and a
tion until the next generation Operational Control System draft RFP in September 2016the same week the current
(OCX) is completed. OCX is being built by Raytheon, but E-8 JSTARS fleet, made up of 16 Boeing 707s dating to the
its progress was delayed in July when a Nunn-McCurdy 1960s, reached one million flight hours.
breach was declared because the program exceeded the 25
percent cost overrun threshold. In October, a Government
Accountability Office report recommended the OCX program
increase transparency by establishing clear milestones and
clarifying its acquisitions strategy.
USAF photo by A1C Mike Meares USAF photo by SrA. Miles Wilson
hunderbird Felled b tick Button Normally the throttle wont move all the way to cutoff unless
The Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team F-16 that the button is depressed, but the button had become stuck in
crashed in Colorado on June 2minutes after a flyby of the depressed position due to accumulated metallic debris,
the Air Force Academy graduation attended by President stray lubricant, a misaligned clevis pin, and wear on the spring
Obamawas done in by a stuck button on the throttle, the mechanism, USAFs official accident investigation found.
service announced. The pilot, Maj. Alex Turner, inadvertently rotated the throttle
to the engine cutoff position, and by the time he realized what
USAF photo by D ave Meade had happened, was too low to restart the engine, though he
attempted to do so. Turner delayed ejection for a few seconds
to steer the jet away from a house. He ejected with only minor
injury, was picked up, and was later introduced to Obama.
Turner was returned to flying duty. Though the jet, tail No.
92-3890, seemingly landed upright and largely intact, it was
declared a total loss, at a value of $29.5 million. Technical
orders have been changed to require a more thorough regu-
lar inspection of the mechanism and the proper alignment
of the pin.

Air Force World
USAF photo by SSgt. Benjamin Gonsier
F lex ing A ir F o r c e Mu s c les in the S o u th C hina S ea
US bombers and fighters, in mid-December, flew a show-
of-force sortie over the South China Sea that included one
B-52H, two B-1Bs, four F-15Cs, seven tankers, and a US Navy
guided missile destroyer as tensions are raised in the region.
The operation was a routine small force training sortie
that included several forward operating bases in the region.
The B-52 was one of three that deployed from Minot AFB,
N.D., to Andersen AFB, Guam, on Dec. 3 for a 15-day rota-
tion. The Stratofortresses at the base were in addition to
the B-1s already forward deployed as part of the Air Forces
continuous bomber presence to the Pacific. The B-52s flew 15
sorties during the short deployment, the news release stated.
The B-52 also participated in the Phoenix Black exercise
in Australia during its deployment.
L o c k heed G ets $ 6 0 Millio n f o r I C B M Mo d er niz atio n

Lockheed Martin received a new contract and the Air
Force extended a second, worth a combined total of more
than $60 million, to revitalize the Air Forces Minuteman III
reentry systems. The awards include a $50 million, four-year
fixed-price contract covering seven reentry field support
equipment units and additional support equipment. Another
$10.6 million contract extends an existing deal for ICBM
reentry vehicle integration and modernization, according to
a Lockheed Martin press release.
The contracts come as the Air Force seeks to modernize
its Minuteman III fleet to keep it viable until its replacement.
A request for proposal for the Ground Based Strategic De-
terrent system went out last fall, with development expected
in the late 2020s and an expected cost of about $62 billion.
USAF photo by A1C Ian D udley
G en. S eth J . Mc K ee, 19 16 - 20 16

USAF photo
Seth Jefferson McKee, who was four-star head of North ground targets. He was named com-
American Air D efense Command from 1969 to 1973, headed mander of the 370th Fighter Group in
US Forces Japan, and was a World War II combat pilot, died Europe in November 1944.
in Scottsdale, Ariz., D ec. 26, 2016, at the age of 100. After the war, McKee completed
McKee, born in McGehee, Ark., started his military career his college education and returned to
in 1935 . He joined the Missouri National Guard, ostensibly to Europe as a technical advisor to the
earn money for a medical education, but became an aviation Italian air force and later served as com-
cadet and earned his wings in 1939. mander of the 36th Fighter Bomber Group. He
He trained to fly the - ightning and was a test pilot commanded the 2nd Bombardment Wing and served as deputy
at no ville ield, Ala., and then Orlando, la. He finagled director of plans for Strategic Air Command, Offutt AFB, Neb.
an assignment to urope and got into World War II, flying In 1966, he took command of US Forces Japan and 5 th
bomber escort missions. On D -D ay, as a lieutenant colonel, Air Force. Two years later, he became assistant vice chief of
he led a group of 4 - s providing air cover for troops on staff and in 1969 received his fourth star as head of NORAD
the beaches at Normandy. At the time of his death, he was and US Aerospace D efense Command in Colorado.
the highest-ranking veteran of Operation Overlord, according In addition to the D istinguished Service Medal, Silver Star,
to the Arizona Repu b l ic. three egions of Merit, and the Distinguished lying ross,
During the war, he flew missions and destroyed two enemy McKee received decorations from allied nations. In November
aircraft. McKee was an accomplished attack pilot, destroying 2016, he was made a Chevalier in the National Order of the
numerous armored vehicles, trains, artillery, airfields, and other egion of Honor, rance s highest honor.

T he W ar o n T er r o r is m
U S C entr al C o m m and O p er atio ns : F r eed o m s S entinel and I nher ent R es o lv e
C as u alties US and coalition air strikes have killed or seriously
By Jan. 19, a total of 33 Americans had died in Operation wounded more than 2,500 ISIS fighters since mid-October,
Freedoms Sentinel (Afghanistan), and 33 Americans had and strikes targeting the groups financial operations have
died in Operation Inherent Resolve (Iraq and Syria). cost the group between $4.5 million and $6.5 million
The total includes 63 troops and three Department of per month. Weve conducted various strikes out there,
Defense civilians. Of these deaths, 29 were killed in action Townsend said. I dont require a lot of justification for
with the enemy while 37 died in noncombat incidents. doing that. There is [ISIS] out there that needs killing, so
There have been 145 troops wounded in action during were killing them.
OFS and 29 troops in OIR.
U S S end ing Mo r e T r o o p s to S y r ia
E f f ec tiv e S u p p o r t o r O v er r elianc e o n A ir p o w er ? The US is building up its presence inside Syria, sending
Air Force commandos need to walk a fine line in deliver- 200 more special operations troops to continue assisting
ing air strikes to support the Iraqi advance against ISIS, in the advance on ISIS self-proclaimed capital. Defense
between providing effective help and having the Iraqi Secretary Ashton B. Carter said he requested the addi-
army rely too much on coalition aid, a USAF tactical air tional troops as part of a new phase in the fight, focused
control party officer said Dec. 16. The airman, who spoke on expelling ISIS from Raqqa.
to defense reporters on background about airpower in The troops play a vital role in helping to identify, build,
Operation Inherent Resolve, said US joint terminal attack and then enable the force that will expel [ISIS] from Raqqa
controllers in Iraq and Kuwait work with Iraqi officials to and be a critical part of destroying [ISIS] here in Iraq and
approve every air strike that helps the Iraqi troops advance Syria, which we must do and which we will do, Carter said
in their ground operation. Dec. 11 during a briefing at Qayyarah West Airfield in Iraq.
US airmen, who number in the dozens and are located There were already about 300 troops inside Syria em-
in strike cells far removed from the front lines, help the bedded with Syrian Democratic Forces advancing on the
Iraqi army plan. However, the majority of strike targets capital. US troops had also been embedded with Turkish
come from Iraqi troops on the frontline as opposed to US forces.
intelligence and surveillance. We dont want to tell them
what would be a good target for their operation, the Air C o alitio n J ets K ill P lanner s o f 20 15 P ar is A ttac k s
Force officer said. It defeats the purpose of emboldening US-led coalition jets on Dec. 4 took out three senior ISIS
their army. leaders, including two involved in planning the Nov. 13,
An Air Force team gets Iraqi approval for strikes, which 2015, attacks on Paris, according to defense officials. The
go through an extensive vetting process. But too much strike on the ISIS-held city of Raqqa, Syria, killed Salah
reliance on Americans in the fight could be hindering Gourmat and Sammy Djedou, who helped facilitate the
their fortitude, he said. Its the Iraqi armys fight, with US attacks that killed 130 people in multiple locations in Paris.
support. Air strikes are needed to get them to act without The strike also killed Walid Hamman, a suicide attack
counting too much on US troops. planner who helped organize a 2015 terror plot in Belgium
ISIS has proved to be a frustrating enemy to fight, that was disrupted, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said
because it depends on innocent civilians for cover. Theyre in a statement. The targets were working together to plot
in a city. If you hide your rifle, you [appear to be] a civilian. and facilitate attacks against Western targets at the time
How do you get around that? the officer asked, explaining of the strike. Coalition aircraft have recently killed five
that it takes patience and sustained intelligence to develop external plotters, disrupting the groups ability to plan at-
and ensure effective targeting. tacks outside Iraq and Syria, Cook said.
I r aq i F o r c es H av e C laim ed a Q u ar ter o f Mo s u l U S E nd s C o u nter - I S I S O p er atio n in L ib y a

As of mid-December, Iraqi forces had retaken about a US Africa Command on Dec. 19 ended its support for
quarter of the ISIS-held city of Mosul, an approach that the Libyan Government of National Accord after conduct-
was moving slowly because of a 360 degree threat from ing 495 air strikes in an effort to drive ISIS from the city
the group, including car bombs and tunnels. US Army Lt. of Sirte. Operation Odyssey Lightning began on Aug. 1 as
Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commander of Combined Joint ISIS took over the seaside city. US aircraft, mainly Marine
Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, said Dec. 14 that Corps jets from USS Wasp and remotely piloted aircraft,
Iraqi forces claimed half or more of the eastern side of flew regular air strikes as Libyan troops moved from neigh-
the city with a heavy fight expected as they moved west. borhood to neighborhood to clear the city.
I believe that the enemy is faced with a very stark While the official operation has concluded, US Africa
choice, Townsend said. If he wants to fight and die, then Command said in a statement it will still work with the Libyan
hes made that decision; hell stay there. If he wants to government to counter the evolving threat of ISIS in the
get out to try to fight again another day, if he wants to get country. AFRICOMs announcement came one day after
out to try to go back home and stop fighting, hes going the Libyan government officially said ISIS was expelled
to have to make that choice soon as the Iraqi security from Sirte, though officials warned the fighting was not
forces approach. completely over in the country.

Air Force World
30,743 By the Numbers
The number of bombs dropped on ISIS in 2016 by US

and coalition aircraft in Operation Inherent Resolve.
NASA photo
J o hn H . G lenn, 19 21- 20 16 The US had been lagging

ohn Herschel Glenn r. a Marine orps fighter pilot, test behind the space achieve-
pilot, astronaut on missions years apart, US Senator from ments of the Soviet Union, and
Ohio, and 4 presidential candidate died Dec. , , at Glenn s three-orbit riendship
the age of . flight put the two coun-
Glenn grew up in ew oncord, Ohio, graduating from high tries on seemingly an even
school in and proceeding directly to Mus ingum ollege, footing. The famous phrase
where he studied engineering. or e tra credit in a physics Godspeed, ohn Glenn, was
course, he earned a private pilot license. In 4 , after the attac uttered by fellow Mercury as-
on earl Harbor, he uit college and enlisted in the Air orps, tronaut M. Scott arpenter at
but when he was not called to duty, in 4 he applied to be a the outset of the flight.
naval aviation cadet. The success earned Glenn
During advanced aviation training, he was as ed to transfer national recognition and a tic er-tape parade in ew
to the Marine orps and agreed. He flew the 4D transport, or ity, and he received the rare honor of being as ed
the 4 Wildcat, and the finally the 4U orsair. He shipped to address a oint session of ongress. His alma mater,
out to the Marshall Islands in 44, there flying missions Mus ingum ollege, conferred his bachelor s degree di-
and earning two awards of the Distinguished lying ross ploma that same year.
and Air Medals. Though many outside ASA believed Glenn would be given
He earned a regular commission at the war s end and elected the opportunity to be the first man to wal on the moon, ASA
to stay in the Marine orps, flying on wee ends to maintain deemed him too valuable a national hero to be ris ed in further
proficiency when his regular duties ept him from the coc pit. space missions, and his age by then he was 4 years old was
Glenn was sent to the orean War as a ma or in . In his against him. He left ASA in 4.
first tour there he flew the anther, performing reconnais- After one unsuccessful attempt, Glenn was elected to the US
sance and ground-attac missions. He then applied to be an Senate from Ohio in 4 a seat he would hold until . He
e change officer with the Air orce and flew the - Sabre. chaired the science and technology committee for many years
He shot down three MiGs in uly , the last month of the war. and served on countless advisory boards regarding ASA and
He received two more awards of the Distinguished lying ross national space goals.
and eight more Air Medals for action in orea. Glenn re-entered the national consciousness with the hit
While still there, he applied to be a avy test pilot and after movie, The ight Stuff, about the early space program.
the war tested the - ury, U utlass, and - rusader. He He was portrayed by actor d Harris. In 4, he sought the
famously set a transcontinental speed record in the rusader, Democratic presidential nomination, but came in second to
averaging supersonic speed . hours coast-to-coast despite Walter . Mondale.
slowing down for three aerial refuelings. The mission earned In , Glenn persuaded ASA to allow him to fly on the
him a fifth D . space shuttle ostensibly to study the effects of microgravity on
Glenn contributed to the nascent space program even before geriatric physiology and he became, at , the oldest person
becoming an astronaut, participating in capsule design and ever to fly in space.
astronaut testing development while at AS atu ent iver, He was awarded the ongressional Gold Medal in ,
Md. Though ust shy of the age cutoff 4 years old and lac ing and in , resident Obama awarded him the residential
a technical degree, he was pic ed as one of the original seven Medal of reedom, the nation s highest civilian honor. At the
Mercury astronauts in . time of his death, Glenn was the sole surviving astronaut of
He became the fifth man in space and third American in the Mercury program.
. The mission was a nail-biter, as technicians received an In a statement, Obama said the nation had lost an icon.
indication early in the flight the first manned mission aboard The last of America s first astronauts has left us, Obama
the Atlas booster that Glenn s heat shield, critical for re-entry, said, but their e ample compels us to eep reaching for the
had come loose. They cut the planned nine-orbit flight short, heavens.
and the re-entry and landing were normal. Glenn is to be buried at Arlington ational emetery in April.

verbatim@afa.org
Verbatim
By Robert S. Dudney
L o u d and C lear , T ak e 1 Council declared Mecca and Medina r io r ity 20 30 F lig ht P lan ef f o r t, o p - ed in
I ve heard his message loud and to be territory to which Islam has no w ar o nther o c k s . c o m , J an. 3.
clear about reducing the cost of the F-35 . claim. S y nd ic ated c o lu m nis t C har les
I gave him my personal commitment to K r au tham m er , o n P r es id ent O b am a s f ail- Dis tant? Dead . C lo s e in? Dead
drive the cost down aggressively. u r e to s to p R es o lu tio n 2334 w ith a v eto , I flew the - in training against
ockheed artin hief xecutive fcer T h e W a s h i n g t o n P o s t , Dec . 29 . other fourth generation platforms, and
Mar illy n H ew s o n, af ter m eeting w ith then- we killed them and they never even saw
P r es id ent- elec t, no w P r es id ent Do nald J . B as s A c k w ar d s us. If you were to engage an F-35 in, say,
T r u m p , q u o ted in d o d b u z z . c o m , J an. 3. The current US-led coalition strat- a visual dogfight, ... the capabilities of the
egy is to secure the sovereignty of F-35 are absolutely eye-watering. ... The
L o u d and C lear , T ak e 2 Iraq b ef ore decisively dealing with the airplane has unbelievable maneuvering
We ve heard him [ President Trump] Islamic State in Syria. This is precisely characteristics that make it completely
loud and clear, that he s going to be backwards. Rapid and comprehensive undefeatable in an air-to-air environ-
looking for options [ for destroying ISIS air attacks can still liquidate the capacity ment. So if it s a long-range contact, you ll
forces] . G en. Dav id L . G o ld f ein, U S A F of the Islamic State to wage war. ... The never see me and you ll die. If it s within-
C hief o f S taf f , U S A T o d a y , J an. 2. first and most promising option is to put visual-range contact, you ll see me and
in place an overwhelming and focused you re gonna die and you re gonna die
Day o f the J ac k als set of attacks to crush the Islamic State very quickly. U S A F B r ig . G en. S c o tt P leu s ,
This is not an organized operation in a matter of weeks not episodic, anti- director, F- Integration fce, uoted in
that is hacking into a target. ... It s more septic bombing. R etir ed U S A F L t. G en. b u s ines s ins id er . c o m , J an. 5 .
like a bunch of jackals at the carcass Dav id A . Dep tu la, f o r m er d ep u ty c hief o f
of an antelope. Is it Russian? Probably s taf f f o r I S R , U S A T o d a y , J an. 2. S no w d en s T r u e C o lo r s
some. Is it Chinese and Iranian? Maybe. It was not the quantity of Mr.
... It s much more complicated than that P o w er a n d P r inc ip les Snowden s theft [ of secret material
[ i.e., a Russia-only operation] . I think There might be some who say, Let s from the National Security Agency] but
that the possibility that there s more than just unleash this military [ on ISIS] and let the quality that was most telling. Mr.
one country involved [ in cyber attacks them just go. If that unleashing results Snowden s theft put documents at risk
during the recent US election] is really in us backing away from our values, that could reveal the NSA s Level 3 tool
there. F o r m er C I A Dir ec to r R . J am es then the longer-term consequences ... kit a reference to documents containing
W o o ls ey J r . , r em ar k s o n the C N N p r o g r am will outweigh any short-term value. We the NSA s most-important sources and
N ew Day , J an. 3. go to war with our values. G en. Dav id methods. Since the agency was created
L . G o ld f ein, U S A F C hief o f S taf f , inter v iew in 195 2, Russia and other adversary
O v er the W ater f all w ith U S A T o d a y , J an. 2. nations had been trying to penetrate its
This is just the start of a waterfall Level-3 secrets without great success.
that s going to cascade down. We re S o v iet U nio n, R ev is ited Y et it was precisely these secrets that
watching the forecast [ for pilot retention] , We re most certainly not in a Cold Mr. Snowden changed jobs to steal.
and it s going to start dropping precipi- War with Russia, because we re not I ntellig enc e ex p er t E d w ar d J . E p s tein, o n
tously, starting at the end of this year. It fighting an ideology i.e., Mar ist- eninist the N S A tu r nc o at E d w ar d S no w d en s c laim
will be as bad as we re seeing it in other communism] that seeks to conquer the to b e m er ely a w his tleb lo w er , no t a s p y ,
weapons systems. G en. C ar lto n D. world. We re not fighting pro y wars T h e W a ll S tr e e t J o u r n a l , Dec . 30 .
E v er har t I I , head o f A ir Mo b ility C o m m and , against each other around the world. ...
o n a g r o w ing s ho r tf all o f air lif t and tank er So that s how things are different. Mi- On the March
p ilo ts , q u o ted in A i r F o r c e T i m e s , J an. 5 . c hael Mc F au l, U S am b as s ad o r to R u s s ia Pyongyang is much further along
d u r ing 20 12- 14, q u o ted in d ef ens eo ne. in its missile development than most
T heater o f the A b s u r d c o m , Dec . 30 . people realize. ... The liquid [ fueled]
Security Council Resolution 2334 engine test was astounding. For years,
explicitly condemns [ the presence of S hip o f F o o ls we knew that North Korea had a Soviet
Israelis in] East Jerusalem. This is not As I briefed the results of this study R-27 missile engine design. They re-
just scandalous; it s absurd. America to various groups, some challenged engineered the design of that engine to
acquiesces to a declaration that, as a our most basic assertion that air su- double its propulsion. ... 2016 marked
matter of international law, the Jewish periority matters. Some even went so the year North Korea truly ramped up
state has no claim on the Western Wall, far as to say they didn t think the United its WMD [ weapons of mass destruction]
the Temple Mount, indeed the entire States would need air superiority in program. I think we re going to see a
Jewish Q uarter of Jerusalem? They 2030. ... Many can no longer conceive flight test of an I M in . Me-
belong to Palestine? The Temple Mount of a world in which US air superiority lis s a H anham , w eap o ns r es ear c her at
is the most sacred site in all of Judaism. is not a given, where we must fight for Mid d le I ns titu te o f I nter natio nal S tu d -
That it should be declared foreign to it. U S A F B r ig . G en. A lex G r y nk ew ic h, ies , Monterey, Calif., quoted in Reuters
the Jewish people is as if the Security F - 22 p ilo t w ho led the r ec ent A ir S u p e- dispatch, Jan. 2.

By Peter Grier
little green men were one of But these Russian Special Forces The electronic network had been
the first signs of Russias strategy. were not the only indication Moscow compromised by a shadowy, pro-
Commandos wearing green uni- had launched a complex, multifaceted Russian group of hackers.
forms stripped of insignia, they operation in the region. That October, Russia also relied on conventional
occupied key government institutions as Ukraine neared a crucial snap parlia- forces to push for its objectives. Regu-
in Crimea during the early months of mentary election, electronic advertising lar infantry units eventually took the
the Ukrainian crisis of 2014. billboards in the capital of Kiev sud- place of the little green men in Crimea.
For a time, their ambiguous identity denly began showing a video accusing Russian artillery and military personnel
allowed Russian leaders to deny that Ukrainian politicians of war crimes. crossed into Ukraine proper to help pro-
Moscow had launched a military of- Then they displayed graphic images Russian insurgents seize and hold strips
fensive to seize the Crimean Peninsula of civilians killed in the eastern part of of territory in the Donbass region in the
and its Black Sea ports. the country. countrys east.

The situation in the Donbass remains O L DT R IC K S But as a concept to illuminate modern
violent and unsettled. But one thing is Hybrid warfare is a probe, a test of conflict, hybrid war may date back to
clear: Russias intervention in Crimea our resolve to resist and to defend our- the Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006. This
and the Ukraine is a textbook example selves. And it can be a prelude to a more 34-day conflict took the vaunted Israel
of hybrid warfare, the combination serious attack, because behind every Defense Forces by surprise. The IDF
of unconventional means (subversion, hybrid strategy, there are conventional had grown used to fighting small unit
cyber attack) with conventional might forces, increasing the pressure and ready counterterror operations in the West
to reach a geostrategic objective. to exploit any opening, said NATO Bank and Gaza Strip. In Lebanon, it
Hybrid war may be the most likely Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in encountered a Hezbollah backed by
type of conflict the US and its allies a 2015 speech. Iran, employing highly disciplined and
will face in the near future. In part that Hybrid war as a concept is nothing well-trained cells outfitted with power-
is because of the increasing prevalence new, of course. It is as old as the trick ful anti-tank missiles and other modern
of state sponsorship of revolutions and misdirection of the Trojan horse. Ac- weapons.
insurgencies in weak, crumbling, or cording to Stoltenberg, the difference is At the battle of Wadi Salouqi, Hezbol-
vulnerable regions of the world. that today the scale is bigger, the speed lah used these capabilities with deadly
Hybrid warfare is a way for a stronger
power to keep its involvement in such
fights hidden as much as possible. Its
fist becomes visible only if necessary,
near the end.
Both Russia and, to a lesser extent, and intensity is higher, and the danger is precision, damaging 18 Merkava tanks.
the Islamic State have used hybrid war right at the gates of the western alliance. Guerillas even managed to launch a few
approaches in recent years. Their ef- Technology has taken the complex- armed drones. Meanwhile Hezbollah
forts have affected an arc of crisis from ity of hybrid war to a new level. Cyber flooded the information space with
Ukraine down through Iraq and across and information war in the age of spear battlefield photos and videos and propa-
to Syria. For the US and its allies that phishing emails, Twitter, and YouTube ganda about kidnapped Israeli soldiers.
has meant trouble on NATOs northern has increasingly become a form of The IDF inflicted more physical
and southern flanks. warfare unto itself. damage on its enemy and won many
nidenti ed militar personnel little

green men hefting A - s blockade
a militar base near imferopol, kraine,
in 1 .
Photo by Anton Holoborodko

encounters at the tactical level. But first theorists to begin using the term cally motivated paramilitary force,
the court of public opinion in Israel, hybrid war to refer to this hydra- and a set of radical terrorists who have
Lebanon, and the rest of the world saw headed concept. He referred to it as a now been displaced, wrote Hoffman
Israel as the loser. blurring of modes of war, the blurring and Mattis. We may face remnants
As a hybrid force, Lebanese Hezbol- of who fights, and what technologies of the fielded army of a rogue state
lah was able to use its internal strengths are brought to bear. in future wars, and they may employ
of narrative, weapons mix, and tactics In this definition, hybrid war involves conventional weapons in very novel
to overcome the weaknesses of its much both nations and nonstate forces. Its or nontraditional ways.
stronger opponent, concludes a 2013 violence can span the spectrum from Hybrid war might feature attacks
Joint Special Operations University intense regular unit combat to guerrilla against US critical infrastructure or
report on hybrid warfare. warfare and terrorist acts. It can slot transportation networks. It could in-
In the wake of Israels 2006 strategic in criminal kidnapping and theft and, volve an electronic takedown of military
setback, many western military analysts increasingly, cyber warfare. or financial computer networks, Hoff-
intensively studied what had happened to It can employ state sponsorship of man and Mattis wrote.
determine where a proud, highly trained, existing local unrest and the manipula- Many others have contributed to the
and modern armed force had gone wrong. tion of currencies and other means of development of the hybrid war concept.
They found that in part the Israelis sim- economic aggression. Diplomacy and Some are not Western and may loom as
ply were not prepared for Hezbollahs propaganda play a part. potential adversaries. In 2013, Valery
spectrum of advanced weapons. But Hoffman began talking about this Gerasimov, current Chief of the Gen-
some felt that the IDF might not have concept as early as 2005. He called it eral Staff of the Russian armed forces,
precisely understood the overall nature unprecedented synthesis in an article published a journal article outlining his
of the conflict. It wasnt all-out combat, in Proceedings cowritten with Marine views on 21st century conflict. Much
analogous to the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Corps then-Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis, of his vision resembled hybrid war.
It wasnt a rock-throwing intifada. now the new Secretary of Defense. The rules of war have changed, and
It was something else. In hybrid wars we can expect to the importance of nonmilitary means
It was a combination of elements. simultaneously deal with the fallout of reaching political and strategic goals
A hybrid war. of a failed state that owned but lost has grown, Gerasimov wrote. He said
Retired Marine Reservist Lt. Col. control of some biological agents or the broad use of such meanscoupled
Frank G. Hoffman was among the missiles, while combating an ethni- with the use of military means of
A b o v e: A s to r y p u b lis hed in the s ec o nd is s u e o f the I S I S m ag az ine.

T he is s u e f eatu r ed a c o v er s ho t o f a b lo o d - s m ear ed d ag g er , and ins id e
w er e p ic tu r es o f b ehead ing s and s lau g hter and ar tic les o n p ic k ing
the b es t w eap o ns f o r ter r o r is t attac k s . R ig ht: A n ad v er tis em ent in
the m ag az ine p r o m o tes an alp hab et ap p that enc o u r ag es c hild r en
to attac k the U S , B r itain, F r anc e, and R u s s ia. T he ter r o r g r o u p is
ad ep t at u s ing d is inf o r m atio n and p r o p ag and a to lu r e in r ec r u its
and s p r ead its m es s ag e.
ISIS photos via Ru miyh magazine

S ec r et W ar s
One of the defining aspects of hybrid war is deniability. This Around the same time, cyber attac s lin ed to pro- ussian
is especially true of hybrid war as it is practiced by ussia, groups noc ed some large stonian networ s off-line.
whose actions are designed to sow confusion about who is Worry about ussian provocations led ATO in uly to
responsible for what and where a conflict is headed. re uest that member nations station troops in atvia, stonia,
Thus Moscow uses pro y soldiers and unmar ed Special ithuania, and oland until at least March .
orces, shadowy hac er groups and armies of internet trolls, The altic states and oland are all ATO members in
and slow, almost inch by inch, increases in geopolitical pressure. good standing. ATO s leadership is concerned that ussia
Without hard evidence of bad action, confrontations with is attempting to create a grey one of ambiguity along the
other powers can remain at a simmer. ussian moves have alliance s eastern flan to wea en the alliance s solidarity.
proved effective, yet remain under the reaction threshold of Attempts at domestic political and economic destabili ation
the US and the rest of the West. and manipulation of states along the eastern border regions
Hybrid is about reduced warning time. It s about deception. of ATO from the altics to the lac Sea have driven many
It s about a mi ture of military and non-military means, said political leaders to claim that they fall within this grey one
ATO Secretary General ens Stoltenberg at the ATO already, and that it will only e pand, said a ATO report
Transformation Seminar. on hybrid warfare.
rimea and U raine may not be the only places where this Under Article of the ATO treaty an armed attac against
ussian approach is evident. US and ATO officials worry any member state is an attac against all, re uiring a collec-
that a hybrid war of sorts may already have begun elsewhere tive response. This is where the deniability aspect of hybrid
along ATO s eastern flan . warfare may come into play. y using hidden tactics that target
or instance, ussian ets and submarines are now ap- political, economic, and social vulnerabilities, ussia or any
proaching the altic states of atvia, stonia, and ithuania other adversary could creep toward its ob ectives without
with a fre uency not seen since the old War. Moscow recently activating Article .
publici ed a move of short-range, nuclear-capable Is ander The West could become the proverbial frog in the soup pot,
missiles into aliningrad, a ussian enclave between oland with the heat gradually increasing and the frog acclimating to
and ithuania on the altic Sea. And a ussian military the temperature until the water boils.
e ercise near the atvian border featured ussian troops with Once a rimea-style operation has begun, it will be e -
loudspea ers calling on ATO soldiers to surrender. tremely difficult if not impossible for Western decision-ma ers
ussian minorities in stonia and atvia could serve as a to be sufficiently confident about the other side s intent to ta e
casus belli drawing ussia into the region. In ussian conse uential action before it s too late, according to aul
media falsely reported that in stonia, ussian-spea ers were . Sanders, e ecutive director of the enter for the ational
being drugged and tortured by police. This spar ed local riots. Interest, and a former State Department official.
a concealed charactermight even This may be part of hybrid warfares especially when there are no agreed-
exceed the power of actual weapons. appeal to the worlds thugs, bullies, upon descriptions of what is going on.
and terror mongers. It is difficult for Moreover, Gerasimovs opinions on
H I DDE N I N T E N T I O N S Western powers to effectively respond the subject have been a bit misread in
The open use of forcesoften under to actions that can frequently be ex- the West, say some critics. While his
the guise of peacekeeping and crisis cused, explained away, or justified, predictions of future conflicts were similar
regulationis resorted to only at a
certain stage, primarily for the achieve-
Israel Defense orces photo

ment of final success in the conflict,
the Russian military chief wrote.
Not all military analysts are fond of
the hybrid war concept. Some find it too
vague, changeable, a means of lumping
variable actual conflicts together.
In 2010 the US Government Account-
ability Office surveyed officials from
more than 20 US military organizations,
from all services, and found they had
no common definition of the term. Nor
did they have plans to agree on one,
since hybrid war is not an idea that
has been officially incorporated into
US doctrine.
W ir e- g u id ed p o r tab le anti- tank m is s iles
d is c o v er ed in a c ar in S o u ther n L eb ano n
b y I s r ael Def ens e F o r c es .

in some ways to those of the US and Russias incursion in Crimea and NATO study of hybrid war incidents. It
NATO, he put greater emphasis on Ukraine is a case in point. It was rooted flooded local media with propaganda
heavy conventional capabilities, writes in the Russian determination that depicting Moscow as the protector of
Charles K. Bartles, an analyst at the blocking Ukraines further economic Russian-language residents of the re-
Foreign Military Studies Office at Fort and political integration into Europe gion, who were depicted as threatened
Leavenworth, Kan., in a 2016 analysis. was a vital interest. by potential atrocities.
Gerasimov is simply explaining It began with misdirection. As pro- This sort of propaganda has made
his view of the operational environ- tests roiled Ukraine in early 2014, Putin hugely popular in Russia and
ment and the nature of future war, and Russia mounted a large military ex- may have helped deter the West from
not proposing a new Russian way of ercise within striking distance of the a more muscular support of Ukraine.
warfare or military doctrine, Bartles Ukraine border. This distracted the Russias information efforts served
writes. newly installed pro-Western govern- as a force multiplier in the conflict,
Still, over the last decade the concept ment in Kiev, as the Russian force according to the NATO report.
of hybrid warfare has spread widely was big enough that the exercise was Success for Russia is far from guar-
among US analysts and NATO plan- a plausible preinvasion movement. anteed in this effort, however. It did
ners. To many it offers a means of Meanwhile, the little green men ap- seize Crimea, but the nearby presence
making sense of militarily resurgent peared, and Moscow began to close its of Russian naval and air forces based
Russias moves around its perimeter grip on Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. there made that relatively easy.
and in Syria. It can explain some of After it became apparent what was The combination of little green
the gains made by ISIS. happening, the nearby Russian force men, local paramilitaries, propaganda,
The 2014 US Quadrennial Defense helped dissuade Kiev from mount- and advanced Russian weapons and
Review cites a need for the Pentagon ing its own military move to try and technologies has thus far won Moscow
to rebalance to face a broad spectrum forestall Crimeas fall. only a foothold in mainland Ukraine.
of threats, from high-end conflict to On March 1 President Vladimir The incursion has pushed the current
hybrid contingencies. Putin orchestrated a Russian referen- Ukraine government into making a
dum authorizing him to use force in priority of NATO membership.
IS T H IS W A R ? Ukraine. Regular infantry units moved While Russia certainly used soft
NATO worries that hybrid war can into Crimea, covered by airpower from probing to seek its objective of bring-
inch toward a geopolitical objective the Russian Black Sea fleet. ing Ukraine back into its sphere of
while remaining under the threshold Meanwhile, Russia successfully influence, it has clearly failed to do
for Article 5, which triggers collective exploited the information dimension so as Kiev is now more firmly con-
armed defense of a threatened member. of the conflict, according to a 2015 vinced of closer integration with the
T ac tic al air c o ntr o l p ar ty m em b er s at F o r t

C ar s o n, C o lo . , tr ain f o r helic o p ter ex tr ac tio n
in N o v em b er 20 16 . U S and N A T O f o r c es m u s t
b e p r ep ar ed to ad d r es s a f u ll s p ec tr u m o f
ho s tile, hy b r id ac tio ns .
USAF photo

aggressors might require intelligence
USAF photo D esiree W. Moye

collection to see what is going on,
diplomacy to help reform governments
and build international coalitions, and
economic and military assistance.
A second pillar might be actions
against a hybrid adversary should the
first step not prevent conflict. This
might depend crucially on intelligence
about the actors involved, including
their motives and goals; diplomacy
to build international support for the
objectives of the US and its allies;
economic sanctions; and the exposure
of state sponsorship of terrorist or
revolutionary groups by information
operations on a strategic scale.
A ir m en at H o m es tead A R B , F la. , ex p lo r e w ay s to p r ev ent m alw ar e f r o m r eac hing Then there is pulling together a
air c r af t. T he 48 2nd C o m m u nic atio ns S q u ad r o n integ r ates c y b er o p er atio ns into the military force and operational plan to
w ing s c o r e m is s io n. E lec tr o nic and c y b er w ar f ar e w ill m ak e f u tu r e hy b r id w ar f ar e
c o nf lic ts ev en m o r e c halleng ing . actually fight hybrid combat. Such a
force needs to be flexible enough to
Euro-Atlantic community than ever, N O E A S Y A N S W E R S fight conventional and unconventional
states the NATO study. Defending against hybrid wars might threats at the same time.
be as complex as fighting them. It Conventional and unconventional
N O T J U S T S T A T E -O N -S T A T E requires a number of different modes military actions, such as targeting
To the south, across the Black Sea, of operation, as Mattis and Hoffman military supply routes and protecting
lies another den of the hybrid threat, noted a decade ago. Theres heavy the population, must occur at the same
as practiced by ISIS. conventional fighting in one area, time. They will not occur in seriesas
ISIS employs a wide range of anti-insurgency patrols in another, and is typical of traditional planning,
military approaches, from terrorism peacekeeping operations in a third. wrote Miller in his 2015 study.
to small unit insurgencies to conven- Theres an information dimension to Plus, the forces must be capable
tional set-piece battles. Their technol- all these efforts. and leaders must be willing to use
ogy ranges from crude improvised That might be akin to fighting World them under circumstances that are
bombs to intricate improvised explo- War II on one block, Operation Iraqi deliberately ambiguous.
sive devices, drones, and captured US Freedom on another, while oversee- The lesson of Israels war with Hez-
weaponry. ing the Marshall Plan on a thirdand bollah may be that complacency can
Much of the organizations activ- tweeting and Facebooking about it be dangerous. The US may need to
ity is financed by criminal activity. all with an electronic infrastructure prepare for an adversary that is similar
It kidnaps people for ransom, extorts armored against cyber retaliation. to the one faced in Afghanistan and
business owners in occupied areas, According to NATO, a fitting motto Iraqexcept with far more technical
and charges tolls at gunpoint on for countering hybrid efforts might be and operational sophistication.
highways. Combined with income adopt, adapt, adept. Western militar- The potential combination of im-
from oil production, the cash has made ies may need to adopt new strategies provised explosive devices, electronic
ISIS perhaps the richest non-national while adapting structure and readiness and cyber warfare, anti-armor weap-
military in the world. to meet new challenges. ons, long-range rockets, unmanned
Meanwhile, the groups use of infor- One of those new strategies might aerial vehicles, and sophisticated anti-
mation war is unprecedented. That is be increased support for weak or fail- aircraft weapons will make a future
particularly true of its ability to develop ing states. These crumbling edges are hybrid conflict extremely challeng-
and disseminate propaganda films and the battlegrounds for the hybrid wars ing, stated Miller.
images that spread the groups message of the future, pointed out USAF Lt. The combination has been used to
and serve to draw in recruits. Col. Michael Miller in an Air War great effect in Ukraine and Syria, and
President Obama himself had de- College report on preparation for hybrid warfare will likely continue to
scribed ISIS as a sort of hybrid. hybrid conflicts. be an attractive way to fight a low-level
ISIS has the ability to form, de- Shoring up these vulnerable regions war until the West can demonstrate
ploy, and sustain conventional forces before they fall victim to opportunistic effective countermeasures.
and simultaneously maximize the use
of irregular tactics, adapting the mix Peter Grier, a Washington, D .C., editor for the C h ristian Science Monitor, is a long-
to exploit its opponents weakness, time contributor to Air Force Magazine. His most recent article, These Magnificent
concludes NATOs hybrid threat study. Spires, appeared in the October issue.
By Brian W. Everstine, Pentagon Editor
A - 6 refuels an A-1 in ul 16 on the last ight test re uired for the tanker s
ilestone lo -rate production go-ahead.

Boeing photo by John D . Parker
The Air Forces KC-46 tanker program faces developmental

and budgetary headwinds in the quest to bring aircraft into
service.
Air Force/Boeing KC-46 KC-46 will deliver, compared to the Calif. Development has been cranking
tanker program is focused on existing fleet of KC-135s and KC-10s, along, Richardson said, and by early
a singular goal in 2017: get- however, the hiccups will have been December testers had completed just
ting iron on the ramp. worth it, Richardson said. over half the evaluation program.
After a 2016 marked by technical set- The program hit its major 2016 Its great to get past the 50 percent
backsforcing a boom redesignand turning point last summer, when Frank mark, Richardson said.
an intense test and evaluation schedule, Kendall III, the Pentagons head of To reach Kendalls Milestone C deci-
the program is aimed at putting the first acquisition, technology, and logistics, sion, the KC-46 had to successfully pass
Pegasus in operational service by the approved Milestone C, allowing the fuel to five different receiver aircraft.
end of the year. Pegasus to start low-rate production. Those basic flights were conducted in
As a program in development, the This was immediately followed by good conditions, but now the KC-46
KC-46 has had a few hiccups along the contracts for the first two production is really being challenged.
way, Brig. Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, lots: $2.8 billion covering seven and Aircrews are flying refueling mis-
the Air Force program executive officer 12 aircraft, respectively. The next lot sions in all sorts of flight conditions,
for tankers, said in a recent interview contract was due to be inked in January, pushing to expand the envelope of
with Air Force Magazine. Broadly, Richardson said. KC-46 operations, Richardson ex-
though, I see a very successful pro- By mid-December, there were five plained. The tanker is being flown
gram. If it didnt have hiccups, Id be KC-46s flying. Technically, Boeing at high speed with fast-movers such
shocked, he said. still owns them, Richardson said, as F-16s, at different altitudes, and
Cumulatively, these problems have having not DD-250d the aircraft at low speed with aircraft such as A-
pushed delivery of the first lot of 18 the process of completing checks to 10s. Operational testers must certify
KC-46s back from summer 2017 to pass them to the Air Force. USAF the KC-46 with eight different tanker
February 2018, Richardson said. And and Boeing crews have been putting receivers.
delays on the fixed-price program have the jets through their paces both at Testing isnt just about refueling. For
cost Boeing nearly $2 billion in over- Seattlenear where Boeing manu- example, the KC-46 has a new radar
runs. Given the technical advances the factures themand at Edwards AFB, warning receiver suite that allows it
USAF photo by A1C Jake Carter
USAF photo by Christopher Okula

to pinpoint threats instead of simply Forces cost capped at $4.9 billion. unveiled the formal training center at
telling the crew a threat is out there, Any overruns must be borne by Boeing. the base during an event last August,
somewhere. That testing is underway The overrun amount was about $1.9 and the first aircraft is expected to arrive
pretty heavily, Richardson said. billion, the company said last July. early this year.
This included some $393 million for USAF is still evaluating other operat-
F IX IN G T H E B O O M the boom fix. ing sites. Pease Intl. Tradeport ANGS,
Before the aircraft could be cleared In addition to getting the aircraft on N.H., will host the first Air National
for production, a major issue had to be the ramp, the Air Force is moving to Guard unit and Seymour Johnson AFB,
corrected with its new refueling boom, get more airmen in Pegasus cockpits, N.C., will host the first Reserve unit.
the flyable pipe that connects the maintenance hangars, and boom sta- The Air Force announced Dover AFB,
KC-46 to receiver aircraft. The boom tions. As of December, the service had Del.; Fairchild AFB, Wash.; Grand
system on the KC-46 was adapted trained 29 pilots, 25 boom operators, and Forks AFB, N.D.; Travis AFB, Calif.;
from the KC-10 Extenders. It uses a 13 maintainers for the KC-46, and that and JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., as
fly-by-wire, telescoping boom with number will ramp up as the program candidates for the second Active Duty
a hydraulic system to keep it steady moves forward and more aircraft are wing to host the aircraft starting in 2020.
during flight. delivered, Newberry said. Air Mobility Command is planning
During a flight test with an F-16, Test flights out of Seattle are flown to rotate the aircraft among the bases,
the boom experienced higher than and supported by a mixed crew of Boe- to extend their service lives, AMC
expected axial loads, the service said. ing employees and Air Force personnel. Commander Gen. Carlton D. Everhart
The issue arose again during a test II said. The KC-46 deployment will
flight with a C-17. The receiver air- B A C K E N DT O T H E F R O N T follow a model used with C-17s. They
craft was pushing on the boom more The KC-46 boom operator station rotate through bases depending on their
than expected, Col. John Newberry, is a major departure from the way this utilization rates and environmental
KC-46 system program manager, told function has been performed in the conditions.
Air Force Magazine. past. Instead of flying the boom by If aircraft are being underused, theyll
The problem was worrisome enough sitting or lying at the back of the jet and be sent to busier bases, and vice versa,
that USAF delayed its Milestone C watching the action directly through so the fleet will age at a relatively even
timeline and pressed for a fix. windows, KC-46 boom operators sit rate and avoid excessive strain on any
Boeing engineers developed hy- at a workstation behind the cockpit, group of airframes.
draulic relief valves for the boom. using a 3-D camera system to direct the Aircraft based near humid, salty con-
They were quickly fitted to a test refueling operation. Theres an instruc- ditions will rotate to regions that are dry
aircraft. Initial flights in July 2016 tor station right next to the operator to even out the effect of environmental
showed that the fix worked, and the station, providing for better training and issues such as corrosion, Everhart
push for production approval was redundancy. Boeing is still fine-tuning said in September. This management
back on track. the camera systems software. technique could extend the lifespan of
Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Despite the radical departure from C-17s by 10 to 20 years, he said.
Lee James commended the USAF/ the traditional layout and operation of The budget uncertainty coming out
Boeing team for diligently working the tanker station, Newberry said hes of Washington, D.C., threatened the
through some difficult technical chal- not aware of it causing any training KC-46 program. Congress in December
lenges, after test flights with an F-16 issues. They are taking to it, he said passed a long-term continuing resolu-
and a C-17 proved the fix. The KC-46 of the boom operators. tion to fund the government, a move
program has made significant strides To go with a modern system, theres a Air Force and Pentagon leadership had
in moving the Air Force toward the modern training apparatus. The KC-46 repeatedly asked lawmakers to avoid.
modernization needed in our strategic program includes full-motion aircrew A continuing resolution, James had
tanker fleet, she said. simulators, along with an integrated warned, would limit production to Fis-
After the successful tests, Boeing maintenance training system, purchased cal 2016 levels of just 12 aircraft, a move
production-ized the new design, in the July contracts. that would have required renegotiating
Newberry said. Boeing is building the Infrastructure to support KC-46 bas- the contract with Boeing. The contract
revised system into the rest of the test ing is coming along. Support equipment called for 15 aircraft in Fiscal 2017,
aircraft and those under production. deliveries are underway at Altus AFB, and buying fewer tankers would have
The developmental tweaks came at Okla., and McConnell AFB, Kan. Mili- caused the Pentagon to pay a penalty
a cost, but not for the taxpayer. The tary construction is on track to the point to the contractor.
contract is fixed price, with the Air where it is basically ready for the first Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter
airplane, Richardson said. McConnell, specifically asked lawmakers to avoid
T o p lef t: T S g t. C hr is J o y c e w o r k s the b o o m
o n a K C - 135 d u r ing a R ed F lag tr aining the first operating location for the air- this penalty, and legislation authorizing
m is s io n. H e w as s elec ted to b ec o m e a craft, will eventually host 36 KC-46s. the 15 aircraft made it into the final
b o o m o p er ato r o n the new P eg as u s . L ef t: Altus is home to the 56th Air Refuel- bill language.
A K C - 46 r u ns r ec eiv er c o m p atib ility tes ts
w ith a C - 17 d u r ing the late s tag es o f the ing Squadron and will be the school- Even at that rate, however, it will be
Miles to ne C tes ting . house for KC-46 aircrews. The service a long road to deliver the 179 planned
USAF photo by A1C Colby L. Harding ANG photo by SSgt. Curtis J. Lenz
A b o v e lef t: MS g t. L u is R o d r ig u ez - A s ad
u s es the K C - 46 b o o m o p er ato r d em o n-
s tr ato r at Mc C o nnell A F B , K an. , to g et a
tas te o f w hat r ef u eling o n the new tank er
m ig ht b e lik e. A b o v e: T he new ly u nv eiled
P eg as u s C o u ntr y em b lem o n d is p lay
at P eas e A N G S , N . H . L ef t: C o ntr ac to r s
perform a re suppression foam test in a
hang ar at Mc C o nnell A F B , K an. T he new
hang ar s w ill ho u s e the K C - 46 s , s c hed u led
to ar r iv e in ear ly 20 17 .
The command is making a capa-

bilities-based assessment to identify
what gaps are ahead and set a formal
requirements document. Once those
requirements are identified, thats
when the acquisition community gets
to work, Richardson said.
Everhart is on record saying he
thinks the KC-46 is a good product
and probably should be continued
beyond the planned 179 aircraft.
USAF photo by A1C Jenna K. Caldwell
The long-standing tanker plan has
been to modernize the tanker fleet
aircraft. It will take a good 30 years program ensures it will have com- in three tranches: KC-X (now called
to replace the fleet at that rate, Rich- plete, unrestricted access to worldwide the KC-46A), the KC-Y, expected to
ardson said. airspace. finish replacing the KC-135 fleet, and
The Air Forces tanker require- The KC-135, among the services the KC-Z, targeted at replacing the
ment is actually 479 aircraft. To keep oldest at an average age of more than KC-10. But Everhart thinks it might
the remaining KC-135s and KC-10s 55 years, is undergoing the Block 45 be better to simply buy the KC-46 as
healthy, Richardson has a robust in- cockpit refresh. The program includes the KC-Y iteration as well, and move
tegrity program to monitor its legacy upgraded autopilot systems and digital on to a futuristic design for the KC-Z.
tankers and track their airworthiness, screens that replace analog gauges. Speaking at a National Defense
he said, because we always fly safe Air Force officials expect updates Transportation Association meeting
aircraft. could help the Stratotankers fly until in St. Louis in early November, Ever-
Evidence of this is seen in how the 2040, almost 85 years since the first hart avoided specifics for what this
Air Force sustains these tankers. KC-135As inaugural flight. technology could be, saying only that
The KC-10 is going through a pro- he seeks a significant advancement.
gram to update its avionics equipment T H E N E X T , N E X T G E N E R A T IO N I want to be able to leap to tech-
to meet Communication, Navigation, The services massive need for nology 20 years down the road, and I
Surveillance/Air Traffic Management tankers in the future means the 179 actually want to go straight to the Z,
international mandates. The fleet was KC-46s wont be enough. Air Mobility Everhart said. Thats where I want
facing flight restrictions because of Command needs to prepare now for to head as long as our budgets allow
its outdated equipment, and the new whatever comes next. us to be able to do so.
C2 and Fusion Warfare
March 1-3, 2017 | Orlando, FL | AFA.org

USAF photo by SrA. Jonathan Lane
A C - 17 is p r ep ar ed f o r tak eo f f d u r ing a tr ain-

ing exercise. Inventing technologies at a xed
p r ic e as w as d o ne f o r C - 17 s in the 19 8 0 s w as
d is as tr o u s .
Heaping Change
Upon Improvement By John A. Tirpak, Editorial Director
D OD photo by Glenn Fawcett
Despite the Pentagons recent success at improving its

acquisition systems, Congress is imposing major changes.
A
year from now, the top acquisi- December, calls for the abolition of the from a wide array of existing contract-
tion job in the Pentagon will split No. 3 job at the Defense Department. The ing methods to get the best deal on a
in two under a major reorganiza- post of undersecretary of defense (USD) given project, or innovate a new one
tion imposed by Congress, even for acquisition, technology, and logistics, if it seemed best. They were to take a
though theres been tremendous progress or AT&L, will disappear in February sensible approach to risk, reducing it
in getting program costs and schedules 2018. It is to be replaced by two posi- wherever possible, get the best price
under control in recent years. tions: undersecretary for research and preferably through competitionand
The 2017 National Defense Au- engineering (R&E), and undersecretary get the materiel into the hands of the
thorization Act, which became law in for acquisition and sustainment (A&D). users as quickly as they reasonably
could. Kendall met frequently with the
US Navy photo by Aaron Lebsack
press to discuss reform progress and
adjustments to the system.
A 30 - Y E A R L O W
Late last year, Kendall called the
press in for what turned out to be one
last wrap-up of acquisition improve-
ments, offering up what he judged to
be impressive results. With hundreds
of pages of data culled from 19 years
of case histories to back up the claim,
he said that acquisition costs on major
programs were headed down, that six
years of work had paid off with cost
growth at a 30-year low.
We reversed a trend that was in the
opposite direction, he asserted. Thats
a pretty big deal.
Given the numbers, Kendall said,
abolishing my position is prob-
endall c takes a brieng from ose
R o m er o - Mar io na o n c y b er s ec u r ity at the ably a bad decision. He said his post
S p ac e and N av al W ar f ar e S y s tem s C enter has been successful at both managing
acic.
acquisition and improving it in small
Congress left it up to the Pentagon steps rather than radical and disruptive
itself to spend that year sorting out how broad overhauls. Moreover, he argued
best to organize the various positions that the Secretary of Defense needs
that will report to the two undersecre- someone who can effectively oversee
taries. But it also included language service acquisition programs for him.
allowing the Trump Administration to Kendall, patting the 223-page report,
implement the change immediately if told reporters that previous efforts at
it so chooses. acquisition reform were intuitive, not
The existing AT&L position has driven by data, and the numbers on the
been held by Frank Kendall since 2012 whole speak for themselves.
and, before him, by Ashton B. Carter, Case in point: Nunn-McCurdy
who became President Obamas final breachesprograms that suddenly
Defense Secretary. Carter started a report an egregious 25 percent spike
reform of the acquisition system called in costsor a schedule delay of 20
Better Buying Power, and Kendall ran percent are down. There were seven
with it when Carter became the No. 2 at Nunn-McCurdy breaches in 2009; there
DOD. Through several iterations, BBP was one in 2016.
aimed at applying more common sense Kendall dryly observed that the
to the Pentagons buying system, spe- biggest cause of such schedule delays
Lockheed Martin photo
cifically proscribing one size fits all is Congress.
L ef t: Dep u ty Def ens e S ec r etar y R o b er t approaches to buying complex weapons Much of the challenge, he said, lies
W o r k ( l) and DO D ac q u is itio n c hief F r ank
K end all b r ief the m ed ia at a p r es s c o nf er - systems and simple staples alike. more in quickly obtaining funding
enc e in 20 15 . A b o v e: A n F - 35 is r ead ied Kendallwho evolved BBP con- to begin acquisition than a magical
f o r r o ll o u t at the L o c k heed Mar tin f ac to r y stantly, even though he held it out as shortcut to developing and fielding
in F o r t W o r th, T ex as . B etter B u y ing P o w er
initiatives helped the strike ghter program a kind of new bible of purchasingin- systems. Kendall argued routinely and
tu r n the c o r ner . structed acquisition officers to choose vigorously for repeal of the Budget
USAF photo by A1C Thomas T. Charlton US Navy photo courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.
Control Act that imposed unreason- of policing themselves; and while the
able and unthinking automatic cuts on companies were supposed to be paid
the Pentagon when Congress couldnt based on outcomes, TSPR wound up
agree on a budget. He complained that paying by calendar milestones. Thou-
he spent much of his time working sands of Pentagon in-house contracting
around those roadblocks, calling them specialists and program management
dangerous and arbitrary. expertsincluding uniformed experts in
Kendall was keenly aware at the time the various serviceswere pushed out
that congressional members and staff- of those jobs, with a huge brain drain
ers were cooking up a restructuring of resulting. Kendall said he has labored to
his office, and he had come out against rebuild the acquisition workforce, and
proposals contained in earlier drafts this has helped turn around programs
of the legislation. In those previous in trouble.
iterations, the new A&D job was cast
as the undersecretary for management I MP O R T A N C E O F S H A R E D R I S K USAF photo by Scott M. Ash
and support. Still, McCain insisted that contrac-

Members of Congressparticularly tors were not being held to account conglomeration of inefficiency, cost-
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), head of on major programs. He wanted most, growth, and schedule delays. Senate
the Armed Services Committeehad if not all, programssuch as the new staffers have said they are trying to
tussled with Kendall, saying that the situ- B-21 bomberto be contracted at a help the department by establishing a
ation was not all roses. Critics pointed to fixed price, with the contractor eating high-ranking chief technology officer.
the failure of the Armys Future Combat any overages. They want someone whose sole
System (FCS) and huge overruns on Kendall countered that inventing focus will be shepherding promising
USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, technology on a fixed priceanother technologies into production at an
Space Based Infrared System satellite contracting fad, this one in vogue in unprecedented speed. Its a reaction,
constellation, and the F-35 fighter as 1980shad proved disastrous on the they said, to Deputy Defense Secretary
examples of acquisition being out of C-17 transport and A-12 attack plane, Robert O. Works Third Offset idea
control, a phrase newly elected Presi- as just two examples. Kendall argued that the Pentagon is going to have to
dent Trump borrowed in a December that this is not a good idea and that new be more agile in staying ahead of com-
tweet complaining about the F-35. programs, because of their uncertainty, petitors like China and Russia, whose
Kendall, in annual testimony about should instead be structured with some technical capabilities are growing by
acquisition reform, would respond that shared risk and incentives that reward the day. Its a mistake to weigh down
the FCS and F-35, for example, were success. Risk is further reduced by a single individual with responsibility
in trouble before BBP initiatives took ensuring the government owns the for science and technology, research
hold, and that the F-35 had turned the technical data, so future upgrades can and development, and acquisition and
corner. be put out for competitioninstead of sustainment, they said. While R&D
The contracting disasters of the 1990s the original contractor having an inside has to be about innovation and risky
have largely been laid at the feet of track on all future related work. gambles, acquisition should be about
another contracting fad, Total System Congress hasnt said exactly what getting good deals, the staffers argued.
Performance Responsibility (TSPR), the problem is at DOD that its trying Kendall has countered that it makes
that left contractors largely in the role to fix, but it appears to be a nebulous infinite sense to keep all those functions
At a conference in December, shortly of working in defense acquisition, it
after the NDAA was approved, Kendall has become clear to me that there is no
said he wanted to keep the three major acquisition magicno easy solution
phases of a life cycledevelopment, or set of solutions that will miraculously
production, and sustainmenttogether change our results. Most attempts at
under a single overseer, and the final quick fixes have been counterpro-
NDAA language does that. The R&E job ductive and often only increased the
will have oversight of S&T, the laboratory systems bureaucracy and rigidity.
system, and prototyping, and he said hes While he pointed out that programs
fine with that. are doing much better, Kendall acknowl-
Whats unclear is who will actually edged two items of concern among
have decision authority over milestones the data. One, competition is down
and perform functions such as certifying symptomatic of industrial vertical in-
program costs, he said. Some of the NDAA tegration, industry consolidation, low
reporting thresholds are fairly low dollar budgets, and an often too-challenging
amounts, by Pentagon standards$25 bar for new entrants in the business.
million, in some casesand those deci- With limited funds, its not al-
sions may be escalated up to the deputy ways possible to pay double in de-
A b o v e lef t: S S g t. J ef f r ey Mic hal ( l) and secretary or even Secretary level, imposing velopmentfor a second prototype
MS g t. G r eg o r y L o ng , b o th lo ad m as ter s , a burden that should rightfully be driven or sourceand production probably
lo o k o u t the b ac k o f a C - 17 . A b o v e: T he
ight deck of G e r a l d R . F o r d is c o m - down to lower levels. wont justify a second manufacturer,
p leted at N ew p o r t N ew s , V a. T he air c r af t
c ar r ier w as b es et w ith hu g e c o s t o v er r u ns .
L ef t: S ec r etar y o f the A ir F o r c e Deb o r ah
Evolution of the Pentagons Top Acquisition Job
ee ames and AF hief of taff en.
Mar k W els h I I I tes tif y b ef o r e the H o u s e 19 7 7 : Undersecretary of D efense for Research and Engineering
A r m ed S er v ic es C o m m ittee in 20 16 .
19 8 6 : Undersecretary of D efense for Acquisition
19 9 3: Undersecretary of D efense for Acquisition and Technology
together, so that the ultimate care and
feeding of a system is taken into account 19 9 9 : Undersecretary of D efense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics
at its inception, to avoid mistakes that 20 17 : (Pending) Undersecretary of D efense for Research and Engineering
are costly to fix later. Although devel- (and)
opment costs garner the lions share of Undersecretary of D efense for Acquisition and Sustainment
congressional and press attention, the
bulk of a systems cost is actually in Still, Capitol Hill staffers argue that they he said. The F-35 was an example of
its use and sustainment. are trying to make the Pentagon work more putting simply too many eggs in one
In a May article commenting on like a business. Most companies dont put basket, he observed. DOD should not
his efforts at reforming acquisition, their heads of procurement in charge of put so much capability in the hands
Kendall noted the limitations of leg- research and development as well, said of one prime contractor.
islative tools in this regard, arguing one. The change will make it easier for the Second, there arent as many pro-
that lasting improvements must come Pentagon acquisition leadership to better grams as there used to be or ought to be.
from within the Defense Department. interface with contractors since theyll Given the rapid technological progress
He said success really boils down to be talking apples to apples, he said. of threat nations and nonstate actors, I
four things: setting reasonable require- Kendall oversaw a tremendous bureau- dont think were putting as many new
ments, putting professionals in charge, cracy with offices specializing in every- products into the new product pipeline
giving them the resources they need, thing from combat aircraft to unmanned as we should, he said.
and providing strong incentives for submarines to industrial policy. How Senate staffers said putting the third-
success. He said the trick is finding the those get divvied up between the two ranked Pentagon official in charge of
right nuance in each step. new undersecretaries will take time to rapid prototyping should give experi-
None of this is easy, Kendall wrote. figure out. Even then, given the remark- mentation the attention and emphasis it
The ultimate outcome of the National able overlap of some areas, turf wars are deserves. Work has said experimenta-
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to be expected. In fact, to free up the two tion has to become the state of mind
language put many of Kendalls fears principal USDs to concentrate on the big in the Pentagon, and that if a defense
to rest, however. The post of USD for stuff, legislators may, in the year to come, organization is doing something the
acquisition and sustainment will keep also have to shape a new organization and same way for more than a few years
those functions togetherwhat the add some new positionsor even a third in a row, that way of doing things
Air Force has called cradle to grave undersecretariatto manage the various probably needs to change. Timeand
management. Meanwhile, the other subdepartments. the datawill tell if the changes to
post, R&E, will concentrate on basic Concluding the forward to his 2016 defense acquisition prove to be a help
science and technology (S&T). report, Kendall wrote that in his years or hindrance.
The US has been fighting ISIS for two years without explicit
authority from Congress. Thats perfectly normal.
By Jennifer Hlad
A b o v e: A n F - 15 d r o p s ab o m b aim ed at an I S I S
head q u ar ter s tar g et in I r aq o n S ep t. 12. H er e: A
b o m b d r o p p ed d u r ing that S ep tem b er m is s io n
d es tr o y s an I S I S head q u ar ter s and c hem ic al
w eap o ns f ac ility . Images from USAF video by TSgt. Jeremy Roman

S
inceAugust 2014, the US has been approved by Congress and became law; Stephen W. Preston, general counsel for
at war with ISIS forces in Syria Operation Iraqi Freedom began about five the Department of Defense, has argued
and Iraq, bombing fixed targets months later, in March 2003. that ISIS is covered by the authorization
and providing close air support for On Aug. 7, 2014, President Barack because it is associated with al Qaeda. In
Iraqi army troops and Kurdish Peshmerga Obama authorized the first air strikes a 2015 address to the American Society
fighters. But while Congress has provided against ISIS, beginning the campaign now of International Law, he said that while
funds to carry out this air campaign, it known as Operation Inherent Resolve. the name may have changed, the group
hasso farnot explicitly authorized now known as ISIS or ISIL has been
this particular action as a war, and will T H E S C O P E O F A N A U MF an enemy of the United States within
probably never get around to it. Instead of pushing for a new AUMF, the scope of the 2001 AUMF since at
In fact, though the US has been involved though, the Obama administration argued least 2004.
in many armed conflicts over the last in September 2014 that the actions against He explained, A power struggle may
seven decades, the last time Congress ISIS are covered by the 2001 legislation. have broken out within [Osama] bin
actually declared war was some 75 years I have the authority to address the Ladens jihadist movement, but this same
ago, after the Japanese attack on Pearl threat from ISIS, Obama said Sept. 10, enemy of the United States continues to
Harbor. Since then, the US has gone to 2014, announcing the creation of a broad plot and carry out violent attacks against
war largely at the behest of the President, coalition against the terrorist group. But us to this day.
with Congress supplying some covering I believe we are strongest as a nation Preston noted that while the 2002
legislation after the fact, such as the Gulf when the President and Congress work AUMF allowed the use of force in Iraq
of Tonkin Resolution that underpinned together. So I welcome congressional based on the threat of Saddam Husseins
the Vietnam War. support for this effort. regime, it has always been understood to
The authorizing history for the current More than two years since that speech, authorize the use of force for the related
fight goes back 15 years. the fight against ISIS has only intensified. purposes of helping to establish a stable,
On Sept. 14, 2001, Congress passed Yet despite support from lawmakers on democratic Iraq and addressing the ter-
a joint resolution to authorize the use of both sides of the aisle, there is still no rorist threats emanating from Iraq and
military force against those responsible AUMF specifically for OIRand there therefore authorizes military operations
for the recent attacks launched against may never be. against ISIS in Iraq.
the United States. This was a response The 2001 AUMF states that the Presi- Michael E. OHanlon, a senior fellow in
to the 9/11 attacks. dent is authorized to use all necessary and foreign policy at the Brookings Institution,
President George W. Bush signed appropriate force against those nations, told Air Force Magazine he believes using
the legislation on Sept. 18, 2001, and organizations, or persons he determines the 2001 war powers authorization for
the Authorization for Use of Military planned, authorized, committed, or aided the current fight is legal because, while
Force, or AUMF, became law. Less than the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. its name and leadership have changed
three weeks later, on Oct. 7, the US 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations multiple timesand while ISIS is now
launched Operation Enduring Freedom or persons, in order to prevent any future in fact in direct competition with another
in Afghanistan. acts of international terrorism against the al Qaeda derivative in Syriaboth those
In October 2002, another AUMF United States by such nations, organiza- groups have common origins, ideology,
authorizing the use of force in Iraqwas tions, or persons. and to some extent, membership with
USAF video image by TSgt. Jeremy Roman
Maintainer s r ead y an F - 15 E f o r the m is s io n

ag ains t I S I S tar g ets o n S ep t. 12, 20 16 . U S
as s ets inc lu d ing A - 10 s , F - 15 E s , F - 16 s ,
F / A - 18 s , and B - 5 2s p ar tic ip ated in the
s tr ik e p ac k ag e.
the original al Qaeda organization that

carried out the 9/11 attacks.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the 2016
Democratic nominee for vice president,
disagreed.
At an April 28, 2016, Senate Armed
Services Committee hearing, Kaine said
he is in a minority in this body in Con-
gress in believing that the 2001 authoriza-
tion does not provide a legal justification
for this war. And I think that there isnt
a domestic legal justification unless and
until we so vote.
Then-Defense Secretary Ashton B.
Carter responded that while he agrees
with Kaine that a new AUMF would
signify to the troops that the country is
behind them, he believes the 2001 law
USAF video image
for OIR is, in fact, legal.

I am told by the lawyers, and I believe
this, that the legal basis exists in both
domestic law and international law for
everything were doing, he said, adding
that hes not a lawyer and couldnt explain
the particulars.
The issue has been raised by Army
Capt. Nathan Michael Smith, who in
May sued Obama.
In the lawsuit, Smith wrote that he
brought the legal action to ask the court
to tell the President that he must get
proper authority from Congress, under
the War Powers Resolution, to wage the
war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
The lawsuit was dismissed by a federal and Italy). However, since the 1790s, use of military force to degrade and
district court judge in November, however. Congress has passed statutory provisions defeat ISIL.
This case raises questions that are authorizing the President to use military In a letter to Congress about the pro-
committed to the political branches of force in locations around the world. The posal, he stated that it would not authorize
government, Judge Colleen Kollar- Vietnam War and the Korean War were long-term, large-scale ground combat
Kotelly wrote, according to a copy of never declared, for instance. operations like the wars in Iraq and Af-
the decision obtained by The New York ghanistan. Instead, it would provide the
Times. The court is not well-equipped to R O O M F O R DE B A T E flexibility to conduct ground operations
resolve these questions, and the political In 1973, Congress overruled a presi- in other, more limited circumstances,
branches [that] are so equipped do not ap- dential veto to pass the War Powers such as rescue operations involving US
pear to be in dispute as to their answers. Resolution, in hopes of ensuring that or coalition personnel.
The debate about how much power the collective judgment of both the The draft included a suggested end-
the President has over the use of mili- Congress and the President will apply to pointthree years after the date of
tary forces goes all the way back to the the introduction of United States armed enactmentand would repeal the 2002
constitutional convention in 1787, ex- forces into hostilities. Authorization for Use of Military Force
plained retired Army Maj. Gen. John D. Beyond explicit congressional au- against Iraq. However, it did not address
Altenburg, who served as deputy judge thorization, there is an argument that the 2001 authorization, though Obama in
advocate general of the Army and is now if Congress has appropriated funds the letter to Congress said he was com-
a principal with the D.C. office of the for a military operation, that provides mitted to refining it.
Greenberg Traurig law firm. Altenburg is enough authority for the President to Enacting an AUMF that is specific to
also a law lecturer at the George Wash- continue using military force, Alten- the threat posed by ISIL could serve as a
ington University Law School. burg said. model for how we can work together to
The clause originally read make war, Congress can, in one vote, stop the tailor the authorities granted by the 2001
and they specifically edited it and changed funding, he said. AUMF, he wrote.
The proposal stalled in Congress, as
USAF video image by TSgt. Jeremy Roman

Republican lawmakers argued for a less
limited AUMF.
Then-House Speaker John A. Boehner
(R-Ohio) said in a statement that any
authorization for the use of military force
must give our military commanders the
flexibility and authorities they need to
succeed and protect our people. I have
concerns that the Presidents request does
not meet this standard.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman
of the Senate Armed Services Committee,
said he was pleased that Obama had
proposed an AUMF, but McCain con-
fessed to deep concerns about aspects
of the proposal, including limitations
placed on the constitutional authority
A b o v e lef t: I n an A ir F o r c e v id eo , an F - 15 E As for the question of whether a new of the Commander in Chief, the failure
b ac k s eater c hec k s the ar ea o f o p er atio ns AUMF is necessary, Altenburg said there to articulate an objective for the use of
d u r ing a m is s io n. L ef t: U S A F f o r c es d e-
s tr o y ed an I S I S tr aining c am p ( s ho w n her e is room to debate on both sides, but military force, and a narrow definition
in a s c r eens ho t f r o m a U S A F v id eo ) near there is room to say that the 2001 and of strategy.
Ra ah, ria, Nov. 1 . Above F-1 s 2002 authorizations for the use of force Other initiatives for a new AUMFin-
in f o r m atio n. T he S ep t. 12 s tr ik e m is s io n
inc lu d ed f o u r F - 15 s . are adequate for ... conducting opera- cluding versions sponsored by Sen. Lind-
tions against al Qaeda, ISIS, and similar sey O. Graham (R-S.C.), Rep. Adam B.
it to declare war, the implication being, organizations. Schiff (D-Calif.), Rep. Adam D. Kinzinger
its the executive that actually makes war Even though Obama and administra- (R-Ill.), Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.),
and conducts tactics and strategy and the tion officials said they didnt need a new and Kainehave also failed to advance.
like, but Congress is the only one that can AUMF to pursue the fight against ISIS, OHanlon said the problem is that ev-
declare war, Altenburg told Air Force Obama nevertheless sought one. eryone wants to use the new legislation
Magazine. He called on Congress to pass a new for their own, often conflicting, purposes.
Since that time, there have been just 11 AUMF in his January 2015 State of the Hawks want to revalidate the war effort,
declarations of war for five wars from the Union speech, and in February of that doves want to curtail it in time or place
War of 1812 through World War II (when year, he submitted a draft AUMF that or means. Thus, a new majority fails to
the US declared war on Germany, Japan, he said would authorize the continued emerge on any specific proposal.
L ef t: A n F - 16 p ilo t s ig nals to ano ther air c r af t
d u r ing an O p er atio n I nher ent R es o lv e m is -
s io n. T he O I R air c o m p o nent c o m p r is es
s o m e 20 natio ns . B elo w : S S g t. T r ev o r
L o w d er , a c o nting enc y r es p o ns e g r o u p
airman, on the ight line at a arah est
Aireld, Ira , in November. R s rapidl
deplo personnel to establish, expand,
sustain, and coordinate air mobilit opera-
tions at austere bases.
they dont like the one that the President

has sent them, theres nothing wrong
with that; they can turn around and pass
an AUMF that they believe in their heart
is the right sort of thing to do and show
Image from USAF Central Command video the unity of the Congress.
USAF photo by SrA. Jordan Castelan
AP photo/ Terry Ashe

Altenburg agreed. women [who] are prosecuting the cam- Instead, he said, they appear to be
The difficulty in drafting another paign and our allies from their elected more willing to sit outside and criticize
AUMF is, will there be an even big- officials would be helpful. the President than to put themselves on
ger argument about how it would be OHanlon said a new AUMF could the line and say, Heres where we stand.
restricted? Altenburg asked. Well be offer greater precision and specificity. Still, Obama seemed undeterred by the
in a debate that never ends about what It could clarify that, for example, we congressional inaction. In his January
it should look like, he asserted. shouldnt be using substantial numbers 2016 State of the Union address, he urged
So why pursue a new AUMF in the of US forces to attack Boko Haram, or a Congress to take a vote if members
first place? Salafist organization besides ISIS and al were serious about winning this war.
Preston, in his speech to the interna- Nusra/Conquest Front in Syria, or another By late November, the administration was
tional-law society, said the most obvious offshoot of the original movement that is planning to expand the reach of the 2001
reason the President would seek a new too far away in location or too different AUMF to include al Shabab in Somalia,
AUMF is that the world needs to know we in membership [or] leadership for the according to The New York Times.
are united behind the effort against ISIL, same single AUMF to cover that, too. Lisa O. Monaco, Obamas top counter-
and the men and women of our military Retired Marine Corps Gen. James N. terrorism advisor, said in a statement that
deserve clear and unified support. Mattis, the former head of US Central the terrorist threat is constantly evolving
Command and nominee for Defense and requires an adaptable response, the
H E R E S T O A N E W A U MF Secretary, in April 2016 told a group at Times reported.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff the Center for Strategic and International
Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. Studies that an AUMF for the fight against
told the House Armed Services Commit- ISIS would again demonstrate American Jennifer Hlad is a freelance journalist
based in the Middle East. Her most
tee in December 2015 that he absolutely stability and focus on the region. recent article for Air Force Magazine
believes that a clear and unequivocal Referencing Congress apparent in- was Separation Anxiety in the Febru-
statement of support for the men and ability to pass a new AUMF, he said: If ary issue.
E ASSOC
RC IA
FO T
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AIR
CORPORATE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

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AM
CORP
GR
OR
RO
TE
A
P
ME IP
MBERSH
The AFA Corporate Membership Program recognizes companies that support the Air Force Associations mission,
people, and events. These businesses play a vital role in making AFA the most powerful advocate for every member
of the Air Force family. This month we highlight the following corporate member companies.
ELBIT SYSTEMS OF AMERICA S3 INTERNATIONAL

Elbit Systems of America, a leading provider of high performance S3 is a Registered Small Business headquartered in Milwaukee,
products, system solutions, and sustainment services focusing Wisconsin, comprised of S3 International and S3 Repair Services.
on defense, homeland security, commercial aviation and medical S3s industry leading businesses are focused on providing Defense
instrumentation, is dedicated to supporting those who contribute Industry spares through key distribution agreements with industry
to the safety and security of the United States. Elbit Systems of leading OEMs, component repair services including being the
America, LLC, is owned by Elbit Systems Ltd., a global electronics Authorized UTC C130 Wheel and Brake repair center and innovative
company engaged in a wide range of programs for innovative solutions to the Defense Industry Aftermarket around the world.
defense and commercial applications. An Aerospace and Defense company that is committed to providing
unparalleled quality TRACE compliant, ISO Certified and FAA
www.elbitsystems-us.com Ft. Worth, TX (9S3R896B) EASA (145.6559) certified repair station. S3 is proud
and honored to support the U.S. Military and their fleets.
www.s3international.com Milwaukee, WI
GE AVIATION
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-
leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components, VIASAT INC.
integrated digital, avionics, electrical power and mechanical systems As a global broadband services and technology company, ViaSat
for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE enables secure, high-performance communications with our
Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings and game-changing technologies: mobile and fixed broadband satcom,
is part of the worlds Digital Industrial Company with software- accredited high-speed encryption, cyber threat monitoring and
defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive management, and low SWaP and multi-channel Link 16 terminals.
and predictive. ViaSat pushes the boundaries of being connected and secure
even under the most challenging circumstances.
www.geaviation.com Evendale, OH
www.viasat.com Carlsbad, CA
SATCOM DIRECT ZMICRO INC.

Satcom Direct (SD) provides global connectivity solutions for ZMicro is a leading manufacturer of rugged deployable computing
business and general aviation, military, government, and heads of state and visual solutions. Since 1986 we have been delivering reliable,
aircraft, as well as operations in areas with connectivity limitations high-performance MIL-Spec solutions that are custom tailored
such as remote locations, large scale events, and disaster recovery. The to perform at their highest capacity in harsh environments.
company is a premier Inmarsat Distribution Partner (including Jet Our ruggedized products include: displays, computers, servers,
ConneX), Iridium Service Partner, ViaSat Yonders preferred reseller, handhelds, data storage, video enhancement, video management
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www.satcomdirect.com Melbourne, FL www.zmicro.com San Diego, CA
For more information on the Corporate Membership Program please visit www.AFA.org/CM
or contact Fred Ullman at FUllman@afa.org
Photography by Greg Llinares
Text by Wilson Brissett, Senior Editor
Selfridge Air National Guard Bases history runs contiguous Selfridges host unit, the 127th Wing, is no show pony and
with the history of human flight. The installations namesake, is fully engaged in todays missions. The wing is home to
1st Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, was the first military casualty A-10s of the 107th Fighter Squadron, the Red Devils, and
of flight. In September 1908, he died when the plane he was KC-135s belonging to the 171st Air Refueling Squadron,
inpiloted by none other than Orville Wrightcrashed at the Michigan Six-Pack. They anchor more than 40 tenant
Fort Myer, Va. units, from every US service, on the bases 3,000-plus acres.
Selfridge ANGB has trained or fielded pilots for every Since the 107th FS started flying A-10s in 2009, Selfridges
major US conflict since World War I, and this summer it airmen have supported several major deployments, such as to
will celebrate its centennial with an open house featuring the Afghanistan in 2011-12 and to Southwest Asia for Operation
USAF Thunderbirds air demonstration squadron. Inherent Resolve in 2015.

Four A-10C aircraft and a KC-135R fly in formation
from Selfridge ANGB, Mich.

1
The 2015 deployment involved 350 airmen supporting the

A-10s, including a healthy maintenance contingent, and some
200 KC-135 personnel. By the end of that deployment, the
Red Devils had flown 1,600 sorties and logged 11,000 combat
flight hours. Other Selfridge airmen flew three of the most
heavily used KC-135s in the Air Force at the time, chalking
up some 300 missions and 2,200 combat flight hours. The six-
month stretch was the longest mass deployment of Selfridge
airmen since the Korean War, according to wing officials.
As 2016 ended, approximately 100 airmen from the 127th
Wing were on duty in the US Central Command region for
Operation Freedoms Sentinel and other contingencies. The
deployed airmen were from the 127th Air Refueling Group,
encompassing both the 171st Air Refueling Squadron and
191st Maintenance Squadron for KC-135 operations.
In the past year, airmen from the group have performed
short-term deployments in the European, Pacific, and Central
Command areas of operations, read a Selfridge news release.
Clearly, Selfridge is no stranger to a high operating tempo.
Sustaining these operations has been an all hands on deck
effort, said TSgt. Daniel Heaton, 127th Wing public affairs
officer. But it hasnt stopped Selfridges airmen from taking
on additional missions. Beginning in January 2016, the base 6
became a staging ground for the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agencys response to the Flint, Mich., water crisis. The
wing set up a FEMA storage and distribution depot, supply-
1 An A-1 rolls a a hile deplo ing ares from dispensers

underneath the fuselage. arkings indicating IR missions
are displa ed on a fuselage of an A-1 . a . ohn Rubin in
the cockpit of his arthog. rA. Brandie Nosako ski orks
on a boom unit on a -1 tanker. gt. oseph honk
chooses a tool needed during a preight routine on an A-1 . 6 A -
1 on the run a . Four A-1 s maintain a tight formation.

2 3

ing nearly three million liters of bottled water to residents
of Flint, which is 70 miles from Selfridge.
The FEMA mission illustrates how Selfridge sees itself
as Michigans hometown Air Force, Heaton said. We try
to lift the bar a little higher.
The hard work in both international combat operations and
the local humanitarian missions has been recognized: In 2016,
the wing received an Air Force Meritorious Unit Award for
superior performance during its 2015 combat deployments.
Preparations for the 2017 centennial celebration, Aug.
19-20, are in full swing. In addition to the Thunderbirds,
the wing is planning a display of historical aircraft from
past missions. Its even trying to find a JN-4 Jenny, the first
aircraft asssigned to Selfridge Field, where pilot training
began in July 1917.
The celebration will be forward looking, though, and
Selfridges immediate future looks exciting.
In December, the Air Force named the base as one of five
finalists for the location of one of the new F-35A Lightning
II ANG squadrons. There will be two Guard F-35 squadron
locations.
/ 1/ A 30 m m G A U - 8 / A s ev en- b ar r el G atling g u n m o u nted o n an

A-1 at elfridge. Rubin and honk preight an A-1 . A 4
W ar tho g tr ailed b y a S tr ato tank er . / 4/ T S g t. S hau n H o v er s ho w s
the m ar s halling s ig nal f o r s to p . / 5 / A tank er o n the r am p at S el-
f r id g e. / 6 / S r A . R o b er t A k er s , a b o o m o p er ato r , s ec u r es an ex it
d o o r o n a K C - 135 b ef o r e a m is s io n. / 7 / S S g t. G ar r ett P illo w n
( l) and S r A . A d am Mc Mann ( r ) ins p ec t s u r v iv al k its c ar r ied b y
A - 10 air c r ew s . / 8 / T he 127 th W ing s 10 7 th F ig hter S q u ad r o n is
nic k nam ed R ed Dev ils .

1 2
5 6
7 8

1
2 3

4 5
ANG photo
Brig. Gen. John D. Slocum, 127th Wing commander, thinks

the new mission is a logical next step.
7 The F-35 is a natural fit at Selfridge, he said. Fighter aircraft
have been operating at Selfridge for 100 years. We believe an
enduring fighter mission makes sense. The Michigan National
Guard operates two world-class training facilities in northern
Michigan, just a 30-minute flight from here.
Slocum said the cross-service relationships Selfridge
maintains offer a unique opportunity to deploy the strike
fighter to work closely with the Army, Marine Corps, and
some of our allied partners in a joint environment.
The final F-35 decision should be made sometime in 2017,
and if selected, Selfridge would begin receiving the fifth
generation fighters in the mid-2020s.
An F-35 squadron at Selfridge would put the Air Forces
newest fighter at the same base where 2nd Lt. Curtis E.
LeMay, future head of Strategic Air Command and USAF
Chief of Staff, flew in his first Air Corps assignment nearly
90 years agoin pursuit planes, of course.
/ 1/ A ir m en w o r k o n an A - 10 . T he eq u ip m ent in the f o r eg r o u nd
lo ad s and u nlo ad s r o u nd s f o r the G atling g u n. / 2/ S S g t. L o g an
L y o n ( l) and N o s ak o w s k i p er f o r m m aintenanc e o n a K C - 135
b o o m . / 3/ A n A - 10 m aneu v er s b eneath a r ef u eler . / 4/ L - r : R u b in,
1s t L t. C hr is E lls w o r th, S r A . J o r d y nn H o r ner , and C ap t. J as o n
H o lm at the f r o nt d es k f o r w ing o p er atio ns . / 5 / E lls w o r th and
R u b in head o u t to their air c r af t. / 6 / MS g t. R ic h G ib b s p lac es
u nit m ar k ing s o n a K C - 135 . / 7 / S S g t. K enneth S to k ely c o nd u c ts
preight operations. rA. cott ange and other ing mem-
b er s help ed the c itiz ens o f F lint, Mic h. , d u r ing their w ater c r is is
in 20 16 .
A Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet takes on fuel from a USAF KC-135 over Iraq on Sept. 28
during a mission for Operation Inherent Resolve.
The Joint Requirements Oversight Council

makes the tough decisions on whats
needed and whats affordable.
School of
O JROC peration Eagle Clawthe
1980 attempt to rescue 52
American hostages held
by Iran at the US Em-
bassy in Tehranwas an utter failure.
The debacle threw into sharp relief
how difficult it had become for US
forces to operate across service lines
These two operational fiascos mo-
tivated the sweeping Defense Depart-
ment reorganization of the Goldwater-
Nichols Act. It was in this same spirit of
reforming the militarys joint structure
that the Joint Requirements Oversight
Council was created.
The JROC exists to achieve con-
By Wilson Brissett, Senior Editor
to accomplish a complex mission. sensus across the services regarding

An after-action report criticized the acquisition priorities. Its job is to The JROC itself was established
ad hoc nature of the organization, eliminate overlap and create efficiency in June 1986, four months before the
especially the militarys failure to make in addressing the needs of field com- passage of Goldwater-Nichols. The
use of a joint structure for planning manders and to give the consolidated two headline-grabbing examples of the
the operation. requirements proper precedence in the services not playing well together added
Three years later, the invasion of Pentagons acquisition process. impetus to its creation.
GrenadaOperation Urgent Fury The idea is for the JROC to balance It was the third chairman of the
again laid bare the US militarys trouble the needs of the warfighter and the council, Adm. William A. Owens, who
organizing itself for a joint fight. resources of the nation. envisioned the JROC as an authoritative
Technically a success, the operation The groups predecessor, called the body that could make the tough decisions
revealed embarrassing disconnects Joint Requirements and Management for the joint force over the objections of
between the services. Board, had been operating since 1984, individual service branch leaders, each
In some cases, for example, com- but without the authority needed to of whom would naturally prioritize his
manders radios were incompatible. overrule individual service chiefs. own service. Owens JROC not only
USAF photo by TSgt. Larry E. Reid Jr.
OC
worked on future programs, but turned
toward existing systems to cut fat and
increase interoperability.
Owens bypassed the Chiefs in the
decision-making process and issued a
recommendation that duplicative sys-
tems across the services be eliminated.
While his successors have often
been more accommodating, Owens
envisioned the JROC as a kind of joint
police force for the individual services
in the interest of creating a successful
total military effort, and that vision has
persisted.
D OD photo by TSgt. M. J. Creen
Today, membership of the JROC is This makes the JROC a collab-

made up of the vice chairman of the orative decision-making space. The
Joint Chiefs of Staff, who leads the top leaders from each service make
council, and the Vice Chief of each the case for the systems they believe
service. USAF Vice Chief of Staff their service or the joint force needs
Gen. Stephen W. Wilson represents the most, and then the group weighs
the Air Force. Gen. Paul J. Selva, vice the relative merits of some demands
chairman of the JCS and also an Air versus others.
Force officer, chairs the JROC. Selva has focused on reconnecting
the council with commanders in the
A B A L A N C IN G A C T field. During his July 2015 nomination
Keeping the US warfighter in mind hearing before the Senate, he said,
is one of the most important aspects Theres an active effort inside the
of my work for the JROC, said Air [JROC] to reinvigorate the relation-
Force Brig. Gen. David A. Krumm, ship with the stakeholders who bring
deputy director for requirements with requirements to the table, and he af-
the JCS. He confirmed, though, that firmed his commitment to that position.
the budget plays a very important part As competitors like China and
in JROC discussions because in an Russia modernize and advance, Selva
era of continued fiscal pressures, this has worked to speed up the JROCs
[joint] perspective will continue to be collaborative process.
very important. When he arrived, decision-making
As such, the JROC must perform on new requirements at the JROC
a perpetual balancing act. In the law had recently been trimmed from nine
governing its operation, the council months to six months, on average. Selva
is charged with ensuring the con- is aiming to cut that time in half, so it The JROC is an arena of confronta-
sideration of trade-offs among cost, will take only three months to move tion and critique. Each member is sup-
schedule, and performance objectives from setting a requirement to the start posed to recognize that requirements
for joint military requirements. of an acquisition program of record. must be trimmed and reconfigured
to meet the constraints of the DOD JROC tenure, the process had grown problems as well. Representatives of
budget and the demanding tempo of to an unmanageable size. military contractors would often be
ongoing operations. When I got there it was a room full present during deliberations involving
Retired Gen. Larry O. Spencer, vice of people, Spencer recalled. You their companys programs, Spencer
chief of staff of the Air Force from didnt even know who was involved. said, preventing a frank discussion
2012 to 2015 and now president of The sheer numbers slowed down the among the principal members of the
AFA, said that at the beginning of his work of the JROC, but there were other JROC. By the time Spencer retired,
USAF photo by SSgt. Shawn Nickel
the JROC had begun restricting at-
tendance, limiting the participants
to a regular group much closer to the
core membership of the council itself.
Early in his years with the JROC,
another council member tried to per-
suade Spencer to adopt a go-along,
get-along attitude.
N E E DS A R E N E E DS
The colleague said, If you dont
criticize what I need, then I wont
criticize what you need, Spencer said.
But his time on the JROC convinced
him that the council works best when
its members are unafraid to question
each others arguments about which
systems are truly required. Its my
job to criticize something I think
is not critical to the joint mission,
Spencer said.
This confrontational edge produces
Government of Iran photo
results, he believes.
But what does JROC success look
like? Council decisions sit at the top
of the requirements hierarchy. The
Deputys Management Action Group
(DMAG) shapes the Presidents de-
fense budget and could still refuse to
fund systems that received JROC ap-
proval, however. So for Spencer, the
more effective we were in the JROC,
the more impact we had in the DMAG.
Budget concerns have a lot to do
with what the JROC decides. When
the council has come under fire its
often been because of a perceived
unwillingness of members to say no
to each other.
The JROC has taken on a life of its
own, then-Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-
Calif.) said in a June 2014 meeting of
the House Armed Services Committee.
Sometimes, just to get through the
process can take more than a year. ...
And it also seems to me, under JROC,
that they didnt want to pick winners
A b o v e lef t: S o ld ier s p r ep ar e to d ep ar t f o r a p atr o l d u r ing O p er atio n U r g ent F u r y in and losers, and theyre still usually
G r enad a o n O c t. 28 , 19 8 3, w ith a C - 130 tak ing o f f in the b ac k g r o u nd . A b o v e: S S g t. saying yes to everything.
E u g ene T ab ita ( l) w atc hes as S S g t. J ac o b R ink er , a J T A C , c o o r d inates c lo s e air s u p -
p o r t f o r s o ld ier s d u r ing a R ed F lag ex er c is e in J u ne. H er e: A d es tr o y ed helic o p ter Sanchez, who lost her November
lies in the d es er t af ter the attem p t to r es c u e 5 2 U S E m b as s y s taf f er s held c ap tiv e in bid for a Senate seat, might have had
T ehr an o n A p r il 24, 19 8 0 . in mind the F-22 Raptor. Spencer
programs that the council knows could
not all be afforded, Spencer said. The
most important internal rhetorical tool
at the JROCs disposal, therefore, is the
phrase yeah, but, Spencer said. The
vice chiefs mandate is to faithfully
transcribe the requirements commu-
nicated by the combatant commanders
(this is the yeah), but at the same
time tailor those requirements to the
realities of a joint force competing for
limited resources (the but). Spencer
acknowledged this is a tough balance
to strike.
It seems that progress is being made
in this direction. Without offering spe-
USAF photo by A1C Joseph Pick cifics, Krumm said that as a result of
mentioned it as an example where the USAF photo by TSgt. Javier Cruz
JROC was not successful.

The F-22 program was originally
slated to produce more than 700 air-
craft but was reduced in several stages.
Though a number of 381 had been
endorsed by the JROC, then-Defense
Secretary Robert M. Gates terminated
the program. The last F-22 was deliv-
ered in 2012 after only 187 operational
aircraft had been produced. Gates
had said the jet had no application in
the war in Afghanistan and that war
with China or Russia was too remote
a possibility.
Unless the JROC makes tough deci-
sions to create a balance between what
we need to be successful in war and
what we can afford, Spencer said, the
system wont work.
T o p : G en. S tep hen W ils o n ( l) , U S A F v ic e c hief o f s taf f , s p eak s to L t. G en. B r ad W eb b ,
C H IE F O F G O O DE N O U G H head o f A ir F o r c e S p ec ial O p er atio ns C o m m and , at H u r lb u r t F ield , F la. A b o v e: A n F - 15
Retired Vice Adm. David J. Venlet, land s at T y nd all A F B , F la. , as an F - 22 tax is to a p ar k ing ar ea Dec . 12. T he air c r af t w er e
then the former program executive of- p ar tic ip ating in C hec k er ed F lag 17 - 1 and C o m b at A r c her 17 - 3, ex er c is es to enhanc e
interoperabilit bet een fourth and fth generation aircraft.
ficer for the F-35, made a similar point
in response to Sanchez in 2014. He
termed the JROCs mission as crucial.
We need somebody to be what I would Spencer agreed. Every service wants its last review in 2015, the JROC had
call the chief officer of good enough, the very best they can get, he said. We made changes to make the process
he said. He explained that the mission all walk in there with a uniform on. But more deliberative.
of the JROC is to find a compromise the joint nature of the JROC is intended Asking members to set aside their
between requirements and resources to enable its members to transcend their parochial views and see things in light
without dumbing down the require- commitment to individual services for of whats best for the all-around force
ments for our warfighters needs. the good of the total force. isnt easy, especially for generals and
These are difficult decisions, Ven- Its tough, but you have to figure admirals whove spent a career suc-
let went on to say, but I believe the out a way to take your service patch cessfully advocating for their services
creation of the JROC was meant to off, Spencer said. distinct needs. But when the JROC is
do that, and the JROC leader then Walking this line dominates JROC able to do these two things, it provides
Adm. James A. Winnifeld Jr.has a deliberations. crucial advice about what systems are
very good view to push back on the It would not be responsible for us good enough to win the fight and still
programs. to send up a laundry list of dream live within the dollars available.
Flashback
flashback@afa.org
Ship of the Desert

The Muroc Maru was a 65 0-foot-long mock Japa-
nese warship emplaced in southern California.
The thing cost $ 36,000 to build (or $ 5 00,000

today). It had a framework made of four-
by-four lumber and chicken wire, which A B-25 Mitchell bomber trains against the Muroc Maru.
was then covered with tar paper. When
completed in March 1943, it was given the
designation of AAF Temporary Building
(Target) T-799. To military pilots at Muroc
AAF, Calif., though, it was the Muroc Maru
and looked for all the world like a 65 0-foot-
long Japanese Atago-class heavy cruiser.
From 1943 to 195 0, Army Air Forces used
the target for bombing practice, strafing
practice, and identification training. Muroc
Maru was banked with sand and that, along
with the shimmering effect of the desert,
made it seem to be sailing through the
desert. The mock warship was declared a
flight ha ard and dismantled in .

A p ainting hang ing in B r itain s N atio nal Mu s eu m o f the R o y al N av y s ho w s a to r p ed o
p lane f r o m H MS I l l u s t r i o u s attac k ing the s hip s at T ar anto har b o r o n N o v . 11, 19 40 .
Painting by Charles D avid Cobb, The National Museum of the Royal Navy
The British torpedo bombers left three battleships sunk

or sinking in the main harbor of the Italian battle fleet.
of questions and interviewing as many
eyewitnesses as they could.
Taranto is often described as the
precursor or blueprint for the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor 13 months later,
but that is something of an exaggeration.
Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto was already
thinking about a strike on Pearl Harbor,
possibly with aerial torpedoes.
There is little doubt, though, that
Taranto confirmed the feasibility of
Yamamotos idea. Serious planning of
By John T. Correll the attack and experiments to modify
aerial torpedoes for use in the shallow
waters of Pearl Harborabout the same
depth as at Tarantobegan in early 1941.
C H A L L E N G E I N T H E ME D
Adm. Andrew B. Cunningham, com-
manding the British Mediterranean
Fleet, was caught short-handed when
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini de-
clared war on Britain June 10, 1940.
Some of Cunninghams assets had
been transferred to the Home Fleet
for the impending Battle of Britain.
Other British forces were tied down
in North Africa, where an Italian army
was massed on the frontier between
Egypt and Libya.
Cunningham had to keep the sea
lanes open to the Suez Canal, the
critical passage to India, Australia,
O
and British possessions in Asia, but
n the night of Nov. 11, 1940, Just before midnight, the first of two he had only a squadron of surface
most of the capital ships of the waves of open-cockpit Fairey Swordfish combatants and the aging carrier HMS
Italian navyincluding all biplanes, launched from the British car- Eagle, a converted battleship with an
six of its battleshipslay at rier HMS Illustrious, swept down on improvised flight deck.
anchor in the harbor at Taranto, which the anchorage at Taranto. The first two The day after Mussolini declared
the Italian admirals believed to be se- aircraft dropped flares to illuminate and war, Italian bombers from Sicily
cure. They were not overly concerned backlight the Italian ships in the harbor. pounded British bases on Malta. Sev-
about the risk from concentrating the Close behind them came more Swordfish eral clashes at sea ensued in July and
fleet. dropping torpedoes and bombs. August.
Taranto, located inside the heel of In 65 minutes, the attackers sank or The Italians held a substantial nu-
the Italian boot, had strong defenses severely damaged three of the battle- merical advantage in both ships and
that included sound-detection devices ships, two cruisers, two destroyers, and aircraft and a position of strategic
to pick up airplanes 30 miles away, assorted other targets. Two of the Sword- advantage from their base at Taranto.
submerged breakwaters, jetties, anti- fish were shot down by anti-aircraft Nevertheless, they had several weak-
torpedo nets, barrage balloons, and fire. In the House of Commons, Prime nesses.
hundreds of anti-aircraft guns. Minister Winston Churchill proclaimed The fighting potential of the Regia
The admirals recognized the theoreti- that the loss to Italy of half its battleships Marina, the Italian navy, depended on
cal danger of air attack. Taranto was affects decisively the balance of naval its battleships. There were no aircraft
within operational range for British power in the Mediterranean. carriers, Mussolini having decided that
carriers in the Mediterranean, but never Some nations were paying closer at- the entire peninsula of Italy functioned
in history had carrier-launched aircraft tention than others. Japan was especially as a carrier. The defense of Taranto
been used to strike a heavily defended interested and dispatched its naval atta- included Italian air force interceptors,
naval base. ch from Berlin to investigate. A group but their bases were some distance
Previous assumptions about such an of Japanese naval officers visited Taranto away. None of the aircraft in southern
attack were about to be blown away. for a further look, bringing a long list Italy had a night-fighting capability.
The Taranto mission required supple-
mentary long-range fuel tanks, which
were usually slung under the Swordfish
fuselage. That was not possible when
carrying torpedoes, which had to be
mounted centerline between the wheels.
Thus the fuel tank was put into the
observers space. The observer moved
Outer AA
Battery
Royal Navy photo by Lt. S. I. Bedell via Imperial War Museums
Faire ordsh torpedo bombers on a training ight from cotland in 1 . o aves

of the open-cockpit bombers launched from I l l u s t r i o u s to reak havoc on aranto.
Inner
Breakwater
Italys resources were strung out and victory at Trafalgar in 1805. The two
strained by Mussolinis military adven- carriers, Eagle and Illustrious, were to
Destroyers
tures from the invasion of Ethiopia in launch a total of 30 Fairey Swordfish
1935 and participation in the Spanish aircraft, carrying a combination of
civil war to the invasions of Albania in torpedoes and bombs.
1939 and Greece in 1940 and the current The Swordfish entered service in
challenge to the British in North Africa. 1936 and was outmoded even then.
Mussolinis advisors warned him Its biplane configuration was old-
that the Italian industrial base could fashioned and it was painfully slow.
not readily replace ships lost in war The top speed was officially rated at
and the admirals were reluctant to 143 mph when carrying weapons, but
take risks. After Cunningham received according to fleet air arm crews, it
reinforcementsincluding the newly seldom went faster than 100. The air-
commissioned carrier Illustriousin crews in the open cockpits wore heavy to the smaller seat previously occupied
September, he believed he could beat insulated flying suits for protection by the gunner, who was scrubbed from
the Italians in an all-out naval battle. against the cold. the crew.
For all of that, the Swordfish was The base at Taranto was divided into
S T R I N G B A G S A N D T O R P E DO E S sturdy and reliable. It was popular with inner and outer harbors, connected by
If the Italians, following their cau- the crews who affectionately called it a small canal. The battleships were in
tious strategy, would not come out to the String bag, named supposedly the larger outer harbor, protected by
fight a major engagement, Cunningham for the knotted string bags used by a breakwater and anti-torpedo nets.
would go into Taranto to get them. The shoppers in England and referring to Several of the cruisers and some of
notion of a carrier-launched attack on the Swordfishs versatility in carrying the destroyers were in the inner harbor.
Taranto dated back to the Ethiopian things. By an alternate explanation, The battleships with their heavy
invasion. String bag derived from the web of armor plating were too tough to knock
The plan was updated in 1939 and rods and struts between the upper and out with bombs so half the Swordfish
the man who had updated it, Lumley lower wings. carried torpedoes. The other half would
Lyster, arrived in September aboard The Swordfish normally had a crew use bombs against the cruisers and
Illustrious as the new rear admiral for of three: a pilot, an observer, and a destroyers.
carriers of the Mediterranean Fleet. He gunner. The observer, more important The conventional wisdom was that
presented a plan for attack to Cunning- than suggested by his title, handled air-dropped torpedoes could not be
ham, who laid it on with the designation navigation, reconnaissance, and target used in water less than 75 feet deep. If
of Operation Judgment. recognition. The pilot sat in the front the water was too shallow, the torpedo
The strike was set for Oct. 21, the an- cockpit and the gunner and the observer would not be able to recover from
niversary of Lord Nelsons celebrated shared the larger second cockpit. its steep plunge and begin tracking
toward the target. Taranto harbor was the carriers in the dark. The operation Swordfish plenty of room to maneuver
40 feet deep. was rescheduled for Nov. 11, with between them.
What the Italians did not know was fewer aircraft. On Nov. 11, the day of the attack,
that the British had found a solution. The next glitch came in early No- the Italians had scheduled a gunnery
The nose of the torpedo was hooked vember with the discovery that Eagle exercise at sea and spent much of
to a wire wound on a drum beneath needed emergency repairs. The hull had the morning in the extensive task of
the aircraft. Upon launch, the wire been shaken by near misses during the removing the torpedo nets around the
pulled the nose of the torpedo up so summer battles, damaging the pipes ships. The exercise was canceled but
Staff illustration by Mike Tsukamoto
the torpedo nets had not been rerigged.
The movements of Illustrious were
concealed within the broader context
of Operation MB8, an elaborate series
hite Arro s - 1st ave of British actions in early November
range Arro - nd ave timed to provide additional cover for
the air strike. Among other distractions,
a group of cruisers and destroyers
would run slightly ahead of Illustri-
A Submerged
ous, between the carrier and Taranto.
Breakwater The delay from the fire had put the
attack on Taranto after Italys invasion
of Greece Oct. 28, which further ob-
scured the activity of the British fleet.
Cruisers
T H E S W O R DF I S H L A U N C H
A few hours before the attack on
Cruiser Nov. 11, an RAF reconnaissance air-
Caio Duilio
Squadron
Littorio Giulio Cesare plane from Malta overflew Taranto and
Conte di Cavour
Vittorio Veneto confirmed that the Italian fleet was
still in place. Packed into the inner
Andrea Doria and outer harbors were six battleships,
nine cruisers, 28 destroyers, and other
Aircraft vessels.
Drops Flares Royal Navy photo by Lt. C. H. Parnall, via Imperial War Museums
to Illuminate
Targets
he rst ave of ordsh aircraft hite arro struck the ships in the harbor at 11
p.m., the second orange arro at 1 11 a.m. he entire raid lasted a little more than an hour.
that after falling from low level, it hit that carried aviation fuel within the
the water in a belly flop instead of a ship. The danger of fire or explosion
dive. Attack was possible in water as was so great that Eagle was withdrawn
shallow as 22 feet. from action.
Illustrious would be the lone carrier
B A DL U C K A N DG O O DL U C K for the strike. Several more aircraft were
Both the makeup of the air strike and lost in accidents Nov. 9-10, leaving 21
the timing were changed by interven- Swordfish as the attack force aboard
ing surprise events. On Oct. 18, three Illustrious.
days before the scheduled mission, a These misfortunes were offset by
mechanic fitting an auxiliary fuel tank several pieces of good luck for the
on one of the Swordfish dropped a tool, British. Initially, the Taranto harbor
setting off a spark and causing a fire was protected by 90 barrage balloons,
that destroyed two airplanes and badly tethered on steel cables that could tear
damaged three others. the wings off low-flying airplanes.
The attack had to be postponed. The Sixty balloons were lost in a storm
moon would not be full again until the Nov. 6 and had not yet been replaced.
middle of November, which would With only 30 balloons remaining, the Adm. Andre unningham, commander of
the British editerranean Fleet, as elated
give the aircrews greater visibility cables were 900 feet apartthree times b the success of the daring torpedo and
over Taranto and when returning to the previous spacingallowing the bombing raid.

The Swordfish were divided into two The last two Swordfish bumped fished them out. They spent the rest
waves because Illustrious could launch wings on the deck. Lt. W. D. Morford of the war as POWs.
only 12 of them at a time. The first wave, was able to take off, but Lt. Edward W. Other Swordfish were scoring hits,
led by Lt. Cmdr. Kenneth Williamson, Clifford was held back until the repair too, but it was difficult to tell which
was off at 8:30 p.m. Six of the airplanes crews fixed the damage to his aircraft, weapons were causing what damage. The
had torpedoes; four had bombs, and two which took about 15 minutes. He attackers were flying so low the Italians
had flares and bombs. launched anyway, hoping to catch up. could not shoot at them effectively at
En route, they encountered thick fog. Meanwhile, Morford was having depressed trajectory for fear of hitting
Most of the squadron, following stand- problems. The bump had caused more their own ships. Nor could they make
ing orders, climbed to higher altitude to damage than was apparent. The straps good use of their searchlights, which
get above it, but Lt. Ian Swayne did not. holding the extra fuel tank gave way would mostly have blinded their own
Separated from the others, he assumed and the tank fell into the sea. He had gunners.
he had fallen behind and proceeded to to abort and return to the carrier. The first wave completed its strike at
Taranto at lower altitude to make up The mission was now down to 20 11:35 p.m. and there was a lull before
time. In fact, he was well ahead, arriv- Swordfish, one of them arriving early the second wave attacked at 12:11 a.m.
ing 15 minutes before his colleagues, at Taranto and another one getting Again, the flare droppers came first and
alerting the air defenses and setting off there late. the strikers continued the toll on the Ital-
flak from the shore batteries. ian fleet. A second Swordfish was lost
The sound-detection equipment had O V E R T A R A N T O to a direct hit by the anti-aircraft guns.
picked up Swaynes approach some The first wave reached Taranto at Neither of the airmen, pilot Lt. G. W.
distance out but the Italian air force had 11:12 p.m. The first two airplanes Bayley or observer Lt. H. J. Slaughter,
no night-fighter interceptors nearby. circled around at high altitude and survived as their airplane burst into
The Italians would not put up a single dropped a string of flares along the flames and fell into the water.
fighter that night, which was critical to eastern rim of the harbor, backlighting About 12:30 a.m., shortly after the last
the survival and success of the slow- the targets for the strike aircraft ap- of his colleagues had departed, Clifford
moving Swordfish. proaching from the west. The ground reached Taranto, his wing repairs holding
As soon as the last of Williamsons gunners banged away at the flare up just fine. He attacked a cruiser in the
airplanes were away, the ships crew droppers, but it did no good. The flares inner harbor, but his bomb was defec-
brought the nine aircraft for the second fell 1,000 feet before igniting and the tive. It punched a hole in the deck but
wave up to the deckfive with torpe- airplanes had moved on. failed to explode. Clifford was clear of
does, two with bombs, and two with Close on the heels of the flare the harbor defenses by 12:35 a.m. and
flares and bombs. Launch began at 9:20 droppers came flight leader William- the air raid was over. The last surviv-
p.m., with Lt. Cmdr. J. W. Hale leading. son with Lt. Norman Scarlett as his ing Swordfish returned to Illustrious
observer. They swept in very low, at 2:50 a.m.
Royal Navy photo via Ministry of D efense between the barrage balloons, and RAF reconnaissance photos showed
released their torpedo 20 or 30 feet three battleships with their decks awash.
above the water. It tracked unerringly The worst hit was Conte di Cavour, sunk
to the battleship Conte di Cavour and with only its superstructure remaining
blew a 40-foot hole in the hull. above water and never to return to ser-
Moments later, Williamson and vice. The bows of the battleship Littorio,
Scarlett were shot down. Their airplane hit by three torpedoes, were under water
crashed into the harbor but the Italians and oil was streaming into the harbor.
H er e, the b attles hip C o n t e d i C a v o u r ounders and sinks

in aranto harbor. ussolini tried to do npla the damage
done to the Italian eet, but the true losses could not be
concealed. At right, British airmen take instruction on tor-
pedo dropping and ho the release gear orks on Faire
ordsh torpedo bombers in rail, cotland.

A third battleship, Caio Duilio, was fighters into the area in large numbers US Pacific Fleet, the Chief of Naval
beached in shallow water to prevent its to block and harry the British. Operations, Adm. Harold R. Stark,
sinking completely. The torpedo had Seldom in the history of warfare had expressed the opinion that a mini-
blown a hole between two magazines. a handful of old airplanes inflicted so mum depth of water of 75 feet may
Had it struck a few yards either way, much damage on an enemy, but Taranto be assumed necessary to successfully
Caio Duilio would have been done for. never received the acclaim of other drop torpedoes from planes. Pearl
The raid had also sunk or damaged noteworthy battles. Little more was Harbor, where Kimmels fleet was
two cruisers and two destroyers as well said after Churchills statement to the anchored, was 40 feet deep, about the
as causing fires and losses to other ships, House of Commons about the balance same as Taranto.
the oil storage depot, and the dockyard. of power in the Mediterranean. Later, That assessment was modified by
Two of the battleships were refloated, ruminating on the war on the southern a round-robin message dispatched in
repaired, and eventually returned to flank and the 1942 Battle of El Alamein, June 1941 by Rear Adm. Royal E.
service. Churchill said, Before Alamein we Ingersoll, assistant CNO, who said that
never had a victory. After Alamein, we in view of recent developments
IN T H E W A K E O F T A R A N T O never had a defeat. specifically citing Tarantothe Navy
The Italians tried to minimize the The Swordfish remained in service could no longer assume a requirement
bad news, announcing that one ship was until 1945 and figured in one more of depth of 75 feet for aerial torpedo
gravely damaged and that they had major engagement. In May 1941, it was operations. Incredibly, he added er-
shot down six British airplanes, but the Swordfish torpedo bombers flying from roneously that the torpedoes at Taranto
actual losses could not be concealed. In the carrier Ark Royal that disabled the had been at depths between 11 and
The New York Times, Hanson W. Baldwin German battleship Bismarck, enabling 15 fathoms, meaning 66 to 90 feet.
noted that the British achieved their British battleships and destroyers to
greatest results with the torpedo rather finish the job and sink it. P R E V IE W O F P E A R L H A R B O R
than the bomb and that the raid marked Cunningham returned to Britain in The Japanese naval attach dis-
an increasing accuracy of attacks from 1943 as First Sea Lord, holding that cussed what he had learned at Taran-
the air against ships on the sea. position until his retirement in 1946 to with Cmdr. Minoru Genda, who
Cunningham was jubilant, declaring, in the five-star grade of admiral of the planned the Pearl Harbor operation,
In a total flying time of six and a half fleet. Vice Adm. Inigo Campioni, com- and with Cmdr. Mitsuo Fuchida, who
hourscarrier to carriertwenty air- mander of the Italian battle fleet, was led the attack. The report from the
craft had inflicted more damage upon the relieved of duty and became governor of Japanese navy officers who visited
Italian fleet than was inflicted upon the the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean. Taranto was studied carefully.
German High Seas Fleet in the daylight Illustrious, attacked by more than Early on, Yamamotos proposal
action at the Battle of Jutland. 70 German bombers and fighters in for an attack on Pearl Harbor met
The Italians, rattled by the attack, the Mediterranean in January 1942, with great resistance in military and
pulled their major warships out of sustained major damage, was repaired naval circles in Japan, but Taranto
Taranto for a safer harbor at Naples, far in the United States, and returned to lent strong support to his case. His
to the north and no threat to the British duty. After the war, Illustrious served decision to strike Pearl Harbor was
convoys. They never again used Taranto as a training carrier and troop transport made in December 1940. In January
as a major base for their battle fleet. until decommissioning in 1955. 1941, he assigned serious planning
The strategic gain in the Mediterra- The United States was slow to catch for the use of aerial torpedoes.
nean was diminished somewhat in 1941 on to the significance of Taranto. In a The Japanese did not use the spooled
when the Germans, no longer trusting the letter in February 1941 to Adm. Hus- wire technique developed by the Brit-
Italians, moved Luftwaffe bombers and band E. Kimmel, commander of the ish for delivery of aerial torpedoes in
shallow water. Their own experiments
Royal Navy photo by Lt. L. Pelman via Imperial War Museums
produced a torpedo with wooden fins

which worked in 36 feet of water in
tests between January and September
1941.
Forty of the Nakajima B5N bombers
that Fuchida led over Pearl Harbor on
Dec. 7, 1941, carried aerial torpedoes.
They were very effective along Battle-
ship Row.
John T. Correll was editor in chief of

Air Force Magazine for 18 years and
is now a contributor. His most recent
article, Jack Northrop and the Flying
Wing, appeared in the February issue.
keeper@afa.org
Keeper File
Views on Global Challenge
Maxims of Mad Gen. James N. Mattis, USMC (Ret.)
Dog Mattis
Testimony
Senate Armed Services Committee
Washington, D.C.
Jan. 27, 2015
Find the full text on the

At the time, of course, no one knew he would become Presi- Air Force Magazines website
dent Donald Trumps Secretary of Defense. James N. Mattis www.airforcemag.com
in the winter of 2015 was just a retired Marine Corps general Keeper File
with deep combat experience. The Senate Armed Services
Committee wanted to hear his views on defense topics.
What they got was a pointed denunciation of Washingtons
reactive crouch and strategy-free actions under President
Obama; insistence that America lead from the front and re-
main strongly engaged in foreign relations; and a roadmap
for the proper use of US military power.
T he world is awash in change. The international order, so pains-

takingly put together by the greatest generation coming home
from mankinds bloodiest conflict, ... is under increasing stress. It
was created with elements we take for granted: the United Nations,
NATO, the Marshall Plan, Bretton Woods, and more. ...
The constructed order reflected the wisdom of those who rec-
ognized no nation lived as an island and we needed new ways to
deal with challenges that, for better or worse, impacted all nations. C-SPAN photo
Like it or not, today we are part of this larger world and must carry Echoes from the past from retired Gen. James Mad Dog Mattis.
out our part. ... We must remain strongly engaged. ...
The international order built on the state system is not self- When we make clear our position or give our word about some-
sustaining. It demands tending by an America that leads wisely. thing, our friends (and even our foes) must recognize that we are
... America [must] adapt to changing circumstances, to come out good for it. ... This means that the military instrument must be fit
now from its reactive crouch and to take a firm strategic stance in for purpose and that ... our position is backed up by a capable
defense of our values. ... For certain we have lived too long now military making clear that we will stand on our word.
in a strategy-free mode. ... When the decision is made to employ our forces in combat, the
America needs a refreshed national strategy. ... There is an committee should ask if the military is being employed with the
urgent need to stop reacting to each immediate vexing issue in proper authority. ...
isolation. Such response often creates unanticipated second order Are the political objectives clearly defined and achievable?
effects and more problems for us. ... We [must] act strategically Murky or quixotic political end states can condemn us to entering
and morally, using Americas ability to inspire as well as its ability wars we dont know how to end.
to intimidate to ensure freedom for future generations. ... Notifying the enemy in advance of our withdrawal dates or
With a smaller military comes the need for troops kept at the reassuring the enemy that we will not use certain capabilities
top of their game. When we next put them in harms way it must like our ground forces should be avoided. Such announcements
be the enemys longest day and worst day. Tiered readiness with do not take the place of mature, well-defined end-states, nor
a smaller force must be closely scrutinized to ensure we arent do they contribute to ending wars as rapidly as possible on
merely hollowing out the force. ... favorable terms.
Strategy connects ends, ways, and means. With less military Is the theater of war itself sufficient for effective prosecution? We
available, we must reduce our appetite for using it. ... Absent have witnessed safe havens prolonging war. If the defined theater
growing our military, there must come a time when moral outrage, of war is insufficient, the plan itself needs to be challenged to de-
serious humanitarian plight, or lesser threats cannot be militarily termine feasibility of its success or the need for its modification. ...
addressed. Prioritization is needed if we are to remain capable of Is the authority for detaining prisoners of war appropriate for
the most critical mission for which we have a military: to fight on the enemy and type [of] war that we are fighting? ... We should
short notice and defend the country. ... not engage in another fight without resolving this issue up front,
The need for stronger alliances comes more sharply into focus treating hostile forces, in fact, as hostile.
as we shrink the military. No nation can do on its own all that is Are Americas diplomatic, economic, and other assets aligned
necessary for its security. ... A capable US military, reinforcing to the war aims, with the intent of ending the conflict as rapidly as
our political will to lead from the front, is the bedrock on which we possible? We have experienced the military alone trying [to] achieve
draw together those nations that stand with us against threats to tasks outside its expertise. When we take the serious decision to
the international order. ... fight, we must bring to bear all our nations resources. J
Ensure a legacy of strength.
Youve dedicated your life to fighting for freedom and an
Air Force thats second to none.
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earning lessons from combat is Swensons prescription was a Horse the 1991 Gulf War. The Joint Staffs
an essential part of the military Cavalry Glider Squadron, comprising J-7 directorate was given responsibil-
art. Militaries anxious to avoid the three rifle troops equipped with machine ity for analyzing operations, devising
old clich of fighting the last war study guns and recoilless rifles, a weapons solutions to thorny problems, codify-
carefully the conduct of previous armed troop, and 800 horses. Some 100 gliders ing new ideas, and then disseminating
conflicts, looking for new knowledge would transport this squadron. It would them to the services. The joint lessons
they can apply to the future. be flown/towed and then landed behind learned primer lists the four phases
In 1946, an officer teaching at the enemy lines. The troops would then in this process: discovery, validation,
Armys General Staff School wrote an mount up, draw sabers, and charge. integration, and evaluation. A seem-
article for the services flagship journal, Swenson believed that the appearance ingly simple process, but if a lessonwas
Military Review. In it, Lt. Col. John H. of such an unorthodox unit would cause not properly learned during the evalu-
Swenson looked at the 1944 Normandy panic among the enemy high command. ation phase, the manual directed the
campaign and concluded that while The moral of the story: Not all lessons unit to return to the integration phase
airpower had solved the problem of learned are correct lessons learned. and try again. In other words, lessons
strategic maneuver, it hadnt been ap- Lessons learned became an insti- identified during the validation and
plied at the level of tactical maneuver. tutionalized effort in the US following integration phases were assumed to be
Sometimes getting to real knowlege takes some digging.

By Phillip S. Meilinger
German Federal Archive photo

P r ev io u s p ag e: A G er m an anti- air c r af t F r enc h tr o o p s m an m ac hine g u ns in the r u ins o f
c r ew w ear s g as m as k s w hile m anning their a c athed r al near the Mar ne in 19 18 . T he F r enc h
g u n in 19 15 . T he G er m ans and the F r enc h and G er m ans d r ew d if f er ing les s o ns f r o m the
f ac ed eac h o ther ac r o s s tr enc hes o n the ho r r o r o f W o r ld W ar I .
W es ter n F r o nt f o r f o u r y ear s .
Central News Photo Service-US War D epartment photo via National Archives
correct. But what if you are codifying
the wrong lessons?
The classic case of learning ques-
tionable lessons came after World War
I. The French and German armies had
faced each other across a stagnated
front for four years. Despite massive
casualties, neither side was able to
break the trench stalemate until the very
end. Arguably, the breakthrough and
eventual Allied victory were as much
the result of hundreds of thousands
of American reinforcements and the
cumulative effects of starvation and
war weariness on the German side,
as it was due to new ideas or tactics. another generation of young men in the Mitchells intellectual descendents in
next war by creating an impenetrable the Air Corps Tactical School (ACTS)
MA G I N O T A N D B L I T Z K R I E G barrier: what became the Maginot at Maxwell Field in Montgomery,
In the aftermath, both countries Line. This massive trench and fortress Ala., tended to agree. These bomber
formed cadres of top combat veterans system, consisting of heavily fortified, advocates, echoing the views of those
to study the war and propose ideas to fixed defensive bastionsin some like Giulio Douhet in Italy and Royal
ensure such a stalemated blood bath sectors connected by underground Flying Corps Maj. Gen. Hugh M.
didnt reoccur. About 500 German rail lineswould force the Germans Trenchard in Britain, believed bombers
officersabout a quarter of them to bleed themselves white attempting were unstoppable, able to penetrate
airmenexamined the issue for a to breach it. deep into enemy territory and destroy
year and came up with a proposed Both sides had faced the identical vital centers. They gave short shrift
solution: lightning war, later termed tactical situation, but after due consid- to the need for protective escort for
blitzkrieg, that would employ tactical eration, came to diametrically opposed bombers. In the era before radar this
airpower, combined with motorized/ solutions. In 1940 it was clear the was not a silly notion. Even so, some
mechanized infantry and tanks. The French had learned the wrong lessons. pursuit advocates at ACTS disputed
Germans believed the last war demon- Airmen also studied the war closely, the ability of the bombers to defend
strated that mobility must be restored hoping to glimpse the future. In some themselves, arguing the bomber would
to the battlefield, and blitzkrieg was cases, they proved prescient, in other not always get through.
the way to do it. instances, they guessed wrong.
The French, the melancholy victors, In his first book, Our Air Force: The C O N S E Q U E N C E S O F MY O P I A
conducted a similar exercise but came Key to National Defense, published in Regrettably, pursuit experts who
up with a different answerone that 1921, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell argued taught at the tactical schoolmen like
emphasized defense rather than of- that pursuit aircraft (todays fighter Capt. Claire Lee Chennault (later of
fense. France aimed to avoid losing and attack aircraft) should make up Flying Tigers fame) and 1st Lt. Hoyt
G er m an inf antr y tr o o p s o n A u g . 7 , 19 14.
the bulk of an air force because they S. Vandenberg (later USAF Chief of
T he F r enc h d ev elo p ed the Mag ino t L ine had the most vital mission. Within a Staff)rejected the notion of fighter
f r o m les s o ns lear ned d u r ing W o r ld W ar decade, hed changed his mind, em- escort for bombers. Both argued that
I b u t the G er m ans d ev elo p ed the c o nc ep t
o f b litz k r ieg . phasizing instead the role of bombing. the defining aspect of pursuit was
US War D epartment photo

its aggressive, offensive nature. It
would be inappropriate and indeed
counterproductive, they argued, to as-
sign pursuit a defensive missionthe
passive role of bomber escort.
The consequences of this myopia
played out early in World War II.
British bombers retreated to the safety
of night to avoid decimation during
unescorted daylight raids. Meanwhile,
the daytime bombers of Eighth Air
Force suffered severe losses over
Germany through 1943, when the
P-47 and P-51 arrived with drop tanks,
extending the fighters range to equal
that of the bombers. Coupling this
development with a new offensive doc-
trineemploying escorts to seek out
and destroy the Luftwaffeprovided
air superiority and eventual victory.
Combat experience had proved the USAAF photo
need for escort fighters, and that was
a valuable lesson learned. B - 29 I n c e n d i a r y J o u r n e y d u r ing a m is s io n o v er O s ak a, J ap an, in 19 45 . G en. C u r tis L eMay
Then-1st Lt. Haywood S. Hansell Jr., s aw that b o m b ing tac tic s that had w o r k ed w ell o v er G er m any w o u ld no t w o r k in J ap an
and s c u ttled y ear s o f les s o ns lear ned p r ac tic ally o v er nig ht.
a member of the faculty at the tactical
school in 1934, earned a reputation in in the Pacific. In January 1945, Ar- seemingly confirmed in the skies of
the Bombardment Section there and nold relieved Hansell and replaced Europe, were dropped at one sweep.
began, along with several others, to him with the pragmatic Maj. Gen. During the Cold War against the Soviet
articulate the doctrine of high-altitude, Curtis E. LeMay. He, too, had been Union, bomber tactics were discussed
daylight, precision, formation bomb- an innovator and commanded bomb- anew. The intercontinental distances in-
ing. Hansell was selected in 1941 ers over Europe, but was not married volved seemed to rule out the use of
along with others whod also taught to past doctrines and tactics. LeMay fighter escort. After much thought and
bombardment at the tactical schoolto stripped the B-29s of their guns and experimentation, LeMays Strategic Air
devise an air war plan for the defeat sent the bombers in without escort Command would come to rely on low-level
of Germany. Their effort, AWPD-1, at night, using incendiaries to bomb penetration, speed, decoys, and electronic
was a milestone in the development Japan into submission. LeMays new warfare to survive Soviet air defenses.
of airpowera blueprint for a huge tactics worked. Ten years of doctrine, Fighter escort fell by the wayside.
strategic bomber campaign to achieve
victory.
n route to a target in North Vietnam, a ight of F-1 s refuels from a -1 .
Not just a thinker and planner, hunderchief pilots trained to deliver tactical nuclear eapons, but e
Hansell also commanded a bomb wing p er c ent o f all U S A F s tr ik es o n N o r th V ietnam .
in Eighth Air Force, putting his ideas
into practice in the skies over Germa-
ny. Hansells success prompted Gen.
Henry H. Hap Arnold to name him
commander of the new XXI Bomber
Command in the Mariana Islands,
home of the formidable new B-29s.
Hansell launched into planning and
conducting a strategic air campaign
against Japan.
DI F F E R E N T A N D DI F F E R E N T
But this was a different war, in a
different theater, against a different
enemy, employing different aircraft.
The ideas and tactics Hansell had
pioneered and used so successfully
against Germany simply didnt work USAF photo

AFMC photo
A n F - 15 E d r o p s f o u r J DA Ms d u r ing a d ev elo p m ental tes t

at E d w ar d s A F B , C alif . , in 20 0 2. P r ec is io n w eap o ns hav e
become ubi uitous for their accurac and efcienc .
During the Korean War, hard experi- their own against the enemys nimble Even so, the 1991 Gulf War was the
ence showed once again that unescorted MiGs. It would take new programs and first conflict in which precision weapons
bombersB-29s at leastcouldnt sur- emphasis, especially Red Flag (and for played a major role. Although the US used
vive against Soviet-built jet fighters the Navy, Top Gun) to refocus fighter several types of PGMselectro-optical,
like the MiG-15. After suffering heavy pilots on air-to-air combat. By the end infrared, laser guided, and cruise missiles
losses, the bombers resorted to night of the Vietnam War the transformation using ground tracking radarit was laser
operations unless heavy jet fighter escort had taken place. guided bombs that caught the publics
was provided. attention. The world saw memorable
By the onset of the Vietnam War a S U C C E S S S T O R IE S cockpit display footage of bombs flying
decade later, the revolutionary aspect of Since the 1970s, new aircraft such as down air shafts and through bunker doors.
aerial refueling converted tactical fight- the F-15 and- F-16, combined with new Nonetheless, of the more than 200,000
ers like the F-105 and F-4 into strategic weapons and sensors and realistic train- bombs dropped during Operation Desert
bombers. These aircraft would strike ing, have made USAF overwhelmingly Storm, only seven percent were PGMs,
North Vietnam using in-flight refueling dominant in air combat. The US hasnt and only a small percentage of US aircraft
on their way to and from the targets. Other suffered a single loss in air-to-air com- were equipped to drop them.
fighters, not carrying heavy air-to-ground bat since 1973. This success stemmed The lesson learned was that precision
ordnance, would serve as escorts. from learning the right lessons over weapons sharply reduce the number of
During the 1950s and 60s when Southeast Asia. aircraft needed to destroy targets. The
SAC was ascendant, the fighters of Precision guided munitions (PGMs) calculus changed from aircraft per target
Tactical Air Command were focused are another success story. It is difficult to targets destroyed per aircraft.
on dropping nuclear weapons. The to exaggerate the revolutionary effect The Air Force and Navy thus embarked
organization feared losing resources of having munitions that routinely land on an aggressive program to design and
or being marginalized, and so devel- mere feet from their aim points. Although develop a wide variety of PGMs and
oped large fighters like the F-105, tested in World War II, PGMs werent expand the number of aircraft that could
incorporating an internal bomb bay for used extensively in combat until the later employ them.
carrying a nuclear weapon. By 1965, stages of the Vietnam War. The iconic During Operation Allied Force over
USAF fighter pilots spent as much example of this was the Thanh Ha Serbia in 1999, PGM use increased to
time practicing how to drop nuclear Bridge in North Vietnam. Hundreds of 32 percent of all air weapons used, and
weapons as they did employing con- unsuccessful strikes were flown against in Afghanistan the number jumped to 55
ventional munitions for interdiction this vital railway bridge near Hanoi, at percent. In Iraq, the percentage climbed
or close air support. More ominously, the loss of 11 aircraft. Then, in April, to 70 percent, and nearly all US strike
their air-to-air combat skills were al- 1972, a single flight of F-4s carrying aircraft are now equipped to deliver
lowed to atrophy, and USAF fighters laser guided bombs dropped the bridge PGMs, which have only gotten better
over North Vietnam could barely hold while sustaining no losses. with time.
Accuracy is now usually within a
couple of yards, and new weapons can see
through clouds, smoke, and sandstorms
and can even track and strike moving
targets. Some weapons can be loaded
with their targets before takeoff, while
others, such as the new Small Diameter
Bomb II, can have its target changed
during a glide of up to 46 miles from
the release point.
F-16s on a ight during Red Flag at
P A R A L L E L W A R F A R E Nellis AFB, Nev. Air-to-air combat skills
This new capabilitythe capacity to atrophied after Vietnam. It took ambi-
tious training exercises, such as Red
strike many targets simultaneously with Flag, to restore ghter pilot skills in
precision and at range, across an entire air-to-air ghting.
theateris called parallel warfare and
is one of the enduring lessons from the
1991 Gulf War. More individual targets
were hit in the first 24 hours of Desert USAF photo by TSgt. D avid Salanitri
Storm than Eighth Air Force had struck

in all of Germany during 1942 and 1943. to 2,000 at Mazar-e-Sharif, for example, of stealth, for example, an attribute of
The development and use of PGMs they had airpower behind them, with modern airpower that has been applied
during the Vietnam War, but especially targets called in and directed by SOF. in every major conflict since, with great
in the decades thereafter, is one of the Airpower proved the great equalizer. success.
great lessons-learned success stories. Lessons learned studies in the last
The US has enjoyed mixed results in R E N DE R E D I N E F F E C T I V E 20 years have homed in on a few con-
wars since 1945. Korea was a tieat The same proved true in Iraq. Airpow- sistent points. In conflicts of choice,
considerable costand the Vietnam er reduced the Iraqi Al Nida Republican the US must maintain popular support
War, despite more than a decade of ef- Guard Divisionoriginally numbering both at home and abroad. Things tend
fort, over 58,000 Americans dead, and 13,000 men and 500 vehiclesto 2,000 to go badly when intervention costs a
billions of dollars spent, failed to prevent troops and 50 vehicles by the time great deal of money or lives or produces
that country from falling to communism. US marines engaged it. Similarly, air widespread destruction in countries the
Desert Storm, as well as operations over strikes cut the Hammurabi Division to US is trying to help.
the Balkans in the 1990s, Libya, and 44 percent effectiveness and the Medina In short, to best achieve its goals, the
the initial takedowns of the Afghan and Division to only 18 percent before they US must limit cost and risk, not only to
Iraqi regimes in 2001 and 2003, can all were engaged by coalition ground troops. itself, but also to its adversariesand
be counted as successful, but the long- One US Army brigade commander, especially to the indigenous popula-
term results of the campaigns in Iraq and Col. William F. Grimsley, later said: tions. The insertion of large numbers
Afghanistan remain to be seen. We never really found any cohesive of ground troops greatly increases US
American victories have broadly unit of any brigade of any Republican risk while simultaneously incurring
been marked by the judicious use of air Guard division. As in Desert Storm, huge cost andparadoxicallymay
and space power teamed with special the bulk of the Iraqi army was rendered lower the odds of success. US military
operations forces (SOF), augmented combat ineffective by airpower. One experience since World War II has made
by indigenous ground troops (such as report states that up to 90 percent of these facts available.
the Kosovar Liberation Army in the the Iraqi army in some units deserted It is time to reorient US military
Balkans, the Northern Alliance in Af- in 2003, driven away by the air strikes policy away from the use of conven-
ghanistan, the Kurds in northern Iraq, devastating their units. tional ground forces and toward more
and forces opposed to Muammar Qaddafi The Air Forces post-Desert Storm reliance on airpower (land- and sea-
in Libya). Another critical element was lessons learned reportthe Gulf War based) SOF, indigenous ground troops,
the large and networked US system of Airpower Surveyrendered all these and robust ISR. The old and traditional
intelligence, surveillance, and recon- statistics and many more for future methods of war have not worked. Its
naissance (ISR) assets. commanders to consider, creating a time to change.
In Afghanistan, SOF troops, teamed template for future analysis of how the This is the lesson that should be
with the indigenous Northern Alliance US fights. Desert Storm showed the value learned from modern conflict.
and backed by ubiquitous ISR and
American airpower, resulted in a rapid
Phillip S. Meilinger is a retired Air Force colonel and command pilot, with a Ph.D . in
and lopsided victory. While the Northern military history. His latest book is Limiting Risk in War: Second Fronts, Asymmet-
Alliance, even abetted by SOF troops, rics, and Airpower. He has contributed frequently to Air Force Magazine. His most
were outnumbered by the Taliban 5,000 recent article, Supremacy in the Skies, appeared in February 2016.
Books
Compiled by Chequita Wood, Media Research Editor
1 0 0 D e a d ly S k ills : S u r - A C o m p le te H is to r y B ill L a m b e r t: W o r ld F lig h t P a th : S o n o f Kiffin Rockwell, the

v iv a l E d itio n : T h e S E A L o f U S C o m b a t A ir c r a ft W a r I F ly in g A c e . A fr ic a to W a r r io r - L a fa y e tte E s c a d r ille
O p e r a tiv e s G u id e to F ly -o ff C o m p e titio n s : Samuel J. Wilson. Mc- D i p l o m a t . Maj. Gen. a n d th e B ir th o f th e
S u r v iv in g in th e W ild Winners, Losers, and Farland, Jefferson, NC Scott Gration, USAF U n ite d S ta te s A ir
a n d B e in g P r e p a r e d fo r W h a t M ig h t H a v e B e e n . (800-25 3-2187). 266 (Ret.). Order from: Mu- F o r c e . T. B. Murphy.
A n y D i s a s t e r . Clint Em- Erik Simonsen. Specialty pages. $ 39.95 lami Books LLC, 1911 McFarland, Jefferson,
erson, Touchstone, New Press, Forest Lake, MN Black Lake Blvd., Win- NC (800-25 3-2187).
Y ork (800-223-2336). 25 7 (800-895 -45 85 ). 227 ter Garden, FL 34787 187 pages. $ 35 .00.
pages. $ 19.99. pages. $ 44.95 . (407-376-5 65 1). 336
pages. $ 14.99. .
.
M ilita r y A v ia tio n in O s w a ld B o e lc k e : G e r - Pathfinder Pioneer: P e a rl H a rb o r: F ro m T r a in in g th e R ig h t

th e G u lf S o u th : A m a n y s F ir s t F ig h te r T h e M e m o ir o f a L e a d In fa m y to G r e a t- S tu ff: T h e A ir c r a ft
P h o to g r a p h ic H is - A c e a n d F a th e r o f A ir B o m b e r P ilo t in W o r ld n e s s . Craig Nelson. T h a t P ro d u c e d
t o r y . V incent P. Caire. C o m b a t . R. G. Head. W a r I I . Col. Raymond Scribner, New Y ork A m e r ic a s J e t P ilo ts .
Louisiana State Uni- Casemate Publishing, E. Brim, USAF (Ret.). (800-223-2336). 5 32 Mark A. Frankel and
versity Press, Baton Havertown, PA (610- Casemate Publishers, pages. $ 32.00. Tommy H. Thomason.
Rouge, LA (800-848- 85 3-9131). 240 pages. Havertown, PA (610- Schiffer Publishing,
6224). 128 pages. $ 39.95 . 85 3-9131). 265 pages. Atglen, PA (610-5 93-
$ 39.95 . $ 32.95 . 1777). 336 pages.
. $ 69.99.
W h e n T ig e r s R u le d W in g s o f E m p ir e : T h e W o m e n F o r V ic to r y : X -P la n e s o f E u r o p e Z o n e s o f C o n tr o l:
th e S k y : T h e F ly in g F o rg o tte n W a rs o f A m e r ic a n S e r v ic e - II: M ilita r y P r o to ty p e P e r s p e c tiv e s o n
T ig e r s : A m e r ic a n the Royal Air Force, w o m e n in W o r ld W a r A ir c r a ft fr o m th e W a r g a m i n g . Pat Har-
O u tla w P ilo ts O v e r 1 9 1 9 - 1 9 3 9 . Barry II H is to r y & U n ifo r m G o ld e n A g e 1 9 4 5 - rigan and Matthew G.
C h in a in W o r ld W a r Renfrew. Order from: Series, Vol. 2. Katy En- 1 9 7 4 . Tony Buttler. Kirschenbaum, eds.
I I . Bill Y enne. Berkley Independent Publishers druschat Goebel. Schiffer Specialty Press, The MIT Press, Cam-
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We are AIRMEN for LIFE
Photo via The Women s Memorial
I Can Do This
A memorial to military women highlights their service.
By Beth Liechti Johnson
Womens Army Corps Sgt. Esther M. Over 46,500 of them (almost 18 percent) T he W o m en in Militar y S er v ic e f o r A m er ic a
Mem o r ial is the o nly m aj o r natio nal m em o -
Blake enlisted in the Air Force as soon served in the Total Air Force, according r ial o f its k ind . I t als o ho no r s w o m en w ho
she could: just after the clock struck to retired Army Lt. Col. Marilla Cush- s er v ed in the Mer c hant Mar ine, N O A A ,
midnight, on July 8, 1948. man, the foundations director of public the U S P u b lic H ealth S er v ic e, and o ther
o r g aniz atio ns .
That was almost a year after USAF relations, and Britta Granrud, curator of
became an independent service but the collections.
first moment women were authorized as The collection contains 1,100 oral filmmakers, and the media for informa-
regular members of the armed forces. histories. tion about women in the military.
Blake had originally enlisted to free Granrud especially encourages women Families have contacted the staff to
up a soldier to fight, saying, If I can who served in Iraq and Afghanistan confirm a woman veterans service. In
do this, my efforts will be worthwhile. to tell their stories because they have several instances, the staff has been
performed Air Force duties never be- able to confirm eligibility for burial
N U MB E R I N G 2. 5 MI L L I O N fore undertaken by women. Capturing and memorial-service benefits, based
The Women in Military Service for these experiences adds to the repository on information the veteran provided in
America Memorial preservesand con- documenting womens contributions to her registration, such as service number
tinues to seek outstories like this. US military history. or discharge papers.
The memorial is located in the his- What we dont record, we lose, The Several AFA members have an ac-
toric hemicycle edifice (built in 1932 Womens Memorial officials like to say. tive role in The Womens Memorial,
and refurbished in the 1990s) at the including retired Brig. Gen. Wilma L.
entrance to Arlington National Cemetery IN T H E A R C H IV E Vaught, a Donald W. Steele Sr. Memorial
in Arlington, Va. The archive contains more than 5,800 Chapter member, who has shepherded the
The Women in Military Service for artifacts, from the American Revolution memorial since 1985; the foundations
America nonprofit foundation that man- to the Global War on Terror. Items do- board chairman, retired Brig. Gen. Eden
ages The Womens Memorialto use nated include photographs, documents J. Murrie of the Gen. Dan F. Callahan
its shorthand namesalutes more than (journals and diaries), uniforms, personal Chapter; and retired Brig. Gen. Barbara
2.5 million women who have served items, medals, insignia, and unit patches. A. Goodwin, foundation secretary and a
in the armed forces, going back to the Demonstrating the value and signifi- Gen. Charles A. Gabriel Chapter member.
American Revolution. cance of this collection, some items are This year, the Women in Military
on loan to other museums, including the Service for America memorial will cel-
F O R T H E R E C O R D National Museum of American History, ebrate its 20th anniversary. Its website
The heart of the memorial is its the new National Museum of African is at womensmemorial.org.
registry, a computerized database and American History and Culture, and
historical record of women veterans the National Civil Rights Museum in
who have recorded their experience in Memphis, Tenn. Retired Col. Beth Liechti Johnson,
their own words. The registry contains The memorials staff often receives US Army, is a charter member of The
entries for more than 260,000 women. queries from authors, scholars, artists, Women s Memorial.
By Joseph Bisognano
T o p 5 + O ne: T S g t. Mar k G ir o m ini,

S r A . A ar o n S tand e, T S g t. H ar v ey
H o llo w ay , g u es t s p eak er Maj . G en.
K im b er ly C r id er , S MS g t. C har les
C ar lin, and S S g t. S hane C o ak ley
( lef t to r ig ht) .
Photo by Joe Bisognano
has its own Readiness Squadron, Westover ARB. SrA. Aaron J. Stande is an aero-
version of AFAs Outstand- He managed a fi rst-ever beddown, space medical technician,102nd Medi-
ing Airmen of the Year proof more than 130 Pakistani air force cal Group,102nd Intelligence Wing,
gram. personnel, plus nine aircraft. Otis ANGB. In Ghana he supported a
Its called the Top 5 Massachusetts TSgt. Harvey W. Holloway is the disaster preparedness initiative in Ac-
Airmen. noncommissioned officer in charge for cra, teaching first responder courses. In
The states AFA organization and its training, 66th Security Forces Squad- Kenya, he was attached to the medical
Minuteman Chapter created the recog- ron, Hanscom AFB. He headed several outreach team on an African Partner-
nition program some three years ago. initiatives to handle active-shooter ship Flight.
They most recently honored the Bay situations and prepared security forces
States five outstanding airmen last fall for an Operation Inherent Resolve T H E Y R E F L E C T T H E B E S T
at a second annual awards dinner. It took mission surge. Approximately 135 people attended
place at the USS Constitution Museum TSgt. Mark A. Giromini is an the awards dinner.
in the Charlestown Navy Yard, Mass., aircrew flight equipment craftsman, Maj. Gen. Kimberly A. Crider, the
right next to the landmark US Navy 104th Operations Group, Barnes Arpt. mobilization assistant to Undersecre-
frigate nicknamed Old Ironsides. He deployed to Al Jaber, Kuwait, to tary of the Air Force Lisa S. Disbrow,
aid Michigans Selfridge Air National was keynote speaker. Crider described
T H E T O P F IV E Guard personnel. (See A Century of the accomplishments of each Top 5 air-
The Air Force in Massachusetts Action, p. 46.) Giromini supported 10 man and how their skills contributed
includes approximately 11,000 people combat sorties a day. to the Total Force concept of a shared
assigned to four primary installations. SSgt. Shane T. Coakley is a mission between the components.
The Minuteman Chapter and its presi- security forces journeyman, 104th Massachusetts AFA and its 1,500
dent, Yvonne Thurston, worked closely Security Forces Squadron, Barnes members were proud to recognize the
with all of the states wing and group Arpt. He deployed to Kandahar Air- contributions of these airmen who re-
commanders to find nominees who field, Afghanistan, for Operation flect not just the best in the state, but
were the best in job performance and Enduring Freedom and Operation the best of the Air Force.
in the local community. Here are the Freedoms Sentinel. He stood up the
Top 5 selected: Security Forces Unit Control Center
SMSgt. Charles Carlin is the su- for Kandahar indirect fire attacks Joseph Bisognano is Massachusetts
perintendent of Logistics Plans/Deploy- and implemented anti-terrorism state president and a member of the
ment and Distribution, 439th Logistics measures. Minuteman Chapter.
CHAPTER NEWS By June L. Kim, Associate Editor
LONG ISLAND CHAPTER SALT LAKE CITY CHAPTER

The Long Island Chapter (N.Y.) marked the 75th anniver- Members of the Salt Lake Chapter (Utah) had the privilege
sary of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor by dedicating a of sending off local Gold Star children at the Salt Lake City
three-panel plaque during its annual Dropping of the Roses Airport in December. The chapter partnered with Snowball
ceremony in Farmingdale, N.Y., in December. Express, a nonprofit organization that serves families of fallen
Chapter President Fred DiFabio organized the event held American soldiers, to greet them as they flew to Dallas for a
at the American Airpower Museum and nearly 300 people retreat, said Robert George, Rocky Mountain Region president.
attended, said William G. Stratemeier Jr., chapter VP for Chapter President Edward Felleson coordinated the event
leadership development. along with Chapter VP John Wagoner and Aerospace Educa-
Among the crowd were Pearl Harbor survivors Gerard tion VP Patti White, arranging times, security passes, and
Barbosa and Seymour Blutt, New York state officials, military parking passes with airport police, said George.
officers, representatives from military organizations, and AFA The chapter purchased 100 teddy bears so that the chil-
Northeast Region President Maxine Rauch. dren could have something to take with them on the flight,
In previous years, a pilot dropped red rosesand more he said. Felleson asked members of the Utah Air National
recently, one white rose for 9/11around the Statue of Lib- Guard and Army National Guard to present the teddy bears
erty in New York Harbor at 12:55 p.m. (the exact East Coast on AFAs behalf, while AFA members distributed copies of
time of the attack) on Dec. 7, but due to inclement weather, Air Force Magazine to the chaperones of the flight.
the actual dropping of the roses took place the following day. Felleson learned about the opportunity when his friend,
At the end of the ceremony, Rauch presented DiFabio with American Airlines employee Carl Sonderstrom, asked if the
an AFA Exceptional Service Award for 2016, said Stratemeier. chapter would be interested in participating.
hoto courtesy of ill Stratemeier
GOLD COAST CHAPTER

The Gold Coast Chapter in Florida hosted an open house
last fall for members new and old, said Chapter President
Virginia Montalvo.
Held at a local flying school at Pompano Beach Airpark in
Pompano, Fla., the gathering of more than a dozen and a half
listened to chapter member Milton Markowitz speak about his
experiences flying 40 different aircraft throughout World War II,
Korea, and Vietnam. The younger members listened intently,
said Montalvo. They ... were not disappointed.
The chapter even donated a mini drone as a door prize,
said Montalvo. The drone was suggested by chapter VP of
aerospace Virginia Knudsen, who is a science, technology,
ormer and current military officials salute during the ong Island hapter s engineering, and math teacher at Parkway Middle School of
Dropping of the oses ceremony in December. hapter resident red the Arts in Lauderhill.
Di abio is at left and hapter Treasurer William Stratemeier is at right. Chapter VP for Membership Bob Morris provided refreshments.
Martin H. Harris, 1932-2016

Former AFA Board Chairman retired Col. National Secretary (1972-76). He was Flor-
Martin H. Harris died Dec. 9. He was 84 years idas first AFA state president and chapter
old and resided in Longwood, Fla. president. He also served as vice president
Harris was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and after and a trustee of the Aerospace Education
graduating from New York University joined the Foundation and was instrumental in getting
Air Force. He retired from the Air Force Reserve. the Air Force Memorial constructed without
He worked for Lockheed Martin for 40 years using public funds.
before retiring in 1997. He was named AFA Member of the Year for
Harris had served as AFAs Chairman of 1972 and was awarded the Exceptional Ser-
the Board (1986-88), National President, and vice Award by the Secretary of the Air Force.

Photo by Susan Hinds for Purest Light Photography
AFA Emerging Leader
Christopher J. Hinds
Home State: Wisconsin
Chapter: Thunderbird Chapter (Nev.)
Joined AFA: 2013
AFA Office: Past member, AFA e-Membership committee
Military Service: 2002-current, Active Duty
Occupation: Security forces
Education: A.A.S., Criminal Justice, Community College of
the Air Force; A.A.S., Instructor of Technology and Military Chris Hinds trains Pprada, a military working dog, at Nellis AFB,
Science, Community College of the Air Force Nev., in January 2017. Hinds is the NCOIC of the military work-
ing dog section.
H o w d id y o u f ir s t hear o f A F A ?
In 2013 while I was stationed at JBSA-Lackland [ Texas] .
CMSgt. [ Kathleen M.] McCool, [ one of the Air Force s 12 H o w c an A F A c r eate m o r e aw ar enes s ab o u t w hat it
Outstanding Airmen of the Y ear in 2011] had put out an d o es f o r air m en and their f am ilies ?
all-call for motivated individuals who wanted to be part of We could bring the information from the chapter
AFA and help stand up the first AFA e-sub council. meetings to the base and get more of the younger
enlisted involved without the hassle of having them
W hat d o y o u enj o y ab o u t A F A m em b er s hip ? trying to get off work or find a ride to the chapter
All the knowledge that is out there in AFA. It is such meeting. ... There is so much that AFA fights for and
a diversified group with a wealth of knowledge and does for the Air Force family, but it always seems to go
experience, I honestly learn something new every time we unrecognized. I believe that putting ourselves out there,
meet. It has also given me the opportunity to lead and be educating, advocating, and supporting, we will be able
part of something much bigger than [ myself] . to grow our numbers and support for the organization.

Namesakes
1
1 2 3
MAXWELL
Death in Manila
WILLIAM CALVIN MAXWELL
Born: Nov. 9, 1892, Natchez, Ala.
Died: Aug. 12, 1920, Manila, Philippines
Occupation: US military officer
On April 6, 1917, the US entered the Great Soon, Maxwell was generating sorties from a Service: ROTC; US Air Service
War. It was a matter of instant significance new, air-only section of Stotsenburg: Clark Field. Era: World War I/post-WW I
for William C. Maxwell, an obscure student The young aviator was flying the Dayton-Wright Years of Service: 1917-20
at the University of Alabama. His response DH-4 biplane, a US version of Geoffrey de Grade: Second Lieutenant
would, over time, make his name famous Havilland's famous two-seat, single-engine Combat: None
throughout the Air Force. British bomber. College: University of Alabama
Maxwell was born into humble circum- On Aug. 12, 1920, disaster struck. Maxwell
stances in tiny Natchez, Ala., one of seven was on a routine flight when he experienced
children. Their father, John R. Maxwell, and engine trouble. The 400-hp Liberty engine
mother, Jennie, moved the family to Atmore, was usually reliable. On this day, it was not. MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE
where he grew up. Maxwell attempted an emergency landing in
Maxwell, 24 when war came, was older a nearby sugarcane field. On approach, losing
State: Alabama
than the usual undergraduate. He possibly altitude, he saw that a group of children was
Nearest City: Montgomery
began college late because he lacked the playing in a clearing directly in his path. He
Area: 6.4 sq mi / 4,100 acres
money. When he did arrive in Tuscaloosa, swerved away and maneuvered into the field.
Status: Open, active
he enrolled as a Reserve Officer's Training Hidden in the tall sugarcane, however, was a
Opened: (by Army) April 1918
Corps student, tuition paid by Uncle Sam. large flagpole stanchion, and the DH-4 slammed
Original Name: Wright Field
For Maxwell, however, the war meant col- into it. Maxwell died instantly.
Renamed: Engine and Repair Depot (April 1918)
lege days were over. He abruptly left campus He was laid to rest in Robinsonville Baptist
Renamed: Engine and Plane Repair Depot #3
and joined the Army in 1917. Church Cemetery in Atmore, 100 miles from
(September 1918)
Maxwell wanted to be a military pilot. He the Montgomery Air Intermediate Depot. At the
Renamed: Aviation Repair Depot (March 1919)
was selected for flight school and was sent suggestion of Maxwell's former commander,
Renamed: Montgomery Air Intermediate Depot
to Kelly Field, Texas. In April 1918, with his Maj. Roy C. Brown, the depot was on Nov.
(January 1921)
training completed, he was commissioned 8, 1922, renamed Maxwell Field. Maxwell
Renamed: Maxwell Field (Nov. 8, 1922)
as a second lieutenant in the Air Service and Air Force Base today is one of USAF's most
Named as AFB: September 1947
received his wings. recognizable names.
Former Owner: US Army
Current Owner: AETC
World War I ended before he could get to The base has a rich history of its own, be-
Home Of: Air University
it. Maxwell's military flying career continued ing one of the world's earliest flying schools
apace. (established by the Wright brothers) and site
In 1919, he was assigned to the 3rd Aero of the famous Air Corps Tactical School in the 1. Second Lieutenant William Maxwell, a native of
Squadron, which the peacetime Air Service Air Force's early days. Atmore, Ala., for whom Maxwell Air Force Base is
was transferring to the Philippines. Elements Today, Maxwell AFB is home to Air University, named. Unknown date. 2. Maxwell with a Curtiss
arrived in Manila in August 1919 and organized USAF's premier center for airpower studies, Jenny. 3. The Air Corps Tactical School, then located
at Fort Stotsenburg. and associated organizations. at Maxwell Field. 4. Air University today.

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u- ghters are part of Russia s big push to moderni e

Russian Federation Ministry of D efense photo

12 MARCH 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM

Fasten Your Seatbelts

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Airmen not alone; Covering reachback; Avoiding the steamroller;

THIN BLUE LINE

USAF photo by SrA. Z achary Kee

14 MARCH 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM

A B-2 from the 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman AFB, Mo.,

16 MARCH 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM

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O f f W e G o o n the T - X T-50A variant of the Korean Aerospace Industries T-50 trainer

rafc ontrol istake aused ollision

18 MARCH 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM

M. Mike Holmes to receive his fourth

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L o c k heed G ets $ 6 0 Millio n f o r I C B M Mo d er niz atio n

G en. S eth J . Mc K ee, 19 16 - 20 16

20 MARCH 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM

I r aq i F o r c es H av e C laim ed a Q u ar ter o f Mo s u l U S E nd s C o u nter - I S I S O p er atio n in L ib y a